Year 1/2 Level Newsletter
Teacher Email Address Contacts
Upcoming Important Dates
From The Team
Hello Year 1/2 families!
We’ve had a fun and busy few weeks in our classrooms! In Integrated Studies we have been exploring healthy eating, and students loved making their own delicious rainbow salad sandwiches. We celebrated the magic of stories during Book Week, dressing up and sharing our favourite books together. A big highlight was our special basketball incursion with the South-East Melbourne Phoenix, where students learned new skills and had a fantastic time being active. We also enjoyed our Responsible Pet Education Program incursion, where we met Mel and her friendly Cocker Spaniel x Golden Retriever, Henry, who quickly became a favourite with the students.
We would also like to say that a big thank you to all of our families who attended Parent Teacher Interviews. It was wonderful to see so many families and be able to share in the celebrations of learning and progress of their child so far this year. Thank you for your ongoing support. We really appreciate it.
We hope you all have a wonderful fortnight!
- Kate, Jarren and Jordyn
Structured Literacy – Our New Approach
In our last newsletter, we shared that we have 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 (Oral Language, Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension). We mentioned that one key element of our literacy block is Building Fluency.
In our daily Building Fluency sessions, students are practising reading accurately, at a steady rate 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.
We began the term by explicitly focusing on accuracy, making sure students could read the words correctly. Now that this skill is being consolidated, we have progressed to focusing more closely on the other key elements – phrasing, rate and expression.
Phrasing means reading in chunks that make sense, not word by word. For example: “The big brown dog / ran across the road,” instead of “The / big / brown / dog / ran / across / the / road.”
Rate means reading at a pace that’s not too fast or too slow. For example: reading steadily and clearly, not racing through or sounding like a robot.
Expression means using your voice to show feeling or meaning, like a storyteller. For example: saying “Wow!” with excitement, or using a softer voice for a quiet moment in a story.
By practising these skills every day, students are becoming more confident readers who understand and enjoy what they read.
How can you support this at home?
We encourage you to enjoy reading with your child at home and to talk about these fluency skills together. As you read, you might like to model phrasing, rate and expression, or invite your child to practise them while reading aloud to you. Sharing stories in this way not only supports their fluency but also helps foster a love of reading as a family.
Growing Independence – We Need Your Help!
Last fortnight we mentioned that we are so proud of how our students are growing in confidence and capability, and that we are placing a special focus on building independence.
We’ve noticed a few of our superstars still getting a little extra help from parents at drop-off and pick-up 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, or carry their bags out themselves at the end of the day.
Just a gentle reminder that students shouldn’t be inside before the music starts. In the afternoons, it’s really helpful if families can wait outside near the stage in the undercover area rather than in the corridor, as this helps reduce distractions and gives students the chance to pack up independently.
Thank you for your support in helping the children build these important daily habits!
What We Are Learning
Reminders
Independent Superstars: We’re focusing on building independence this term and ask for your support by encouraging students to carry and hang up their own bags.
Excursion Permission Reminder: Please complete the Compass permission for our upcoming Myuna Farm excursion on Monday 15th September. Permission is due by 10th September.
Communication folders: Please remember to bring these to and from school each day.
High Frequency Words & Yellow Reading Log: Continue to help your child to practise their high frequency words and read each night. They are stored in their blue display folder in their communication folder.
Try This...
There are 2 cats and 1 bird in the yard.
Each cat has 4 legs.The bird has 2 legs.
How many legs are there altogether?
🐱 🐱 🐦
4 legs + 4 legs + 2 legs = ❓
Building Fluency
Each day, students enjoy taking part in short sessions to help them become smoother, more confident readers. We have been focusing on accuracy and phrasing, as well as how to give kind and helpful feedback.
Sensational Sandwiches!
As part of our ‘Healthy Me’ Integrated Studies unit, students had lots of fun making their own sandwiches. They were encouraged to choose a colourful mix of veggies along with a tasty source of protein to build a balanced, healthy meal. Many bravely tried some new veggies!
Responsible Pet Ownership Incursion
We were very excited to welcome Mel and her friendly Cocker Spaniel x Golden Retriever, Henry, to our classrooms for the Responsible Pet Education Program Incursion. Students loved meeting Henry, who was gentle and calm, and learning how to stay safe around animals.
The program focused on important messages about dog safety, including:
when dogs should be left alonethings we should not do to dogs
how to tell if a dog is happy, frightened or angry
the safe way to approach and greet a dog
what to do if approached by an unknown or aggressive dog
This was a valuable and practical learning experience for our students, giving them knowledge and strategies they can use in everyday life to help keep themselves and animals safe.
Basketball Clinic
What a fantastic time our Foundation - Year 2 students had when they took part in a free basketball clinic run by South-East Melbourne Phoenix. They enjoyed a fun session with the players and coaches.
Book Week
Book Week at SPS is always a highlight! The students enjoyed reading a variety of the shortlisted 2025 Children's Book Council Award books throughout the week and capped it off with a fun Book Week dress-up parade.
Girl’s Cricket Program
We are offering a FREE Girl’s Cricket Program in Term 4, running after school on a Tuesday night. Use the QR code below to register.
