Last few Weeks

Home Reading & Library Books

Please start searching for any unreturned Home Reading books and please return them as soon as possible.

Student Work

Students' work will start coming home in the over the next few weeks as we begin the tidying up process in preparation for next year. Students who have their library bags still at school have been asked to keep them in their lockers to take them home closer towards the end of the year. We have a number of cloth shopping bags at school other students will be able to use as well. Please do not take any books home at this point in time.

Year 1 Term 4 Family Inquiry Celebration

This will be held on Monday 12th December at 2:30 pm starting in the Torus. Please come along to see the fantastic learning students have completed as part of their inquiry this term (a separate note will come home shortly). Thank you to the parents and extended family members who have assisted during the term on students' inquiry projects!

Year 1 Assembly

For those not able to make Monday, the Year 1s will be sharing some of their projects at Tuesday 13th December Assembly at 9:00 am.

Please remember to read the newsletter each week to keep up to date with other events in the busy, last few weeks of term.

We will endeavour to post further updates on the Blog as well.

Best wishes,

Mark, Sheryal and Elke

2012 Transition - Update from Rita

Transition: We all experience it!

The whole school community including children, parents and staff are experiencing the transition of children from one year level to another.

To familiarise themselves with new home groups and neighbourhoods the children will partake in 4 transition sessions. Three will take place on 5^th, 6^th, 7^th December from 10am to 11:15. The children will spend time in their 2012 neighbourhoods with their team of teachers and groups. They will familiarise themselves with the new learning spaces, discuss learning possibilities and partake in learning agreement activities with all of their 2012 teachers.  Older children will be mentoring and offering advice to the younger ones. The children will have lunch in their new spaces as part of each session. The aim is to make all children feel comfortable, confident and excited about their next year level. Consistency in learning across the school aims to make this a seamless process.

On Tuesday 20^th December there will be a fourth transition session where the children will be introduced to their 2012 home teacher as well as working in their new neighbourhoods for 1 hour. This will take place from 2.30 to 3.30. The children will be dismissed from their new neighbourhoods on this day.

This period of change is both challenging and exciting in which children and families adjust to expectations, interactions and relationships.

Rita Jokubaitis

Student Pathways and Transitions.

Learning Celebration & Yr 1 Assembly

On Monday 12th December the Year 1s will be presenting their inquiry learning in the Year 1 Neighbourhood. Further details of this will be provided closer to the date. 

On Tuesday 13th December, the Year 1s will be hosted the whole school assembly.

Please put these dates into your calendars!

Elke, Sheryal, Mark & Shana

Parent Helpers

Please see one of the Year 1 teachers if you are able to assist with Play & Inquiry projects in the next couple of weeks, particularly using computers and recording software.

Many thanks,

Elke, Sheryal and Mark

Play & Inquiry

Over the past few weeks, the Year 1 students have been busy working on their Play & Inquiry projects and the neighbourhood has been extremely busy with amazing creative projects communicating their ideas about families.

Some of the ways in which students are working include: Quilting; Story writing (Room 18); Doll making and performance masks from different parts of the world (Room 18); Claymation and Family portraits (the Torus).

In the Torus area last week we were fortunate to have a professional animator, Maya, come and assist us with the claymation projects and show us some her fantastic animation projects!

In the Torus, most groups have completed their storyboards for their Claymation projects and have now begun to develop their characters and backdrops.

Today, some have already begun experimenting with recording sound files of their stories before film work begins.

The Family portrait group have completed the good copies of their written explanation of their family portraits and have joined other Play & Inquiry groups to extend their learning throughout this term.

Students in the Claymation area need to remember to bring in props from home for their projects (ie doll house furnishing, cars, etc). 

We hope to have some of the students projects completed and ready to show at the Year 1 Assembly later in the term. At this stage, this has been scheduled for Tuesday 6th December.

Book Swapping on Thursdays

Over the next four weeks period, during the 2012 Prep Transition program, staff, students and parents are being asked not to use the Hall/Torus areas in the mornings. This will mean that home reading books will need to be changed during or at the end of the day, with the Specialist program operating in the two hour block after lunch.

We thank you for your cooperation,

The Year 1 Team