Classroom News Foundation

Welcome back to Term 2, all our students have all settled  quickly back into school routines .  It is wonderful to see our students, walking in independently  each morning, changing their reader and getting ready for  the day ahead.  They are now confidently playing in the junior area of the school with the Year 1 and 2 students. Foundation playground is still open during recess and lunch for those students that require a smaller space. 

Our before school developmental play has  been replaced with phonemic awareness. 

We have a very busy and fun packed term ahead filled with fantastic learning experiences. 

 Swimming

Next week, we begin our swimming program, please let us know if you have any concerns regarding your child. We welcome families to come along to the pool and watch their child, however there will be no  parent helpers in change rooms except in particular circumstances that have been discussed with classroom teachers beforehand. Please use this week  to practise and encourage your child to  get dressed and dry  themselves independently.

Students will need to be wearing their  bathers when they arrive at school in the morning. 

 Literacy

In Literacy, we continue to develop our understanding and use of initial sounds through texts, songs, writing and kinesthetic activities.  Students are beginning to explore CVC words and spelling rules such as ‘adding the bossy e’ to change the vowel sound. We have started Guided Reading during our Reader’s Workshop session, allowing further reading practice and targeted teaching. Our Mentor Texts this term support our Integrated Topic of Living and Non-Living Things. 

In Writing, students will be developing their ideas when brainstorming by using Level 1 and Level 2 Thinking. We will be building our writing stamina and adding detail to make our sentences more interesting. Students will have opportunities to write about rich Language Experiences such as chicken hatching. 

The Foundation teachers are extremely proud of the wonderful progress made so far this year! 

Maths

In Mathematics, our focus will be Number and Measurement. We continue with our focus on counting accurately and efficiently, as well as understanding the place value of numbers. In Fluency we will be looking at “teen numbers' ' and use hands-on materials to understand the place value of these numbers in regards to “ten and ones”.

In measurement we will be using informal  units to measure Length, Mass and Capacity.

At home, please continue to support your child in mathematics by using a pack of playing cards or dice to continue counting from one or two digit numbers,  adding numbers together and putting numbers in order.  There are always real life opportunities  to explore numbers in the real world such as signs, shopping, even working out cutlery and plates needed to set the table at home.

Integrated Studies

This term we are so excited to learn about Living and Non- Living things in our environment. We will be  looking at the needs of living things and understand what it is that they require to survive.

We are so lucky to have a Chick Hatching Program arriving at the end of week 3.  Students will observe and record the changes they see throughout the two weeks. It is such a rich learning  experience that we know they will love and provide many opportunities to enhance our Literacy Program.

PMP

Thank you to all the families that have volunteered their time to assist us with this program. We cannot  run this program without you and we appreciate your time as do our students whom it will benefit.  For those families involved the timetable will be sent out by the end of the week.

Reminders:

• Please ensure your child reads every day and returns their reader daily.
• Check when your child is able to borrow from the school library, they will need to return their books to borrow the following library lesson.
• This week we will begin our two focus sounds ‘g ’  and ‘u’, the Soundwaves homework will be emailed through Compass on Friday. Please complete this over the course of the week with your child. This book may be kept at home.
• If your child is unwell please keep them home. We do understand that no one likes to miss school, however if they are unwell the best place for them to recover from illness is at home. 

Thank you

Vicky, Louise and Kirsten