Foundation Term 2 Newsletter

Teaching Team

FA - Amy Gridley (PLC Leader)

FB - Samantha Waugh (Mon-Wed & Acting Assistant Principal) & Renee King (Thurs-Fri)

FC - Sam Collins

Welcome to Term 2

Welcome back to all our Foundation families and students. The children have made a wonderful start to Term 2, coming in prepared and ready to learn, which has been fantastic to see. They were very excited to see their friends and buddies again, and share their amazing holiday stories. This term will be exciting and full of fun and engaging experiences. We look forward to continuing to work with you closely to support your child’s learning and help them grow in confidence.

 Specialist Timetable

Important Dates

12/05: Special Food day

18/05: Curriculum Day

18/05: Learning Progress Meetings 1:00-3:30

21/05: Learning Progress Meetings 1:30-3:30

20/05: Ambulance Victoria Incursion

20/05: Fire Education Incursion (1 of 2)

27/05: Fire Education Incursion (2 of 2)

05/06: Junior School Cross Country

08/06: King’s Birthday Public Holiday

19/06: Reports Published to families 

26/06: Last Day of Term 2 - Dismissal at 2:30pm

Attendance

Our roles are legal documents, we must be accountable for any absences. Please assist with this by informing the school through Sentral, email or phone call to record the absence. Late students need to be signed in at the office by a parent/caregiver and collect an orange Late Pass to present to their teacher on arrival at their classroom. 

Teaching and Learning

English

This term, Foundation students will continue building their early literacy skills.

In Speaking and Listening, they will be encouraged to confidently share ideas and experiences during class discussions and a show-and-tell session. They will practise taking turns when speaking, listening respectfully to others, and using clear sentences to express themselves. Activities such as storytelling, role-play, and group discussions will help develop their oral language and communication skills.

In Writing, students will practise forming letters correctly and developing their pencil grip to support their handwriting. They will participate in fine motor activities such as cutting, threading, and playdough work to strengthen the hand muscles needed for writing. Using their growing knowledge of sounds, students will write words and simple sentences. In addition, they will learn to spell common high-frequency words.

In Phonics, students will focus on recognising letter sounds, blending them to read simple words, and developing phonemic awareness through activities that help them hear, change, and build sounds in words. They will engage in the PhOrMeS program, which helps them break words down into individual sounds and match them to letters. This program supports students in sounding out and building words more easily. These skills will enhance their ability to read and spell words correctly.

In Reading, Children will listen to, read and talk about a range of texts, including stories, poems and information texts. They will learn to understand what they read and hear by answering simple questions, making predictions, and talking about characters and events. Children will respond to texts by sharing their ideas through discussion, drawing and simple writing. Throughout the term, they will also build their vocabulary by learning and using new words from stories and everyday classroom conversations.

Mathematics

This term, our focus for Mathematics is working with whole numbers and different parts, shapes, counting, and place value.

Students will engage in play-based activities to build confidence and knowledge on the following skills:

• Counting, reading, and writing numbers up to 20.
• Identifying and representing numbers using collections, materials, and number lines.
• Comparing and ordering numbers and collections up to 20.
• Identifying "one more" and "one less" relationships for numbers up to 20.
• Identifying, naming, and drawing shapes.
• Matching and sorting shapes.

Humanities

This term, our class will embark on an exciting exploration of the Earth and the concept of community. Students will begin by learning about the world around them, including the continents and oceans, and gradually move toward understanding the features of the communities they live in. Through engaging lessons, students will discover what makes a community and explore their unique role within it.  Students will learn about country and relationships with First Nations Peoples.  We will end the unit where children will build their special community through design and construction. We look forward to an enriching term full of learning, exploration, and community connection!  

Wellbeing

                                          CEPS VALUES

COURTESY RESPECT CO‑OPERATION RESPONSIBILITY

Each week, students will continue to take part in the ‘Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships’ (RRRR), the Zones of Regulation lessons, and explore our CEPS term value of Respect. These sessions help children build important social skills, develop empathy, identify emotions, and understand the importance of kindness and respectful behaviour. Teachers also reinforce these skills throughout the day during play, group work, and classroom routines.

Students will be selected to receive CEPS Awards and raffle tickets from their classroom teacher for showing positive behaviours that reflect our school values. These awards recognise students who demonstrate personal growth in their social and emotional learning. CEPS Award recipients will be announced at our Friday afternoon assemblies, and parents will be notified via Class Dojo.

Supporting learning from home

Term 2 in Foundation is filled with busy days and lots of learning. It's important to balance their learning with plenty of rest and relaxation at home. Encourage quiet time, a healthy snack, and conversations about their day to help them unwind. 

We encourage you to read to your child daily for at least 10 minutes. Sharing a picture book at a calm, quiet time each day is a wonderful way to bond and help your child develop a love for reading. This regular time together not only supports their literacy skills but also promotes relaxation. 

Your child's maroon reader bag is sent home each day. This contains your child's decodable book. These are changed every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We are also sending home fluency word lists for the children to practise every day to improve their blending fluency. Please make sure that the reader bag comes to and from school each day.

Weekly Routines

Monday - Friday

Before School

At 8:55 am, students will hear the music signalling it's time to line up. We kindly ask that children have their school bags ready and wait at their class' designated dot. A warm and cheerful goodbye helps your child feel confident as they head into class for the day. We understand mornings can be busy, but please do your best to ensure your child arrives on time, as learning begins promptly at 9.00am. Thank you for supporting your child's smooth transition into the school day!

After School

At the end of the day, children will be collected from their coloured dots. Please ensure the classroom teacher has seen you before collecting your child. For children attending after-school care, a Team Kids staff member will meet them at the classroom and escort them to their program. If you’re running late or unable to pick up your child by 3:30 pm, please call the office to let us know. 

Friday Assembly

Students will attend assembly every second Friday at 3:00pm. After assembly, children will return to their classroom for collection to go home.

Food

Please pack a recess snack, fruit break snack and lunch for your child each day. Fruit break must be a piece of fruit, yoghurt or cheese/crackers.  Water bottles are kept in the classroom for easy access and to encourage your child to hydrate regularly. 

Please avoid including products with nuts in lunchboxes in support of those students with allergies.

Communication

You are welcome to contact your classroom teacher via email through Compass. Whilst families are navigating the transition to Compass, we are also still using Dojo for messages between parents and teachers at this stage. This is likely to be phased out at some stage this year. We are also still currently using Dojo to share learning updates from our classrooms.

With that said, you are always more than welcome to pop into the classroom before or after school if you have any queries or concerns. 

Whilst we endeavour to get back to you promptly, please understand that we are often unable to check these messages until after 3:30pm. If you need an important message to be passed on to your child, we ask that you communicate this via the office (e.g. to advise that your child will be collected early or by another family member). The office will then pass the message on to your child's classroom teacher.

Compass: Compass is the formal tool for communication regarding attendance, payments, excursions, camps, permission forms, school reports, etc.

Please use Compass to advise the school in a timely manner of all student absences.

Early Pick Up: If you need to pick up your child early, please collect them from the office area and be sure to sign them out. You will require an Early Leaver's Pass, provided by the office staff, before we are able to dismiss students. 

You can also keep up-to-date by using the school website and weekly newsletters:  http://www.cheltenhameast.vic.edu.au