Welcome back to the new school term. This newsletter is to help keep you informed about the curriculum for the grade and the day-to-day activities of the grade.

Please be aware that due to the current COVID restrictions, this year parent information sessions will take a different format. This newsletter highlights all the necessary information for your child, however, if you have any questions or would like to engage in a “meet and greet” phone call with your child’s teacher please follow the link below and they will be in contact with you as soon as possible. 

A “meet and greet” conversation is a ten minute phone conversation to discuss your child’s start to the year and for your child’s class teacher to clarify any questions you may have about your child’s school year.

https://forms.gle/ezQ5SAcELfcQjjBz7

This term the following teachers will be supporting learning in Year 1.

*Teachers work under the structure of an Enterprise Agreement that includes a number of entitlements. One of these is the engagement in Profession Planning Time (PPT) where they are released from class to carry out other professional responsibilities. Each full time teacher is entitled to the equivalent of 2 hours PPT each week, or a pro-rata therefore for part time teachers. Therefore, all students operate across the school week with at least two teachers engaging in the classroom program of learning.

This Curriculum Outline is designed to communicate what your child is learning so you can support them at home this term. At Good Samaritan, we believe that the partnership between you as parents and our teachers are the most important influences on your son’s or daughter’s education.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is responsible for setting and monitoring quality teaching, learning, assessment and school standards across NSW public, Catholic and independent schools. NESA also develops Kindergarten to Year 12 syllabuses for NSW schools. Syllabuses identify: the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes students are expected to develop at each stage; what students are expected to know and do; Learning across the curriculum areas: cross-curriculum priorities, general capabilities and other important learning for all students.

At Good Samaritan we have a K-6 Scope & Sequence of learning which supports the implementation of the NESA Syllabuses. Below, is an outline of the Key Learning Area content & skills being taught this term.

All students take part in Religious Education Programs. The school also provides other opportunities for students to express and deepen their Faith through school Masses, liturgies, prayer and in Christian service and witness within their school environment and the wider community. 

Religious Education follows a curriculum set and approved by the Bishop of the Diocese in conjunction with the Catholic Education Office.

This term in Religious Education, Year One will learn about:

• The Good Samaritan 
• Baptism
• Lent and Holy Week

English is the Key Learning Area where students develop knowledge, skills and understandings about English language and literature. The students will be actively engaged in the development of skills through:

This term in English, Year One will learn about:

Characters in Our World

In this unit, students will further develop their understanding of how a sentence is formed and how to link more than one sentence in a text to produce a description of a character. Students will focus on a grammar perspective with the use of nouns, adjectives, descriptive language, verbs (past and present) and time connectives. Students will also continue to develop their use of reading cues and punctuation to enhance fluency when reading.

Reading Recovery is an early intervention programme for children in Year 1, who find reading and writing challenging. It provides intensive individual assistance on a daily basis and is additional to classroom teaching. Parents of children selected to participate in Reading Recovery will be invited to attend an information meeting with the Reading Recovery teacher prior to the commencement of their child’s lesson series. 

Reading Recovery Teacher: Mrs Jacinta O’Connor

LISTENING 

• Listen to sounds in the environment – what can you hear?
• Who or what is making the sound/s?
• Can you see it?  
• Can you make that sound?
• Listen and follow a set of simple step by step of instructions

LISTENING, REPEATING AND FOLLOWING AN INSTRUCTION USING EYE CONTACT

• Listen to the instruction
• Repeat the instruction 
• Implement the instruction

SPEECH 

Oral language is a way of communicating with the people in my world. Speaking with your child in a focused and meaningful way, enables your child to develop oral language that is meaningful and grammatically correct with clear articulation. ·

To assist your child with their oral language development -

• talk about your family and its structure, the places that you go, the things that you see, the books you read, the things you do etc so that they are hearing and using oral language.
• ask questions
• describe things
• give instructions / directions

READING

• Listening to your child read every night
• Read to your child regularly
• Asking your child to retell the story in his/ her own words.
• Describe the characters.
• Discuss the problems and solutions in the story.
• Ask questions about the story.
• Look for incidental reading opportunities for your child to engage in eg reading product names, numbers etc when shopping
• At challenging words prompt “What would make sense and look right?” or if an error has been made “Try that again.”

