The students in Kindergarten have had a fantastic start to the year. In just a few short weeks, we have made some huge learning leaps. We are now settled into the routines of school. Earlier this term we had a visit from Mrs. Brooke Wardana, our Instructional Coach from Shaping Minds. Brooke remarked about what a beautiful,  settled bunch our Kinders are; of course I couldn’t agree more!

The Year 6 buddies have been an amazing support to Kindergarten, helping them say goodbye to their grown-ups in the morning and playing with them at break times. Having now settled into life at ‘big school’, Kinder are enjoying getting to know their classmates and forming new friendships. 

Religion
We are currently learning about the season of Lent. We have been discussing things we can do to acknowledge this very special time of year, such as being helpful to our families and being kind to others. Perhaps most importantly, we need to help those less fortunate than ourselves. The students have come up with some wonderful suggestions about how to do this, such as donating toys to charity.

English
In Kindergarten, the students take their English lessons very seriously because they are very excited to learn to read and write! These little superstars have learned the sounds for letters ‘m’, ‘s’ and ‘t’. Next, they will learn their first vowel ‘a’… and then it’s time to put these sounds together to read our first words! We are working hard on our handwriting too - we have so much to remember in Kinder!

Kindergarten love to move their bodies while they are learning. In the images below they are jumping out words in sentences, as well as demonstrating their understanding using whiteboards.

Maths
In Mathematics this term our explicit lessons  and daily review sessions have included counting and subitising collections, writing the numerals 0-5, interpreting simple data displays, sorting and grouping objects, 2D shapes and sequencing events. We are finding many uses for our newfound mathematical knowledge and skills, and love applying these concepts during our Investigation time.

Geography
In Geography we are learning about places; how they are used and how we can care for them. Our Geography Investigation Zone is a ‘mini Moruya’. We look forward to adding our own creations to this zone as the unit progresses.

Investigations
In Kindergarten we thoroughly enjoy our Investigation time! Our classroom is set up with a variety of different zones, including Religion, English, Maths, Geography, Science, Reading Nook, Tinkering, Construction and Art. The students love this time of day when they can explore, create, discuss and problem solve. During each session, our focus students are given a task to complete, which is linked to the Early Stage 1 learning outcomes. Pictured below are just a few of our fabulous projects.

In Kindergarten we love to learn, and we are doing it at a great pace. No wonder we are all a bit tired at the end of each week. I’m sure you will get a big surprise when we put our next learning update in the newsletter because we will have come so far!

Gen Schofield
Kindergarten Teacher