Year 1/2

Welcome back!

The 1/2 team would like to welcome back all families and students to 2026. We are already blown away with our amazing students, and looking forward to the year ahead.

Students have learnt lots in the first weeks back, including all about our routines, how we treat friends with kindness and getting organised at school. Students have been so wonderful in 1/2 and have settled in beautifully, with plenty of new friendships being made.

Literacy

Over the past two weeks, our Grade 1/2 students have been focusing on Literacy during our Learning to Learn sessions. We spent time unpacking the different components of our Literacy Block so students understand what each part looks like, sounds like, and why it is important for their learning.

We also discussed the expectations for each section and how to correctly set up and organise our literacy books, helping students take pride in their work and become more independent learners.

To begin our phonics unit our learning focused on the /ae/ sound. Students learned that there are many different ways to spell the same sound, and we explored several common spelling patterns.

/ay/ Using letter tiles, students segmented and built words such as say, play, stay and clay, carefully listening for sounds and blending them together.
/ai/ We then explored another way to spell the /ae/ sound. Students built words like aim, rain, wait and snail, discussing individual sounds and syllables.
/a-e/ (split digraph) Finally, students learned about the split digraph, where the a and e work together even though another letter comes between them. Words such as name, save, shade and snake were built using letter tiles and discussed in detail.

In Writing, we have been learning about time connectives such as First, Then, Next, After and Finally. Students have been using these words to help sequence their ideas and “bump up” their writing. We looked at the text 'The very Hungry Caterpillar' as a mentor text, to look at the importance of chronological order and time connective language.

This has been particularly effective during our Weekend Recounts, where students enjoyed organising events in order and sharing their stories with the class.

We are very proud of the enthusiasm and effort students are showing during Literacy sessions and look forward to continuing to build these important skills together.

Maths

This week in Maths, we have been focusing on Counting and Number. Students have been learning to recognise, represent and order numbers using physical materials (such as counters and ten-frames) as well number lines and Place Value charts.

We have been practising counting forwards and backwards from 0–120, building fluency and confidence with number sequences. Students have also been representing two-digit numbers on ten-frames and writing the matching numeral, helping them develop a strong understanding of tens and ones.

In addition, we have been identifying and naming common 2D shapes, building our mathematical vocabulary and recognising shapes in our everyday environment.

Over the weekend students may like to look for shapes around their home!

It has been wonderful to see students growing in confidence with their counting and number knowledge!

4R'S/ Wellbeing:

Throughout learning to learn, students explored the zones of regulation. We discussed signs in our bodies that show us we may be feeling upset, anxious, angry, happy or excited. Students learnt strategies that they can do to support them in these emotions, and enable them to be 'ready to learn' if they are feeling dysregulated at school.

Students have been learning about mindfulness, and how this supports us after recess and lunch to return to the green zone and be back 'ready to learn'. Students complete mindfulness for 5-10 minutes after recess and lunch, this looks like a quiet activity such as reading or colouring, laying on floor, or completing a puzzle. This ensures students are focused and ready for learning when we begin.

REMINDERS

Thursday 19th February - Meet the Teacher @ 2:15pm- 4:15pm (classrooms) BBQ until 6pm

Friday 27th February - School Assembly @2:50pm

Kind regards, Emma, Danny and Lisa.