WRITING

When I write I need to-

• Think about the sentence I am going to write.
• I use my sentence sentence hands and say the sentence aloud. 
• I repeat this, saying my sentence 3 or 4 times aloud. 
• I write my sentence.
• I segment / sound talk the words I don’t know.
• I listen to the sounds I hear and write them.
• I point and reread my sentence to check that it makes sense.
• I check that my sentence has a capital letter at the start and a full stop at the end.

An essential component of Mathematics is the development of students’ ability to Work Mathematically. This includes the skills of Communicating, Problem Solving, Reasoning, Understanding and Fluency. 

Students’ ability to work mathematically is development through the achievement of outcomes and working with content of the Mathematics K-6 Syllabus. Content is organised within the following content strands: 

This term in Mathematics, Year One will learn about:

Data- collecting and displaying information

Addition and subtraction- counting on, breaking numbers into parts

2D space- Horizontal, vertical, parallel and perpendicular lines

Whole number- Sequencing to 100

Time- Seasons, months and days

Multiplication and division- Counting by 10's, making equal groups

Patterns and Algebra- number patterns and skip counting

Addition and subtraction- combinations to 10

SUPPORTING YOPUR CHILDS LEARNING in MATHEMATICS:

1. Relate maths to real life

Talk to your child about how you use maths everyday so they can see how the maths they’re learning at school relates to real life. For example, explore how you use fractions in cooking, percentages while shopping, distance in driving, keeping score in sports games and telling the time.

2. Discover the beauty of maths

What shape can be made by unfolding a carton? How many apples can be packed into the fruit tray? What shape is that box? How do you draw a circle with a piece of rope? Next, explore mathematics in nature, music, visual arts, music and architecture.

3. Cook together

Cooking with your child is great for developing early maths skills. Talk to your child about shapes, sizes and quantities while they watch or help you cook. You could say, for example, “I need one large carrot and one small potato” or “I am cutting our sandwiches in triangles today.”

4. Work together

Count things with your child every day or work on a project together. Sew, knit or build something with Lego. Perhaps you can get together and sort different things by shape.

5. Play games

Playing with puzzles is another great activity that can help your child develop their maths skills. Explore spatial games, board games, card games, jigsaw puzzles and logic puzzles. Play “shops” with things from around the house, using shopping bags, old purses or wallets and real or play money.

The objectives and outcomes of the Geography Syllabus are based on courses of study across Kindergarten to Year 6. The organisation of content for the stages in primary school is as follows:

This term in Geography, Year One will learn about:

Geography will not be taught this term but throughout the year there will be the equivalent of two terms Geography and two terms History.

The outcomes, concepts and skills of the History Syllabus are based on courses of study across Kindergarten to Year 10. The organisation of content for the stages in primary school is as follows:

This term in History, Year One will learn about:

Families Past and Present

This topic provides a study of present and past family life within the context of the students’ own world. Students learn about similarities and differences in family life by comparing the present with the past. They begin to explore the links, and the changes that occur over time and are introduced to the use of historical sources.

The outcomes and content in the Science and Technology Syllabus are organised in the following strands and substrands:

This term in Science & Technology, Year One will learn about:

What’s This Sound?

• What are the different forms of energy around us and how can we detect them?
• How are forces used for a purpose?

The Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus is organised within the following strands: 

This term in Creative Arts, Year One will learn about:

-Visual Arts: Students make artworks that represent a variety of subject matter and make choices about the forms and techniques used. They discuss reasons why artists make particular artworks and why different interpretations are possible, recognising similarities and differences in how subject matter is represented.

-Drama: Funny Bones 

In this drama unit, students will draw on their knowledge of, and interest in, the topic, working with the teacher to develop a story about a big skeleton, a little skeleton and a dog skeleton that live in a dark cellar in a dark house on a dark hill. The format is that of a Narrative, but students will be active participants rather than an audience observing the action of the drama.  Students and the teacher will work together to develop the action of the drama, using dialogue, movement and improvisation. 

Teacher: Ms Paula Jackson

Students at Good Samaritan have Physical Education/Sport each week. All students participate in the School Athletics and Cross Country Carnivals. Eligible students participate in the Swimming Carnival. After these carnivals squads are chosen to represent the School at Regional and Diocesan Carnivals. Students can then be selected to compete at MacKillop and State levels. Good Samaritan has a clear policy regarding student participation in sporting gala days and representation at competitive sports. Parents are asked to become familiar with this policy. 

