Grade 1 Community News

Dear Grade 1 Families,

We have had a wonderful and busy fortnight in Grade 1, filled with lots of exciting learning experiences. It has been amazing to see how much growth the students have made since returning in Term 3. We have noticed significant progress across all areas of learning, as well as in the students’ independence and responsibility within the classroom.

Students have continued to work hard across all learning areas and have shown great enthusiasm, perseverance, and a positive attitude towards their learning. We are incredibly proud of the effort they are putting in each day, as well as the kindness, care, and support they continue to show towards their classmates.

InitiaLit

In our InitiaLit lessons, students have been working extremely hard to learn new sounds and revise previous learnt sounds.  We have been revising our long vowel sounds following the ‘bossy_e’ rule, practicing blending and reading words and sentences with confidence, following this rule. We have introduced the new focus sound, including ‘ow’ as in cow and ‘ou’ as in cloud.

InitiaLit - Tricky Words: fast, last, I’m

How you can support at home:

• Read for a few minutes each night and ask your child to spot words with our focus sounds.  
• Practice tricky words by writing them on paper, saying them aloud, or using them in a sentence.
• When reading with your child, see if they can spot any "bossy e" words or find the ‘ou’ or ‘ow’ sounds hiding in their home reading books! 

Storybook & Vocabulary

This fortnight, our Grade 1 readers explored the text The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack. 

The story follows a little duck named Ping who lives on a boat on the Yangtze River in China. One day, Ping becomes separated from his family after hiding to avoid being the last duck back on the boat. He goes on an adventure, meeting new people and facing challenges before finding his way home and learning the importance of making good choices. 

We have been focusing on the 3 vocabulary words: pale, dashed, swiftly

Writing

Our Grade 1 writers have been busy exploring the exciting world of informative writing! Over the past fortnight, students have been learning about informative sentences - sentences that share true information about a topic. Informative sentences provide facts, tell the reader something new, and always end with a full stop.

Examples: The sun is hot. Dogs have four legs.

To support students in creating informative texts, we use simple visual icons and matching gestures to help them organise their ideas and remember the different types of information they can include. These prompts encourage students to become more confident and independent writers.

After reading The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack,, students have begun exploring the writing process by researching information about ducks. They have learnt that informative texts are organised under headings to help group information clearly. Students have researched and recorded facts under different subheadings, including:

Students have been working through each stage of the writing process, including researching, drafting, editing, revising, and publishing their informative texts. It has been wonderful to see students develop their knowledge, share interesting facts, and grow in confidence as informative writers. It has been wonderful to see students sharing their discoveries, building their knowledge, and developing their confidence as young authors 

How you can support at home:

• Read non-fiction books together and talk about the interesting facts you discover.
• Ask questions such as: “Where does it live?” “What does it eat?” or “Can you tell me an interesting fact?”
• Encourage your child to write informative sentences about topics they enjoy, such as animals, sports, space, or nature.
• Remind them to use a capital letter at the start, a full stop at the end, and check that their writing makes sense.

Maths

In Mathematics, our Grade 1 mathematicians have been busy exploring money, measurement, and addition strategies.

Students have been learning to recognise and order the value of Australian coins. They have enjoyed exploring real coins, naming each coin, and organising them from the smallest to the greatest value. 

We have also begun exploring area - the amount of space inside a 2D shape. Students have been developing their understanding of area by measuring and recording the space covered by different 2D shapes using blocks as informal units of measurement. 

Students have also been learning about odd and even numbers by exploring number patterns and identifying whether numbers can be grouped into equal pairs. 

Our Grade 1s have also started learning a new addition strategy called the split strategy. Students are learning how to make the top number a friendly number, such as 10, by splitting the bottom number into smaller parts. This strategy helps make adding two 1-digit numbers easier and builds their confidence with mental maths. These are a few examples of the addition split strategy:

It has been wonderful to see students engaging with hands-on activities, sharing their mathematical thinking, and developing new strategies to solve problems.

How you can support at home: 

• Practice identifying and naming Australian coins and talk about their values.
• Ask your child to put coins in order from the smallest value to the greatest value.
• Look for 2D shapes around your home and discuss their area (how much space they cover).
• Encourage your child to practice addition facts and explain their thinking using different strategies.
• Explore odd and even numbers by counting objects into pairs and discussing whether there are any left over. 

Humanities

This fortnight in Humanities, our Grade 1 explorers have been learning about different water places, including rivers, lakes, oceans, and reefs. Students have been developing their skills in identifying and describing natural features (such as oceans, reefs, plants, and animals) and human features (such as boats, buildings, and signs).

Students have been exploring the habitat of the Great Barrier Reef, discovering the amazing plants and animals that rely on this special environment for survival. They have been learning why the reef is important, how it provides a home for marine life, and why it is our responsibility to help protect it. Students have explored ways we can care for the Great Barrier Reef, including keeping our oceans clean, reducing pollution, and making choices that help look after our environment. Through their learning, students are discovering how even small actions can make a big difference in protecting this incredible natural place.

Respectful Relationships

This fortnight, our Grade 1 students have been learning about help-seeking and how we can support ourselves and others when we have a problem. Students explored what makes a good friend, how we can help a friend who may be feeling upset or left out, and when it is important to ask a trusted adult for support. Through class discussions, scenarios, and role-plays, students practiced using their words to explain a problem, ask for help, and show kindness and care towards others. 

Reminders

• Please label uniform items with your child’s name clearly.
• Please continue to read every night and ensure your child swaps their take home readers on their allocated day. 
• Please check Compass for information on the upcoming Grade 1 Excursion (The Aquarium). Consent and payment is due by 18th August 2026. 
• Book Week Character Dress-Up Day will be held on Wednesday, 26th August. We encourage students to come dressed as their favourite book character.

• Please watch until 4:31  to view and practice the words we have learnt so far. 

Warm regards and thank you for your ongoing support in your child’s learning journey,

Ms. Santos, Ms. Duncan, Ms. Yianni, Ms. Marsden, Ms. Newman, Ms. T, Ms. Hannah, 

Ms. Stafford, Ms. Chandler, Mrs. Mill, Ms. Fetolofai and Ms. Doris of PLC1 😊