BETTER BUDDIES

A Whole School Approach.

Much to the delight of our junior students, in 2012 we are again using the

Be$er Buddies Program as the backbone of mul)-age peer support pro-

gram. Be$er Buddies was developed by the Alana & Madeline Founda)on,

in responce to the overwhelming research that tells us that having a special

friend, buddy or role-model in the school from an older grade, dras)cally

improves students’ sense of wellbeing.

Our Prep students met with their year three buddies for the second )me

this week, and imagine the smiles when they were presented with their

very own Buddy Bear! Year One meets twice a month with their grade four

buddies, and Grade two meet with their grade five buddies.

this issue

Be$er Buddies P.1

Junior Assembly P.2

Parent Helpers P.3

Curriculum P.4

TWILIGHT SPORTS

This fun filled, family event,

will be held during the even-

ing of Thursday 15th March.

Glen Waverley Primary School Level One and Two Newsle$er (Year Prep, One & Two)

Term One, 2012

Junior Assembly

Prep;

Mrs Lisa Gough

Miss Jacinta Evans

Mrs Jackie Gilbert

Grade 1;

Miss Arezou Javidi

Miss Liz Kemp &

Miss Samantha Rich

(Mr Aubrey Hudson Term 1)

Grade 1/2;

Mrs Marion Barnes

Grade 2;

Miss Claire Mc Cubbin

Miss Sudha Yerramilli

Reading Recovery;

Miss Emma Zaki

Support Staff;

Mrs Rose Bandara

Mrs Natalie Doyle

This year, we are very pleased

that we could create an addi-

)onal class in the junior school

(prep to year two). This

brings the total number of

classes to seven in this area,

and seventeen in the school.

To accommodate the extra

class, two of our grade two

groups have been located near

the school office.

At school we are always look-

ing for ways to maximize learn-

ing )me, and although we en-

joy mee)ng each morning

with everyone together in the

line up area, the amount of

)me taken for the grade two

children to move to their class-

room aDer lining up three

)mes a day, can be be$er put

to use in rich learning experi-

ences.

Now that the preps are a$end-

ing school un)l 3:30pm, we

are commencing a junior as-

sembly, to bring the children

together once again as a

prep—2 group.

Junior assembly will be held

fortnightly at 3:00pm, on Fri-

day a�ernoon.

We will commence on Friday

16th March, and parents are

most welcome to join us. We

will gather in the new building

outside the prep classrooms.

At our Monday whole school

assembly, we are able to gath-

er as a school together, but

)me can be limited, we are

hoping that junior assembly

will give us )me to

acknowledge more of the

wonderful learning, achieve-

ment and milestones that oc-

cur daily in our classrooms.

Celebra)ng achievement together.

EARLY YEARS STAFF

A Patent on Parents. As members of our school

community, parents are one of

the most valuable resources

our school has.

Have you considered becom-

ing more involved in your

school? We would love to

have you. Contact you child’s

teacher and let them know,

and you will be welcomed with

open arms!

BER or ELC—explaining the acronyms!

PREP PARENTS—

Reading Roster

Thankyou to the parents

below who have offered

their )me to support the

prep children learning to

read.

Just what are we talking about?

Our new building has previously been known as the “BER”

as it was provided as part of the “Building Educa)on Revolu-

)on”.

It has recently ben renamed to the more friendly “Early

Learning Centre”, so you will now find it referred to as the

ELC.