This term in PDHPE, Year One will learn about:

Personal Development and Health

 Building Strong Positive People 

• How do we grow and change over time?
• How can we be inclusive and respectful?
• How can I be responsible for my own, and others’ health, safety and wellbeing?
• How can I act to help make my environment healthy, safe and active?

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Throughout the year, students will participate in a variety of games and activities developing these skills: 

• Static Balance
• Sprint Run
• Vertical Jump
• Catching
• Hopping
• Side Gallop
• Skipping
• Overarm Throw

Talk time - Students have been allocated a specific day to present an oral presentation to the class which will help develop confidence with speaking and listening skills. An overview for the term will be sent home outlining the topics for each week. Students will present a 2 minute presentation focusing on a specific listening and speaking focus. As the term progresses additional activities may be added either for the whole class or individually as required.

Home Reader - The students will be given a home reader to take home daily. Students are encouraged to read to an adult for 10-15 minutes every day and parents are encouraged to complete their child’s reading log daily. Home readers need to be returned to school every day. Use this opportunity to ask your child questions about their book to help and improve their reading and comprehension skills.

SUPPORTING YOUR CHILDS LEARNING

• Developing independence in your child. Where possible make them responsible for putting or checking that their lunch box, library bag (Wednesday), hat and/or reading folder is in their bag

• At home asking your child to follow two step instructions such as asking them to take their clothes to their bedroom and put them away in their drawers. 

• Where possible, arrive at school on time by 8:45am as it helps the children settle into the day.

Please support your child to be Ready to Learn each day by ensuring he/she has the following in his or her’s school bag and that it is clearly labeled:

• Reading Folder, with reading books, to be brought to school every day
• Munch and crunch, recess and lunch
• School hat
• A change of underwear and socks in a labeled plastic bag
• Raincoat

In Year One students will be rewarded for positive behaviours in a variety of ways.

 These include:

• verbal praise 

• elbow bump

• group points

• individual rewards

• whole class reward

-Focus for the term - "Love of learning" 

-Mission Behaviours 

All students are expected to be neatly dressed in their school uniform or sports uniform each day. Classroom teachers will monitor the wearing of the uniform on a day-to-day basis and inappropriate dress will be brought to the attention of the student and, where necessary, parents. 

This term students are to wear the correct Summer/Winter uniform.

GOOD SAMARITAN CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL UNIFORM

Students are also expected to wear the correct Sports Uniform on sports days:

ALL ITEMS OF UNIFORM MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED WITH THE CHILD’S NAME

Ongoing communication between school and home is essential. The school aims to work in partnership with the home and recognises that parents wish to be informed of any problems. Likewise, there is a need for parents to keep the school informed of any events that may impact on the life of their child at school.

Through this mutual communication we aim to provide a safe and supportive environment for your child.

1. If you have any educational/behaviour concerns about your child always contact your child’s classroom teacher in the first instance. Your child’s classroom teacher will always contact you if they have any concerns regarding your child’s education or behaviour. 
2. Grades and classes across the school are supported by Middle Leaders. You are welcome to contact the Middle Leader/s responsible for your child’s class/grade if you have continued concerns regarding your child’s education or behaviour. The Middle Leaders will also contact you when and if necessary.

Middle Leaders 2021

3. If the issue remains unresolved beyond the Middle Leader then please address your concern/s to the Assistant Principal or the Principal. 
4. Parents may contact teachers by email via the school office (info@gsfmdow.catholic.edu.au) but are asked to understand that a response may not be immediate and certainly cannot be expected beyond the regular hours of the school day or week. 

At Good Samaritan, we believe it is important to speak with parents either in a face-to-face meeting or over the phone when responding to emails that may be of a sensitive nature or, that may require a lengthy response. Therefore, the email response you receive may be of a generic nature. 

Parents are asked to understand that teachers primary responsibility throughout the school day is towards the students. Therefore, teachers are unable to engage in discussion when they are in direct supervision of students.

For any absence the school must receive notification of the reason for the absence within 7 days of the return to school. This applies for partial absences as well as whole day absences. Please supply the reason via Compass. In the event that a notification is not supplied the absence will be recorded as Unjustified/Unexplained.

There are no grade liturgies planned for Year One for this term 

19th February Swimming Carnival (Competitors only- nominations returned in 2020)