Welcome to Year Two for 2021!

Hello and welcome to the Year 2W blog!

I hope you have all had a relaxing and peaceful holiday and enjoyed some of this beautiful summer weather!  I am looking forward to teaching your beautiful children and working with you throughout your child's learning journey this year. 

I had a very relaxing holiday and even had a name change in the mix! Thank you to those few who came along to the wedding day, it warmed my heart to see some familiar faces as I was walking down the aisle. It was a very hot day but filled with lots of fun and love! Here are a few sneaky pictures from the day. 

Year Two is a big, but exciting year where your child will, discover, grow, create, learn, reflect and experience an abundance of fun and interesting things in our class!  As a parent of a Year Two student, it is extremely important to keep in mind that we all build on small successes.  Each child will progress at their own rate, acquiring skills as he/she is developmentally ready.   

 

Here are some ways you can help: 

•  Celebrate your child's success, no matter how small it may seem.  This will keep your child enthusiastic about learning and proud of their work! 
• Stay updated on what’s going on in our regular blog posts – we will text you each time there is a new blog post. These will have important information and helpful reminders. 
• Read to and with your child every day, if possible. The more your child is exposed to language, the easier it will be for him/her to incorporate new skills in reading and writing in the classroom. 

First day Information   

Our first morning when you arrive - Our present COVID guidelines welcome adults onto school grounds, however parents are not yet allowed to enter the classrooms and we will be welcoming the children outside the classroom doors for Week 1. If you are concerned about separation anxiety, then please email me before the first day.    

 

Please bring all your child’s stationery and place it into the tubs provided outside the classroom. It will be ticked off by a teacher or EA later in the day.   

 

A few important things for the start of Year Two:  

 
Class Blog 

This blog will be the main communication for any parent information over the coming year.  Please keep your mobile and email updated with the front office to ensure you receive texts and email communication from us throughout the year.  

 

Communication Books 

This book will be kept just outside the Year Two classrooms as a way to communicate with me how your child is going home if it is ever different to the norm and you would like me to remind them before they leave the end of each day.  Examples of this are “Sally will be going home with Bob” “Sarah is on orange bus”.  Please remember to ring the office if there is a change to pick or drop off routines throughout the day as we do not check email during teaching hours and break duties.  
 

Stationery 

All class stationery (pencils, crayons, scissors etc.) will be collected together at the beginning of the year and distributed to the students on a shared basis.  This year, we are trying to reduce our impact on the environment by not covering our books with contact. We have found in the past that the books have lasted throughout the year and it teaches the children to be responsible and take care of their belongings. Headphones (If you ordered them) are the only items that require labelling. If you had headphones from last year, they have been passed on by the previous year’s teacher.  

 
Names 

Please ensure that all personal items (hats, drink bottles, lunch boxes, uniforms crunch & sip containers, etc) belonging to your child are labelled to avoid losing items! You would be surprised how often we find a rogue shoe around the place :)  

 
Uniform 
Term one is our Summer uniform:  
Girls - Summer dress with brown sandals or black school shoes with white socks. 
Boys - White shirt, grey shorts with brown sandals or black school shoes with grey socks. Please see school website for more information.  

 

Bell Times 
Doors open/gathering time: 8:30am - 8:40am (This is the time that your child will settle in, set up their desk and change their reader) 

Learning begins: 8:40am 
Recess: 10:40am - 11:00am 
Lunch: 1:00pm - 1:40pm 
End of School Day: 3:00pm for everyone, including pick up lane & bus.  

Children can be collected from the courtyard or can wait on the bench outside the Year Two classes.  

 
New Policy for Early Leaving 
This is a new OLC policy regarding early leaving - If you wish to collect your child early from school, you are required to come to go to the office first and sign out via SEQTA using the school Ipad.   

 
Homework 
OLC is continuing to follow the Ian Lilico homework grid. More information will follow in coming weeks and please note that homework will not begin until week three and just a home reading book and red folder starting from Week Two.   

 
Home Reading - As the children are settling into the new routines and expectations of Year Two , we will begin sending home reading books from Week 2 Monday - Thursday. We ask that your child brings their Red Reading Folder everyday so they can write the title of their new book in each morning during gathering time. On a Friday the folders will be left at school, as there will be no homework assigned over the weekends. There will be a tub placed at the front of the classroom for all the folders. 

 

Specialist Days 

Monday:   

Tuesday: Music with Mrs Sherborne & HASS with Mrs. Alison Martin

Wednesday: Library (please bring your library bag and any borrowed books on this day) and Physical Education with Mrs Sinclair (wear teal OLC sports shirt) 

Thursday: Indonesian with Mrs Katana
Friday:  Class sport (wear coloured faction shirt)  

We highly recommend you add these special days of uniform/library book day to your family timetable or calendar.   
 
Support Staff 
We are very fortunate to have the outstanding Mrs. Lynn Peacock to help and support the children in their learning journey throughout this year. Mrs. Peacock will be in our class Monday to Friday until 1.00pm each day.  
 

Crunch & Sip 

Each morning before recess we will stop for a 5-minute Crunch & Sip break. The idea of Crunch & Sip is that the students have a short break to increase their energy levels, increase awareness about eating fruit and vegetables, as well as encouraging them to drink water and keep hydrated throughout the school day. You can refer to the Crunch & Sip website (www.crunchandsip.com.au) for specifics on a list of foods that can be packed for this time of the morning. Generally speaking, the list will include fresh fruit and vegetables (celery/carrot sticks, broccoli, chopped or whole fruit, as well as dried fruit). Please bring along a water bottle with your child's name on it and this can be placed on their desks along with their small container of fruit/vegetables.  
 

Canteen  

Canteen will run on Tuesdays & Thursdays & there will be a limited lunch time only menu on Fridays. Students are welcome to purchase food and drink at recess without prior ordering. If your child would like a lunch order, you can order online or can be ordered directly at the canteen.  
 

Teacher Contact 

If you have any question or queries, please don't hesitate to email me at: 

monique.prowse@cewa.edu.au

** Please note that my email may change due to my name change but I will let you all know ASAP**

If you have any information that you think will be important for the first day, please don’t hesitate to email me as the first day is always such a busy time. Please bear in mind that I am teaching throughout the day and don't always have access to my emails, so if it is anything of importance please contact me the night before or contact the office. 

 

Class Lists

Please find our class lists below for 2021. Please be aware that many factors were considered when balancing classes for this year. These include cognitive ability, friendship groups, gender and social and emotional needs. In addition, children with any specific learning needs were also accomodated. Staff from the previous year used their professional judgement to make the best decisions for the individual children and the class as a whole. Meeting new and different people is a fact of life and apart of our Friendology program that runs through the whole school. I am so excited to have these 20 little people in my class this year!

Please refer to the email sent this afternoon from OLC admin

I am looking forward to seeing your little ones on Monday! Have a restful night and enjoy your weekend, Mrs. Monique Wendelin