Foundation

Literacy

Oh, the excitement levels are rising in the Foundation Room as students start to realise they can sound out words independently.  This means writing sessions are becoming more and more comprised of student input, rather than solely teacher directed. We are using Elkonin boxes, or sound boxes, as a spelling tool. Students are encouraged to 'finger spell' a word, and decide how many sounds they can hear. We always record a letter for every sound we hear, so if a student can hear three sounds, their box would have 3 separate parts. 4 sounds= 4 parts, and so on. Students then try and write down something for each sound they hear. At this time of the year, close enough is basically good enough. Confidence is a very important part of learning to read and write, and seeing your hard work covered in corrections does nothing to build confidence levels. Spelling accuracy will be more of a focus later in the year, once the students are writing more freely.

If your child enjoys writing at home, sound boxes are a very easy tool you could encourage at home. 

The reading focus remains on the foundational skills that are so important at the initial stages of  learning to read. Pointing to each word is a fundamental skill that quite a few students seemed to have 'ditched' over the past few weeks, and one that we are trying hard to reinstate/reinforce/bring back quickly.

Pointing to the words has many benefits such as...

Visual Tracking: It helps children develop the ability to track words from left to right across the page, which is an essential skill for reading in English.

Word Recognition: By pointing to each word as they read, children can connect the spoken word with its written form. This reinforces their understanding of word shapes, letter-sound correspondences, and sight words.

Focus and Attention: Pointing to words encourages children to pay attention to individual words rather than just looking at the pictures or guessing based on context. This helps them focus on decoding and understanding each word in the text.

Comprehension: It aids in comprehension by helping children understand that text is made up of individual words that convey meaning. It also encourages them to pause and think about the meaning of each word in the context of the sentence and story.

Self-Monitoring: Pointing to words can help children self-monitor their reading by enabling them to notice and correct mistakes more easily. When they point to a word and it doesn't match what they expect, they are more likely to recognize the error and try to correct it.

Heggerty remains the phonemic highlight of the day, with the program becoming slightly more challenging as we progress through the Term. For many weeks the students have been identifying rhyming words, now they have to make them. We have started to use Elkonin boxes to write CVC words (consonant/vowel/consonant) and soon will start looking at blending sounds. For those students who need some additional assistance with letter identification, we have 1:1 time each morning with Grace and Mr Saxon. Short, sharp sessions which will compliment classroom learning and all the hard word parents are doing at home.

Numeracy

Heavier, lighter, longer, shorter- there is plenty of new vocabulary being introduced during Maths sessions with the current unit of work on Measurement. There has been an in-depth look at The Days of the Week, we have even used this knowledge to make a 'singing bowl' roster for June to stop the arguments over whose turn it is. As in all Curriculum areas, when we can link concepts to real life, the learning is so much richer. We have also learned a number of new games designed to consolidate understanding, and we are getting much better at packing up a pack of cards quickly. More quickly, not necessarily more quietly...

The final unit of this Term is Pattern and Shape. We will be looking at 2D shapes, trying to find them in the environment, making them with playdoh and using them to create patterns. It should be lots of fun.

Religion

We have been investigating the beginning of the Church at Pentecost, and have also been looking at our own church, St. John's. We spent a very enjoyable hour visiting the Church in Week 5, timing our visit just right to see the 12pm Angelus Bell being rung. The students had some excellent questions for the poor lady who was lucky enough to be 

ringing the bell that day, and were also enthralled by the special features found within our Church. The only way the trip could have been better was if WE got to ring the bell ourselves...

The idea that we belong to a worldwide Church is one that will continue to be expanded upon as students move up through the year levels. For now it is enough to know some of the characteristics of our local Church, and what it means to be part of the school and parish communities.

THE RESILIENCE PROJECT

It's all about mindfulness this week as we learn to recognise, and practice, it.

Mindfulness is…

• Concentrating on one thing.
• Paying full attention to something.
• Being present in the moment, right now.
• Slowing down to really notice what you are doing.
• Taking your time.

After nearly 6 months of daily meditation times, the Foundation students are very good at being still for 5 minutes. TRP (The Resilience Project) is now encouraging students to use this practice as a way to calm down, and be more aware of their environment. Below is a simple activity you could try at home as a family.

HOLIDAYS

Just a reminder about taking holidays during the school Terms. If your child is going to be away from school for any period of time, can you please email Therese, or me, to let the school know? We have a legal responsibility to account for our students every day- hence the attendance role in the morning and afternoon. Of course you can go on holidays whenever you choose, and going outside of school holiday time makes a lot of sense. However, if you could just let us know about any extended absences, it would be very appreciated, and will save us trying to continuously contact you during your blissful time away. 

Thank you.

BLUEARTH

Sunshine.

Jimmy.

Laughter.

Bluearth is one of our favourite parts of the week (fortnight actually), with much improvement in balance, hand-eye coordination, self umpiring and team work already very evident.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Friday 7th June- Feast of the Sacred Heart. 12:30pm in the Church.

All students to attend, with families also very welcome to join us.

 Friday 21st June

Celebration of Learning 2:30pm

Timetable 

Monday

Tuesday         Art 

                         School newsletter online(odd weeks) 

Wednesday  Lunch Orders

Thursday       Specialist subjects (students to wear sports uniform and runners)

Friday             Library, Bluearth- wear sports uniform (even weeks)  Assembly (odd weeks)

Don't forget, any questions, problems or queries, please contact me. If it is during school hours, just leave a message and I will return it as soon as possible, or send me an email.

sredfern@sjeuroa.catholic.edu.au

Enjoy your week,

Sally, Damien and Grace