Grade 1 Community News

Dear Grade 1 Families,

We have had another fantastic and busy fortnight in Grade 1 filled with lots of learning, creativity, and fun. Students have been working hard across all learning areas and continue to show great enthusiasm and growth in the classroom. We are very proud of the effort students are putting into their learning and the kindness and support they continue to show towards one another each day.

Thank you for your ongoing support at home. We hope you enjoy reading about what we have been learning in Grade 1 this fortnight.

InitiaLit

In InitiaLit, we have been learning new focus sounds, including ‘or’ as in fork and ‘ore’ as in snore. We have also been revising previously learned sounds and practicing blending and reading words with confidence. We are learning about adding suffixes such as ‘s’ and ‘ing’ to verbs to help us build stronger sentences when reading and writing. We are continuing to practice our tricky words, including house, because, why, who, many, any, love, over, and says. We are also learning to identify verbs and recognise homophones while reading and writing.

How you can support at home:

• Read together each night and look for words with our focus sounds ‘or’ and ‘ore’.
• Practice tricky words by saying, writing, and using them in sentences.
• Ask your child to find verbs while reading books at home.
• Play simple word games to practice blending and reading words fluently.

Writing

In Writing, we have been learning about pronouns and how they help make our writing clearer and less repetitive. We are learning to replace nouns with pronouns such as he, she, it, and they to help our sentences flow more smoothly. We have been practicing using pronouns correctly in our speaking and writing while creating simple sentences and short pieces of writing.

How you can support at home:

• Encourage your child to use pronouns when speaking about people and objects.
• Read books together and ask your child to spot pronouns in the text.
• Help your child write simple sentences using pronouns correctly.
• Talk about how pronouns stop us from repeating the same names over and over.

Mathematics

In Mathematics, we have been learning to make, read, and say 3-digit numbers using hundreds, tens, and ones. We are also exploring length by estimating and comparing the lengths of different objects. We are developing confidence using mathematical language and explaining our thinking during class discussions and activities.

How you can support at home:

• Practice reading and saying 3-digit numbers together.
• Ask your child to estimate the length of household objects before measuring them.
• Compare objects around the home using words such as longer, shorter, and equal.
• Count collections together using hundreds, tens, and ones where possible.

Humanities

In Humanities, we have been learning about the different roles and responsibilities family members have at home and how these may have changed over time. We are exploring similarities and differences between what families did in the past and what families do today. Through discussions and activities, we are developing an understanding of family history, identity, belonging, and respect for others.

How you can support at home:

• Talk about different jobs and responsibilities family members have at home.
• Share stories about what family life was like when parents or grandparents were younger.
• Discuss chores or activities that may have changed over time.
• Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their childhood and family experiences.

Storybook & Vocabulary

We are reading the text The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch, which is about a lighthouse keeper named Mr. Grinling who lives in a lighthouse on rocks out at sea. Every day, his wife Mrs Grinling, sends his lunch across to him in a basket on a wire, but some naughty seagulls keep stealing it. Mrs. Grinling comes up with a clever plan to stop the seagulls so Mr. Grinling can finally enjoy his lunch in peace. 

We have been focusing on the 3 vocabulary words below;

Reminders

• Hats are not compulsory for Terms 2 and 3, but students may still wear them if they wish.
• Please clearly label uniform items with your child’s name. The weather is getting colder, so we expect more students to bring jackets and beanies for outdoor play. 
• Please continue to read every night and ensure your child swaps their take home readers on their allocated day. 
• Please check Compass for information on the upcoming Grade 1 Incursion (The Superhero in You).  The Grade 1 Superheroes Incursion took place this week. We will include photos and more details in the next newsletter!

•  Please watch until 3 minutes 8 seconds to view and practice the words we have learned so far. 

Warm regards, and we hope you all have a lovely weekend and enjoy some special time together as a family. 

Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Ms. Santos, Ms. Duncan, Ms. Yianni, Ms. Marsden, Ms. Newman, Ms. T, Ms. Hannah, 

Ms. Stafford, Ms. Chandler, Mrs. Mill, Ms. Fetolofai and Ms. Doris of PLC1 😊