Year 1 News
From Yolanda Andrews, Year 1A teacher
Rockstar Readers!
Welcome back to Term 4!
The students have settled back into school life seamlessly, demonstrating growing independence and calm maturity. They are certainly starting to look more like Year 2 students! We have loved hearing all about their adventures over the break, and everyone, teachers included, are excited about the fun activities ahead this term. These include our swimming program, the School Fete and a range of end-of-year festivities.
Literacy
We have been focusing on developing note-taking skills while reading or watching non-fiction texts and programs. The students have explored how notes can be shorter than a sentence, include arrows and pictures, highlight important facts, and be written in dot points.
As we prepare for Year 2, we have also been encouraging students to take greater care with how they set out their work in their workbooks. This includes writing the date in the top-right corner, adding a clear title, and organising their work neatly from left to right and down the page. These small but important habits will help students develop greater independence and confidence as they prepare for the year ahead.
Using their notes, the Year 1 students created posters promoting different ways to reduce waste. Some classes were lucky enough to work alongside their Year 5 buddies to create their posters.
Numeracy
Students have been focusing on place value to consolidate their understanding of how a numeral's position changes its value. Using Base Ten Blocks for hands-on support, they also explored how zero acts as an essential placeholder.
Wellbeing
All classes revisited the classroom agreements created at the beginning of the year. Students and teachers discussed the importance of these guidelines, such as "We will use gentle hands and kind words" and "We will listen carefully when someone is talking", to maintain a safe and happy learning environment. Highlighting their maturity and growing social awareness, students also suggested a few insightful new additions, including: "We will be upstanders who say no to bullying."
There are a few reminders for this term. Please remember and get involved in the monthly Home Reading Challenge and congratulations to all the students who received Rockstar Reading awards for last month!
As we approach the incredible NMPS School Fete on Friday 6th November (4:00pm – 8:00pm at the Errol St Campus), we are asking for donations of unwanted toys, board games, and books. In line with our classroom discussions around recycling and sustainability, we are excited to help these items find a second home!
Please ensure all donations are in good, clean condition with all pieces attached. You can drop items directly into the Grade 1 Fete donation boxes located at the Molesworth St Campus school office.
Thank you for sharing in our learning journey. We look forward to celebrating a fun-filled final term with you all!