Foundation News

Book Week Celebrations...Old Worlds,New Worlds Other Worlds!

Last week, students in Foundation had a lot of fun reading and listening to short-listed and award-winning books as judged by the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA). It was wonderful to see our students immersed in good literature and engage in activities to do with books. One of the books we read was 'Go Away, Worry Monster!' written by Brooke Graham. It was a story about a Worry Monster who made Archie worry about starting at a new school. Archie felt anxious but he realised the only way to feel better was to make Worry Monster go away. Students in Foundation made their own Worry Jar/Box filled with their own worries, as a strategy to get rid of their worries in the future!

To celebrate Book Week, St Raphael's was lucky enough to have Michael Salmon, an author and illustrator come to celebrate with us. Michael shared some great stories and students participated in drawing caricatures (a portrait or drawing of a person that exaggerates the way they look, usually to create a humorous effect). Michael drew a caricature of our very own Foundation student, Theo! Students also followed step-by-step instructions and drew a picture of Bobo, Michael's cute dog.

Paul Khoury reading 'I've an Uncle Ivan' on Story Box Library

Our Book Week festivities ended with one of our parents, Paul Khoury reading 'I've an Uncle Ivan' by Ben Sanders to the children via Zoom. Students also chose their favourite book and dressed up as a well-liked character. It was great to see how proud and excited the children were to share their costumes. We invite you to watch the video put together capturing that morning.

Reading - Daily Home Reading

As part of daily home reading, we have started to use Epicas an online resource. Teachers will assign a text for your child to read each weekday. We encourage you to continue recording the name of each text, as well as a positive comment related to your child's reading in their reading diary. Please note, at this stage, we are trialling Epic and there is a daily limit of one book per day, with free access between 7am- 3pm. We encourage you to continue the habit and routine of reading books at a time that best suits your child within the time previously mentioned.

Maths

This fortnight, students in Foundation have been practising gathering data using tally marks. Students have been learning to instantly recognise small amounts and they have been practising the skill of combining amounts by 'counting on' from the larger number to determine a total amount. Some children have even practised the skill of skip counting by 5's. This week, students will organise answers to questions using objects and drawings. They will practise making graphs and will answer simple questions by sharing what they immediately notice.