Foundation Term 4 Newsletter

Teaching team

FA - Samantha Waugh (Learning Specialist & PLC Leader) & Chelsea Kubic (Thursday)

FB - Amy Gridley (M-W) & Renee King (W-F)

FC - Stephanie Stuart

Welcome to Term 4

The children have made an outstanding start to their final term in Foundation! They recently participated in their first ‘Learn to Swim’ program, and we are incredibly proud of how well they represented our school. Over the past two weeks, they demonstrated impressive levels of respect, courtesy, responsibility, and cooperation.

All the children have returned happy, rested, and eager to learn. It’s wonderful to see the many friendships they’ve developed this year, and how warmly they interact with each other in the playground.

This term, we’re excited about the annual Colour Run and our upcoming excursion to Myuna Farm. We look forward to supporting your child as they continue to grow in confidence, celebrate their successes, and prepare for Year 1!

 Specialist Timetable

Important Dates 

24/10: F-2 assembly

29/10: Myuna Farm Excursion

31/10: Whole school assembly

3/11: Curriculum Day

4/11: Melbourne Cup Day

14/11: F-2 assembly

20/11: Special Food Day

21/11: Colour Run

05/12: F-2 assembly

15/12: Curriculum Day

19/12: Final day 1:30pm dismissal. Whole school assembly 1.00pm 

Parent Helpers

When helping with the children at CEPS, it is required that you wear a Working With Children’s Check (WWCC) displayed on a lanyard at all times. 

If you have not got a WWCC and wish to volunteer, application forms can be found online at: www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au

Remember to sign in each day you volunteer at CEPS via the computer at the office. This is a mandatory requirement. You will also be required to sign out. 

Attendance

Our roles are legal documents, therefore we must be accountable for any absences. Please assist with this by informing the school through Sentral, email or phone call to record the absence. Late students need to be signed in at the office by a parent/caregiver and collect an orange Late Pass to present to their teacher on arrival at their classroom. 

Teaching and Learning 

English

Our Foundation students are continuing to develop their skills as confident readers and writers through an evidence-based, structured approach that supports strong foundational literacy skills.

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

This term, students will continue to:

• Hear, identify, and manipulate sounds in words by adding or taking away letters
• Blend and segment sounds to read and spell unfamiliar words

• Practise reading and spelling high-frequency words 

   

These ongoing activities support automatic word recognition and fluency, helping students become more confident, independent readers.

Comprehension

This term we will be comparing fiction and non-fiction texts. Students will:

• Understand and respond to a narrative picture book
• Build knowledge about a topic by exploring and responding to a non-fiction text
• Perform a retell of a narrative and sequencing events in order
• Explore creative language features that make a story engaging and fun to listen to

• Understand and use interesting and useful words that appear in our featured texts.

   

Through these activities, students will learn to talk about the features of different text types and deepen their understanding of how authors inform, entertain, and engage readers.

Writing

This term, our writing program will focus on expanding sentence and text-level skills. Students will learn to:

• Form sentences using a variety of conjunctions (e.g. and, but, because)
• Write information reports, descriptive texts, and narratives
• Write statement, question, and exclamation sentences
• Use capital letters for proper nouns
• Expand sentences by adding who/what, when, and where details

Students will continue to plan, draft, and share their writing, developing confidence and independence as young authors.

Oral Language and Vocabulary

Oral language remains an essential part of our literacy learning. Through structured conversations, storytelling, and vocabulary games, students continue to build the language they need for both reading and writing.

 Show and Tell sessions will continue to provide opportunities for students to:

• Practise speaking in full sentences
• Share ideas clearly and confidently
• Respond to questions from their peers

These sessions help strengthen listening skills, confidence, and vocabulary in a fun and supportive environment.

Mathematics

Our Term 4 maths lessons will focus on deepening students’ understanding of key number and measurement concepts through engaging learning experiences. Lessons are designed to build confidence and fluency, with a balance of teacher-led instruction, guided practice, and independent application. Students will be encouraged to explain their thinking, use mathematical language, and make connections between concepts to strengthen their problem-solving skills.

