Classroom News

Foundation Newsletter - Termly Overview

Dear Parents/ Caregivers,

Welcome back to another exciting term in Foundation! We have had a fantastic start to Term 3, with students returning enthusiastic, settled and ready to learn. It is already shaping up to be another busy and engaging term filled with new learning, special events and hands-on experiences. We look forward to continuing to watch each child grow in confidence, independence and curiosity as we learn together throughout the term. 

Literacy 

During Term 3, students will continue to develop their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills through the Core Knowledge curriculum, Sounds-Write, explicit writing instruction and daily oral language activities. Students will explore the Weather domain through engaging reading lessons, learning about the seasons, weather patterns, safety in storms and meteorology, while building rich vocabulary and background knowledge. 

Writing lessons will follow a structured writing cycle, beginning with sentence starters, oral language activities, modelled writing and dictation before moving into pre-writing tasks and engaging hooks designed to spark curiosity. Students will analyse mentor texts, build vocabulary, create story maps and use actions to support oral retelling. They will explicitly learn the features of quality writing, including text structure, titles, subheadings, adjectives and complete sentences, before planning, drafting, revising and publishing their own writing innovations. Throughout the term, regular modelled writing and dictation will strengthen students' handwriting, spelling, punctuation, sentence construction and confidence as independent writers.

Students will continue to participate in daily Sounds-Write lessons, focusing on Units 10 and 11. They will consolidate their understanding of increasingly complex word structures, including CCVCC and CCCVC words, while learning new spellings represented by two letters (such as ch, sh, th, wh, ng and qu). Daily lessons will include symbol searches, word building, sound swaps using real and nonsense words, reading and spelling practice, high-frequency word instruction and weekly dictation. Throughout the term, students will build automaticity in decoding and encoding words, strengthen their phonemic awareness, expand their knowledge of common spelling patterns and develop fluency when reading and writing increasingly complex words. Regular review and assessment opportunities will ensure students continue to consolidate previously taught phonics knowledge while confidently applying new learning to both reading and writing.

Numeracy

Throughout Term 3, students will continue to build strong mathematical understanding through the Prime Mathematics program, daily Facts on Fire fluency practice and hands-on learning experiences. Students will develop confidence in mathematical language, reasoning and problem-solving while applying their learning in real-life contexts.

Students will begin the term by exploring measurement, learning to describe, compare and order the mass, capacity and volume of objects using everyday language such as heavier, lighter, full, empty, half-full, holds more and holds less. They will investigate these concepts through practical activities and problem-solving tasks.

Students will then investigate patterns, identifying, creating, extending and describing repeating patterns using sounds, actions, objects and shapes. They will explore how the same pattern can be represented in different ways while developing their ability to recognise and explain pattern rules.

As the term progresses, students will strengthen their understanding of number composition by exploring ways to break apart and make the numbers 6 to 10. Through number bonds and part-part-whole models, students will develop flexibility with numbers and build the foundations for efficient mental computation.

Building on this understanding, students will apply their knowledge to addition and subtraction within 10. They will solve a variety of addition and subtraction story problems using part-part-whole, add-to, take-apart and take-away situations. Students will represent their thinking using pictures, manipulatives, ten frames, number bonds and mathematical equations, before progressing to solving more complex word problems and explaining their mathematical reasoning.

Facts on Fire

This term, students will also begin our new daily Facts on Fire program, designed to build fluency and confidence with number facts. Through short, engaging sessions, students will practise subitising, recognising dot patterns, counting, number totals and recalling basic number facts quickly and accurately. Developing this automatic recall allows students to use less mental effort on basic calculations and more on solving mathematical problems. Weekly Maths Games will continue to provide opportunities for students to consolidate new concepts in engaging and collaborative ways while developing mathematical confidence, communication and strategic thinking. The term will conclude with a review of key addition and subtraction concepts, allowing students to consolidate their understanding and demonstrate their learning across the term.

