Teaching & Learning Update 

Celebrating Learning Together with Seesaw 

At WPS, we love seeing the wonderful learning happening in classrooms every day and Seesaw helps us share those special moments with families at home. Thank you to all the parents, carers, grandparents and family members who are already connecting with their child’s learning through Seesaw by viewing posts, leaving comments and celebrating achievements together. So far this year, we have had some terrific engagement with our student's learning so far. Included below is a snapshot of our current family engagement data on Seesaw, including parent views and comments. It has been wonderful to see so many families joining in the learning celebrations and supporting their children through positive interactions online.

Research shows that when families engage with their child’s learning, children feel more confident, motivated and successful at school. In fact, students whose families regularly talk about learning at home are more likely to develop stronger language, reading and problem-solving skills. Even a quick conversation about a Seesaw post can make a big difference!

Seesaw is a wonderful way to:

⭐ Celebrate your child’s successes

⭐ Ask questions about what they are learning

⭐ Encourage speaking and listening skills at home

⭐ Build confidence and pride in learning

⭐ Stay connected with classroom experiences

For many of our families with English as an Additional Language (EAL), Seesaw is also a fantastic tool because learning can be discussed in any language at home. Talking together about school learning in English or your home language strongly supports children’s understanding and growth.

Our Amazing Prep Team have created fantastic phonics videos and shared them on Seesaw. These short videos help students practise their sounds and letter patterns at home with their families in a fun and supportive way. Watching and practising together for just a few minutes each day can greatly strengthen early reading development and help children become more confident learners.

Keep an eye out in our next newsletter for more helpful information and tips about using Seesaw to support learning at home.

Thank you for partnering with us in celebrating every child’s learning journey. Your encouragement, comments and involvement truly make a difference! If you have any questions about accessing your child's Seesaw account, please speak to your child's teacher.

Reading at Home With Your Kids.

Supporting reading at home is one of the most powerful ways families can help their child succeed at school. When families use simple strategies before, during and after reading, children develop stronger comprehension, vocabulary, confidence and reading fluency. Even small daily reading routines can make a meaningful difference and help foster a lifelong love of reading.

Reading together at home helps your child become a confident reader and learner. Here are some simple ways you can support reading at home.

Before Reading:

• Look at the cover and pictures together.

• Talk about what the book might be about.

• Discuss any new or tricky words.

During Reading:

• Encourage your child to read slowly and carefully.

• If they get stuck, remind them to: look at the pictures, sound out the word, reread the sentence

• Ask simple questions like: “What is happening?” or “Who is this about?”

After Reading:

• Ask your child to tell you about the story.

• Talk about their favourite part.

• Encourage them to connect the story to their own life.

For your older readers, you can ask the following questions:

• What lesson did the main character learn?
• What was the author’s purpose for writing this book?
• If you could change the ending, how would it end?
• What evidence in the text makes you think that?

If you would like some more information around how you can further support your children in reading, please use the link below:

https://www.readingrockets.org/literacy-home/reading-your-child#parent-tips-on-reading-aloud 

Reminder: Don't forget to access Reading Eggs at home! You can access lessons, books and more.

Prep Celebrations

Last term, our wonderful Prep Team created some phonics videos to support families with reading at home alongside their children. We encourage you to take a few moments to watch these helpful videos and explore some simple ways to support your child’s reading journey at home. Click on the videos to download.

Supporting Numeracy Learning at Home

Families play an important role in helping children build confidence and fluency in mathematics.

The Victorian Department of Education highlights that numeracy learning can happen anywhere; at home, at the supermarket, in the car, while cooking, or during games and everyday conversations. (Victorian Government)

Here are some simple and effective ways families can support numeracy learning at home:

• Practise times tables regularly - Encourage your child to spend a few minutes each week on Times Tables Rock Stars to strengthen multiplication fluency in a fun and motivating way.
• Use maths in everyday life - Include children in cooking, shopping, measuring ingredients, reading timetables, budgeting, or calculating change. Everyday maths helps children see the importance of numeracy skills.
• Talk about numbers together - Count objects around the home, compare quantities, notice patterns, estimate amounts, or discuss how you solved a maths problem.
• Play games involving maths - Board games, card games, dice games, puzzles, and strategy games all support number knowledge, problem-solving, and mathematical thinking.
• Encourage quick recall of number facts - Short and regular practice with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts can build confidence and automatic recall. Encourage your child to spend some time on MathSeeds (ages 3-9).

• Build a positive mindset towards maths - Celebrate effort and persistence. Encouraging children to “have a go” and learn from mistakes helps develop resilient learners.

   

The Victorian Department of Education also provides free family resources, activities, videos, and practical numeracy ideas for home learning, including activities for Foundation–Year 6 students. Families can explore these resources here:

Victorian Department of Education – Mathematics and Numeracy at Home

Thank you for your continued support in helping students develop strong numeracy skills and confidence in mathematics.