Foundation Class 2025

Foundation is an exciting year, marking the beginning of school, learning new routines and student discovering their place in a new environment. Students build positive relationships with teachers and peers that support their learning journey. It’s a year filled with engaging, hands-on activities and joyful exploration.

Reading, reading and more reading! Building a foundation in literacy begins with a strong focus on reading and fostering a love for books. Through shared reading experiences, students learn to predict, retell and discuss the events in stories, which strengthens their comprehension skills. They also gain familiarity with print conventions such as reading from left to right and top to bottom, helping them view themselves as emerging readers.

As the school year begins, we place significant emphasis on learning the sounds of the alphabet using the Jolly Phonics program, a dynamic and interactive approach that combines songs, actions and direct instruction. Students are taught each letter sound, how to write it and words that incorporate it, with a focus on clear and correct articulation.

Once students have mastered basic sounds, they learn letter names and begin blending sounds to form words, a skill that enhances their early writing. Writing practice begins with students hearing and identifying sounds in words, with correct letter formation encouraged, starting with the letters in their names and expanding to simple words and sentences.

Writing tasks are often inspired by personal experiences—both from school and home—making writing enjoyable and engaging. Teachers guide students through each experience, encouraging them to discuss it aloud before recording ideas with words and illustrations, which helps develop both their written and oral language skills.

Foundation students will learn about what a library is and how it is used. They will discover the importance of taking care of books and following library rules to help keep the space tidy and enjoyable for everyone. Students will explore the roles of authors and illustrators, learning how stories are created and illustrated. They will also have the opportunity to respond to stories, sharing their thoughts and feelings about the characters and events, which will help them connect with the stories they read.

During the first term, our numeracy focus centres on recognising, creating and recording numbers up to 10. Developing a thorough understanding of these foundational numbers involves activities such as counting with one-to-one correspondence, partitioning numbers into parts (e.g., 3 and 1 to make 4) and comparing values. We also explore these numbers in everyday contexts, enriching students’ practical understanding of numeracy.

In the second semester, we extend this exploration to numbers 11 through 20. Students engage in similar activities, building on their knowledge of numbers to 10 and expanding it to understand larger values, initially up to 20 and then beyond. Making these connections strengthens their comprehension of our numeric system.

Throughout the year, students practice subitising, allowing them to form mental images of numbers and understand numerical parts visually. Numeracy in the Foundation classroom is hands-on and interactive, with students working with a range of concrete materials to build and solidify their understanding of numbers through exploration and discovery.

 Students explore various units of measurement, focusing on concepts such as length (longer and shorter), weight (heavier), and duration (the length of events). They will learn to identify and describe shapes, including squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, spheres and cubes. Additionally, students will develop an understanding of time, including the days of the week.

The unit also covers location and transformation, where they will learn about position and movement, enhancing their spatial awareness and ability to describe their surroundings accurately.

Unit 1: My Family and My Community

In this inquiry unit, students will explore their roles within different groups, including family, classroom, school and the broader community. They will learn ways to actively contribute to these groups, fostering a strong sense of belonging and responsibility. Through this exploration, students will examine the unique features of familiar places they belong to, understand why certain places are meaningful and discuss ways these places can be cared for.

Additionally, this unit introduces students to the significance of Country and Place for First Nations Australians, encouraging respect and appreciation for the cultural heritage connected to the land on which our school is situated. This provides a foundation for understanding how everyone can help maintain and respect the spaces they share.

Unit 4: Design: Dream it, design it, build it

Students investigate various technologies and explore how they meet individual and social needs within their local environment. Using diverse materials, students create models like vehicles and robots. An incursion allows them to work with real tools and wood to build an aeroplane, igniting their imagination and fostering hands-on discovery.

Unit 2: We Are Scientists

Students explore the world of plants and animals, observing features like shape, size, and texture to learn classification and develop scientific thinking. They also study life cycles, with hands-on activities such as watching chickens develop from eggs to hatchlings. A farm visit enhances their understanding of animal care and well-being, fostering curiosity and a deeper connection to the natural world.

Buddy Program

Our Buddy Program pairs Prep students with students from Year 3 to 6, encouraging cross-year connections through open-ended, creative, and engaging activities. The program nurtures positive, supportive relationships and helps build confidence and self-esteem. Foundation students look forward to spending time with their buddies and enjoy having a friendly, older role model within the school.

Special Events

Throughout the year, Foundation students enjoy a variety of special events that enhance their school experience. A key celebration is the ‘100 Days of School’ milestone. Other highlights include Footy Day, Education Week, Hajj Day, Book Week, Multicultural Day, Athletics Day and additional engaging activities.

Perceptual Motor Program (PMP)

Each week, Foundation students participate in PMP sessions in the Multipurpose room. This movement-based program supports young learners in developing essential motor skills, including hand-eye and foot-eye coordination, balance, fitness, locomotion and eye-tracking.

Quran

Foundation students begin Quranic studies by reciting and memorising Surahs Al-Fatiha, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, and An-Nas. Using the Iqraa books and Quran Era, they also learn Arabic letters and words to build reading skills, fostering confidence and a love for the Quran.

Islamic Studies

Students learn the Five Pillars of Islam, the Six Pillars of Iman and the names of Allah. Each fortnight introduces a new Dua for daily life, building a habit of remembrance. They also learn about Salat, Ramadan and Hajj focusing on their values and practices, laying a foundation for understanding and practicing their faith.

Arabic   

Students start by learning Arabic greetings and how to introduce themselves. They explore basic vocabulary, including colours, counting and family terms. Students engage with the alphabet through enjoyable songs. Emphasis is placed on understanding the right-to-left direction of Arabic as students trace and copy letters from Alef to Yaa, sounding each letter out to develop phonetic awareness. They also learn to recognise Arabic texts and books, practice greeting others and discuss simple personal details.

Homework

Foundation students are gradually introduced to homework through nightly take-home readers, encouraging them to develop confidence and enjoyment in reading with an adult. As we progress with the Jolly Phonics Program, students bring home phonics folders to reinforce the sounds they are learning in class, fostering a strong foundation in literacy.

Students will also receive Arabic and Quran Homework.

Other homework will be introduced and posted on the school ClasDojo story and Compass.

Join us at AICC’s Foundation Level, where together, we strive for continuous growth, instilling the joy of learning and the values that will guide our students on their educational journey and beyond.

23-27 Blenheim Rd,
Newport VIC 3015