Kindergarten

A message from Early Stage 1

A big thank you to our wonderful parent helpers who have been reading with students in Kindergarten.

Last week, we warmly welcomed Amanda Campbell into the Kindergarten Fish class as she begins her final teaching practicum. Amanda has already shown great enthusiasm and dedication, and we are excited to support her as she continues to develop her teaching skills.

In addition, the Kindergarten Giraffes and Echidnas classes recently farewelled Miss Tait and Miss Ward. We thank both Miss Tait and Miss Ward for their wonderful contributions to our school community and wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

It has been a busy term in the Kindergarten classrooms, with two exciting events coming up as we approach the end of term. Please take a moment to check out our important save-the-date reminders below.

Book Week

English

We are learning to:

hear and say the sounds /kw/, /ee/, /z/, /ch/, /v/, /x/, /y/, /th/ and /w/
recognise that two letters making one sound are called digraphs:
- ‘qu’ makes the sound /kw/
- ‘ee’ makes the sound /ee/ as in ‘seen’
- ‘zz’ makes the sound /z/
- ‘ch’ makes the sound ‘ch’ as in ‘chips’
- ‘th’ makes the sound /th/ as in ‘Thursday’
- ‘wh’ makes the sound /w/ as in ‘whale’
read tricky words: put, as, do, like, very, what, where, want
write a simple sentence containing a subject and a verb
identify the subject and verb in a simple sentence.

Mathematics

We are learning to:

take away a smaller number from the larger number to model subtraction
use different strategies we have learnt to solve addition and subtraction word problems
recognise 2D shapes in a range of contexts.
describe, name and make: circles, squares, triangles and rectangles
sort shapes in accordance to their features
manipulate 2D shapes for different purposes.

Geography

We are learning to:

identify and describe a community
identify places in our local community
identify places on a map.

Science and Technology

We are learning to:

identify the characteristics of paper, cardboard and fabric
identify suitable uses for paper, cardboard and fabric
use appropriate materials and apply solutions to make a bridge using materials we have learnt about
work collaboratively in a group.

Personal Development and Health (PDH)

We are learning to:

recognise appropriate touch and explore how to respond to inappropriate touch
practise ways of seeking help in a range of different scenarios, for example use No-Go-Tell when feeling unsafe
identify skills and strategies to stay safe and be supported.

Visual Arts

We are learning to:

use shapes to draw a farm scene - a cow in green pasture with a red barn
use skills of tracing, drawing, colouring, cutting, glueing, painting and techniques of making texture
explore painting and printmaking materials and techniques, experimenting with tools to create effects
explore ways to use materials and tools, developing fine motor skills
express ideas or feelings about own and others' artworks.

How can I help my child at home - game based

Garbage card game

Focus on using counting sequences and knowledge of number relationships such as before, after and between.

You will need playing cards A–10.

Instructions

Shuffle the cards and place the pile face down in the middle of both players.
Each player draws 10 cards each.
Players organise their 10 cards in a row in front of them face down.
Player 1 draws a card from the middle pile. Player 1 places this card in the matching position in their row of 10.
Player 1 then picks up the card in its place. For example, if a 4 is drawn, player 1 places the card in the fourth position and picks up the card in that position.
Player 1 looks at the card and decides whether it can also be placed in their row.
Player 1's turn is over when they can no longer place a card in their row. This card is thrown away as 'garbage'!
Player 2 draws a card to begin their turn and follows the same steps as player 1.
The first player to complete their entire row of cards is the winner!

Other ways to play

Use a picture card that a player can use to represent any number.
If a player puts their unwanted card in the garbage and the other player needs it, it can be picked up to use.
A king can be played to turn back over another player's card.
Cards can be positioned in a backwards sequence.

Watch this clip if you would like a better understanding of Garbage