Grade 1 News

February 2015

The grade 1’s have had a fantastic start to Term 1. Last week, we all participated in the flying start program in getting to know each other and their teachers. This was a great success which ended with a performance of Bollywood dancing.

Reading

Your child will continue to take home a book every night. These books are called ‘take home books’ and are generally ‘easy’. Their purpose is to reinforce skills taught at school, to provide an opportunity for shared reading experiences and to celebrate successes in reading. It is extremely important that you listen to your child read every night and fill in the yellow take home book log. The take home books are changed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 

Spelling Books

Every week, students will take home a different set of spelling words and they will be tested on a weekly basis. Your child will be on a specific list and they are only required to practise those words. It is very important that they bring this book in every day. It must be kept in the students’ reader folder with their take home book.

Reading and Spelling Strategies

Here are some strategies when teaching spelling at home:

Hangman

Play ‘hangman’ using the list of spelling words.

Who Am I? 

Have the list of words the students are learning on display. You and your child can take turns giving ‘who am I’ clues for a chosen word. For example, I am yellow, I have 5 letters, I end in ‘y’. The other person tries to guess the word.

Calling on Reading Helpers

We would love to have wonderful parent helpers who assist by listening to the children reading each morning. It is a great way to get to know the students within your child’s grade. The children absolutely love reading helpers. So please contact your child’s teacher if you are available!

Flying Start

Resources for Investigations

The grade 1’s have four investigations sessions a week. In each learning area, we have a construction and tinkering centres. We would appreciate any recycled boxes, yogurt tubs, small containers, old electronics or computers keyboards. Please ensure the items are washed thoroughly and safe to be used. If you could assist with any other donations such as dress ups or old toys please see your class teacher.

Reminders

Children need:

·         To wear runners or other suitable shoes for PE.

·         To bring an art smock to school.

·         To wear a school hat to play outside this term.

·         To have a water bottle at school.

·         The canteen is now available for children to buy drinks etc. at lunchtime.