Foundation: Connect

Foundation

The children have continued to have a wonderful start to Foundation. Their calm and settled entries into the classroom each morning have set a positive tone for the day. It has been lovely to see their growing independence, particularly as they confidently unpack their bags upon arrival. We look forward to all preps walking into the classroom independently in the morning and waving at the door to parents - they are so ready!

In Week 4, students were introduced to the full school yard during break times, which has been very exciting for them. We have role-played different scenarios, such as what to do if they lose their friends in the yard to support them. While exploring the larger space, we will continue to encourage all Prep students to play with other Preps to help strengthen early friendships within their cohort.

Literacy

Students have been busy learning the letters p, i, and n, and exploring the sounds they make. They have enjoyed identifying and practising these new sounds, while also revising previously learnt letters s, a, and t. It has been exciting to see students begin using their learnt sounds to create words, and they are approaching this with great enthusiasm.

Over Weeks 4 and 5, students will be using letter tiles to manipulate sounds and form new words, including nonsense words. A nonsense word is not a real word, but it is a word we can decode by sounding it out (for example, pas). Students have also been making up words that begin with each sound, which is helping to build their early phonics skills and confidence.

After each session, we are seeing students make stronger connections between letters, sounds and words, with growing confidence.

Heart Words: 

Heart Words are common words that cannot be sounded out easily and appear frequently in many texts. We teach students that these are words they need to remember “by heart.” To support this, we practise saying the letter names (not the sounds) and then reading the whole word together. A heart is placed on the “tricky” part of the word to help students notice and remember it.

We will continue to build on our Heart Words throughout the year, supporting students to grow their confidence and independence as readers.

Maths

In Maths, students have been developing their understanding of numbers from zero to ten. We have continued to practise forming numbers correctly while strengthening our subitising skills. Students are learning to match different collections to the correct numeral and are building confidence in recognising quantities in a variety of ways. A wide range of materials such as number lines, teddy trains, dominoes, Unifix cubes, and 5 and 10 frames are being used to support and deepen their understanding of number. We have also begun exploring shapes in the world around us. Students are learning to identify shapes and describe their features, such as the number of sides each shape has.

Our Maths sessions are very hands-on, and it has been wonderful to see students confidently using mathematical manipulatives for their intended purpose. For example, students have mastered how to use a roll mat effectively, which has been a great achievement and supports their developing independence in Maths

Specialist times 0A

• Tuesday – PE and Art (Session 1 and 2)
• Thursday - Library (Session 4) - bring your book back every Thursday in the red bag to borrow a new one
• Friday – Science and LOTE (Session 3 and 4)

Specialist times 0B

• Tuesday – Art and PE (Session 1 and 2)
• Thursday - Library (Session 4) - bring your book back every Thursday in the red bag to borrow a new one
• Friday – LOTE and Science (Session 3 and 4)

0A and 0B specialist

• Gardening/Kitchen classes will commence in Week 6 on Thursday. Parent volunteers are allowed/welcome with a Working with Children’s Card.
• Additional – Dance is continuing on Friday morning for Term 1 only. In Week 6, Dance will take place on Tuesday instead of the Friday.

Foundation Learning Snaps

Kind regards,

Alex Whittle (0A) and Kate Clark (0B)

Foundation Team