Foundation News

Dear Foundation Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to Week 3 of Term 2!

Teachers and students have excitedly begun this term with lots of new and engaging learning experiences. A big thank you to the parents for your continued support in dropping your child off at the door and giving them the space to independently organise themselves for the day. This practice is key to helping your child develop important life skills and fosters their independence.

Learning Focuses

Below is what we have been focusing on with our learning since returning back to school. 

English 

Students have been growing more confident with the routines of our English block. We’ve been revisiting previously learned sounds and practising handwriting with lowercase letters. Recently, we introduced the sounds /ck/, /e/, /u/, and /r/. Using these, students have been forming words such as sock, up, and run. They’ve been working on identifying the individual sounds in words and blending them to read the whole word. In addition, students have been learning to recognise and use the high-frequency words the and is.

Literature 

In Literature, we have been learning about the significance of Anzac Day and how families, friends and communities commemorate important past events. Students have also begun exploring the structure of narratives while extending their vocabulary of the word good. For example, they have been introduced to richer descriptive words such as marvellous, splendid, and excellent. 

Maths 

Over the past few weeks, students have been practising one-to-one correspondence to count objects accurately. In addition, they have been learning how whole numbers can be broken into two parts. More recently, we have started a new unit - Addition. In this unit, students are using hands-on materials to demonstrate their understanding of how two parts can be combined to make a total.

Anzac Day

This year for Anzac day, we thank all the teachers and students who attended our school assembly to commemorate ANZAC veterans who served in times of peace and war. Foundation students took part in a book study of Anzac Ted by Belinda Landsberry, where they explored new vocabulary such as woe, foe, and frighten.

CATS:  As we begin this term, your child has completed a Common Assessment Task(CAT) regarding reading. This task will give you a snapshot of your child’s progress in their reading journey. You will be able to access this, along with other important information, via Compass. A notification will be sent once the CAT is available for you to view. Throughout the term, your child will complete additional CATs across different learning areas, giving you a broader view of their learning.

Reminders

Home Readers: 

Your child's teacher will send home their take-home readers. Each child will receive two books for the week, which you can help them read at home. A diary will also be provided for you to record your child’s daily reading. The reader bag should go home every day and be returned to class each day. The teacher will check the diary daily, and we will celebrate key reading milestones, such as 25 nights of reading, in the classroom. Reading every day will help your child reinforce what they’ve learned in school. Encourage your child to segment and blend the sounds in the words they are decoding (e.g., s/i/t, sit). Don’t forget to record their reading in the diary!

Fruit snack: 

A part of our daily routine involves placing fruit snacks on our tables. These snacks serve as a brain break, providing students with an energy boost to support their learning. We kindly request that fruit snacks be stored in a separate container from their lunch boxes. Lunch boxes are often large and bulky, taking up valuable desk space. Using a smaller container for the fruit snack helps free up space, which in turn contributes to a more focused learning environment. 

Pick up and Drop off: We kindly ask that you allow your child to enter the classroom independently with all their belongings. This helps to build their independence and supports the development of important life skills, such as responsibility. If someone other than you or your child’s listed guardians will be picking up your child, please ensure they are added as an approved emergency contact. Our friendly administration team can assist you with this at the school office. This process helps ensure your child’s safety and supports clear communication between teachers, parents, and carers. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

School Hats 

During Term 2 and 3, it is not a requirement for students to wear hats while playing outside. However, if you would prefer your child to continue wearing their hat, they are welcome to do so.

Permission forms:

A friendly reminder to check with the office whether all necessary school-based forms have been completed. These forms include photo approval, technology agreement, head lice check, and local walking excursion consent. Without parental permission, students will be unable to participate in technology-related activities, and your child’s classroom teacher will require confirmation regarding the permission to take photos of your child. We appreciate your support in ensuring these forms are submitted.

Important dates:

Mad about Science incursion - 12th May

School photo day - 13th May

Scholastic Book Fair commencing 20th May 

Home Learning Ideas

Recently your child's classroom teacher has sent home a login for Little Learners Love Literacy. These logins can be found in your reading diary. Encourage your child to log in and read the vast amount of decodable books available online.  It provides extra reading material each week extra to  your child’s take home readers.  It has some great games and provides your child with comprehension questions.

Some other ideas of things you can work on at home:

• Practise writing words with the letters we have learnt in the classroom. (see above)
• Have your child practise writing their name, lowercase letters and using scissors correctly.
• Ask your child questions about the text they have just read e.g. who is the character? What was the setting?
• Practise counting and writing  numerals to and from 10.

Thank you again for your continued support, if you have any questions, please ask your classroom teacher.

From the Foundation team.