Dear families,
Term 3 was a very busy and exciting time for our Grade 1 students! We had a wonderful Science Week where the children enjoyed doing fun experiments and learning about how things work. During Book Week, everyone loved dressing up as their favourite characters and sharing stories together. We also celebrated Father’s Day with a special stall where the kids picked out lovely gifts for their dads and family members. One of the highlights was our visit to the aquarium, where the children saw amazing sea creatures and learned about underwater life. We finished off the term with a fun Footy Road Show Day and enjoyed dressing up in our favourite AFL colours. It has been a fantastic term full of learning and fun! Now, as we head into Term 4, we are excited for lots more learning adventures and special activities to look forward to.
Term 4 is an exciting and busy time filled with fun events and memorable experiences! Students can look forward to the much-loved Book Fair, where they can explore and purchase new books, and Grandparents Day, a special opportunity to share their learning with loved ones. Our swimming program will help build water confidence and safety skills over two weeks, while the Teddy Bear Picnic promises a day with favourite cuddly friends and participating in a range of maths and literacy activities. One of the highlights of the term is the Puffing Billy excursion, offering a unique adventure through the Dandenong Ranges. As the term progresses, students will also begin their transition activities to help prepare for the move to Grade 2 with confidence and excitement.
We prioritise student health and safety by promoting sun protection all year round. As part of our commitment, wearing hats is required during Term 4 whenever students are outdoors. This helps protect students from harmful UV rays and encourages lifelong sun safety habits. Please ensure your child brings a wide-brimmed school hat each day to stay safe in the sun.
Please ensure that students continue to bring a healthy lunch and water to school everyday helping students stay energised, focused and ready to learn.
Swimming
As we get ready for swimming lessons, it’s important that students practise drying themselves off and getting dressed back into their school uniform all by themselves at home. Please remember that parent helpers and volunteers are not allowed to assist children in the change rooms, so independence is key! On swimming days, students should come to school in their full school uniform, with their bathers underneath. Before getting on the bus, students will remove their school shoes and socks so crocs or thongs can be worn to and from the swimming pool. Please ensure that students with longer hair have it tied back. Don’t forget to pack a swimming bag with a towel and goggles. Please ensure that EVERYTHING is named (including undies). Swimming can be tiring, so please send extra brain food, morning tea, and lunch to help keep your child energised. If you would like to volunteer and help on swimming days, please sign up through Compass. Parents are welcome to watch their children swim, but please note that photography is not allowed at the pool.
Literacy
In Reading, we’ll be developing comprehension skills through inferring and exploring how language, facial expressions, and gestures help us communicate. Students will also deepen their understanding of how different types of words work, such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives, while building their skills with high-frequency words and word families. Alongside this, we’ll be practising important interaction skills like turn-taking, active listening, and sharing ideas, as well as delivering short spoken texts with clear expression.
In Writing, we’ll be revising several text types including recounts, narratives, poetry and persuasive texts. We will also focus on building our letter writing skills in preparation for that all important end-of-year letter to The North Pole. Correct use of punctuation will be woven through this learning to help students express their ideas clearly.
In Spelling, we will be continuing with the Government Phonic Plus program. Students have built a terrific foundation and we will continue to extend their phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, handwriting, and morphology through this approach.
Numeracy
In Numeracy, we are excited to share lots of new hands-on games and open ended activities with our students that we know they will love to play. We’ll revisit place value, as we continue to develop a range of strategies to solve problems and further explore larger numbers. Learning about patterns will help to continue to build and deepen students’ understanding of numbers. Graphing, location, shape, mass and capacity will round out our maths program for the year.
Integrated Studies
In Term 4, Grade 1 will be exploring an exciting integrated studies unit called Technology Time Machine. The students will build a sense of time and change by learning how technology has evolved over many years and how the past connects to their own lives. They will discover how different inventions have shaped the way we live today and begin to develop important historical thinking skills. A special highlight will be a trip on the Puffing Billy steam train, where the children can experience firsthand how people travelled long ago. They will compare this historical mode of transportation with modern cars and trains, noticing how technology has changed and improved over time. Throughout the term, the children will learn to appreciate diverse perspectives and practice communicating and reflecting on what they have learned. This hands-on and meaningful unit will help them understand the world around them in new and exciting ways.
Homework
Nightly reading continues to be a big focus for Grade One. Please keep setting aside a few minutes each day to listen to your child read and practise their reading strategies. It really helps to build their confidence!
Term 4 Newsletter
