School of Foundations
What’s Happening in the School of Foundations
Dear Parents & carers,
This week we had the pleasure of hosting a parent learning walk in K-4. We were able to share with our parents the learning of literacy in Kindergarten and Stage 1. During the learning walk our parents observed different groupings which included students working with their teachers in a guided reading session. They were able to see students engaging in literacy activities to strengthen their knowledge of sentence structure, letter and sounds, sequencing of ideas as well as developing their speaking and listening skills.
After the learning walk we had the opportunity for a Q & A. One parent asked ‘What opportunities do our K-4 students have to develop their leadership skills?’. In the School of Foundations there are many ways we encourage the early attributes of leadership. We begin by giving students opportunities to develop their confidence, independence and to be responsible and dependable. These start with tasks such as classroom jobs and leadership roles within small group tasks. They have opportunities to participate in our Mini Vinnies group where they have a student voice in showing empathy towards others through social outreach projects. Students demonstrate the leadership skill of communication and self reflection when they present their learning to their parents during the student-led conferences twice a year. The School of Foundations learning incorporates times for students to work in cooperative learning groups. In these groups students work on the leadership skills of thinking critically and creatively to solve problems.
This term we have some exciting events including, Book Week which runs from Monday 22 - Friday 26 August. During Book Week our Stage 2 students will have the opportunity to work with the Sydney-based author John Larkin. John’s, The Shadow Girl won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards Prize for Writing for Young Adults 2012, and The Pause won the Queensland Literary Awards Griffith University Young Adult Book Award 2015.
The students in Kindergarten and Stage 1 will watch a theatre performance by Meerkat Productions. Each year, in celebration of Book Week, they adapt two books shortlisted by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) for the Book of The Year Awards. This year our students will see an adaptation of the book STELLARPHANT BY JAMES FOLEY.
Following Book Week, we have our Father’s Day Sausage Sizzle and Liturgy on Thursday 1 September. On Thursday 7 September, we will have our St Luke’s Book Parade to launch our Book Fair. Students will have the opportunity to dress up as their favourite book character. The students will visit the Book Fair prior to the book parade and complete a wish list which parents can use to purchase books online or in person. The Book Fair has a range of texts for students and parents to purchase.
Miss Pecnik
Head of School: Foundations K-4
ES1
English
Students have been creating informative texts during writing time. They have been writing procedures, or instructions, that tell others how to make fairy bread. Students have been working hard to include detail in their sentences and make sure their steps are in the right order. Here are some examples of their hard thinking.
Mathematics
In Mathematics, Kindergarten students have been learning to combine collections to find a total. They have been modelling addition using equipment and recording their thinking using pictures, numbers and words. Here are some of the Kangas in action.
Religion
During Religion, students have been answering the inquiry question What is Church? Students went on a virtual tour of a virtual tour of St Patrick’s Cathedral or St Ita Catholic Church and the teachers explained the various special and sacred objects in the Church buildings. Students then made play-dough creations of the various sacred objects.
Science
Kindergarten students have been investigating materials during their science inquiry. They participated in a mystery material activity where various objects and materials were placed into boxes. Students needed to touch and feel these objects and describe what they felt using words such as smooth, hard, rough, heavy, light, round, pointy.
Stage 1
English
Stage One has been learning all about how to write a persuasive text. Our topic has been to inform and persuade Ms Pecnik about the different types of playground equipment we would like to use at St Lukes. During week two, students have been building their knowledge by researching, planning and organising information about their chosen equipment. This has involved students working together to read, watch and listen to a variety of different texts about what the equipment is and why it is beneficial to our school. In the coming weeks, students will be writing a text using all of this information to discuss the reasons for their choice to Ms Pecnik.
Mathematics
In Mathematics, students are learning how to apply practice when they count and represent numbers in multiple ways. They are learning how to prove numbers are odd or even, count by 10’s on and off the decade and order numbers from smallest to largest on a number line.
Students are also identifying and explaining the value of each digit in a number by using;
- Place value charts;
- MAB;
- Partitioning;
- Expanded notation; and
- Rounding numbers to the nearest ten and nearest hundred.
NAIDOC Activities
In Week One of this term, students celebrated NAIDOC week. The students watched the Dreamtime Story about “How the Kangaroos Got Its Tail”. After watching the video, the students were able to discuss the story and as class what the meaning of a Dreamtime Story is. To finish off our learning about Indigenous Australians, Stage One designed their own Kangaroos using different patterns and symbols. Below are some photographs of students completing these activities.
Stage 2
Writing
Stage Two have been engaging in persuasive writing about the activities or clubs they believe should be offered at St Luke’s. Students have come up with a range of interesting ideas including; soccer clubs, gardening clubs, art spaces and technology groups. Students have been working on developing the cohesiveness of their arguments and ensuring their opinions and ideas are supported by evidence and examples. This week students have begu building their understanding by developing lists of equipment required, of how much it would cost, proposing a location in the school and researching the benefits of such activities for children.
Dance Fever
SOF students have been exploring a Creative Based Dance Program delivered by Dance Fever, a sporting provider. Here are some photos of Stage 2 performing a series of dance sequences.
Geography
In Geography, students in Stage 2 have been learning about the Australian Continent. They are learning to locate and identify Australia's states, territories and major cities on a map. In collaborative groups, students completed a jigsaw puzzle where their task was to locate the major states, territories and major cities on a map of Australia. To finish off, students explored Google Earth to visually identify Australia’s landmarks for example the Sydney Opera House, Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.
Term 3 Overviews
Reading Recovery
Reading Recovery is an early literacy intervention which delivers one to one reading and writing lessons to our students. It consists of daily and individual lessons which engage our students in reading varied text and composing their own stories. Reading recovery continues to build on each student's strengths and supports them to grow into independent readers and writers.
