Scoresby PS Level Newsletters

Year 1/2                                          Level Newsletter

Teacher Email Address Contacts

 

Upcoming Important Dates

 

From The Team

Hello Year 1/2 Families,

 

Welcome to Term 3! We hope you all had a fabulous and relaxing break. Term 3 has kicked off beautifully with a smooth and positive start. 

 

There have already been some exciting highlights this term! We loved welcoming Harold the Giraffe from Life Education to help us learn about ‘Growing Good Friends’. We also reached a big milestone and celebrated our 100 Days of Learning! The day was filled with hands-on activities, smiles and dress-ups that made the day very special.

 

Growing Independence – We Need Your Help!

We are so proud of how our students are growing in confidence and capability. This term, we are placing a special focus on building independence, and we need your help!

 

We’ve noticed a few of our superstars still getting a little extra help from parents at drop-off time, especially with carrying bags or hanging them up. To help foster independence, we’re encouraging all students to carry their own school bags and hang them up by themselves as the music plays.

 

Just a gentle reminder that students shouldn't be inside before the music starts. We appreciate your support in helping them build this daily habit!

 

Home Reading and High Frequency Words

Please continue to support your child by:

  • Ensuring they read each night

  • Recording their reading in their Reading Log

  • Practising their high frequency words regularly

These small daily routines make a big difference in their reading growth!

 

Thank you for your ongoing support. We're looking forward to a wonderful Term 3 together!

 

- Kate, Jarren and Jordyn

 

Structured Literacy – Our New Approach

This term we’ve launched our brand new Structured Literacy Block, designed in line with the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM) 2.0 and based on ‘The Big 6’ of Reading. These six key components are:

  • Oral Language

  • Phonological Awareness

  • Phonics

  • Vocabulary

  • Fluency

  • Comprehension

Our daily literacy block is now made up of four key elements:

Write2Read: Our whole-school systematic synthetic phonics program that builds strong foundations in letter-sound knowledge and spelling patterns.

 

Phonological Awareness: Developing students’ ability to hear, identify and manipulate sounds in spoken words.

 

Reading and Writing: Time dedicated to applying these skills in meaningful literacy tasks.

 

Building Fluency: Each day, students take part in a short Building Fluency session to help them become smoother, more confident readers. Fluent reading means being able to read aloud accurately, at a steady pace, and in a way that sounds natural like talking or storytelling. When children read fluently, they are much more likely to understand what they are reading. We focus on four important parts of fluency: accuracy, phrasing, rate and expression. 

 

One particular area we’ve been focusing on is accuracy. Accuracy means reading the words correctly. For example: Reading the word “elephant” instead of guessing or saying “eleven.” Accurate reading can significantly impact a student’s ability to understand the text.

 

How can you support this at home? Encourage your child to slow down and take their time to look carefully at each word. If they are unsure, support them to sound it out or go back and try again. Praise them for having a go and remind them that it's okay to make mistakes as it's all part of learning!

 

What We Are Learning

 

What We Are Learning In Specialist Classes              In Term 3

Cultural Studies

This term, our Year F- 4 students will be exploring our neighbours in Asia. Throughout the unit, students will develop their geographical knowledge, simple greetings, main landmark features and cultural aspects of each country visited.

 

We will be focusing on the well-known Asian countries of Japan, China and Malaysia.

  • China:  Students will revisit China - the geography and landmarks of this fascinating country, look at population comparisons, and their native wildlife (pandas).

  • Japan: Students will explore Japan’s geography. They will learn about the cultural importance of origami and create their own paper artworks, explore famous landmarks, and try some Japanese foods.

  • Malaysia: Students will explore the varying landscapes of Malaysia,native animals (orangutans), and investigate the many languages spoken in Malaysia

We are looking forward to exploring and gaining greater understanding of our neighbours in the world.

 

Performing Arts

In Performing Arts lessons this term, students will be rehearsing multiple parts on the xylophone (bass and melody), responding to and replicating rhythmic patterns using 4/4 timing, singing and playing the major scale using classroom instruments, and developing their skills within a musical ensemble. They will also be introduced to playing chords on the ukulele.

 

Physical Education

This term in PE, Year 1/2 students will be revising the technique for the Fundamental Motor Skills strike, kick, punt and bounce. They will apply these skills in games and the sports of tennis, soccer, AFL and basketball while working on their strategy and team work skills. 

 

Science

This term in Science we will focus on the area of Physical Science. Students will learn about forces, focusing on pushing and pulling. They will explore objects in their environment and toys that use these forces. Students will also investigate Floating and Sinking by experimenting and designing some boats of their own.

 

Visual Arts

Students in Years 1/2 will explore the art form of printing this term, whilst continuing to develop their fine-motor skills and understanding of colour, line, shape, space and texture. They will experiment with rubbing crayons and plates to create texture for a crocodile art piece, and make prints using fingers, cardboard and foam stampers. Students will also create their own printing plate using foamboard. 

Reminders

  • Late Arrivals: A friendly reminder that learning starts right at 9.00am. We begin our Write2Read sessions as soon as the bell goes, so it's really important for students to be in the classroom and ready to go, on time each morning. Every minute counts!

  • Book Week: Book Week is nearly here! On Thursday 21st August, students are invited to dress up as a character from a book to celebrate the joy of reading in a fun and creative way.

 

Try This...

Lily has 5 apples. She gives 2 apples to her friend Max. Then she picks 3 more apples from the tree. How many apples does Lily have now?

 

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎 ➖ 🍎🍎 ➕ 🍎🍎🍎 =  ❓

 

IMAX and Melbourne Museum Excursion

On Monday 30th June, our curious Year 1/2 explorers set off on an exciting adventure to IMAX and the Melbourne Museum! We kicked off the day with two fascinating educational films that zoomed in on the features, habitats, and life cycles of minibeasts. After the big screen experience, we ventured into the Bugs Alive! exhibit to meet creepy crawlies up close, then took a giant step back in time through the Dinosaur Walk. It was a fun-filled day of learning, discovery, and wide-eyed wonder! 

 

End of Term Party

To celebrate all the hard work and learning in Term 2, our Year 1/2 students enjoyed a well-deserved end-of-term party! The fun kicked off with a treasure hunt, where each clue helped us reflect on our favourite moments and achievements from the term. We then played a colourful twist on a classic game ‘Pin the Treasure on the Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow’, followed by a lively round of Pass the Parcel. It was a fantastic way to wrap up the term and celebrate everything we’ve accomplished together!

 

100 Days of Learning

Hip hip hooray! The Year 1/2 students had a terrific 100 Days of Learning Celebration Day! Students arrived dressed in all sorts of clever and creative costumes, from t-shirts covered in 100 stickers or dots, to some very convincing 100-year-olds! The day was packed with lots of hands-on fun. Students made fruit loop necklaces, practising their skip counting by 10s, created colourful crafts inspired by the number 100, went on a hunt for 100 numbered Mentos and matched this to our 100s chart, and took on fun challenges like stacking towers of 100 plastic cups. A huge thank you to our wonderful families for helping make the day so memorable. We’re 100 days smarter and we’re just getting started!