HASS: Science: Weather and Seasons

This term, our Foundation students will become young weather scientists as they investigate how weather and seasons affect the world around us. Students will learn to observe and record daily weather, identify different types of weather, and explore how weather influences the clothes we wear and the activities we enjoy. Throughout the unit, we will investigate the four seasons, looking closely at the changes that occur in plants, animals and the environment during spring, summer, autumn and winter. Students will participate in hands-on investigations, nature walks, weather observations and sorting activities as they develop their scientific inquiry skills by asking questions, making predictions, recording observations and identifying patterns over time. This engaging unit encourages curiosity about the natural world while building students' understanding of how our environment changes throughout the year. 

Hands on Science Weather Incursion

In Week 8, on Wednesday 2nd September, our Prep students will participate in a Hands on Science Weather Incursion, where they will investigate different types of weather through exciting hands-on experiments and interactive activities. The incursion will support our Science and Core Knowledge learning by exploring how weather changes, the tools used to observe and measure weather, and ways to stay safe in different weather conditions. Students will develop their scientific inquiry skills by making observations, asking questions and participating in practical investigations. 

100 Days of Prep 

100 Days of Prep is a special milestone that celebrates our students reaching 100 days of learning, growing and having fun at school! Students are invited to dress up as a 100-year-old person and enjoy a day filled with exciting themed activities, games, creative challenges and a pizza lunch provided by the school. We look forward to celebrating this wonderful achievement together and recognising all the incredible learning that has taken place during the first 100 days of Foundation. 

Warmest regards, 

Tegan Cochrane, Renee Kociski, Ashleigh Smith and Vanessa Stimar

Foundation Teachers

Year 1 Newsletter - Termly Overview

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Welcome to Term 3. We hope you have had a wonderful break and are ready for another exciting term of learning.

Below is an overview of important dates for Term 3. There will be possible updates or new dates added to Compass as the term progresses:

Year 1 Term 3 Timetable 

Please note, Foundation-Grade 2 Assembly will now be every second Wednesday afternoon (Odd Weeks). 

Numeracy

In Numeracy, students will be learning to count, read and write numbers to 40. They will compare and order numbers within 40 using number lines and place value. Students will add and subtract numbers to 40 using real and virtual materials. They will partition collections into equal groups using their knowledge of numbers and skip-counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.

This term, students will use calendars to name the days of the week and months of the year. They will learn to read and write dates and use a calendar to identify a day given its date. Students will also use a calendar to calculate the number of months, weeks or days until an upcoming date or event. When telling time, students will tell and read the time to the hour and half hour.

Students will collect, record and interpret data using tally marks, symbols and checklists. They will learn to create picture graphs from their data and read and interpret them.

Literacy

In Reading, students will continue to develop their knowledge of vocabulary within non-fiction texts about Space.  They will also continue to locate and use information from a range of texts to answer literal, inferential and evaluative questions. Students will  engage in different types of reading aloud to support their decoding, word recognition and fluency. Through repeated individual reading, they will build confidence in reading aloud with increasing accuracy, expression and understanding.

In Writing, students will be focusing on persuading their peers on why they should or should not travel to outer space. They will write persuasive letters that include descriptions of what they will experience and learn in outer space. Students will use adjectives and verbs to provide detail and to develop their ideas. To complete the term, students will write imaginative diary entries about what they might be experiencing during their space journey.

In Spelling, students will continue their spelling instruction using the programs Heggerty and Sounds-Write. They will develop their phonemic awareness by exploring and applying the sounds /u/ /s/ /l/ /or/ /air/ and /ue/ in a range of words. Students will practise segmenting and blending sounds to support accurate spelling, as well as identifying different spellings for the same sound. Through explicit teaching, repetition and guided practice, they will strengthen their ability to use their sound knowledge into their reading and writing.

Wellbeing

This term Year 1 will examine respectful relationships, learning to treat other people as they would like to be treated.  Students will learn the rules of fair play and how to be friendly and inclusive of others in and out of the classroom. This will also include examining gender stereotypes to ensure boys and girls work cooperatively with each other.

