Foundation 2023

Communicating with the Foundation Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2023, and welcome your input: 

Holly Peters  Holly.Peters@education.vic.gov.au

Lisa Dam  Lisa.Dam@education.vic.gov.au

TERM 3 ENGLISH

In Reading this term, we will be continuing to follow the InitiaLit English Program. Students will be introduced to the letters v, w, x, y and z, and what the vowels are. Middle vowel sounds in words will continue to be focused upon as well as oral blending and segmenting of words with four sounds. They will also learn all about digraphs and that two letters together can represent one sound - ck, ll, ss, ff, sh, qu, ee, zz and ch. Each week the students will also be involved in a variety of reading and writing activities through our literacy sessions, which will focus on the weekly letters, digraphs and tricky words from the program. 

The children will be learning new tricky words and will be eagerly adding them to our tricky word garden display. They will continue to focus on a variety of reading strategies such as making connections with texts, sequencing events, using their learnt skills to decode unknown words and making predictions. 

The Foundation students have been exploring the differences between Picture Story Books (Narratives) and Information Texts (Nonfiction). They have been learning that a picture story book tells a story and we read them for pleasure. They have characters and a setting, and there is usually a problem that needs to be solved. Information Texts contain information about many different topics, tell us facts and help us to learn new things. They contain many different features such as a contents page, photos, headings, maps, diagrams and many more! 

In Writing, students will continue to strengthen their knowledge and ability to correctly form  their letters and numerals using the correct starting point and size. They will further develop their skills of Recount writing by continuing their weekly writing and begin to more accurately include full stops and capital letters in their writing. 

100 DAYS OF SCHOOL CELEBRATION !

Last week the Foundation students celebrated their 100 Days of School! All week the students focused on and learnt all about the number 100. In classroom learning activities, students practised counting to 100, skip counting by 10’s to get to 100 and beyond, and finding the place value of two digit numbers. 

On Friday, the student’s dressed up in ‘100’ themed attire to help celebrate the day. They looked AMAZING! We had many creative outfits including a variety of 100 year old’s and 100 themed outfits. What a fantastic day it was! The students were very excited to FINALLY celebrate their 100 days of learning! 

They consolidated their knowledge of the number 100 by completing a variety of 100 themed activities with a focus on counting, skip counting and place value. The day was a huge success and the students had a fun day learning all about the number 100! The students completed a booklet based around 100. 

They also painted 10 dots on ladybugs in 10 groups to get to 100. 

Head bands, bookmarks and bags were decorated to represent the number 100.

COMO HOUSE EXCURSION

This week, the foundation students went on their very first excursion to Como House and Gardens. The students had an amazing time exploring the house and gardens and provided the opportunity for students to compare the life of 19th Century children and families to their own experiences. 

They played a variety of olden day games including sack races, quoits, croquet and egg and spoon races. 

They explored the historical Como House which gave them an insight into what life was like in the 19th century. They even danced in the ballroom! 

The students experienced what life was like as a maid at Como House and hand washed clothes using a washboard and a wringer! They listened to a variety of bells to determine which room they were required to wait on and practised walking with silver trays of drinks. 

SCIENCE WEEK

To celebrate Science week our Foundation, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students were treated to a fantastic science demonstration by one of our wonderful parents, Cath Shepherd, who is a scientist. Thank you so much the students loved the display. 

SPECIALIST TIMETABLE 

Please see below for information regarding the days each grade has their Specialist classes. Please note that these times are subject to change. 

PMP

In 2023 the Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) will be running on a weekly basis for the Foundation students. The purpose of this program is to grow the Fundamental Movement Skills of the students via working through different activities which require different movements. Justin Scicluna runs our PMP program.

  If there are any family members who would be willing to volunteer and assist with the PMP sessions, please email justin.scicluna@education.vic.gov.au. In order to assist with these sessions, you will require a current Working with Children Check (WWCC) and it must be presented to the office before commencing the session. If you do not have a WWCC and would like to obtain one, please visit the below link;

https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/individuals/applicants/how-to-apply-1

The PMP session times are as below;

Tuesdays:  

Foundation B: 11:50am-12:40pm

Foundation A: 1:20-2:10pm

If you have any questions please contact us via email or in person. 

holly.peters@education.vic.gov.au

lisa.dam@education.vic.gov.au