Author: LocalAdmin

Communication
We cannot emphasise enough the importance of strong communication and continuity between school and home. Please ensure you let us know of any changes in your child’s home life which may impact their school life and come and see us if you have any concerns to prevent a small ‘hiccup’ becoming a big one!
*LA9 Noticeboard: We have set up a noticeboard as you enter the classroom which will contain general information about our classroom and spare notes.
*Communication Books: Please ensure your child brings this to school each day. We endeavour to check them daily for any messages from parents and will use them to communicate with you if the need arises. We will also put notes inside.
*LA9 Class website: TBA as soon as possible.
Thank you for your time. We look forward to a wonderful year!

LA9
2015
Information
Mrs Carolyn Lane – Monday & Tuesday
Mrs Lisa McLeod – Wednesday, Thursday & Friday

Welcome to a new school year. We are looking forward to getting to know each child and family and believe one of the keys to a smooth year is consistent communication. Please come and see us if you have any queries regarding classroom programmes and/or your child’s progress. For a detailed discussion, please make an appointment to see us so we can give you our full attention.
We believe in creating a warm, enriching classroom environment which caters for the individual needs of the students in our class. We will strive to motivate students through integrated learning and lots of hands-on activities, encouraging them to take risks in their learning.
Personal Goals for Your Child
1. Continuing to develop your child’s independence. Through positive encouragement and reinforcement we would like them to take some ownership over their possessions, behaviour and learning.
2. Continuing to encourage social skill development so each student is capable of participating in conversations and play in a positive way and develops resilience to deal with small issues that arise in social situations.
3. To develop an interest in learning and gain an understanding of what they are good at and how to work on things that need improvement.

General Information
*Faction t-shirts: Students are encouraged to wear a Faction t-shirt every Friday only to score extra points for their faction.
*Crunch ‘n’ Sip: Each child is encouraged to bring in a small fruit/vegetable snack each day in order to maintain concentration and engagement. We will eat our snacks at approximately 10am. Please ensure fruit and vegetables are cut up and ready to eat to minimise mess on your child’s desk. A drink bottle filled with water should also be provided to maintain hydration throughout the day.
*Buddy classes: The Year 2 classes will be working with the Year 6 classes several times throughout the year.
*Absences From School: As is school policy, you will need to provide explanation of any absences your child will have via a note, telephone message or response to the SMS sent from Administration. Should your child arrive late to school they will need to sign in at the front office. Likewise, if you need to pick your child up early due to illness or for an appointment, please sign them out first at the front office.
*Medication: If your child needs to be given any form of medication during school please notify administration staff in writing, as well as us. Please ensure medications are clearly labelled with your child’s name and the dosage required.
*Student’s Possessions: Please ensure your child’s things are labelled. Lost property is located outside the front office.
*Money: If you need to make payment for anything throughout the year, please ensure money is placed into a labelled envelope at all times. We, as teachers, do not handle money so direct payment to the front office is preferred.

Behaviour Management
We believe in focusing on the positive behaviours within the classroom and encouraging children to regulate their behaviour so it does not impact others or their learning. Landsdale Primary School has, over a number of years, devised a whole-class behaviour management policy which encourages students to ‘Make Good Choices’ called iValues. You will see our behaviour chart in the classroom. The students move their peg up the chart when they are behaving appropriately, focusing on the positives, but also move their peg down the chart when, following verbal warnings, they continue to behave in a way that negatively impacts their learning or those around them. Students will record their ‘peg position’ at the end of the day so you are able to see how their day went.
*Each student starts on ‘Ready To Learn’ each day.*
We will also introduce other strategies throughout the year, aiming to reward positive behaviour in individuals, small groups and the whole class.

Super Student
Excellent Effort
Good Choices
Ready To Learn
Make Better Choices
Warning
Thinking Spot

Curriculum Goals for 2015
1. Literacy:
*Oral Language – Development of vocabulary and mature oral communication.
*Reading – Fluency and Comprehension are school priorities and will be a big focus in our classroom in a variety of ways.
*Writing – Consolidating phonics knowledge, sentence structure and vocabulary to produce writing which conveys a clear message.
*Speaking & Listening – Active listening during class and small group discussions and the ability to adjust communication with others according to the situation.
2. Numeracy:
*We will be focusing on all mathematical areas through the Year 2 Stepping Stones programme. The Year 2 classes are working together and have flexibly grouped students according to mathematical skills and knowledge for Stepping Stones maths activities each morning 9-10am. We will also complete more hands-on, targeted maths activities within our own class throughout the week.
3. Science: Mrs Lane will plan and implement a Science programme using a variety of resources.
4. History: Mrs McLeod will plan and implement a History programme this year. Term 1 we are focusing on the history of the ANZACs and what it means to us.

Specialist Learning
We have several specialist teachers who will take the class at various times throughout the week. Please see the timetable below for Term 1. This is subject to change but we will let you know if it does.
Tuesday: Drama
Wednesday: Health/Physical Education (rotating fortnightly)
Thursday: Art & Library book borrowing
Friday: Music
Mrs Della Gatta, our EAL (English as an Additional Language) specialist teacher will also be working with some Year 2 students in small groups to improve language development throughout the week. These are the goals of the programme:
To make progress and achieve the same level of educational success as other students they must develop literacy in English by: *Learning to speak English
*Learning to read and write English
*Continuing their learning in all learning areas through English, at the same time as they are learning English.
*Learning about the Australian school system.
After school DSF (Dyslexia Speld Foundation) workshops will be available for students who require additional literacy assistance. Further information will come home if your child is nominated for this service in the coming weeks.

Homework
We understand the busy schedules families have nowadays and realise the school day is jam-packed and therefore do not wish to create stress after school. However, we also wish to instil self discipline and self management skills in students and believe that homework allows parents to become active partners in their child’s education. Please see below for Year 2 homework:
*Reading: All children need to read a home reader and/or their library book for 10-20 minutes each night. We also recommend your child read aloud to an adult whenever possible to help improve fluency and comprehension. Please record the details in the Read-It diary. We will monitor each child’s reading and reward consistent reading behaviour. We also aim to develop your child’s comprehension skills and are sending home a laminated card with some ideas for activities you can complete with your child to help them understand the text they are reading.
*Spelling: List words will be sent home every Monday and students are required to complete ‘Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check’ each night to supplement our classroom spelling activities. We will have a test each Friday. Sight words will come home later in the year.
*Finishing Off: Occasionally your child will bring home unfinished class work to complete to ensure they understand the content and do not fall behind.
*Mathletics: Your child’s log in information will come home this week. At the moment we will not assign homework but encourage students to complete activities in their own time.