Science 

In this unit, students will investigate the Sun, Earth, Moon, and Stars as celestial objects as they study Earth’s place in the universe and weather patterns. Students will learn about how the times of the sunrise and sunset are related to the length of daytime and nighttime, understand the patterns of moon phases, and recognize the patterns of the movement of stars in the night. To assist their exploration, Mad about Science will deliver an inhouse workshop, entitled Earth and the Milky Way.

We understand that everyone has a busy after school schedule with sporting and extra-curricular activities, so we do not aim to set mountains of extra work for the students each night. We will however, have the expectation that students complete small tasks each week to build their time management and organisational skills. 

Homework Tasks:

Homework will be handed out on a Monday and returned on a Friday.

Numeracy task:

Each week, students will complete a maths task that links to the mathematical concepts and skills they have been learning in the previous week.

Numbots: 

Students will do Numbots tasks. Their logins can be found at the front of their Homework Book.

Reading Log: 

Students are to read for 20 minutes per night (including their decodable text provided each Monday). They are then to record their page number and time read into their reading log at the back of their Homework Book, and have this signed by a parent/carer. 

Rewards

Students will be rewarded with a weekly token for completing all their homework and reading log.

Fluency and Sounds Write activity: 

 Students will complete the Seek the sound- Sounds Write activity by:

1. Reading aloud the passage to a parent/carer. 
2. Listening carefully for words with the sound focus and either highlight, circle or underline the word. 
3. Students will fill in template sorting words with the weekly sound into spellings

Library

1C will have library on a Monday, and 1A and 1B will have library on a Thursday. Students will need to bring their library books inside their orange library bags each week on their designated library day.

Year Sport

Students will have their weekly year sport on a Thursday.

Healthy Eating/Allergies

In line with the Toorak Primary School's Healthy Eating Policy, which can be found on the school website, we will be encouraging

students to bring healthy snacks for their recess and lunch breaks. At 10am everyday, students will have the opportunity to have a fruit

snack where they can have a piece of fruit or vegetables. We would greatly appreciate it if you could support us from your end. We

also ask that students do not share their lunches or recess snacks. 

Within our cohort we have students who are anaphylactic to peanuts and sesame products, and therefore Year 1 will be a nut and 

sesame free zone. 

Warmest regards, 

Caroline Morrison, Rosie Robinson and Alison Sparks

Year 1 Teachers

Year 2 Newsletter - Termly Overview

Dear Year 2 Parents and Caregivers,

Below is a snapshot of recent activities, alongside important dates for the next two weeks. 

Important Dates to Remember:

Regards

Year 2 Team

Daniel, Thilini, Zhang and Rebeca

Year 3 Newsletter - Termly Overview

Dear Parents/ Caregivers,

Thank you for your ongoing support throughout Term 2. 

We thought it would be beneficial to outline a few of the important dates and curriculum content for this term. Below is an overview of important dates for Term 3. There will be possible updates or new dates added to Compass as the term progresses:

 Important Dates to Remember:

Year 3 Timetable- Please note, Year 3-6 Assembly will now be every second Wednesday afternoon. 

OUR LEARNING PROGRAMME

Numeracy

In Mathematics this term the students will be building on their understanding of the four operations, extending our skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve a range of problems. We will also be exploring time, using and interpreting maps, and learning about calculating the area of a shape. Students will have a chance to apply these skills in hands-on and practical ways throughout the term.

Literacy

In Writing, students will be focusing on writing narratives with the theme Good vs Evil, inspired by the novel Matilda by Roald Dahl. Students will explore the key elements of a story, including characters, setting, problems and resolutions, and how authors create engaging narratives for readers. They will learn how to plan and structure their own stories using a clear model text to identify effective writing techniques and understand expectations. Students will develop their sentence writing skills by creating simple, compound and complex sentences, expanding their ideas using adjectives and adverbs, and crafting dialogue and vivid sensory language to make their writing more engaging. Students will then innovate on the model text to create their own Good vs Evil narrative, applying the skills and techniques they have learnt throughout the unit. 

