Swimming recess change

Dear parents,

The lovely Mrs. Sorgiovanni took the children swimming today and as we have a bit of time at the pool after our lesson finishes, we would appreciate it if you packed the children's recess in a separate container. This will allow the children to eat their recess at the pool instead of at school like previously planned.

When the children come in tomorrow, if you could bring their sip and crunch AND recess into the class and place it on their desk, that would be great.

Day one of swimming went really well and I hope the children are tucked up in bed ready for another day!

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow.

Kind regards,

Miss Prowse

Week five...still alive!

Dear Parents,

I hope you all had a lovely long weekend with your families and you managed to sneak out to watch the wonderful fireworks on the weekend!

Just a few reminders for this week...

Crazy Hair Day

This Friday it will be crazy hair day for the children who wish to participate. We ask that you bring a gold coin donation to help support St Brendan's School in NSW who were affected by the bush fires in January.

Homework

A new fortnight of homework went out today and has been glued into your child's book. We ask that your child colour the grid of things when they complete them and that you tick the words each night when your child reads their fluency maze (ay/ai/a-e words this fortnight). We have included a 'friends of 10' activity for your child to complete in the maths section of the grid.


Swimming Information

Swimming commences this Monday 9th March to Friday 13th of March. 

The children may wear their sports uniform the entire week with their bathers under their uniform. If your child is wearing a rashie, please bring it separately, as they can be hot under their uniform. 

We are very lucky to be heading to the pool for the morning session leaving OLC at 9.40 am and we will return to OLC by 12.40pm This year the children will have 2 x 40 min lessons within this block, with a 10 min break between each lesson. Within this break, the children will be eating their sip and crunch to keep them sustained for the double lesson. 

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 on their bag hook until our swimming time.


 We ask that your child come to school in bathers and thongs but pack their shoes in their bag to wear when they get back from the pool. 

The children will be eating their recess at around 9.20am and taking their sip and crunch with them to the pool for the 10 minute break. I ask that you pack this AND their water bottles in their swimming bag so they can be ready to go at 9.40am.  I would also ask that you bring your child's sip and crunch in a clearly labelled container as these containers often go missing at swimming time.

Please place everything that your child needs (eg. goggles, towel/dressing gown) in a separate swimming bag (plastic or material) along with another plastic bag to put their wet towel and bathers in when they return from swimming at 12.40pm.

If you have any questions, please email me.

Maths Focus

In Maths we have been looking at addition and how we can make numbers in a variety of ways. We have loved playing games, participating in hands on activities and putting strategies into practise. Here are a few snaps from our Maths session last week, I even saw some of the children showed you how we can add numbers together using a coat hanger and pegs!




Thanks for your ongoing support,

Miss Prowse 

Welcome to Week Four!

Good evening Parents,

I hope you all had a lovely weekend enjoying the change of weather and the little sprinkle of rain we received! I know all the children and I were talking about all the 'rad' music that was coming from town on Saturday!

Just a few pieces of information for this week...

Ash Wednesday Prayer service
On Wednesday the 26th of February at 10 am, the school will be participating in an Ash Wednesday prayer service in the hall. You are most welcome to join us for this special start to the season of Lent.

Parent Roster
Due to the short week 5 (Monday public holiday) and swimming lessons in week 6, the Year One and Two team have decided to start parent roster in week 7. Parent roster will run Monday- Wednesday from 8.40-10.40am. I will pop a roster outside our door - we would love to have you in!
Please only put your name down once to allow other parents an opportunity to come in.

Gathering Time 
Across the early childhood area, we have noticed that gathering time is getting rather loud and we have had a few complaints about the noise level from those children who can be quite sensitive to loud talking and noises. Please be aware that there is no new learning that happens during gathering time and it it simply a time for children to:

- Put their sip and crunch on the desk
- Drop off their reading file
- Put out their chair
- Complete a short activity/read a book

Both Mrs. Hughes and I are in the room to support the children, so if you would like to 'kiss and drop' you child at the door, you are more than welcome to do this as we want to promote independence and resilience. If you require to talk to me about something important, please send me an email in advance, as it can be difficult to chat in the mornings with 29 little darlings also requiring my time and assistance. As soon as the bell goes at 8.40am, the children know that we go out for fitness and we will be exiting out through the ECC door to elevate any congestion.

