Grade 1/2 with mrs sundqvist
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to Term 1, 2020! I am very excited to be starting my year at Coimadai Primary School along with your children in Grade 1 and 2. I am sure that we will develop positive and trusting relationships on which to build our learning.
Assembly
Assembly will be held each Monday at 9am. I welcome all family members and friends to attend.
Literacy
My approach to literacy is systematic, synthetic phonics, based on the latest scientific research about how children learn to read. Students will learn the ‘code’ between letters and sounds, and use this knowledge to read and spell words. Students will also build their vocabulary by identifying and clarifying any new words they read or hear. I will be reading a wide variety of texts to the class, and students will respond in a range of creative ways.
On Mondays-Thursdays students will participate in Spelling Mastery lessons. These 15-20 minute sessions teach students in small steps, allowing practice, so that they learn the rules of spelling.
How can you help?
When your child is reading to you, ensure they ‘sound it out’ if they get stuck on a word. Do not encourage them to guess by looking at the pictures. If they need more help, sound out the letters with them, then ask them to blend the sounds together to read the word. Ask your child if they understand the words they are reading, and provide any definitions as necessary. I would also appreciate it if you could note this in your child’s diary.
Numeracy
Our main aim this term is to develop students’ number sense. We will use hands-on materials and games to learn about place value, addition and subtraction, measurement, and time-telling.
How can you help?
Talk about maths explicitly in your day-to-day lives: ask you child to count objects around them, ask how many would there be if you took away 2 or added 3? Ask them to tell you what the time is (if it’s an o’clock or half past). Look at numbers in the environment (e.g. house numbers) and ask what the number is. Baking with your child is a wonderful way to talk about maths (and yummy)!
Inquiry
Our inquiry questions this term are “What is the story of my family?” and “Where is my community and what is its history?” Students will be asked to investigate their own family history, so will be asking you a lot of questions! You can help by writing your answers down for the children.
Later, students will investigate the history of the Coimadai and Bacchus Marsh regions. As someone new to the region myself, I will be learning along with them!
Specialist Subjects
This year, I will be taking all classes for Art. Any creative parents/carers are very welcome as Art helpers.
Munch and Crunch
Each day, students will have a snack at 10am. Please pack a healthy snack that is not messy to eat in the classroom (no yoghurt pots or fruit cups). I strongly encourage all parents to pack a ‘nude’ lunchbox to reduce the amount of packaging waste in our environment. Students will be allowed access to their drink bottles at all times during the day.
Communication
If you need to contact me, you can write a note in your child’s diary, send a message via Class Dojo, or pop in for a quick visit. If you wish to meet for longer, please contact me to arrange a time after school on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
Laura Sundqvist
Welcome to Term 1, 2020! I am very excited to be starting my year at Coimadai Primary School along with your children in Grade 1 and 2. I am sure that we will develop positive and trusting relationships on which to build our learning.
Assembly
Assembly will be held each Monday at 9am. I welcome all family members and friends to attend.
Literacy
My approach to literacy is systematic, synthetic phonics, based on the latest scientific research about how children learn to read. Students will learn the ‘code’ between letters and sounds, and use this knowledge to read and spell words. Students will also build their vocabulary by identifying and clarifying any new words they read or hear. I will be reading a wide variety of texts to the class, and students will respond in a range of creative ways.
On Mondays-Thursdays students will participate in Spelling Mastery lessons. These 15-20 minute sessions teach students in small steps, allowing practice, so that they learn the rules of spelling.
How can you help?
When your child is reading to you, ensure they ‘sound it out’ if they get stuck on a word. Do not encourage them to guess by looking at the pictures. If they need more help, sound out the letters with them, then ask them to blend the sounds together to read the word. Ask your child if they understand the words they are reading, and provide any definitions as necessary. I would also appreciate it if you could note this in your child’s diary.
Numeracy
Our main aim this term is to develop students’ number sense. We will use hands-on materials and games to learn about place value, addition and subtraction, measurement, and time-telling.
How can you help?
Talk about maths explicitly in your day-to-day lives: ask you child to count objects around them, ask how many would there be if you took away 2 or added 3? Ask them to tell you what the time is (if it’s an o’clock or half past). Look at numbers in the environment (e.g. house numbers) and ask what the number is. Baking with your child is a wonderful way to talk about maths (and yummy)!
Inquiry
Our inquiry questions this term are “What is the story of my family?” and “Where is my community and what is its history?” Students will be asked to investigate their own family history, so will be asking you a lot of questions! You can help by writing your answers down for the children.
Later, students will investigate the history of the Coimadai and Bacchus Marsh regions. As someone new to the region myself, I will be learning along with them!
Specialist Subjects
This year, I will be taking all classes for Art. Any creative parents/carers are very welcome as Art helpers.
Munch and Crunch
Each day, students will have a snack at 10am. Please pack a healthy snack that is not messy to eat in the classroom (no yoghurt pots or fruit cups). I strongly encourage all parents to pack a ‘nude’ lunchbox to reduce the amount of packaging waste in our environment. Students will be allowed access to their drink bottles at all times during the day.
Communication
If you need to contact me, you can write a note in your child’s diary, send a message via Class Dojo, or pop in for a quick visit. If you wish to meet for longer, please contact me to arrange a time after school on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
Laura Sundqvist