Room+2+Parent+Newsletter

**Parent Newsletters**

Term 2 Dear Parents,

What an exciting term we have planned. This term we are continuing our inquiry into Sustainability. We will be looking at our native birds, their preditors and how we can help to sustain them.

Children will be writing reports about birds and their preditors and we will be reading non-ficton texts in reading.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Term 1 Newsletter

Dear Parents, Welcome to the new school year and to all those children and families that are new to Room 2 this year. This newsletter is an overview of what happens in Room 2 classroom and programmes. Please take the time to read through all the information. // The morning programme commences at 9.15am and concludes at 10.45am. // We begin each day with the roll and prayers. We follow a prayer format which is based on a liturgy and includes a morning offering, Bible reading and individual prayers. The children set up prayers and chose the readings for the day. We do Religious Education on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays straight after prayers. Each term we start by looking at a unit on prayers. This term it was Introduction to Prayers. Each term we do one or two strands (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Church, Sacrament and Saints). This term we will be doing the God Strand – starting in week 4. In amongst these strands we do lessons out of the Liturgical Year book, for example Lent, Easter, Advent. Each lesson has a focus which is discussed at the beginning and end of each lesson. This year we are using the new digital resource. The resource is to enhance our teaching and make it more interesting for the children. They will still be learning the same content, just in a more interesting way. We are no longer using children’s books, instead they will keep their work in a scrapbook. Some of the work done in this book will be homework and needs to come back to school the following day so we may use it again. We will also be focusing on the MacKillop Values as part of our school charism. This term in Room 2 we are looking at “Attitude of Gratitude”. The children have written how they see this in our class and it is displayed on our back wall. Maths is split into two parts – Numeracy and the Strands (Geometry, Statistics and Measurement). In Room 2 we do Numeracy from Monday – Thursday and strand work on Friday. This term we are looking at the Statistics Strand. Each Numeracy day begins with a basic facts warm up with children practising the stage they are at and this is followed by some I KAN practise. Each term we have a basic facts maths test to work out which stage they are on. After we are warmed up children then move into group work. This involves one of three things – working with the teacher, practise work (which may involve book work) and group box activities. This term we are working on Knowledge and/or Addition and Subtraction depending on children’s needs. This year I have changed my strand teaching from a block of two weeks a term to every Friday all term. I hope that this will help the children to maintain strand knowledge. Word power is when children write as many words as they can for ten minutes independently. By the time children are 6 years old they need to be able to write 40 words within this time frame. To help children to reach this we practise this one or two times a week. Children write the words in their word activity book and scores are kept in a table in the front of their book. Word families, words with different endings and basic high frequency words are included in the prompts given to the children. At times we may do dictation instead. This is where I read a sentence out and the children write down the sounds that hear in each word. Preceding these activities we look at either a word family or spelling rule. We focus on one letter a week for handwriting and work on it two times a week. I model to children how to correctly form the letter and then the children complete a handwriting task in their books. Handwriting may differ depending on individual needs. This means that some children may be working on pre-writing activities, letter formation sheets or following a writing model in their handwriting book. Year 1 children focus only on lower case letters and Year 2 children focus on both upper and lower case letters. Children look at their work with the teacher and work out what they need to focus on next. This is then written at the top of their page to remind them. // This is the morning programme commencing at 11.00 and concluding at 12.45. // Each week Room 2 has a shared book and a poem that they focus on. From both these texts children learn about parts of language, vocabulary and grammar. On Monday we read through both texts and discuss the title, author, illustrations and concepts of print. Tuesday we look at new vocabulary, what it means and how we can solve new words. Wednesday we focus on punctuation, word choices and language conventions. Thursday we focus on the word patterns and revise. Friday we illustrate the poem ready for taking home to read with you. Please ensure that the poetry folder is returned on Monday ready for adding the next poem. Reading takes place for the rest of the morning. Children are grouped according to their needs which are assessed through regular running records. Children reading at orange level or above read with me twice a week. Children reading below orange read with me every day. When a group comes to me they are reading a book that is new to them. I write their book title into their reading log and check any high frequency words that they may be working on. Then we discuss and read the book working on the specific needs of the children in the group – from learning about initial sounds to learning strategies for working out new words to self monitoring when reading and developing comprehension. Each group has a modelling book that we use to look at words, word families, spelling, sounds, punctuation etc. Once children have read the book with me they place it in their book bag and we talk through work for them to do that focuses on the text have just read. This is glued into their literacy scrapbook. Children who have completed written work are able to read books from their named reading box or play a literacy game. Each child has their own reading box with books that they have either read or are at a lower level. These are changed as children move in their reading. Each night a book should come home in their reading bag with their reading log. Please sign the reading log and read and discuss the book with your child. Please ensure that both return to school the next day. Please take great care of