Homework
Homework is due this Friday the 28th of February. Could you please ensure your child brings their R.E.D reading file AND homework book for me to stamp. If you will not be here on Friday (very jealous of some sneaky camping trips), please pop them in early and I will look after them over the weekend.

Thank you for your on going support,

Miss Prowse

News Roster

Dear Parents,

Today your child will come home with their new news roster! Your child will have the opportunity to have their news once a fortnight with a specific theme.

Although we love other pieces of news, please keep things (such as toys and promotional items) that are not on their news day at home as we have a limited amount of time (and a large class).






Please check the last blog for information about homework.

Miss Prowse

Week Three Information

Good evening parents,


Wow! What a wonderful start to the week we have had. Thank you to all who could make it to our parent information sessions last week, I hope it was a great way to find out the 'nitty gritty' of Year One. A few pieces of information for this week...

AGM

This Wednesday the 19th of February, we have our annual AGM beginning at 7pm. We would love to see you there to tell you about all the wonderful things the school has been doing!

Homework

Yay! The time that you have all been waiting for! Today we sent home a homework book and their R.E.D reading folder. Please have a read of the homework grid and complete the shaded parts with your child every night.They include:

1. Read every night (with the supplied reading book)
2. Be read to by an adult or older sibling
3. Read the words on your fluency grid

The fluency grid we have included are words we have been working on in class.  Please mark the word they are having trouble sounding out with a dot and the words they are reading with ease, with a tick.

The children's reading books will be changed every Monday and Wednesday and be kept for two nights. The idea for two nights of reading is so that children can read for fluency (day 1) then read for comprehension (day 2).

You may either bring your child's homework book in their reading file everyday OR leave it at home until Friday Week Four (28.02.2020) when the homework is due.

See below the items that should have come home with your child today :)

Incursion/Excursion Notes and Swimming notes

If there is anyone that has not returned their incursion or excursion notes, we have some spares in the classroom if you would like to fill one in, otherwise, it was included in the last newsletter for you to fill out and print at home. Swimming notes are also required back ASAP, if you need another one, please come and see me.

News Roster

The News Roster will be coming home this week. Please check your child's group and the days and weeks they will be telling their news (either 4, 6, 8 or 5, 7 ,9). The children have been so excited to tell their news to everyone!

Box construction

We need your boxes! As a part of our Learning Centre rotations on a Friday, we would love it if you could bring in some old boxes that we can use. Please bring them to the wet area when ever you can throughout the week.

Caramel the Camel

We have a new visitor to Year 1P, her name is Caramel the Camel. She has come all the way from Broome to visit the beautiful South West. She wrote us a recount of her time in Dunsborough and would love to go and visit the children in Year 1P over a weekend. She loves ice cream, cuddles and relaxing at home with a good movie!Keep an eye out for her friend Kiki the Koala who will also be coming to visit.

Keep an eye on the blog for some pictures of what we have been learning about the past few weeks!

Thank you for your on going support,

Miss Prowse

Year One and Two Parent Night Information Night

Dear Parents, 

As mentioned in the newsletter, we have our annual parents information night on Tuesday the 11th of February. 

This is a new format where we offer two sessions times of the same information with an address from Mr. Eugene Lee in between these sessions in the hall.  

As we are a Year One and Two team, we will be presenting to both year levels in the Library. 

These will commence at: 
First Session: 5.00-5.25pm. 
5.30 til 5.55pm Parents then attend a brief presentation in the hall 
Second Session: 6.00-6.25pm

As on ongoing focus of sustainability at OLC, there will be no paper hand out on the night.  Please see below the link to access the powerpoint presentation and information that will be covered on the night.  This also caters for parents who are unable to attend on the night. 

Please click below for the link:

Year One and Two Parent Information Night Presentation

We are looking for two class reps per class. If you are interested, there will be an opportunity to volunteer on the night.  If you are unable to attend and are interested in being a class representative please email before Tuesday.   

Kind regards, 
Monique, Penny, Gemma and Amy
Year 1 and 2 Team

Welcome to Year 1P for 2020

Hello and welcome Parents to the Year 1P blog,

I hope you have all had a relaxing and peaceful holiday and enjoyed some of this beautiful Summer weather!

