Classroom Update Grade 1

Grade One Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium Excursion

Grade One recently enjoyed their excursion to the Sea Life Aquarium. The students participated in a guided tour, where they learned about various Australian marine habitats. 

We would like to thank the parent volunteers and staff for making this excursion a huge success, and of course our wonderful Grade One students for their enthusiasm and excellent behaviour in representing SMPPS so beautifully.

These were their highlights:

Sebastian: I liked seeing the octopus when it was on the wall.

Charlotte: I liked seeing the penguins diving in the water and waddling around the snow.

Selina: I liked seeing the jellyfish because they were bright and it was dark.

Victor: I liked seeing the giant stingray that was bigger than my mum.

Anastasiia: I liked seeing the penguins when they were on the snow.

Mason: I laughed when we saw the penguins poop in the water.

Nikola: I liked seeing the fat fish.

Max: My favourite sea creature was when we saw the big ray with the long nose.

Hazaiah: My favourite part was when we got to see the people clean the penguin’s tanks. 

Remi: I liked seeing the sea starfish and seeing the sharks asleep.

Evie: I liked seeing all the different kinds of fish.

William: I liked hearing about the turtle who could breathe through his butt. 

Zamira: Seeing the penguins and the colourful fish 

Teddy: I liked seeing the penguins waddle around. 

Felix: I liked seeing all the sea animals pass by. 

Zachary: I liked going through the tunnel. 

Aston: I liked seeing the sword sharks. 

Natasha: I liked seeing the penguins. 

What a fantastic start we have had to the year! Our students have settled in beautifully as we established classroom expectations, participated in our Welcome to Country, and built strong connections through pair/share and reading fluency partnerships.

A highlight of our Reading program this term has been the enthusiasm students bring to reading with their fluency partners. It is a joy to see their confidence grow as they practise, with the classroom filled with engaged voices and happy faces. Students are becoming increasingly independent and confident in following the routines and expectations of fluency reading.

We are also very fortunate to have a shared Grade 1 library space where students can select their take-home reading books. This space was made possible thanks to the support of our wonderful parent volunteers, who generously gave their time to sort and organise the books. Our students also contributed by creating the category labels, making this a meaningful and collaborative community project.

We are now inviting parent volunteers to support students in our shared library space by listening to them read, helping to further develop their fluency and confidence. If you are available, we would greatly appreciate your support between 10:00–10:45am, any day of the week.

To volunteer, you will need:

● A valid Working With Children Check (WWCC)

● Completion of the Parent Helper Induction

This can be completed by visiting: https://compasscheck.education  (it is best to do this from a desktop if you have access to one)

Create a login, upload your WWCC, search for our school, and complete the induction process.

If you are interested, please contact your child’s teacher via email.

Thank you for your ongoing support—we look forward to working together throughout the year.

Warm regards, 

The Grade 1 Team