our reading books. We only have a few copies of each book. When one is lost, damaged or not returned it means that the set can no longer be read with a group. These books cost between $6.00 and $12.50 per book to replace. We have brand new books from Magenta to Yellow and are hoping to purchase new books this year from Orange to Gold. Please keep these books in a safe place and return them each day as they are precious to us and to our future readers. In Room 2 we do our spelling through our reading and writing programme. Children have words from the Essential lists written into their homework scrapbooks once a week and take them home to practise. They are tested on Fridays before school and new words are written in then. Year 1 children who are not ready to spell yet have letter names or sounds to learn and are also tested on these on Fridays before school. High Frequency Word Lists – these are words that children need to know, that support them in their reading and writing. Children start with a basic list and then work through colour level lists which go with the reading levels. These are tested whenever the child wishes and on a Friday morning. These lists are kept in the homework scrapbook for you to work on at home. // The afternoon programme commences at 1.30 and concludes at 2.50pm. // Writing happens every Monday to Thursday. Writing begins with a modelling session where we discuss what we are going to write and I model on the board, looking at what needs to be in our writing and how to write words we are unsure of (eg: stretching it our like chewing gum, listening and writing what we can hear). Children leave the mat area with their book, an alphabet card (if needed) and their first idea for their story. This may be a picture, sentence or story idea depending on their writing need. At the top of their page for the day is a symbol to remind them what they are focusing on in their writing (finger spaces, stretching out sounds, listening to sounds, capital letters and full stops etc). This changes as their need changes. All children write their story at the same time. While they are writing I move around the tables supporting individual children or I may work with a small group on a particular need on the mat. When they have finished writing, children who are ready to, will identify their errors by underlining them with coloured pencil and look them up on the editing cards. All children who have finished writing bring their work to me to be corrected by the teacher. Some pieces of writing will be published and displayed in class. Others will remain as draft pieces. Our school wide writing focus for this term is recounts. Straight after writing children participate in Physical Education. Here they learn skills that will improve their fitness and knowledge of skills that can be used later in life for sports. This term we are focusing on swimming and ball skills. This year our school is focusing on Sustainability as a year-long inquiry unit. In the first term we will be looking at how we sustain ourselves. In term two we will be having a science/technology focus. In term three we will focus on the social sciences and finally in term four we will look at sustainability through the arts. As the year goes on I will update you on how this will look in Room 2. For now we are looking at what we do to keep ourselves healthy. The Key Competencies are the life long skills that children need to develop in order to be successful. They are – Relating to Others, Participating and Contributing, Managing Self, Thinking and Language, Texts and Symbols. This year we will be focusing on the Key Competency that comes to the front in our Sustainability focus. For term one this is Managing Self and Relating to Others. Room 2 will visit the library straight after RE on Friday mornings. Children will be able to choose issue and return personal books at this time. Children may take two books out at a time. All books must go through the library scanner to before they can be returned to the library. If you place them straight back on the shelves your child will still have books recorded as out and will not be able to get another one out until they are properly returned. Please place your books for returning in the purple basket on the shelf next to the parent notice board at the entrance door to Room 2, before Friday classes starts. This year we are using a new homework system that will continue through to Year 4. The homework is a word based programme that will support children’s knowledge of letters and words. Children may have up to four pages of work to complete over the week. Homework will be given out on Monday and needs to be returned for marking on Friday. It is up to you when children do it. A set of spelling/alphabet letters/high frequency words will also be part of your child’s homework. These will be tested each Friday. Children also need to read their reading book each night. If you need other books to read during the term or holidays, remember the public library is a great resource. Children in Room 2 are encouraged and supported to complete their work to the best of their ability and a high standard. If work is not completed within a reasonable timeframe children will be asked to stay in and complete it at morning tea or lunch time. If it is still not completed it will then be sent home to be completed, with a note in their homework book. Behaviour expectations are also very high. Children are expected to listen carefully to all instructions, speak appropriately at all times, use their manners and sit appropriately on the mat or at their table. Children are expected to begin all work tasks quickly, work quietly and complete them within a certain timeframe. This develops positive work habits and discipline for their life. Please discuss with your child what behaviour is appropriate for school and what behaviour is not. I hope this information is helpful. I am looking forward to working with your child. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at school. We have an exciting, fun filled year ahead, let’s make it a successful one for your child.
 * __ Roll and Prayers __**
 * __ Religious Education __**
 * __ Mathematics __**
 * __ Word Power __**
 * __ Handwriting __**
 * __ Shared Book and Poem __**
 * __ Reading- Guided __**
 * __ Reading Books __**
 * __ Spelling __**
 * __ Writing __**
 * __ Fitness/PE __**
 * __ Sustainablity – Science, Technology, Health, Social Sciences, The Arts __**
 * __ Library __**
 * __ Homework __**
 * __ General __**
 * // Note: //**// Due to swimming the above programme may not run as outlined. Once swimming is over for the term children will get back into routine. I thank you for your patience while this is happening. //