Year 1

What a fantastic start to the year it’s been for our Year 1 students! They’ve jumped into their learning with enthusiasm, exploring reading strategies, sentence writing, and key grammar skills. In MSL, students built their knowledge of sounds and spelling rules to strengthen their reading and writing. Our Inquiry focus on families helped students understand the many different ways families can look and the important role they play in our lives. We are so proud of all that our Year 1 students have achieved so far—and we’re excited for all the learning and fun still to come in Term 2!

Homework Expectations

Our aim is to support students in building strong learning habits through simple weekly homework tasks. Here's what to expect this term:

• Reading: To help develop reading fluency, students are encouraged to read aloud to someone at home each night. Please record what they’ve read in their reading diary, which helps us track progress and celebrate achievements.
  • Books sent home are carefully chosen to be easy and enjoyable to read.
  • Reading journals are checked every Friday, and students should aim to change their reader daily or once they finish a book.
• Maths: Each week, your child will bring home a maths game in their folder. These games are fun, easy to play, and help reinforce class learning with minimal equipment.
• Handwriting: This term, your child will bring home a Handwriting Book as part of their homework. Each week, we ask students to choose a letter and complete the pages for that letter. The teacher will check the Handwriting Book and reading diary every Friday, so please make sure both are returned to school each week in your child’s pouch.

Thank you for supporting your child’s learning at home!

Reminder: If your child can't swap their book for any reason, they can still read by using the Decodable Reading books online. Their login details can be found on the inside cover of their diary.

Literacy-Term 2

MSL 

MSL is a research-based approach that helps students learn to read and write by focusing on how the brain learns best. It targets five key skills: letter sounds, sounding out words, fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. Teachers connect phonics, spelling, and word meanings while using multi-sensory techniques to strengthen memory and learning.

This term we will be focussing on: 

• Digraphs: sh, ch, qu, wh, ph, th (voiced and unvoiced)
• Glued sounds:  ng, nk
• Sounds/rules:  ai/ay, oi/oy
• Long Spelling Right After Short Vowel (LSRASV): c/ck
• Floss rule: ff, ll, ss, zz
• Y as vowel at end - long ‘i’ and ‘e’

Reader’s Workshop

In our classroom program, students will continue to develop their reading skills by exploring a variety of high-quality mentor texts, including A Bug Called Doug and The Butterfly and the Ants. These texts are typically above the students’ decoding level but are valuable for building knowledge and deepening their understanding of the world around them. They also serve as models of what skilled writers do when expressing their ideas and telling stories. Specifically, students will work on a range of reading and comprehension strategies, such as making predictions before and during reading, identifying key elements of the text, making text-to-self connections, recognising features of non-fiction texts, and re-reading and retelling stories.

Writer's workshop

Our writing program aims to help students become more effective writers. This term, Year 1 students will focus on mastering writing conventions (capital letters and full stops), forming simple sentences from key information found in texts, and organising their ideas in recounts and information texts. They will work towards drafting, editing, and publishing a short information piece about a minibeast (linking to our STEAM focus).

Numeracy-Term 2

This term, we will continue to focus on place value of numbers up to 120 and addition and subtraction within 20. Our students are building important foundations that will set them up for success in more complex math learning ahead.

Here’s a look at the key skills we will be working on:

• Identifying the features of Australian coins.
• Count On strategy (1, 2, 3) from the larger number
• Doubles/Near Doubles (up to 10 + 10)
• Facts to 10 - number facts that add to 10
• Part-Part-Whole - making numbers up to 20 in different ways
• Balancing Equations - understanding that "=" means "the same as"
• Building to the Next Ten strategy- using number lines and tens frames
• Count Back strategy from the largest number
• Subtract Tens (e.g., 36 – 10) using place value knowledge
• Measuring length and height using informal units
• 2D shape features
• Location 

We are building confidence, speed, and strong number sense through hands-on activities, games, and problem solving!

Inquiry/STEAM-Term 2

This term, our Inquiry topic is Minibeasts. Students will learn about the features of living things, what they need to survive, and how they grow and change. Through hands-on activities, observations, and discussions, students will discover the important roles minibeasts like insects, spiders, and worms play in their environments. They will also explore where minibeasts live and why. This learning will help students build important science skills, such as asking questions, making predictions, and recording what they see.

As part of our STEAM sessions, Year 1 students will be working alongside Year 2 students to design and build Minibeast Motels, creating special homes to attract and support minibeasts in our school environment. This project will help students develop their creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.

Kitchen Classroom- Term 2 to 4 

This term, students will begin Classroom sessions, they will learn to prepare simple recipes while developing skills in cooking techniques, knife safety, measuring, and following written instructions. These sessions will take place every second week (on even weeks). If you're interested in volunteering to help, please contact your child's classroom teacher.

Lunchtime Club- Term 2

Important dates to remember

• Tuesday 6th of May- Minibeasts Incursion 
• Monday 2nd of June- IMAX and Melbourne Museum excursion 
• Friday 6th June - Pupil Free Day
• Monday 9th June - King’s Birthday
• Friday 4th July- Last day of Term 2:30pm dismissal 

Remember to refer to the school newsletter and Compass throughout the term for updates. If your child is having a birthday and you would like to bring in treats for the whole class, please check with your classroom teacher regarding allergies.

Kind Regards, 

Year 1 Teachers

Madeline Daniell (1A Co-Team Leader), Amy Midson (1B Co-Team Leader), and Jessica Kennedy and Rachel Scott (1C).