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Welcome to the 1/2 Area in 2024!

Welcome the Year 1/2 students and their families to the 2024 school year!

This year the 1/2 classroom teachers are Mr. Brad Greenwood, Miss Cammarere, Mrs Davies, Mrs Pfeiffer and Mr Stoop. Throughout the week, our ES staff members Mrs Romano and Mrs El Hout will spend time across the 1/2 classrooms.

The 1/2 team works closely together, providing a comprehensive and stimulating curriculum within a warm and caring learning environment. We recognise that all learners are different, with a range of experiences, interests and needs.

Working Together

Working with families, we aim to create a culture of learning that caters for all students’ learning needs. In 1/2 we are further developing the foundation skills, knowledge and understandings established in the first years of school, in preparation for the demands and expectations of future learning.

Student Learning

The students engage in high quality learning tasks that support their individual points of need. Lessons commence with our Learning Intention which provides students with a clearly understood purpose for their learning. The class is supported to understand what ‘success’ for the lesson looks like, sounds like and/or feels like through Success Criteria. Learning experiences are effectively differentiated to allow all students to access the curriculum and their point of need and to support all learning styles and needs. Teachers support children to reflect on their learning, celebrate their success and develop learning goals to achieve further growth.

Your Involvement

We welcome parental and community support with the children’s learning journey. Families are encouraged to set time aside in their daily routine for reading with (and to) children and to have discussions about what is being explored and talked about at school.

Also, throughout the school year, children have an opportunity to share their learning with their parents and families and to demonstrate their new skills and understandings. Many community events are open to families and friends and from time to time parent assistance is requested for sports days and class assistance (please note a current Working With Children’s Check is required). We promote family involvement in learning by encouraging parents and special adults to attend our Family Fun Nights, Important Person Nights and Grandparents Days; as well as the Whole School Assembly which is generally held at 2.40pm each Friday in the gym.

Specialists

Each week children in each grade receive expert tuition from our team of specialist teachers. The Arts, Japanese (L.O.T.E), P.E. and STEM.

Integrated Inquiry 

Term 1: Who am I and where did I come from? Where do we all come from?Family/friends/community/celebrations?

Term 2: Living Things/Lifecycles What is a lifecycle?

Term 3: Our Place in Space Places and connections

Term 4: Toys and Tools How do things work?

1/2 Sport

In addition to weekly Physical Education sessions, the Grade 1/2 students participate in sporting activities, which help to improve hand-eye coordination, balance, fine motor and gross motor skills. Research shows that this helps to improve learning, cooperation and teamwork.

Children should wear footwear and school uniform that are comfortable for sport and PE.

Digital Technologies

Students use digital technology to enrichen learning experiences across the curriculum.  Mathletics, Sunshine Online and Reading Eggs/Reading Eggspress are some examples of the highly engaging electronic learning resources that provide a personalised approach to learning for our year 1/2 students.

SEAL/Respectful Relationships

We are a ‘Be You’ school. As part of this framework we run school wide programs such as ‘Peer Support’ which runs during Term 1. We also run a Social and Emotional Awareness Learning (SEAL) subject, which is linked to the ‘Respectful Relationships’. Our students are also encouraged to use ‘Pause, Plan and Proceed’ to help them to manage a range of different situations.

Celebrating Diversity

Children with special needs and those with English as an Additional Language are catered for by a range of professionals. Cultural backgrounds are acknowledged and celebrated. We are fortunate to have the English as an Additional Language Centre located in our school and staff work collaboratively with teachers to maximise student learning.

Welfare

Our school’s welfare officer is Rosalie Scott. Rosalie helps to support and educate all students and families at Bell Park North Primary School. Rosalie will work in the 1/2 area over the year. Rosalie is available for questions and support around concerns. Please make a time to see Rosalie through the General Office.

Incursions/Excursions

Educational programs such as Robotics and Life Education enhance the learning opportunities within the school setting. Similarly, excursions outside of school further develop understandings and knowledge of key concepts and ideas. Excursions are planned to complement the learning that occurs within the class programs.

Swimming Program

Each year children across all stages in the school will participate in an intensive swimming program. For two weeks’ children swim each day, travelling by bus to a local pool. The aim of the program is for the children to experience tuition and build their skills and confidence in the water. This program is free to all students at our school. Our program will take place at the Geelong Aquatic Centre.

COMPASS

Parents are encouraged to utilise Compass. Each term pieces of work will be uploaded and assessed to enable parents to track their child’s progress. Mid and End of year reports are also only accessible through Compass.

School Newsletters

We will keep you informed of upcoming events through the student diaries and please read the school newsletter on COMPASS each Monday and note upcoming dates and events as well.

We look forward to a wonderful year with our year 1/2 students and families. 

Thanks!

 Mr. Brad Greenwood, Miss Cammarere, Mrs Davies, Mrs Pfeiffer and Mr Stoop