In Reading, students will be reading the novel Matilda by Roald Dahl. Students will explore how authors develop characters and convey themes through characterisation, examining how characters are portrayed through their actions, thoughts, feelings, dialogue and interactions with others. Students will explore key themes within the novel, including, resilience, kindness, intelligence and fairness, and how these themes are communicated through the characters and events in the story. Lessons will include exploring new vocabulary, answering literal, inferential and evaluative questions, and developing expert answers using evidence from the text and summarising. 

In Spelling, students will continue learning about the spelling rules that govern the English Language through Orton-Ghillingham sessions. These sessions include learning spelling  rules, word reading and spelling using sound banks, syllabification and dictation. They will also be exploring the morphology of words and will have a weekly focus of morphemes that have a Greek or Latin origin.

HASS: Science

In Science, students will be learning about push and pull forces. We will discuss what these forces are, as well as different places we may witness them in everyday life.We will also be completing a unit on life cycles, where students will plant and document the lifecycle of a seed as it grows into a bean.

Wellbeing

In Wellbeing, students will explore gender norms and stereotypes while developing an understanding that every person is unique and should be valued for their individual strengths, interests, and qualities. They will also build their understanding of positive social values, with a focus on kindness, respect, and working cooperatively with others. Throughout the term, students will develop strategies for resolving friendship disagreements and practising forgiveness.  They will also explore ways to be safe online 

Homework Expectations

We understand that everyone has a busy after school schedule with sporting and extra-curricular activities, so we do not aim to set mountains of extra work for the students each night. We will however, have the expectation that students complete small tasks each week to build their time management and organisational skills. Homework will be handed out on a Friday and returned on a Friday.

Homework:

Mental Maths

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. 

These tasks should be able to be completed independently. If your child is unsure of how to answer a question, please ask them to circle it and move on. 

5 minutes of Times Table Rockstars/ Numbots to build fluency. 

Reading

Nightly reading for 20 minutes. The page numbers and time read needs to be 

 recorded in the back of the student's homework book and signed by a parent/carer.

Laptops will be required everyday. Please assist your child to ensure that their device is coming to school fully charged each day. 

Thank you,

Year  3 Team

Cassie, Harrison and Lauren

Year 4 Newsletter - Termly Overview

Dear Year 4 Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to Term 3! 

It has been a fantastic start to the term, with students returning refreshed, enthusiastic, and ready to learn. It has been wonderful to see everyone settle back into classroom routines so quickly and demonstrate such a positive attitude towards their learning. 

Important Dates to Remember:

Curriculum Overview

Reading

In Reading, students are learning about human rights and different groups of people's rights throughout history. They will be focusing on expanding their ideas by including who, what, where, why and how in their answers. The students will also be reading 'Boy Overboard' by Morris Gleitzman. We have requested that no one reads the book before we study it as we will be predicting, discussing and exploring each chapter in detail throughout our lessons. Through this novel study, students will develop their understanding of global issues, new vocabulary, and will practise justifying their thinking by referring to evidence from the text.

Writing

In Writing, students are learning about persuasive writing and the techniques used to convince a reader. They will learn how to structure an argument clearly and use the Big Ideas to form strong reasoning that supports their point of view. Students will explore how to use formal language, emotive language, modal verbs, and fronted adverbials to influence their audience. They will also learn how to include rhetorical questions, quotation marks to reference others' opinions or facts, and appositives to add extra information and detail. This unit will equip students with a toolkit of persuasive strategies to express their opinions confidently and thoughtfully in writing.

Mathematics 

In Mathematics, students will be learning about a range of number and measurement concepts. In Number, they are developing strategies to solve multiplication and division problems involving whole numbers, using fact families and efficient methods. In Fractions, students will be learning to recognise, represent and compare fractions, developing their understanding of part-whole relationships. In Space, they will be identifying and describing 2D shapes and 3D objects based on their properties, such as edges, faces and vertices. In Measurement, students will be exploring length, mass, volume, capacity and temperature. They will be learning how to estimate, compare and measure using appropriate units and tools, and apply this knowledge to real-life contexts.

