Welcome to Year 1R!

Welcome to Year IR! Thank you for entrusting your child to us. We promise to do our best every day to be your child's companion in learning. 

Year One is an incredible year in your child's life of learning. It is an exciting time as children embark upon new adventures in the world of education. This is a year of important transitions, as well as one in which the acquisition of new skills is accelerated.

During Year One, your child will learn more of how language works, consolidate alphabet and sound knowledge, increase their sight word bank, learn how to write, work with numbers, and so much more!  We hope to make your child's days of learning fun and exciting and we hope to instill a love of learning that will last throughout your child's years of schooling.

So much happens in Year One!  Because of this, parents as well as children may have some apprehensions about what will happen.  It is extremely important to keep in mind that we all build on small successes.  Each child will progress at his/her own rate, acquiring skills as he/she is developmentally ready.  Maintaining each child's self-esteem and building a secure foundation for future growth will always remain a priority in our class.

Here are some ways you can help:

•       Celebrate your child's success, no matter how small it may seem.  This will keep your child enthusiastic about learning and proud of their work!
•       Look for and read any notes and letters going home and stay updated on what’s going on in our regular blog posts. These will have important information and helpful reminders.
•       Read to and with your child every day, if possible. The more your child is exposed to language, the easier it will be for him/her to incorporate new skills in reading and writing in the classroom.

This is going to be a most exciting year in which your child will love to learn. We look forward to working with you and your child and developing in them the interest and motivation to ask and find out ‘why’.

A FEW IMPORTANT THINGS OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS:

Home Readers:

As the children are settling into the new routines and expectations of Year One, we will begin sending home reading books from Wednesday 8th of February on a 2 day roster. Your child will be scheduled a changing day (Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday) but we ask that you bring their reading folder everyday so they can read in the morning and keep their sight words in them for the year.

Swimming:

Swimming commences next Friday 10^th and will continue until Thursday 16th. A swimming timetable will be released soon and we will let you know when our child will be swimming.

Please bring their towel, goggles and a spare plastic bag (for wet bathers) in either a separate sports bag or plastic bag which will hang outside until our swimming time. We ask that your child come to school in their thongs but pack their sports shoes in their bag to change into after the lesson.

Specialist days:

Monday: Indonesian

Tuesday: Music and Health

Wednesday: Library

Thursday: Physical Education (wear teal OLC sports shirt)

Friday: Class sport (wear coloured faction shirt)

Year One Staff:
Teacher: Miss Amy Rundle
Education Assistants: Mrs Lisa Annert (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday morning block), Mrs Denise Stokes (Thursday morning block) and Ms Mel Kent (Tuesday and Wednesday middle block).
We have a great team in Year One!

News:

The children will be rostered on for news once a fortnight, beginning from week three onwards. Each fortnight on the afternoon before your child’s news day, a bag will be sent home with a laminated news chart in it. The idea of the chart is to get your child to think about what they will say to the class before they speak. If you could spend five minutes the night before news assisting your child to fill out the chart (or writing a few prompts with them) that would be greatly appreciated! Please refer to the roster attached for your child’s news day and fortnightly theme suggestions.

Crunch & Sip:

Each morning we will stop for a 5 minute Crunch & Sip break. The idea of Crunch & Sip is that the students have a short break to increase their energy levels, increase awareness about eating fruit and vegetables, as well as encouraging them to drink water and keep hydrated throughout the school day. You can refer to the Crunch & Sip website (crunchandsip.com.au) for specifics on a list of foods that can be packed for this time of the morning. Generally speaking, the list will include fresh fruit and vegetables (celery/carrot sticks, broccoli, chopped or whole fruit, as well as dried fruit). The only drink permitted is water.

Stationery:

All class stationery (pencils, crayons, scissors etc.) will be collected together at the beginning of the year and distributed to the students on a shared basis. There will be no need to label any of your child’s items before bringing them to school. All text books will be labelled by the staff and checked off on a list when they are brought in to school. At the end of the year, all remaining stationery items will be shared out equally between the students to go home.

Names:

Please ensure that all personal items (hats, drink bottles, lunch boxes, uniforms, etc) belonging to your child are labelled to avoid losing items!

If you have any question or queries please don't hesitate to email me at:

rundle.amy@cathednet.wa.edu.au

I hope your little ones are not too tired after their first day! Have a restful night.

Miss Rundle