Parent Name Your Child's Name

Mo

nd

ay

1 Avelina CHENH Anthony TRAN

2 Radhika RAVINDRAN Akshala RAVINDRAN

3 Shyani MIRINCHIARATCHI Vishal MIRINCHIARATCHI

4 KunaSuntari VAMBODY Kavin BALAKUMARAN

Tu

esd

ay

1 Jenny HSU Esther TSUNG

2 Hetal MISTRY Trisha MISTRY

3 Nilu WIJEWARDENA Sahas PATHIRANAGE

4 Dammi DOMBEPOLA Dihein DOMBEPOLA W

ed

ne

sda

y

1 Gayalni BHAT Varun BHAT

2 Lawanya PERERA Dinil PERERA KUMBUKAGE

3 Sugandi GANEGODA Kisandi GANEGODA

4 Satnam KAUR Rasna KAUR

Th

ursd

ay

1 Shazia/Munjib SAYED Ameen Sayed

2 Shashika WICKRAMASINGHE Ramike WICKRAMASINGHE

3 Connie LAI Karis CHEUNG

4 Jenny HSU Esther TSUNG

Frid

ay

1 Jenny HSU Esther TSUNG

2 Phillipa SUBRAMANIAM Karina SUBRAMANIAM

3

4

Integrated Learning

In Term One, years Prep to

Two have been busy talking

about families, belonging,

similari)es and differences.

Have you seen the stunning

family trees lining the class-

room walls, that the children

have created and brought to

school?

In Term Two, the children

will be immersed in the topic

“Weather In My World”, and

the curriculum will have a

strong Science focus.

In Term One, grade two students are working hard on their

individualized spelling lists, while learning is targeted at

the long vowel sounds and “bossy e” rule.

These include a_e, o_e, i_e, u_e ie, and oe blends.

In Mathematics the children have worked on 2D shapes,

addition, subtraction place value and calendars. Problem

solving and different strategies in games have been target-

ed, helping students to apply their skills to worded prob-

lems.

By far the most exciting activity, is the reading workshops

which have involved writing skills, drafting and revision

skills, an element of craft, reading with expression in their

voice and inter-personal skills. This work will culminate

shortly with the filming of the plays created by the children

using the “green screen”.

Grade Two

In Term One, the students will

be concentrating on studying

the following consonant blends

in Spelling: bl, cl, pl, fl, gl, gr, dr

and cr. They will also be work-

ing on words associated with

our Integrated Studies topic

“One Big Family”. The students

have words for Homework de-

pending on their ability which are tested on Fridays. We en-

courage the Students to use the Look, Cover, Write, Check

approach. During Guided Reading groups we will be consoli-

dating the students’ knowledge of the Most 100 Used Words

and promoting fluency and expression when reading aloud,

doing activities on Sunshine Books on the computer and de-

veloping a love of literature by exposing the students to sto-

ries in Big Books, on the interactive whiteboard and during

weekly Library sessions. A bag to protect the school Library

book is required when borrowing. In Writing, the students

will be focussing on the structure of Narratives and Descrip-

tions, as well as improving the size and formation of their

letters. The students visit the Oral Language Room weekly to

develop their speaking and listening skills. In Mathematics,

the students will participate in whole class and group lessons

on Subtraction, Addition, Place Value, Fractions, 2D and 3D

shapes, Position and Location Mapping tasks, and Rainforest

Maths activities on the computer. On Fridays, all the grade

ones will be involved in Maths Rotations which promote

their problem solving skills and provide hands-on experienc-

es as well as promoting their ability to cooperate with others.

Grade One

During the Literacy program the preps have been focusing on a different letter of the

alphabet each week. Through a range of multimodal activities, including rhymes,

tongue twisters and craft activities, students have developed their ability to; identify,

write and make the sound of a variety of letters including; ‘s’, ‘a’, ‘c’, ‘d’, ‘f’, ‘g’, ‘o’ and ‘t’.

In our writing we have been using capital letters, full stops and some of us are now ex-

tending our writing to include two sentences. We have also been sharing our home-

work weekly and enhancing our speaking and listening skills.

During the Mathematics program we have been focusing on; identifying, counting and

writing the numbers 1 through to 10. We have also been engaging in various hands on

activities involving the concepts; lines, shapes, night and day, Australian coins, tallest

and shortest, long and short…….. Our class game of ‘Buzz’ has been a favourite of the

preps in learning the days of the week.

What an exciting and pleasurable integrated topic, ‘One Big Family’, has been to start

the year. The students have thoroughly enjoyed sharing with their classmates what

makes their family special and learning about the commonalities shared between our

families.

Prep CURRICULUM