Learning and Teaching News

Nurturing a Love of Reading: The Importance of Home Reading

As Dr. Seuss famously said, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Reading is an essential skill that opens doors to a world of knowledge, imagination, and endless possibilities. While school plays a crucial role in fostering literacy, home reading is equally important in cultivating a lifelong love of reading in our children.

The Power of Home Reading

Home reading provides an opportunity for children to practice and reinforce the reading strategies they learn in school. It allows them to explore a wider range of books and genres, expanding their vocabulary and exposure to different writing styles. 

Home reading creates a positive and enjoyable environment for children to engage with the written word, fostering a love of reading that will enrich their lives for years to come.

Three Types of Reading for Successful Readers

Effective home reading involves a combination of three distinct approaches:

1. Read to: This is where you, as a parent or caregiver, read aloud to your child. Reading aloud exposes children to complex vocabulary, sentence structures, and literary concepts that they may not yet encounter in their own reading.
2. Read with: This involves reading alongside your child, taking turns reading passages or sentences. This collaborative approach builds confidence in children as they see themselves actively participating in the reading process.
3. Read by: This is when children read independently. As children's reading skills develop, encourage them to choose books that match their interests and reading level. Provide support and guidance as needed, but allow them the autonomy to explore the world of books at their own pace.

Tips for Successful Home Reading

1. Create a Reading Nook: Designate a cozy and inviting space in your home where children can curl up with a good book.
2. Set a Daily Reading Routine: Incorporate a regular reading time into your daily routine, even if it's just for 15-20 minutes.
3. Visit the Library: Make regular trips to the library to expose children to a vast selection of books and genres.
4. Discuss Books: Engage in conversations about the books your children read, asking open-ended questions to spark their imagination and understanding.
5. Model Reading Behavior: Let your children see you enjoying reading, demonstrating the value and pleasure that reading brings to your life.
6. Make Reading Fun: Choose books that spark your child's interests and make reading an enjoyable experience, not a chore.
7. Praise Efforts: Acknowledge and praise your child's reading efforts, no matter how small, to boost their confidence and motivation.

Remember, reading is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the process of sharing the joy of reading with your child and watch their love for books grow. Together, you can open doors to a world of knowledge, imagination, and endless possibilities.

Happy Reading!

Welcome to Preps 2024

This week we welcomed our 2024 Prep students for a transition to school morning.  There were many excited faces and lots of experiences to share.

Transition to school allows potential school beginners to have an experience of being in the classroom with their 2024 classmates. It provides an understanding of school life, their classroom and future teachers. Students engaged in a variety of fun learning activities giving them a sense of what learning and being at school looks like, sounds like and feels like. They participated confidently; listening, drawing and dancing and we look forward to them returning next week for a second session.

Student Reports

End of year reports will be emailed to families by 5pm on Friday December 8th 2023. Reports provide formal feedback on your child’s learning for Semester 2. 

At St Martin de Porres we strive to make our reports personalised in order to inform families about their child as a learner and as a class member. 

Student reports are designed to explain a child’s progress and expected level of achievement for the end of year and to give feedback about their strengths and challenges. 

An important part of assessment and reporting is the opportunity for families to praise, encourage and support their child in their learning. 

Please find time to sit, read and discuss your child’s achievements and challenges with them.

Reports should be read in conjunction with your child’s online learning journal -  Seesaw.

This provides families with evidence of a child’s learning based on curriculum expectations which are often expressed through learning intentions and success criteria.

The Report indicates the standards achieved in various curriculum areas. It also indicates a child's previous achievement in each area since last assessed.  Achievement for the standards in English, Mathematics, Personal and Interpersonal Learning are shown every six months and the standards for the remaining curriculum areas are shown either six or twelve months depending on when they are covered in our two year Inquiry Conceptual Framework.

You should contact your child’s classroom teacher at any time for any clarification about your child's progress but teachers have set aside Thursday December 13th from 3:30pm - 5pm to facilitate any parent requests for a learning conversation after reading your child's end of year report.

If you require an appointment, please contact your child's teacher directly via email or Seesaw prior to December 13th to make an appointment time or a mutually convenient alternative time.

Teachers may also be in contact with you to organise a learning conversation before the year ends.

Class Placement for 2024

We have a very structured process for assigning students to classes for the following year. It involves every student being considered and their social, learning and emotional needs being deliberately and carefully evaluated to ensure we have learning communities that are cohesive and balanced.

If you have anything that we need to know when placing your child in a class group for 2024, please contact Dan directly via email principal@smdplaverton.catholic.edu.au by Wednesday November 22nd @ 5pm.

Denise Kelly

Co-Deputy Principal | Learning & Teaching Leader

Elise Coghlan

Co-Deputy Principal | Literacy & Numeracy Leader | Visible Learning Leader