Science (Chemical Science) 

In Science, students are learning about Chemical Sciences. They will investigate what chemicals are, including basic information about elements, and will explore the difference between physical and chemical changes through theory lessons and hands-on experiments. Students will examine the states of matter (solids, liquids and gases), how materials change state, and why certain materials (both natural and processed) are chosen for specific uses based on their properties. They will also learn to identify reversible and irreversible changes using everyday examples. The unit will include a focus on recycling, exploring how we can reduce landfill and how changes in state supports the recycling of materials like glass and plastic. 

Wellbeing

In Wellbeing, students will be exploring the concept of positive gender relations through the resource 'Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships'. They will learn to identify the different types of violence, and discuss different strategies they can use to deal with or help someone deal with these situations. Students will learn to identify a range of help seeking strategies to help negotiate positive outcomes to problems. Students will also look at building relationships and understanding social values through the program ‘Bounce Back’. This unit explores the importance of values in social settings, including kindness, cooperation, friendliness. Students will continue to identify and learn how to show expected behaviours through our School Wide Positive Behaviour Matrix. 

Other Reminders: 

Homework 

Each week students will required to do: 

Maths: 4 tasks to practice a variety of concepts and to increase number fluency 

Reading Nightly: In order to develop vocabulary, comprehension skills and reading fluency, our other component of homework is reading for 20 minutes everyday. Students should complete a reading log in their homework book with their book name and either time or amount of pages read. 

Homework tasks and books will be released  on a Monday and they will be due back on a Friday. It is not expected that students  are completing homework on weekends. 

Devices

We encourage students to bring their devices everyday and would appreciate your assistance in getting students in the habit of charging their laptops every night so that they can be used for tasks during the day. 

Phones and smart watches will be required to be handed in to classroom teachers at the beginning of each day. If you need to pass a message onto your child, please phone the office or email your child’s classroom teacher.

Kind Regards,

Year 4 Team

Sam Pallas, Jessica De Angelis, Katie Smith and Tim Maclachlan

Year 5 Newsletter - Termly Overview

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome Back to Term 3!

We're thrilled to have all our students back as we kick off Term 3! It’s been a joy to see their happy faces and hear all about their holiday experiences. This term is shaping up to be another exciting one, filled with hands-on learning, creative projects, and opportunities to grow. Building on the strong start we made earlier in the year, we'll continue to deepen knowledge and spark curiosity in the classroom. Thank you for your continued support—we’re looking forward to another amazing term together!

Below is an overview of important dates over the coming week:

Important Days to Remember:

Our Learning Programme

Reading

This term in Reading, students will be exploring the historical period known as the Age of Exploration, with a particular focus on how this era contributed to the development of a globalised world. The unit began with an introduction to the Spice Trade and an investigation into the motivations behind European exploration. In the coming weeks, students will delve into the Portuguese voyages of discovery and examine the significant impact of Christopher Columbus' travels on the course of global exploration. Through a range of texts, students will build historical understanding while developing key comprehension skills.

Writing

This term in Writing, students will be focusing on narrative writing, with an emphasis on crafting engaging adventure stories. They have been introduced to our model text, A Quest to the Unknown—an exciting tale centered around a journey to discover a mysterious spice. Students will be analysing the structure and language features of the text, and using this as inspiration to plan and write their own narratives featuring unique characters, settings, and quests. In the coming weeks, students will also develop their understanding of figurative language, practise using commas in lists, and learn to accurately punctuate dialogue within their stories.

Maths

This term in Maths, students will continue to build their understanding of decimals. They will develop their knowledge of place value by exploring tenths, hundredths, and thousandths, and will learn how to represent and compare these values. Students will also investigate the connection between decimals and fractions, including how to read and write mixed numbers as decimals. In addition, students will apply their mathematical understanding through learning about money and financial calculations, interpreting and using timetables and elapsed time, identifying and describing the properties of 3D shapes, and conducting simple chance experiments to describe the likelihood of events. These topics will support students in building a strong foundation for future work with number, measurement, and statistics. 

