Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Year One comprehension packs

Throughout the year, the Year One children will be receiving a variety of story books from the school that will aim to build and develop your child's comprehension. This was done in Pre-Primary last year so here is a quick refresher of the process:

- The Comprehension Packs will be given out on a Thursday each week. You have 6 days to read the book. 
- The Books are required back by the following Wednesday of each week.
- In your child's comprehension pack they will receive: A story book and a set of questions (and answers to the questions) on a separate laminated page. 
- The Comprehension Packs can be returned as soon as your child has finished reading the book and answering the questions. 
- If your child did not read the book, it still must be returned as our librarian changes all of the packs and does not have any spares if one is forgotten. 
- If your child is sick, please endeavor to bring it to school with a sibling or other parent as it can affect the whole class if one book is not brought back. 

Please note that some of the stories might be too difficult for your child to read so please make this a special time that you can read with your child to model correct reading skills and promote a love of reading!


Below is an example of what the packs will look like and what they will have in them.





If you have any questions, please email me. 

Many thanks

Miss Rundle

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Week Three Update!

Swimming
We had a very successful week at the pool, one of the highlights being our first bus ride in Year One! Many thanks to the parent helpers who offered to help us throughout the week with getting to and from the pool! I still have a few missing items which I have put in the lost property box including a sock and 3 pairs of boy’s underwear. Over the last week 2 pairs of shorts and a shirt have gone missing. Could you please check your child’s sports uniforms to see that they have the correct name on them.
Parent Help Roster
I have put up a parent help roster in the noticeboard outside the classroom door. Please feel free to write your name down and join us from 8:45am – 11am for our morning program. Parent help begins in week 5.

Homework
Next week our first readers and sight words will go home. We encourage your children to get into the habit of bringing their homework folder to school each morning and putting them in the labelled tubs (blue dots or red dots). This way, The EA’s can easily exchange readers and the children are able to use their sight words for morning activities if needed.

Beginning of Year Mass
Tomorrow morning we will walk down to the Church with our buddies for our first whole school mass. We have been talking about being respectful in the Church and practicing our school prayer to help us join in confidently tomorrow morning. Parents are most welcome to attend this service from 9:30am.

Book Covering
As discussed at our parent information session, I am sending a few books home each weekend for clear contacting. I am only sending what is manageable for the children to carry in their bags, but if you would like to take all of the books at once, please feel free to come in and get them on Friday afternoon. We would like to have the books sent home returned by Monday morning for use at school. Thanks!

Baptism Photos/Memorabilia

Next week we will be exploring the special sacrament of Baptism. We are learning about how we become members of God’s family through this special sacrament. The children are invited to bring in a special photo/item of clothing/gift that they may have received at their Baptism to place on the prayer table and share with the class throughout next week. Photos of friends and other family members being Baptised are also welcome. It is important to note with the children that God loves all people equally, even if they are not Baptised.

Happy weekend to you all!

Amy Rundle

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Week 2 Update

Dear Year One Parents

Parent Information
Thank you for your attendance at our Year One Parent Information Session. We hope that you found the information valuable and feel ready for the year. A copy of the slide show from the night has been added to the last post on our blog.  

Swimming Lessons
Our first swimming lessons begin tomorrow! Please refer to the swimming timetable that was sent home this week for our lesson times. After an early lunch, Year 1R will be attending a 1:05pm lesson and leaving the pool to return to school at 2:10pm. We should arrive just before home time, so the children will come home in their bathers with their sports shirt on. Please help us out by making sure all items are labelled to avoid items going into lost property! The children may wear thongs during the week, or bring them in their bags to change into before their lesson.

Homework
After our week of swimming, we will begin homework in week four. It will start with a bundle of sight words that the children are required to be able to READ and SPELL. A new home reader will go home every 2 days.

Parent Reps
Many thanks to Robyn (Elsie’s Mum) and Ainslie (Sonny’s Mum) who have offered to be our class reps this year. A contact information sheet has been left by our reps next to the communication book. Please add your details to the sheet if you would like to be contacted by them about important events, etc.

Have a wonderful remainder of the week!


Amy Rundle

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Thank you for your attendance

Many thanks for the parents that attended our Year One parent information session this afternoon. For those who couldn't make it or missed some of the information, please click on the link below to access our information slide show.

Year One Parent Information

Thank you for your on going support and have a great night.

Miss Rundle

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Our First Week!

Dear Year 1R Parents

We had a fantastic start to the year last week, as the children began their first few days in Year One! Thank you for your support so far throughout the week in assisting your children to settle in during gathering time and become familiar with the classroom. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know all of your little people and seeing their unique personalities shine through, as well as witnessing how beautifully they have been bonding as a class.

We welcome four new students into our class this year – Chloe, Lucas, Misheel and Theo. We are so lucky to have some new friends to learn and play with in Year One! We have also had some opportunities to spend time with Year 1P, sharing our first outdoor play session in the nature playground with them, as well as getting together to meet our Year 6 buddies who read us some stories on Friday.

What else did we do last week?
  • We talked about our holidays, shared stories and completed our first holiday recount writing piece.
  • We learnt about Australia Day and completed an activity about how we celebrated with our families.
  • We discussed our school values (Compassion, Appreciation, Respect and Excellence) and drew pictures of how we can live out those values at school.
  • Our Parish Priest Father Ian popped in for a visit and has been learning all of our names.
  • We learnt about how to stay organised at school – getting our own chairs out, keeping our stationery items tidy, organising our tubs and where to keep our drink bottles and morning snacks.
  • We started counting down the first few days of school (we are counting down to the 100th day)! At the start of each Maths lesson, we have our own chart, that we complete routine number activities on counting down until the 100th day of school.
  • We are learning about the ‘Friends of Ten’. What combinations of numbers can we add together to make ten? Ask your child if they can tell you about this at home.
  • We had our first ‘Smiling Mind’ session. After lunch time we take a break to look after our minds and participate in a short mindfulness exercise. You can access the Smiling Minds program from home on smilingmind.com.au if you are interested in using these exercises with your children at home – or for your own peace of mind!


Coming up in week two:
  • Our swimming lessons begin on Friday and flow through until the following Thursday. Stay tuned to find out about what times we are rostered on and what to bring. I have received most enrolment forms, but if you haven’t returned yours yet, I will need it by Monday.
  • Our class Parent Information Session will be held this Tuesday from 4:30pm. We will go through some important information needed for the year. The school offers a child minding service throughout the period of the Parent Nights, which you are most welcome to use.
  • Our first Year One homework will commence in week three, once I have gone through the procedure with you all as parents on Tuesday. It will initially include some reading, as well as sight word practice and the children are encouraged to log in to their Reading Eggs as well as Mathletics accounts from home.


If you have any questions about Year One, ask away at our Parent Session, or feel free to email me at any time. Our Parent Communication Book is at the door, and feel free to communicate any brief messages with me in the mornings.

Happy weekend! 

Amy Rundle