A snapshot of life in Kindergarten!
Our smallest St Mary’s students have had a VERY BIG couple of weeks! Everything is brand new for them: lunchboxes, shoes, uniforms, teachers, 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 the first few weeks of school. As the Kindergarten teachers we are so proud of how quickly they are learning the ropes of school life! 

Before we share “life in Kindergarten” from an adult's perspective, we thought it would be fitting to hand the ropes over to the children and ask them…. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT ST MARY’S? 

Archie: Playing at the park and investigations.

Claire G: Playing with my friends and the vet zone in investigations.

Claire S: When they call my name out to go to bus lines. 

Ezek: I love the whole school and all the learning.

Peyton: Getting to see my sister and learning Science.

Lane: Playing at the park during breaks. 

Darcy H: I love Maths and Science.

Darcy McM: I love learning about adding numbers.

Bonnie: I love time with my buddy and drawing during Art.

Louis: Time with my buddy and Science in class.

William: Playing ‘duck duck goose’ and working with my buddy.

Conor: Being outside and learning to write numbers in Maths.

Leo: I love being at school, I love learning Maths and crossing out the big balls.

Khoi: Playing with my new friends. I love this place. 

Seth: Playing in the park and when we get to do investigations.

Ada: I love playing with my friends at the park.

Jamie: I love St Marys because I get to play at the park.

Imogen: I love getting to play on the monkey bars with my friends.

Isha: I love play time with my friends.

Darcy He: I love when our class has sports time.

Zechariah: I love St Marys because I get to make new friends.

Maisey: I love St Marys because I get to do Art and investigations.

Arnem: I like my teachers because they make me feel safe and help me.

Claudia: I love St Marys because I get to go into the vet zone for investigations.

School Expectations
One of the first things we learnt were the St Mary’s school expectations. At St Mary’s we are Kind, Safe, Respectful and we 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. 

A Special Visitor
Kindergarten were intrigued to receive a very plain looking box in the mail. What lay carefully wrapped inside was anything but boring. We discovered a delicate jade green chrysalis! Since opening this mysterious package, we patiently watched and waited. It was very exciting to see a beautiful monarch butterfly emerge from the tiny capsule. The Kindergarten students made a wish before releasing “Sunshine” the butterfly.

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 and creating nonsense rhyming words, which fill the classroom with laughter! 

Buddy Time
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, enjoy the love of literature. Today the Kindergarten and Year 6 children took to the stage, as they shared with the school community a special dance accompanied by the song “Try Everything” which has a beautiful message that we can all relate to as we approach the 2025 academic year! Thank you Year 6 for your soft and gentle approach as you support the Kindergarten students each day, it has not gone unnoticed.  

Investigations
In Kindergarten we investigate! During the afternoon sessions the students work collaboratively in pairs or small groups at learning zones in our classroom. The zones are set up based on our current units of work that are being taught throughout the day. The students are all given an opportunity to be “THE FOCUS STUDENT” (a crowd favourite). The focus students are given specific tasks to complete, which are personalised to student learning outcomes. Investigations develop the students oral language, social skills and communication. We thoroughly enjoy witnessing their interactions as they engage in the investigation zones. 

As the Kindergarten teachers, we are very excited for the upcoming year of learning. These children are going to Try Everything and as the teaching team we look forward to working closely with their families to ensure that every child has an excellent first year of Big School at St Mary’s!  

Mrs Alicia Hampson & Mrs Jessie White
Teachers Kindergarten