Kindergarten team updates

Kindergarten Team – Term 2

Dear Families and Friends of Kindergarten,

Welcome to Term 2! Last term we began developing skills related to our learner asset of being a ‘self manager’ – building our class community, working on a range of self-help skills, and finding ways to contribute to a whole group. This term we will expand on this focus and learn how to be ‘positive contributors’ in our school community and beyond.

Term 2 Big Question- ‘How Can We Contribute to Country by Caring for Living Things?’

Our inquiry focus this term is driven by the biological sciences strand of the Science curriculum, investigating the features of living things, what they need to survive and how we can support them to thrive on Country. We are very excited to have the Academy of Future Skills team visiting once a week to deliver some fun and engaging sessions to help us ‘Think like a Scientist’. We will be developing our skills in asking deep questions, sharing and reflecting on observations, performing simple experiments and growing our scientific vocabulary.

Excursion

In week 3, we will visit Birrigai Outdoor Education Centre to complement our learning around living things, our awareness and appreciation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and to help understand how Country supports living things and predicts weather. Students will be involved in the sacred art of sharing storytelling through songlines.

Specialist Lessons

All classes will continue to have specialist lessons across the week with various teachers. Liga will continue with weekly music lessons and Kayla will be teaching literacy through mentor texts with a Social Emotional lens. All Kindergarten students will have their regular Community Singing session with Kayla and Jocelyn on Monday afternoons. This has been a beautiful time of connection through music and song. Other specialist teachers, such as Rima and Kat, will also have time with our Kindergarten students.

Library

Library borrowing sessions are every Friday for all of Kindergarten.

Reports

At the end of this term a mid-year report will be sent home outlining your child’s progress so far. Accompanying this report will be a portfolio of work showcasing some of their amazing learning. Please make sure these are returned so we can continue to add more work samples over semester 2.

Volunteers

If you would like to volunteer in your child’s classroom or across the kinder team, please get in touch with your child’s teacher. Now that we are in more of a routine, we would love to welcome you. All regular volunteers need a Working with Vulnerable People Card (WWVP), available through the Access Canberra website. There is no cost for volunteers to obtain this.

Reminders

Please continue to regularly change home readers
Please continue to label all belongings, particularly as the colder weather sets in and lost jumpers start to mount up.
In line with Directorate recommendations, students can be hat free for the months of June and July.
Thank you for doing your best to get children to school by 9am. That first half an hour in the morning is so important to set their day up for success. Students can be dropped off before school at the pergola between 8:30 to 9:00, where they will be supervised by a teacher on duty. If you are running late in the afternoon, please contact the front office directly by phone. Students will be supervised in the front office until you arrive.

If you would like to contact your child’s class teacher to discuss their progress, email is the best option. Please allow 3 working days for a response as per our communication policy.

We are looking forward to another successful and fun term!

The Kinder Team:

Kayla Gifford (Team Leader) Alice Winchester (KAW) Imogen McKeon (KIM)

Lee Young (KYL) Jane Frazer (KYL & KIM)

Learning Overview for Kindergarten- Term 2

Please find below the achievement standards from the Australian Curriculum) that will frame your child’s learning experiences.

Learning Area	Focus	Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards
English	Writing	Orally blends and segments phonemes in single-syllable words Names the letters of the English alphabet and knows and uses the most common sounds (phonemes) represented by these letters (graphs) Creates short written texts, including retelling stories using words and images where appropriate Forms letters, spells most consonant/vowel/consonant (CVC) words and experiments with capital letters and full stops
	Reading	Listens to texts, interacts with others and creates short spoken texts, including retelling stories identify some differences between imaginative and informative texts Listens for and identifies rhymes, letter patterns and sounds (phonemes) in words Orally blends and segments phonemes in single-syllable words Reads, views and comprehends texts, making connections between characters, settings and events, and to personal experiences Reads words including consonant/ vowel / consonant words and some high-frequency words
	Speaking and Listening	Listens to texts, interacts with others and creates short spoken texts, including retelling stories Uses language features including words and phrases from learning and texts interact in informal and structured situations by listening while others speak and using features of voice including volume levels
Mathematics	Number Time Pattern Data	Makes connections between number names, numerals and position in the sequence of numbers from zero to at least 20 Uses subitising and counting strategies to quantify collections Compares the size of collections to at least 20 Copies and continues repeating patterns Sequences and connects familiar events to the time of day Collects, sorts, and compares data in response to questions in familiar contexts
Science	Biological Sciences	Groups plants and animals based on external features Identifies examples of people using observation and questioning to learn about the natural world Poses questions and makes predictions based on their experiences With guidance, represents observations and identifies patterns Shares questions, predictions, observations and ideas about their experiences with others
PE and Health	Fundamental Movement Skills Social/Emotional Learning (SEL)	Demonstrates personal and social skills to interact respectfully with others Applies fundamental movement skills to manipulate objects and space in a range of movement situations Identifies the benefits of being physically active and how rules make play fair and inclusive
The Arts -	Visual Arts Music	Participate in music activities, keeping in time and listening to pitch when they sing and play Describes experiences, observations, ideas and/or feelings about arts works they encounter at school, home and/or in the community Uses play, imagination, arts knowledge, processes and/or skills to create and share arts works in different forms
Technology	Design/Make/Appraise Digital Technologies	Creates, communicates and chooses design ideas Follows steps and uses materials and equipment to safely make a designed solution