Life in Year 1
The Year 1 students have hit the ground running in what is shaping up to be an outstanding year of learning! We have spent the first four weeks of school learning about each other, appreciating each other's differences and strengths. The children have been introduced to our class focus text; Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen, which emphasises the importance of belonging to a very special group of individuals, where everyone is valued and appreciated. The students have been unpacking our school values; I am safe, I am doing my best, I am respectful and I am kind. As a class family we have been considering what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to be a good learner at St Mary’s. 

Religion
Each day in Year 1 starts with Christian Meditation, a time to calm our bodies and be in God’s presence. This is then followed by class prayer where the children share specific intentions, giving thanks to God. In our Religion lessons we have been sharing our thoughts on where and how we see God in our everyday lives. The students have been describing their thoughts and feelings about God moments in their lives. 

I see God in the morning sunrise. Phoebe

I see God in a flowing river. Quinn

I imagine God to be like the tall mountains and green paddocks. Mallee

I hear God when people speak with kindness.  Evie

English
Daily story time in Year 1 is very special, as our class friend, Mumma Duke the white rabbit comes out to play! She enjoys quality literature just as much as the children and takes great joy in posing literal and inferred comprehension questions at the end of the shared reading text. Mumma Duke brings joy and excitement to shared text reading on a daily basis. As part of our daily InitiaLit lessons that children are partaking in a variety of oral, reading and written activities, using and manipulating their sound and letter knowledge. This week we are looking at a variety of digraphs, two letters making one phoneme.  

Maths
The students in Year 1 demonstrate a strong interest in Mathematics and love working with numbers, displaying their ability to represent numerical amounts in a variety of ways. In Mathematics the children participate in a series of activities, using hands-on materials but also partaking in explicit direct instruction lessons using white boards to demonstrate their understanding. 

Visual Arts
Over the past few weeks the children have been working on a self portrait artwork. As a class we read the text We’re all Wonders, a picture book version of the famous novel Wonder, about a boy named Augie Pullman who just wished the world viewed everybody as equals regardless of the way they look. The children discussed and learnt that in Year 1 we are all Wonders! 

Investigations
A highlight of everybody’s day! A time when the students can build, design, wonder, explore and challenge their thinking by asking questions and posing hypotheses. In Science this term we are learning about plants, animals and living things. Therefore at the Science investigation zone we have had labelled scientific drawings, watercolour paintings of plants and an investigation into what seed belongs to what plant. The Tinkering zone has been a popular choice as the children are deconstructing a drill and looking at all the different internal parts. The children even learnt that there is an internal section of the drill that is completely magnetic! Each day in Year 1 there are 3 Focus Students, who during investigations are given specific tasks to complete which are linked to the Stage 1 learning outcomes. 

The Year 1 children have had an outstanding start to 2023 and I look forward to working with them and their families throughout the year! Stay tuned as exciting things are coming to the Year 1 classroom in Term 2, as we will welcome our parent community into the classroom for Family Focus Week!

Mrs Jessie White
1 Blue Teacher