VALUES AWARDS – WEEK 7

K GREEN

Rachel C – Stewardship - For taking care of our classroom environment

Rielle V – Doing Your Best – For doing your best in all areas of learning

K GOLD

Prince V – Stewardship – For your willingness to care for our classroom environment

Ezra W – Celebration – For celebrating the achievements of your peers

K BLUE

Ivianne M – Compassion - For always offering to help people when they are in need

Ruby T – Faith – For showing reverence and respect during our Kindergarten and Year 5 liturgy

1 GREEN

Jason L – Doing Your Best – For always trying hard to complete all tasks to the best of your ability

Ezaleiah M – Stewardship – For placing litter in appropriate bins and keeping the environment tidy

1 GOLD

Jack G – Compassion - For taking the time to care for and play with a peer who needed a friend

Charbella A – Celebration - For the joyful way in which she celebrates the achievements of her peers

1 BLUE

Aliyah K – Stewardship – For looking after the classroom environment

Leonardo C – Compassion – For being kind to his classmates

2 GREEN

Layla B – Doing Your Best – For presenting a detailed poster on push and pull forces

Ofa D – Faith – For thoughtful answers about how we can all be a sign of God’s love in our world

2 GOLD

Islah E – Compassion – For always being kind and respectful with your peers and teachers

Leon D – Doing Your Best – For his positive attitude towards learning new skills

2 BLUE

Max B – Doing Your Best – For your determination when solving subtraction problems using the Jump Strategy

Antonia F – Doing your Best – For the excellent effort put into completing all homework tasks

Ashton C – Leadership – For reverently leading the class through meditation each day

Home Reading

Should the books be easy or difficult? - The books that children bring home to read, should be at a slightly lower level than what they are reading in the classroom. It is meant to be an enjoyable experience for both parents and their children. Not stressful!

If your child is getting stuck on every second word, then the book is too hard for them. This can get frustrating for both you and your child which is not setting them up for a positive experience.

Make it Routine - Find a quiet, comfortable spot that is the go-to reading spot with your child. If you have other children, this can be tricky, I know! It’s about finding the right time for you and your child. Whether it be just before they go to bed, or first thing in the morning. Do what works for you!

Ease Into The Book - Get your child thinking about what the book might be about by asking some questions before you start reading. Here are some examples of what you could ask:

• What do you think this book is about? Why?
• Do you think this is a story or a fact book? Why?
• Can you read the title? Does this give you some more clues?
• What can you notice about the picture on the front of the book?

Don’t Tell Them, Guide Them - If you tell your child every word they get stuck on, they won’t learn to use the reading strategies they are learning at school and will expect you to tell them every time. This isn’t going to help them to develop and grow as readers.

Here are some basic reading strategies you can use with your child:

• Can you use the picture to help?
• Stretch out the word – so for the word shouted – ‘sh-ou-ted’.
• Can you see chunks in the word, or smaller words in a larger word – so for shouted – ‘shout’, or ‘out’.
• Can you sound out the word?
• Get them to read to the end of the sentence for further clues. What would make sense?
• Get them to work out the first sound of the word and get their mouth ready for the word.

Make it Enjoyable! - Reading is meant to be a fun enjoyable time with your child.

If you are getting frustrated with them, this will rub off on them. If they are finding it hard or they are too tired – read a page each. Get them to follow along with you and make silly mistakes! Your children will love correcting you. Put on some silly glasses and read the book together!

Comprehension is Important - When they have finished reading the book. Ask a few questions to check for comprehension.

Your child’s comprehension is a vital component of them learning to read. Getting into the habit of asking some questions at the end will help your child with their comprehension skills.

They don’t have to be difficult questions, here are a few that you may like to ask:

• What was your favourite part of the book and why?
• How did you feel when you read that story?
• What did you learn from this story?
• What was the problem in the story?
• Which character did you like and why?

If you have any questions about your child’s reading, please speak to the classroom teacher.

Mrs Lillian Del Giudice

Assistant Principal