Teaching & Learning Page

Literacy - Spelling Spotlight

Each fortnight we’ll be sharing a simple spelling rule or strategy to help families better understand how we teach spelling at Surfside. These tips will support your child’s learning and give you ideas for how to reinforce spelling at home in a fun and meaningful way. Keep an eye out for our Spelling Spotlight in each newsletter!

SILENT E + VOWEL SUFFIX RULE

This week, we’re looking at what happens when a word ends in a single, silent e and you add a vowel suffix (like -ing, -ed, -er, -able, -y).

The rule: The final e gets replaced with the vowel suffix.

• bake → baking
• like → liking
• fine → finer
• rose → rosy (when y is in the final position, it is a vowel)

How you can help at home: When your child is writing, prompt them to stop and check: "Does my word end in a silent e? Am I adding a vowel suffix? If yes—the e gets replaced!"

Numeracy -  Building Fact Fluency in Mathematics at Surfside

At Surfside Primary, we know that strong number sense and fact fluency are the foundation of confident mathematicians. Fact fluency means being able to recall basic number facts—like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division—quickly and accurately. When students can do this with ease, it frees up their working memory to focus on problem-solving and higher-level mathematical thinking, rather than getting stuck on the basics.

Just like learning to read with fluency, developing automaticity with number facts is a vital stepping stone in maths. Regular, short practice makes a big difference—and that’s where Maths Circle’s Numbots and Times Tables Rock Stars come in.

• NumBots (Foundation–Year 2): Focuses on building strong foundations in number sense, addition and subtraction facts through fun, game-based learning.
• Times Tables Rock Stars (Year 3 and up): Helps students master their multiplication and division facts, turning practice into an exciting challenge.

Students at Surfside already have their logins for both programs and can access them from home. Just 5 minutes a day of play can significantly boost their fluency and confidence in maths.

We encourage families to support this daily practice—it’s a small investment of time that leads to big gains in your child’s mathematical growth.