It is hard to believe that we are already beginning Term Four. It is a short and busy term with lots of fun events to enjoy together and to prepare the children for entering Pre Primary. This letter contains some information regarding events this term. Don’t forget to check your emails regularly as some information and reminders are also sent via the school office.
Learning Focus
Our learning theme is centred around On the Farm, before moving onto our Christmas topic later in the term. Our children have expressed an interest in farm animals in their play and have enjoyed songs and books about farms. There is some excellent children’s literature that we will explore based on this topic and an excursion to a real farm will be a great way to apply our knowledge and learn even more!
Important Dates
Week 2. Thursday 24 October – P&F Colour Run
Week 3. Thursday 31st of October – Excursion to Lansdale Farm
Week 8. Friday 6th December – Nativity Concert (performed by Kindy students afterschool)
Week 9. Monday 9th December – Grandparents Morning (all grandparents invited to attend)
Week 9. Tuesday 4th December – Class Outing
Rosters
A new set of rosters have been placed outside the classroom door. News will continue as per last term. Don’t forget to encourage your child to practise their news at home first using the pointers on the bottom on the sheet. Parents are once again encouraged to place their names down on the Parent Help Roster. Coming in as a parent helper is a great way to assist with some fun activities and also observe how your child interacts with their teachers and peers.
Morning and Afternoon Routines
Family time begins from 8:30 to 8:45am each day. During this time, children should be participating in activities with their parents or family members as we prepare to begin the day. This family time is a great opportunity to get your child settled in and work with them one-on-one on some name identification and fine motor activities or shared reading or puzzles. Parents are welcome to leave their child in the care of the teachers from 8:45am onwards. On the rare opportunity that you need to leave your child before the end of family time please see the teacher to ensure they are fully supervised. Please also try to remember that the Kindy pick up time is earlier than the rest of the school at 2:45pm. Ensuring your child is not picked up late would be much appreciated.
Learning at Home
Once again the Home Reading Comprehension packs will be available this term. Don’t forget to follow the instructions enclosed in each pack and to revisit the same book regularly over the week then return the packs to school each Monday. Thursday is our library day. Library books are chosen by the children and should encourage reading for enjoyment. Last term name tracing cards were sent home for you to use for practice at home. This term we will be assisting children to move away from relying on these cards and to write their names independently in preparation for Pre Primary. Don’t forget that whenever your child is writing or colouring at home they should be encouraged to use the correct pencil grip and to form letters correctly.
Letters and Sounds
From a very early age your child need to experience a wide range of activities and experiences (for example, singing and saying rhymes, making and listening to music, listening to them and joining in conversations, being read to, painting and pretend play) to develop their early reading and writing skills. These activities will help your child take the first important steps towards reading and writing. A phonics teaching programme called Letters and Sounds is used to support the teaching of Language and Literacy in our school. Children learn through a combination of lots of play, small group activities and explicit instruction and they are encouraged to use their increasing phonics knowledge daily in freely chosen activities.
In Kindergarten, children begin to understand more about the sounds of our language and they are able to join in with rhymes, songs and stories by clapping, stamping and skipping. This is a very important stage as the children’s ears are learning to tune into all the different sounds around them. Playing with sounds and tuning your child’s ears into sounds will develop phonological awareness, that is, the ability to discriminate different sounds. This term we will also continue to identify the initial sounds we hear in words, orally blend and segment simple words, identify rhyming words, learn how to pronounce sounds correctly and identify the sounds made by some letters, starting with s, a, t, p, i, n, m and d.
Reminders
- Please continue to keep a spare change of clothes in your child’s bag. Water and outside play can be messy and toileting accidents are still very normal even with frequent reminders from the teachers. We will try our best to notify you of any required changes when you collect your child. The spare clothes should also be appropriate for the current season if possible.
- Children with hair longer than their shoulders should wear their hair tied up when at school.
- Children’s footwear should be simple so that they can put on and remove it themselves (slip on shoes or velcro are best). Thongs are not appropriate.
- As the weather starts to warm up, families are encouraged to apply sunscreen for their child before school each day. Children are required to wear a hat at all times they are playing outside. Please make sure your child has a labelled hat that can stay at school in their pigeon hole.
Communication
If you have any concerns or simply would like to have a chat to discuss your child’s development, learning progress, social interactions or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me to arrange a time to meet. I will also be organising a time to meet individually with all families before the end of term.
Thank you once again for all of your help and support in Kindergarten this year. I look forward to another wonderful term ahead.
Warm regards,
Miss Jemma Davis
Kindy Teacher/ Acting Assistant Principal