I am looking forward to getting to know your beautiful children and working with you throughout your child's learning journey this year.

Year One is a big, but exciting year where your child will, discover, grow, create, learn, reflect and experience an abundance of fun and interesting things in our class!

As a parent of a Year One student, 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.

A few important things for the start of Year One: 

Class Blog

This blog will be the main communication for any parent information over the coming year.  Please enter your email into the 'follow by email' section on the left hand side of the blog so you will get email updates when I post to the blog.

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.  This year, we are trying to reduce our impact on the environment by not covering our books with contact. We have found in the past that the books have lasted throughout the year and it teaches the children to be responsible and take care of their belongings. 

Text books including Spelling Journal, Handwriting book and headphones (If you ordered them) are the only items that require labeling.

Names

Please ensure that all personal items (hats, drink bottles, lunch boxes, uniforms crunch & sip containers, etc) belonging to your child are labelled to avoid losing items! You would be surprised how often we find a rogue shoe around the place :) 

Uniform
Term one is our Summer uniform: 
Girls - Summer dress with brown sandals or black school shoes with white socks.
Boys - White shirt, grey shorts with brown sandals or black school shoes with grey socks. Please see school website for more information. 

New Bell Times
Doors open: 8:30
Recess: 10:40am - 11:00am
Lunch: 1:00pm - 1:40pm
End of School Day: 3:00pm for everyone, including pick up lane & bus. 

Gathering Time
Gathering time begins at 8:30am until 8:40am. Please ensure that your child is at school by 8.40am. If you arrive at school after 8.40am parents are required to attend the office first with your child to sign and pick up a Late Pass and then give this to the class teacher. During gathering time, take this as an opportunity to settle your child into the day.  Some mornings it could include your child completing a small English or Math game or activity or an activity relating to something we have been learning about. Please note no new learning will take place in gathering time. 

New Policy for Early Leaving
This is a new OLC policy regarding early leaving - If you wish to collect your child early from school, you are required to come to go to the office first, collect a Parent Pass and then hand this to the classroom teacher as you collect your child. 

Homework
OLC is following a new format for homework this year, from Years 1-6. This will be based on the Ian Lilico homework grid. There will also be a change to the Sight Words & Spelling homework tasks that the Year Ones and Two have completed in previous years. More information will follow in coming weeks. 
Home Reading - As the children are settling into the new routines and expectations of Year One, we will begin sending home reading books from Week 2 Monday - Friday. We ask that your child brings their Red Reading Folder everyday so they can write the title of their new book in each morning during gathering time. On a Friday the folders will be left at school, as there will be no homework assigned over the weekends. There will be a tub placed at the front of the classroom for all of the folders.

Specialist Days

Monday:  

Tuesday: Music and HASS

Wednesday: Physical Education (wear teal OLC sports shirt)

Thursday: Indonesian
Friday: Library & Class sport (wear coloured faction shirt)

Support Staff
We are very fortunate to have the outstanding Mrs. Michelle Hughes to help and support the children in their learning journey throughout this year.  Mrs. Hughes will be in our class Monday to Friday until 12.00pm each day. 

News

The children will be rostered on a particular day for news once a fortnight, with a roster and start date to be announced shortly. Each fortnight on the afternoon before your child’s news day, a bag will be sent home with some question prompts inside. 

The idea of the questions is to get your child to think about what they will say to the class before they speak. It would be greatly appreciated if you could spend five minutes the night before news assisting your child to answer the questions. Please feel free to email pictures/ links or send usb's in if you would like to show news items on the smart board. 

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 (www.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). Please bring along a water bottle with your child's name on it and this can be placed on their desks along with their small container of fruit/vegetables. 

Canteen 

Canteen will run on Tuesdays & Thursdays & there will be a limited lunch time only menu on Fridays. Students are welcome to purchase food and drink at recess without prior ordering. If your child would like a lunch order, there will be a black lunch order box placed in the classroom that your child can place their order in during gathering time. 

Teacher Contact

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

monique.prowse@cewa.edu.au

I am looking forward to seeing your little ones on Monday!

Have a restful night and enjoy your weekend,

Miss Monique Prowse