This term, we will focus on:

• Consolidating addition and subtraction skills
• Improving number fluency and speed by subitising and using known facts to add and subtract quickly
• Measuring and comparing length, height, mass, volume and capacity
• Learning and using vocabulary related to measurement
• Sharing and grouping collections to build early division understanding

Humanities

This term in Humanities, students will be exploring the big question: “How can living things be used to meet our needs?”

Students will investigate how plants and animals provide us with food, clothing, and shelter. They will explore a range of foods that come from both plants and animals, as well as foods from different cultures. Throughout the unit, students will also explore and investigate materials made from natural fibres, recognising how different fibres are suited to particular purposes. 

To support our learning, we will be going on an excursion to Myuna Farm on October 29, where students will experience firsthand how plants and animals can be used to meet human needs. We are looking forward to a hands-on and engaging term full of exploration, discovery, and real-world learning! 

Wellbeing 

CEPS VALUES

COURTESY    RESPECT    CO-OPERATION    RESPONSIBILITY 

Our Term 4 School Value: Responsibility

This term, our Foundation students continue their journey with the Zones of Regulation! 

The four zones: blue, green, yellow, and red will help children recognise and manage their emotions. Through engaging activities, stories, and discussions, we will continue building essential social skills such as listening, sharing, and showing kindness.

Foundation students will attend an Assembly fortnightly on Friday afternoon in the hall. During these assemblies, we’ll celebrate students who demonstrate personal growth aligned with our Term 4 school value: Responsibility. Families will be notified via Class Dojo if their child is receiving an award.

Students may also earn CEPS raffle tickets for displaying positive behaviours that reflect our school values. Raffle winners will be drawn and announced during the fortnightly assemblies.

Supporting learning from home  

As the school year draws to a close, Term 4 is a time for Foundation students to consolidate all they have learned and feel proud of their growth. At home, you can support this by keeping routines calm and consistent, allowing plenty of time for rest after busy school days. Encourage simple conversations about what they enjoyed at school and celebrate their successes, big or small.

Reading together each day continues to be one of the best ways to support your child’s learning. Sharing a story for 10 minutes daily, whether it’s a favourite picture book or their take-home reader, helps strengthen vocabulary, comprehension, and confidence. Try talking about the characters, setting, or what might happen next to build understanding.

Your child’s maroon reader bag and literacy journal will continue to come home each day. Inside, you’ll find updated High-Frequency Words (HFWs) to practise. Revisiting these words regularly helps your child recognise them quickly in their reading and writing.

Thank you for all your support throughout the year. Your encouragement at home plays a big part in helping your child finish Foundation feeling confident and ready for their next learning adventure!

Weekly Routines

Monday - Friday

Before School

At 8:55 am, students will hear the music signalling it's time to line up. We kindly ask that children have their school bags ready and wait at their class' designated dot. A warm and cheerful goodbye helps your child feel confident as they head into class for the day. We understand mornings can be busy, but please do your best to ensure your child arrives on time, as learning begins promptly at 9.00am. If late, please collect a late pass from the office and sign your child in. Thank you for supporting your child's smooth transition into the school day! 

After School

At the end of the day:

3:25-3.30pm – Children will be walked out to the line-up dots and sit on a dot

3:30 pm – Children will be dismissed directly to you by their teacher.

To ensure this process runs smoothly:

·                     Please wait near the stage until all children are seated on their dots.

·                     Make contact with the teacher before leaving with your child.

Food

Please pack a recess snack, fruit break snack and lunch for your child each day. Fruit break must be a piece of fruit, vegetable, yoghurt or cheese/crackers.  Water bottles are kept in the classroom for easy access and to encourage your child to hydrate regularly. 

Please avoid including products with nuts in lunchboxes in support of those students with allergies.

Communication

If you have any queries along the way, please feel free to contact us using our emails listed below or you can send a Class Dojo. If any more urgent concerns arise, please organise a time to meet with your child’s teacher.

PLC Leader: Samantha Waugh (samantha.waugh@education.vic.gov.au) 

Chelsea Kubic (chelsea.kubic@education.vic.gov.au)

Amy Gridley (amy.gridley@education.vic.gov.au)

Renee King (renee.king@education.vic.gov.au)

Stephanie Stuart (stephanie.stuart@education.vic.gov.au)

We use Sentral to communicate School and Foundation Information and Class Dojo to celebrate the children’s daily learning. We hope you have been enjoying the Dojo posts and photos from your teacher!