Foundation News
Reading
In Reading, Foundation students continued to look at text patterns. Text patterns involves noticing words or phrases that are repeated. They looked at text patterns in different books such as ‘This is a Ball’, ‘No Queen Today’ and ‘Where is the Green Sheep’. Students also began learning about making predictions in books. To make a prediction, they understood that they need to think about the title, pictures and what has happened so far in the story. Students also had opportunities to draw and act about what they think will happen next in a story.
“We said yellow duck yellow duck again and again” - Aaliyah FA
“I like to play tag. I like to play soccer” - Rubani FA
“The queen is gardening.” - Hussein FB
“The queen doesn’t want to be a queen.” - Thomas FB
Writing
Over the past two weeks in Writing, students continued building their understanding of nouns and verbs and how they work together to form a sentence. They practised checking whether their sentences were clear and made sense when read aloud, and looked at ways to fix them if they did not sound right. Students also learned how to complete sentences correctly by placing nouns and verbs in the appropriate positions. They carefully checked that their sentences both looked and sounded correct when reading. Furthermore, students continued their practice on the Think, Say, Draw, Write model for different topics such as superheroes,villains, their special place and their fears.
“The noun is the person in the picture” - Jai FA
“Running is the verb” - Akanete FA
“The man is jumping.” - Layla FB
“Bouncing is a verb.” - Taner FB
Maths
In Maths, students have been exploring ordinal numbers by forming class lines and using language such as first, second, and third to describe positions. They practised providing and following instructions during barrier games as they used ordinal language to correctly place cards and objects with their peers. Students also continued to build on their number skills by ordering numbers and identifying quantities using dominoes and tens frames. Students learned that teen numbers are made of “ten and some more” as they learned about place value.
“8 goes here!” - Bailey FA
“The number line goes from zero to ten” - Zayne FA
“I’m first.” - Neo FB
“I had 22 counters.” - Izian FB
Inquiry
This fortnight in Inquiry, the Foundation students have been exploring what makes families special through games like Family Detective and stories such as Who’s In My Family?
Students celebrated their families by creating their own family trees and favourite activities they enjoyed together. The Foundation cohort shared what makes their family important to them and how they show love and care for them. Foundation A also invited the Year 3s to help them in creating their family trees. Some students even worked with their siblings from Year 3s!
“Can I add my cat to my family tree?” - Mia FA
“I’m going to draw my brother in my family” - Willow FA
“I have a sister.” - Dashel FB
“My brother is big.” - Layla FB
Social and Emotional Learning
In Social and Emotional Learning, the Foundation cohort explored what active listening looks, sounds and feels like in the classroom. Students participated in various games such as ‘Sam Says’ and ‘Magpie’ as they practised listening carefully, following instructions and recognising emotions. The Foundation students also discussed the difference between ant and elephant problems to understand when to try solving a problem independently and when to seek adult support. The Foundation students continued to build resilience, using strong words and demonstrated positive listening with their peers.
“This game is like Simon Says!” - Rubani FA
“Elephant problem means we call the teacher” - Willow FA
“If someone is bleeding a lot it is an elephant problem.” - Ashywn FB
“If I lose my pencil, I can just get another one.” - River FB
AUSLAN
This fortnight in Auslan, the Foundation students have been revising familiar signs such as the alphabet, colours and names. Students began exploring everyday signs using hands and facial expressions without voice. The Foundation cohort learned to recognise and sign words such as come, stop, please, thank you, as well as, ‘How are you?’. Students have also been enthusiastic as they learned family signs including mum, dad, sister, brother, and grandparents.
“I like the way we sign blue” - Aaliyah FA
“This is the colour gold” - Alex FA
“Stop is like showing someone to stop.” - Amara FB
“I like pink.” - Sophia FB
Special Event - Special Object
This fortnight, the Foundation students explored how special objects can help tell stories about families and their past. Students discussed how meaningful items can share memories and allow their peers to learn more about them. The Foundation students showed kindness and responsibility as they presented their special object to the class, sharing the significant stories behind them. Students listened thoughtfully and provided positive feedback to their peers!
“I like to cuddle with my special stuffie” - Akanete FA
“It’s special because I like cars” - Jiraiya FA
“My giraffe’s name is Gus.” - Yehya FB
“My car is special because my mum got it for me.” - Izian FB
