Level 1: Connect

Dear Level 1 Parents and Families

Welcome to our second newsletter for the term. 

Thanks to families for your support with your child's homework. It is lovely to see what the students have been involved with at home and we appreciate the time and effort you all place into the activities. Keep up the wonderful effort everyone.

Please keep reading to discover all the amazing activities we are doing (and will be doing in the coming weeks) in the Level 1 classrooms....

Term 2 Reminders:

Literacy:

As promised, we are including some samples of student writing in this week's newsletter.

Students created some amazing picture story books last week and we were so excited to see the use of accurate punctuation, descriptive vocabulary and interesting story lines and character development in some of the stories. See below for some snippets. Enjoy...

One night Grace, Abi, Aggie, Katherine, Barbara and Ilaria went to a night party but then...Aggie hurt her leg and arm. She went to hospital and when she came back she had crutches and a big bandage. She could not do much but they went out to dinner. Aggie had dumplings but it was hard to eat as she had a broken arm. Grace had dumplings too... 

Written by Ilaria

One day a unicorn flew above the sky very calmly. Then the bad guys came to the castle when the unicorn was flying.The guns went Boom! Boom! The bad guys fooled the unicorn as they tried to hide. The unicorn tried to protect herself with her shield...Written by Barbara

One cold night, three little friends went to a haunted mansion. Their names were Oli, James and Viggo. They went in! The lights were flashing and there ws a floating tomato that went into Oli's face. They went into the graveyard... Written by James

Next week we are beginning yet another wonderful new book called 'The Truck Cat'. The study of this book will provide the opportunity for students to learn more about how authors use repetition to assist with understanding, making predictions, character connections and the important use of images in picture story books. We will be involved in the reading of this book via the National Simultaneous Story Time next Wednesday. Very exciting!

About National Simultaneous Storytime 2025

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA).

Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, family day cares, childcare centres, bookshops, family homes and many other places around the country.

Now in its 25th successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes.

Heart words: Last week, we checked in on how well students know their Heart Words—these are tricky words that don’t always follow the usual sound rules and have parts that we need to learn by heart.

Everyone put in a great effort! We noticed a few words from our lists that need a bit more practice, so over the next couple of weeks we’ll be revisiting them and working on using them correctly in sentences.

This fortnight we will focus on: could, should, would, want, what, where.

Phonemes: We will be focusing on the digraph /er/ as in fern, usually found in the middle of a word. 

Morphology: We will be learning how adding -er to the end of a word can change it to mean a person or thing that does something. For example:

• A teacher is someone who teaches.
• A baker is someone who bakes.
• A runner is someone who runs.

The suffix -er can also be added to describing words (adjectives and adverbs) to compare things. It means “more” or “greater.”

For example:

• Faster means more fast.
• Hotter means more hot.
• Drier means more dry.
• Earlier means more early.

Maths:

Our young mathematicians have been busy learning all about directions and navigation! Using fun activities, games, and maps, students practised using words like left, right, forward, and backward to give and follow directions. These skills help build spatial awareness and are a great foundation for both maths and everyday life. Keep the learning going at home by asking your child to guide you around the house using their new directional language!

Students have also been learning all about fair sharing and equal groups. Through hands-on activities with counters, blocks, and everyday objects, they explored how to divide items so that everyone gets the same amount. This important concept lays the groundwork for understanding division and fractions later on. You can support this learning at home by involving your child in sharing snacks or toys equally among family members.

Inquiry:

Inquiry Focus: Family Life Over Time

Over the next two weeks, students will be exploring the topic of families and how they change and stay the same over time. They will reflect on familiar traditions such as birthdays and cultural celebrations like Christmas, Ramadan or Diwali, and how these have been passed down or adapted across generations.

As part of our discussions, students will also explore their own family structures by sharing the names of their grandparents, parents, and siblings. We’ll be looking at how names can reflect different time periods—some becoming popular in certain eras, while others remain timeless. This inquiry helps students understand both the uniqueness and shared experiences of family life, encouraging them to make connections between the past and the present.

LUNCH CLUBS AND PLAY

Please see this new exciting section of our newsletter, from Ms Van Etten and Mr Daley.

Level 1 Term 2 Specialist Timetable 

Wishing you all a fabulous fortnight.

All the best,

Suzanne, Robyn, Leon and Kylie

Level 1 Teachers