Kaya (hello) parents and carers,
Next term, we begin our whole school literacy program with a focus on reading and spelling (phonics). We will continue to deliver the Letter and Sounds and Soundwaves programs, but with a unified approach to instruction across the school. By having a consistent, sequenced and levelled approach, we will be able to provide targeted literacy instruction for every student in every year. All staff have begun training in phonics and this will be completed on our student free day – 18th July 2022. I am very grateful for the positive way they have engaged with the training and I look forward to being part of the teaching and learning of literacy in Semester Two.
Our whole school literacy program runs from 8:35a.m. – 9:25a.m. Monday to Thursday. This makes getting your child to school on time more important than ever as some students will be moving to other rooms to access teaching and learning at their level. The learning gained in these sessions will better prepare our children to be literate and to engage with literature. If you have any questions about the program and how we are supporting your child, please discuss this with your child’s teacher or you can contact me at the school.
The basic features of our phonics program are:
- We are matching the letter (e.g. ‘b’) with its sound (e.g. bus).
- We are blending our letter sounds (e.g. b – u – s) together to read.
- We are segmenting the sounds in a word (cat to c – a – t) to spell.
To support this at your home, please have a look at the following suggestions for parents:
Letters and Sounds: Practical Ideas for Parents | Reading Rockets
This week, we were fortunate to have the Minister for Education and Training, the Honourable Sue Ellery visit our school to learn about our Noongar Language program led by Miss Hawke. Students from Room 12 and our Year Six leaders were given the opportunity to demonstrate their amazing skills and knowledge to the minister and to the media. Please keep an eye across the ABC news next week to tune in to our story.
Yanga (thanks) stay safe and enjoy the winter holidays,
Sam Prodonovich