Welcome to Room 6

Welcome back to school everyone. We hope you have had a great holiday break. There will be two teachers teaching in Room 6 this year. As the Deputy Principal I have other school responsibilities so Sheryl Billington will be teaching when I am required to be out of the room.

Although we are starting off the year with a very small class it will grow quickly as more five-year-olds start school.

The first few weeks of school for a five year old are a special time when:

  • your child will be meeting their new class mates and the people who work in their school
  • your child will be exploring their school environment.
  • your child will be learning classroom and school routines
  • we start to introduce teacher expectations about learning and behaviour

Independence

The children in Room 6 are encouraged to be independent by caring for their own bags, books, book bags and clothing, i.e. to be able to hang up their coats and bags, to be able to bring their books into the classroom. They should be able to use the toilet without supervision and have clothing that unfastens easily. It is helpful for your child to have some spare underpants and clothing in their bag in case an accident happens. Can you please also make sure all clothing is named. (Every term we give hundreds of dollars worth of clothing items to charity because we can’t find an owner for them).

Stationery

I would like the children to start using their books next week. Stationery lists are available from the school office or on our school website. Please ensure that you name your child’s stationery.

Swimming

The class will be swimming while the weather remains hot. If your child has a reason why they cannot swim, please send a note to let us know.

Library

Our library day is Friday. Please make sure your child has a large book bag to keep books safe, and that books are returned by each library day so they can be issued with a new book.

Homework

Homework will start in Week 3.

Initially, homework will be based around learning the alphabet sounds and names. An alphabet chart will be sent home so that you can help by spending five minutes a day working on the sounds that the different letters make.

When your child starts to bring home a reading book in their book bag please find time to read with them. Discuss the story with them, ask them what the story is about, look through the pictures and have a chat with them about the pictures. When they start to read ask them to point to the words as they read. If they are having problems guide their fingers under the words. Don’t forget to write the book title and a little note in their homework reading log.

After a few weeks your child will bereadyto bring home their homework book and you can start doing a little bit more homework with them at home if you wish to.

There are more ideas on how you can help your child at home on our school website under Student Area, Room 6

School Website

If you wish to find out more about our school and our classroom have a look at our school website:

We also have a class blog:

I try to add to our class blog once a week. By viewing the blog you will be able to see what has been happening in our classroom. It would be great if you could leave us a comment.
Please come and see me or email if you have any concerns or worries.

My email address is:

Sheryl’s email address is:

Please feel free to meet with me if you have any questions or concerns about your child. I am usually in the classroom after 8.30 a.m. Please keep in mind that I have several duties and meetings and I may not always be available. It is best if you ring the school and make an appointment.

I am looking forward to working with your child. I welcome questions or comments and I am looking forward to a great year! To help me get to know your child better I would appreciate it if you could take time to fill out the sheet below and send it back to school.

Kind Regards

Susan Lindsey