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Semester 1 Reports

Dear parents, carers and families of Year 1/2 students, 

On the 16th June, you will receive your child/ren's Semester 1 school report. You may see that your child’s progression point is at the same level as the previous report.  

This is not to say that they have not made growth, they have, however, our previous assessments were based on balanced literacy, which was a broader assessment of what your child’s abilities are. Now using evidence-based assessments we are able to specifically see gaps or areas that need to be targeted more specifically. 

Within these assessments we can look at phonemic awareness, word recognition, and overall comprehension. 

What is 'balanced literacy?' 

Balanced literacy usually includes phonics but focuses more heavily on getting students to love reading at an early age. It employs the theory that students learn to read by reading and through exposure to rich literature. 

Critics say that isn't sufficient to give students the tools they need to actually know how to read. And without those tools, they won't love to read and may struggle with academics in general if they lack the skills to figure out more complicated words. 

Balanced literacy also can include the "cueing system," which teaches students ways to figure out a word beyond just looking at the word itself. That could include looking at the pictures, or just the first two letters and then guessing what the word is, and then checking the sentence to see if that word would make sense. 

What is 'science of reading?' 

The science of reading has a structured, building-block approach, starting with awareness of sounds and letters, and explicit, direct instruction from the teacher to students about how to break down a word to figure out how it sounds and then what it means. 

What is phonics? 

Phonics teaches students to link letters or groups of letters with the sounds they make.  

Phonics gives beginning readers the tools they need to sound out words. Science reading curriculums are heavily phonics-based. 

What is phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and recognize the individual sounds — known as phonemes — in a spoken word. The word "cat," for example, is made up of three individual sounds: "c," "a" and "t."Research has shown a link between phonemic awareness and later reading successes. 

What are 'levelled' and 'decodable' books? "Decodable books” use a repetitive sound and letter pattern that build on phonics instruction.An easy "levelled" book could be about things that fly — a helicopter, an aeroplane, a hang glider, or a bat. The book may be simple, but "aeroplane" is a word with multiple sounds and syllables.  

A decodable book would be a story with several words of the same level of phonics, like rhyming words — mat, bat, sat — or ones that all start with the same letters and sounds, like the "ph" in "phone" or "phase." 

Going forward 

In Term 3, we will follow up from our Term 2 information session and provide another opportunity to understand the Science of Reading.

Kind Regards,

Mr Borg

Assistant Principal at CJC

CSEF – Financial Assistance for Families.

REMINDER closing very soon

Dear CJC Community,

The school is still receiving CSEF claims.  If you are eligible and have not applied this year, please bring the claim into the office, or email the claim to Caulfield.jr.co@education.vic.gov.au (with CSEF in the subject header.)

Those families who received CSEF last year and for whom nothing has changed with their Centrelink situation, do not need to re-apply as they have been rolled over.

Thank you!