Foundation Spotlight

Our Final Term

The final term of 2026 is here, and what an incredible journey it has been for our Foundation students! They have formed wonderful friendships, developed their reading, writing and numeracy skills, and grown into increasingly confident and independent learners. We are so proud of the enthusiasm they bring to their learning each day and the positive attitudes they demonstrate when taking on new challenges.

Literacy 

During literacy, students have been exploring long vowel sounds, how they are represented in words and how they are pronounced. A long vowel sound is when a vowel says its letter name. For example, the long A sound can be heard at the end of ‘play’. 

So far, the Foundations have explored long A (ay and ai), long E (ee and ea) and have started to investigate long I (ie and igh). They are looking forward to exploring long O (oa) and learning all about ‘Robber Y’ (stealing the long E and I sound) in the coming weeks!

During writing, students have been learning that a sentence expresses a complete thought and must include a noun and a verb (a ‘who’ and a ‘do’). For example, ‘Pat ate an apple’. They have also explored the difference between a sentence and a fragment, identifying that fragments are missing important parts needed to make a complete sentence. Students have practised turning fragments into complete sentences and extending their writing by adding extra details to make their sentences more interesting.

The Foundation students have been expanding their sentences to make them more exciting by adding in adjectives, conjunctions such as because, but, so, before and after. 

The Foundation students have continued to explore ways to make their writing more exciting and engaging by using descriptive adjectives. For example, ‘The fluffy dog was playing on a sunny day’. Students have practised identifying and adding adjectives to sentences before applying this learning to their own writing. They have also been developing their editing skills by rereading their work and adding adjectives where appropriate to bring their sentences to life.

I like learning new sounds. ~ Wilbur, FA

I love doing partner reading. ~ Amelia, FC

I liked learning the reading characters. ~ Freya, FB

I loved learning about Materials especially the lucky dip bag where we had to describe what things feel like. ~ Maeve, FB

I like the session that we learnt about boats and I liked getting to make one and show mine. ~ Xyla, FB

Below you will find examples of their amazing writing:

Numeracy

During numeracy this term, students have been exploring sharing and grouping as important building blocks for multiplication and division. They have been learning what it means to share fairly and equally, practising sharing quantities between two and three groups, and investigating what happens when there are leftovers. Students have also enjoyed tackling open-ended challenges with sharing and grouping, which encourages them to think creatively and explore different possibilities.

For example, 'If Katie has 20 lollies and wants to share them equally with the teachers, how many teachers could she share them with?'

I have enjoyed learning about sharing. ~ Zara, FA 

I loved learning about adding. ~ Wilfrid, FC

I liked using the balance scales. ~ Archie, FC

I like learning about weight in maths it was really fun! ~ Augie, FB

See some photos below of their fantastic work:

We have also been exploring mass, where students have been comparing the mass of different classroom objects using hefting, which involves holding two objects and using their hands to determine which is heavier or lighter. They have been making predictions, testing their ideas and using mathematical language to describe and compare the mass of different objects. In the coming weeks, we will be moving on to capacity, where students will investigate how much different containers can hold by filling, pouring and comparing a range of containers.

Exciting Events 

We have already had such a fun and exciting start to the term! The Foundation students have enjoyed two fantastic incursions, including a Maths Show and our Paper and Plastic Possibilities incursion. Students learnt about different materials such as different types of plastics and how they are recycled, investigated if various materials were magnetic or not and if they could float or sink. Students also got to make their very own recycled paper! 

It has been lovely to see their excitement and curiosity throughout these experiences!

My favourite part of the incursion was mixing the toys to see if they sink or float. ~ Sophia, FA 

I loved learning to make paper at the incursion. ~ Sonny, FC

Pictures of the incursion:

We still have lots of fun things to do this term, for example our end of year excursion, our celebration of learning, and of course, preparation for going into Grade 1!

I like assembly because I can be with my friends and listen to Paul. ~ Maeve, FB

I love that there is going to be a new garden outside! ~ Hugo, FB

I liked Performing Arts when we play Night at the Museum. ~ Yvaine, FB

I liked PE because I like to stretch my legs and I love how we learn about Science and French. ~ Seb, FB

I liked learning about body bubbles and loved drawing a picture about it. ~ Lyla, FB

Foundation Teachers (Lucy, Tash & Katie) and Students