Our smallest St Mary’s students have had a VERY BIG month. Everything is brand new for them: lunchbox, shoes, uniform, teachers, classroom, friends and school! We are so impressed with how quickly they have adapted to life at ‘big school’. Below is just a small snippet of what they have been up to in February.

School Expectations
One of the first things we learned about was our school expectations. We learned that at St Mary’s we are Kind, Safe, Respectful and Do our Best. We had a lot of fun role-playing what it looks, sounds and feels like to enact these values in the classroom and on the playground. 

Getting to know each other
It is very special to have some of your preschool friends with you when you transition to Kindergarten, but it is super-exciting to meet new friends also. In Kindergarten we are a ‘class family’ and are loving getting to know each other.

English
Kindergarten are extremely excited to have begun the very special journey of learning to read! We began with exploring the concept of “What is a word?”. We have been very busy immersing ourselves in the words that are all around us, and have discovered that we can speak, read and write words. We have been using our bodies to jump out words in sentences, and our fingers to count them. We also love to listen for rhyming words in stories. In the pictures below, we are using a drum to identify the ‘beats’ in words (syllables). 

Butterflies
Kindergarten were intrigued to receive a very plain looking box in the mail. What lay carefully wrapped inside was anything but boring. We discovered two delicate jade green chrysalis! Since opening this mysterious package, we have patiently watched and waited. It was very exciting to see beautiful big monarch butterflies emerge from these tiny capsules. The Kindergarten students made a wish before releasing the butterflies.

Buddies
No Term 1 Kindergarten learning update would be complete without making special mention of our Year 6 buddies. Since the second orientation session, our buddies have been nearby to help us settle into school in the morning, find someone to play with at break times, or, as in the photos below, collaborate with us on fabulous art projects. Year 6 joined Kindergarten last week to learn about the French artist Matisse and his paper collage era. Together, the students created striking paper collages with Year 6 lending their scissor and glueing skills - thank you for your help Year 6!

Genevieve Schofield
Kindergarten Teacher