Foundation

Foundation February Newsletter 2025

Welcome to Learning in Foundation!

We would like to all welcome existing and new families to Foundation and to Gilgai Plains Primary School. The first couple of weeks in Foundation have been about establishing our routines and gaining knowledge about our school. Students and families were both nervous and excited to embark on this special journey. Our Gilgai Foundation teachers are Dee Oldfield (0A), Joanna Butler (0B), Stephanie Cauchi (0C), Suzie Hicks (0D), Natasha Giapantzakis (0E), Lisa Walker (0F), Tasha Achilles (OG), Melani Crothers (0H) and Leonie Nicholas (0I).

Literacy

Foundation students have had so much fun learning with our Little Learners Love Literacy program and building their knowledge of initial sounds. We have learnt about Milo Monkey, Sally Snake, Felix Frog, Ally Alligator and Peter Penguin and the letters m, s, f, a and p.. When learning these letters we focus on what sound each letter makes and how we form these letters correctly.

Heart Words

Students have also been learning our Heart words and identifying these words in various texts and slides.

Heggerty

Every morning our students begin our Literacy sessions with our Phonemic Awareness program called Heggerty. The Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Program provides students with consistent and repeated instruction focusing on eight phonemic awareness skills, along with two additional activities to develop letter and sound recognition, and language awareness. 

Maths

Students have been learning about the numbers 0-5 and will continue up to 10. Our Maths lessons are planned and delivered to teach students explicitly and have the time to understand all aspects of number collections. Students have explored and learnt how to show numbers by representing them using blocks, bundling sticks, counters and other materials. They have been practising writing the numeral. They have also been learning about how we find, and locate the number on a number line.

In Measurement, students have been learning about the language of time, including morning, afternoon and night time. Students have been exploring common activities that take place in these times, including brushing their teeth and going to bed. In Space, students have been learning to recognise 2D shapes, including circles, squares, ovals and rectangles. 

Social & Emotional Learning

In our Social and Emotional Learning sessions we are learning everything about school. Students have refined and practised correctly modelling our morning and afternoon processes. Foundation students have been engaged in lessons that help understand and gain knowledge about our school values and how these values look in our everyday school life. We have discussed appropriate use of our school toilets, how to access these during learning time and during outside time.