Foundation 

Communicating with the Foundation Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2024, and welcome your input: 

Holly Peters  Holly.Peters@education.vic.gov.au

Lisa Dam  Lisa.Dam@education.vic.gov.au

Amy Ryde Amy.Ryde@education.vic.gov.au

ENGLISH TERM 1

At Upwey South Primary School we follow the InitiaLit Literacy Program which encompasses all of the literacy strands. InitiaLit is an evidence based whole class program which provides students with the essential core knowledge and strong foundations to become successful readers and writers. InitiaLit addresses the five key components of effective reading instruction – phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension strategies as well as spelling and handwriting. For further information regarding this program you can visit the following website:

https://multilit.com/parents/

Throughout our InitiaLit lessons over the past several weeks, students have learned the skills of recognising rhyming words, clapping syllables in words, as well as learning the difference between a word, letter and a sentence. The students have been introduced to several letter characters including the letters m - Maggie Mouse, s - Sammy Seal, t - Tommy Tiger, a - Andy Ant, p - Poppy Princess, i - iggy insect, f - Fifi Flamingo and r - Rosie Rabbit, with more to follow! Each letter sound has an action, ask your child for a demonstration! We have also been learning the link between the sound of the letter and the name of the letter and have been orally segmenting and blending phonemes. We have been completing fun and engaging activities all based around these letter sounds. 

STORYBOOK LESSONS

Through the InitiaLit program we participate in Storybook Lessons which is an interactive method of reading a story. Storybook reading is an essential component of the InitiatLit program and is incorporated into our weekly lessons. The children love these sessions and they assist in the development of their oral language and literacy skills. When we read a story, we stop to ask questions to check the children’s understanding, which include literal questions drawn immediately from the text and also open ended questions which encourage them to reflect on the story. Through these lessons, children are exposed to a variety of language and vocabulary that they would not have necessarily heard before and we explicitly define the meaning of these words over several lessons. 

During the first session of a Storybook lesson, we look at the author, illustrator, title and front cover of the text. We make predictions about what the book may be about and then we read the story, pausing briefly to give definitions of unknown vocabulary. After the text we support the children in summarising the story by asking about what happened in the beginning, middle and end and ask key questions relating to the story. During the second session, we reread the story, asking a variety of literal and inferential questions. This encourages the children to build meaning from the story and to practice articulating ideas. We also revisit the meaning of the new vocabulary learnt in the previous lesson. In the third session we make connections and respond to the text in a fun and engaging way. 

WRITING

In Writing, the students have learned how to write using the correct writing posture and are learning how to correctly form each letter learnt, using the correct starting points and pencil grip. They have been completing their handwriting as each letter is introduced and have been learning the correct formation of each letter. 

The students have also started writing words with the letters they have learnt. They say the word out loud first, then count the sounds on their fingers and write each sound they hear. 

WELCOME TO FOUNDATION PICNIC

Thank you to all the families that came along to our Welcome to Foundation Picnic, it was a such a lovely evening. 

Congratulation to Max Kohl who was the lucky winner of 4 AFL tickets which was kindly donated to us from ThierCare. 

FOUNDATION SPECIALIST TIMETABLE

As Specialists classes have begun we thought it would be useful for you to know which days these occur. When students are participating in Health and Physical Education (HPE) and Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) it would be best if they were wearing sneakers or shoes that they can move around in. Please note that this timetable can change! We will keep you updated if this occurs.

We are looking forward to an exciting first term of learning! If you have any questions please contact us via email or in person. 

holly.peters@education.vic.gov.au

lisa.dam@education.vic.gov.au 

amy.ryde@education.vic.gov.au