Economics 

This term in Humanities, students will be studying Economics. They will begin by learning to distinguish between needs and wants, and explore how communities work to meet these needs and wants. As the unit progresses, students will investigate the roles of consumers and producers, and examine what is involved in becoming an entrepreneur. This learning will help students understand key economic concepts and how they relate to everyday life.

Wellbeing

This term in Wellbeing, students will continue their unit on Help Seeking. They will revisit who they can go to for support, what kinds of situations may require help, and how to ask for help appropriately. The focus over the coming weeks will be on developing effective communication skills, particularly around expressing needs and seeking assistance in a respectful and confident manner.

Well being inclusion (My Best Self)

Throughout the unit students develop interpersonal skills that enable them to interact effectively and respectfully with others, build and maintain respectful relationships and advocate for their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing. They participate in physical activity which develops interpersonal skills, respectful relationships and self-confidence through the medium of ballroom dancing. They explore emotions and how these affect their decisions, behaviours and relationships. Students develop an understanding of what a respectful relationship looks like and how it feels in person. They practise positive behaviours to enhance relationships, learn strategies to promote teamwork, and move with confidence, competence and creativity within and across various physical activity contexts. The My Best Self program reflects the Department of Education's Wellbeing Strategy in its inclusive, proactive and preventative approach to wellbeing through the explicit teaching of behaviour expectations.

Homework Expectations 

We appreciate that after school time is often busy with sport and other extracurricular commitments, so we aim to keep homework manageable and purposeful. Rather than large workloads, students will be expected to complete small, consistent tasks each week to support the development of organisation, independence, and time management skills that will be important throughout schooling and beyond.

Mental Maths: Monday–Thursday These short tasks are designed for regular practice and should be completed independently. They are intended to consolidate learning rather than introduce new concepts.

Reading: Nightly (20 minutes) Students are expected to read each night for approximately 20 minutes. The title of the book should be recorded in their homework book and signed by a parent/carer.

CAMP Lord Somers Camp 

Our Year 5 camp will take place in Term 4, from 20th–22nd October at Lord Somers Camp. This term we will be providing the details and forms. Please keep an eye out for these. 

Healthy Eating/Allergies

In line with Toorak Primary School’s Healthy Eating Policy (available on the school website), we encourage students to bring healthy options for recess and lunch. Each day at 10am, students will have a designated fruit break where they may eat fruit or vegetables. We appreciate your support in encouraging healthy choices from home.

We also ask that students do not share food with others during recess or lunch.

Within our cohort, we have a student with a severe nut allergy (anaphylaxis), so Year 5 is strictly a nut-free zone in 2026. We ask for your careful attention in ensuring no nut products are brought to school.

Phones/Devices

In accordance with Toorak Primary School’s Mobile Phone Policy, any mobile phones or smart watches capable of sending/receiving messages or calls must be handed in at the start of the school day. These devices will be securely stored by teachers and returned at the end of the day.

Students are not permitted to use these devices on school grounds before or after school hours.

Bell Times 

Start of Day: 8:55am End of Day: 3:30pm

At the beginning of each day, important information and daily schedules will be shared with students. To ensure your child does not miss key instructions, please ensure they arrive at school on time.

Year 5 specialist classes will take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or require further clarification. We are looking forward to a fantastic term of learning and growth with your children.

Vanessa Burke and Josh Bretherton, 

Year 5 Teachers

Year 6 Newsletter - Termly Overview

Dear Year 6 Parents and Caregivers,

We thought it would be beneficial to outline a few of the important dates and curriculum content for this term. Below is an overview of important dates for Term 3. There may be updates or new dates added to Compass as the term progresses:

Kind Regards,

Year 6 Team

James Thomas, Natasha Williams and Emma Heron