Foundation

Moonlit Sanctuary Excursion 

On Friday, 22 May, the Foundation students went on their first excursion to the Moonlit Sanctuary in Pearcedale. When we arrived, we were greeted by Miss JJ, who was our wildlife educator for the morning. She shared her knowledge of the amazing features and habitats of the creatures living at the sanctuary. The students had the opportunity to get up close and personal with many animals, including Spike the Spiny Skink and a Spiny Leaf Insect, and even to feed and pat the kangaroos and wallabies. The Foundation students were also lucky enough to have a close encounter with two Wedge-tailed Eagles and see them spread their wings. The excursion was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on God's creation and remember how important it is for us to look after these creatures and their habitats. 

Maths

In Maths, our Foundation students have been having lots of fun learning about 2D shapes! We have been identifying shape features, naming them, and making circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares through hands-on activities. Students have used play-dough, string and pipe cleaners to create different shapes and have become “shape detectives” by spotting shapes around our classroom and school. One of our favourite activities was making a rectangle robot using lots of different rectangles. It has been wonderful to see the excitement and creativity students have shown during our shape learning. 

Literacy 

A Surprise for Dingo is the text we have been reading. The students identified the characters, the setting, the animals' feelings, the problem, and the solution from the story. We also discussed the meanings of the words howled, shuffled, and clambered - words that describe how some of the animals move and the sounds they make. Other activities included making connections between the text and our recent excursion.

The students are progressing beautifully through the InitiaLit program. Since returning to school, they have learned the letter names and sounds for f, r, i, and o, and they have been using these sounds to read and write simple words.

Inquiry 

"Can You Guess the Animal?" has been a very popular game in our classroom. One student sits in a chair with an animal on their headband while the others give them clues about the animal's features and habitat, hoping the student can correctly name it.   

 

Over the next few weeks, the Foundation students will be investigating the features and habitats of several Australian animals. This week, they researched the dingo. Through fiction and non-fiction texts and short educational videos, the students recalled facts orally, then wrote them down with a drawing in preparation for writing sentences.   

 

We look forward to seeing our Foundation families at the assembly on Friday afternoon at 2:30. 

Kind  Regards, 

Miss Melanie & Miss Georgia