From the Classroom

Foundation

The children are loving our Golden Ticket and treasure box reward system.  The rewards are still evolving as needed.  To date, the winner receives 4 stickers, bear chair/pillow for next day mat time, standing on the gold star to be first in line to enter the classroom. Drawing the Golden Ticket at the end of the day is exciting and whoever is drawn out is certainly lucky as there are many tickets in the box.  At the end of the week, the box is cleared and ready for the new week ahead.

Cross Country is next Monday afternoon at 1.30 pm. This is a fun afternoon where the children can run/walk on the bush track and hopefully enjoy some sunshine.  There will be placement awards for first, second and third. You are welcome to walk with us and be part of our group. Your company will be enjoyed!

On Wednesday, before school, Parent Reading began ... this is where families are welcome to read together, before school during the hours of 8:45-9am. 

It will take place in our classroom, where you are welcome to find somewhere comfortable to sit and share a book together. During this time, it is important to remember to stay within the classroom as teachers are preparing learning for the day. 

At the conclusion of family reading time you will hear the music and bell. It is important that this is the cue to say goodbye and leave the classroom ready for learning time to begin.

Our Numeracy focus of 2D shapes has been engaging the concept of square and rectangle and developed some interesting discussions. We have looked in our immediate environment, as well as pictures to find these shapes to sort. Counting by 5s and revising the 10s pattern has also continued to be our focus.

As this term is only 9 weeks, our assessment schedule will begin in week 5.  The Alphabet testing will begin in that week, as well as sight word recognition. 

Mrs Sibio

Parent Tips for building and maintaining a resilient nature

Experts say that all children are born resilient, but it takes several environmental factors to ensure that they maintain that resiliency. These factors include:

• Caring and Support
• Clear and Consistent
• Participation in Home and Community Life’

As a parent, we can help build resiliency skills in our children by working on and modelling our own resiliency skills. The Nemours Foundation suggests the following attitudes and behaviours:

• Start thinking of change as challenging, not as problematic
• Learn to see problems as temporary “This, too, shall pass’. Try to see problems as opportunities for finding solutions, rather than barriers that stop all progress.
• Learn how to set achievable goals and work toward them with optimism and persistence – believe in your future success
• Solve problems as they come up and try not to let small problems snowball.
• Seek to improve relationships with family, friends and colleagues. Keep your commitments.
• Know where to find support if you need it and learn how to ask for help.
• Find familiar and new ways to have fun and relax.

Source: Connect with Kids

Music News with Mrs Sibio

Students are looking at the element of music Dynamics in the first few weeks of term. We are listening to classical pieces of music such as The William Tell Overture, The Nutcracker and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. We are exploring these pieces through story, character, instruments and movement. 

I attended a Music Professional Development Day last week as part of the school’s participation in the DUET music in schools’ partnership. It was a fantastic day with some inspiring ideas that I am very excited to use in the classroom. More to come on our DUET partnership.

You Can Do It with Mrs Sibio

This term on Wednesdays we will be looking at Getting along and relationships in You Can Do It. We have been thinking about our values and how we carry them into the classroom, our friendships, and families. Students have enjoyed role playing different scenarios and brainstorming the values that are important to them. We will also be touching on resilience and looking at strategies and skills to support them to bounce back from challenging situations.