Foundation

WELCOME FOUNDATION STUDENTS

The Preps have had a fabulous first couple of days of school! They are starting to settle into the routine of being at school and have been complimented for their excellent manners, behaviour and skills. We have really focused on how to be a good listener and a good friend whilst sitting on the carpet, as well as learning about our new school values which are Respect, Integrity, Kindness, Excellence and Resilience.

 Quality Beginnings: 

We have been busy learning all about how we do things at school. Each year we start with our Quality Beginnings sessions and one of the first things we have to discuss is how we sit on the floor during learning. Because we are all unique and not everyone feels comfortable sitting the same way, the Preps are able to choose to sit in a Mountain position, a Mermaid position,  or a Criss-cross position which are still safe but comfortable.

The students will be enjoying the experience of working with new teachers in our specialist subjects which have started this week. These include, the Arts, STEM, PE, Auslan and ICT. They have been interacting with their peers, making friends, developing their social and language skills and practising their fine motor skills through fun activities.  The development of these skills allows the students to be able to complete tasks such as writing, drawing, holding small items, buttoning clothing, turning pages, eating and cutting with scissors.

The students participated in some fine motor skill rotations this week. Some of the activities they completed were using scissors to practise cutting, writing their name, making short words, making patterns with beads and filling and sorting matchsticks into groups of colour.  A lot of fun was had!

 Meeting our Year 6 buddies

Each year at Beaufort Primary we give our Foundation students a Year 6 Buddy. This is a special friend who can check on them in the playground, help them learn our school values, foster a sense of belonging and community within our school and generally help with the overall transition to school. In the first session, our Buddies read the Preps a story and then they had some time to get to know each other by playing out in the playground. 

 A couple friendly reminders…

• Preps will have a rest day every Wednesday up until Labour Day (Monday March 9th)
• As you know, a positive home – school partnership is an important factor in your child’s education so if you feel like you need to have a chat to me at anytime, I am always available. You are welcome to see me after school or you can email me at brenda.wereszczuk@education.vic.gov.au or message me directly on Xuno. 
• Our take home readers will begin in Week 5. Information about this will be posted on Xuno closer to the time. I encourage you to read with your child daily and try to make it an enjoyable, positive experience. 
• Fruit break: (fruit or vegetables only): Please send a small, manageable amount of ‘brain food’ that can be eaten in a short period of time (5-10 minutes). The students enjoy this time to have a brain break snack before getting back into learning.

It has been lovely getting to know you all these last couple of days and I am happy to clarify any of the information from above if you have any questions. I can not wait to help and watch these lovely Preps grow throughout this year.