The Reading Hour is just 4 days away

The Reading Hour' is rapidly approaching.

As part of celebrations, Five Dock Library and Concord Library will each be hosting a 

READING HOUR RELAY

Children's stories will be read on the hour at each library, with activities starting from 10 am.

This is a great way to get all children involved in National Year of Reading activities, regardless of their reading leval and skills.

To find out what other activities are taking place -- head to

www.thereadinghour.org.au

for all the details.

The A to Z of School
New website for parents

The NSW Department of Education and Communities has launched a website full of practical information for parents.  Included on the website is information grouped in topics of interest to parents that includes:

Homework and study (including information on Maths, English, other subjects, & homework tips)

Wellbeing  (including information on bullying, motivating children, and emotional support)

Technology  (including discussion of Cyberbullying, Facebook, multi-tasking)

A school guide (Choosing a school, starting school, opportunity classes, student support).


There's also a great mobile app that lets parents access information on the go.  The mobile app give access to : 

• A Spelling Bee  -- with a fun spelling game
A Maths Monkey game -- to give practice in learning times tables
The A to Z of Maths -- which includes key terms defined, information sheets, and videos on maths topics
The A to Z of Assignments -- with information sheets about topics such as 'Gold', 'the Human Body', 'Rainforests', 'the Solar System', and many more.

It's great to see such a practical website and information source that allows parents to support their child's education in easy to access and family friendly formats.


http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/

Seeds of Literacy

Are there precursors to dyslexia in infancy?

An exciting new study being run by the University of Western Sydney in the MARCS BabyLab is seeking to examine this important question

Children with dyslexia appear to have problems with the processing of phonemes (or speech sounds). The UWS study looks at how phonological (sound) processing abilities develop in infants and seeks to examine the hereditary aspects of these abilities in infants with and without a family history of dyslexia. 

Researchers are inviting the parents of infants from birth to 6 months to take part in a 5 year longitudinal study.

Further information is available at www.babylab.com.au or by phoning Rachel Lee on 02 9772 6313 or emailing rachellee@uws.edu.au

Gonski: The review 'we had to have...'
A generation of students has come and gone, and sent their own children to school since education funding was last reviewed in Australia....



http://inner-west-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/gonski-the-review-we-had-to-have/

Children's bad behaviour: try this recipe - Education - News - Inner West Courier

Children's bad behaviour: try this recipe - Education - News - Inner West Courier

How to avoid stress on first day of school - Education - News - Inner West Courier

How to avoid stress on first day of school - Education - News - Inner West Courier

Preparing your child for their first day of school

Sending children off to school for the first time can be challenging for parents and children alike.  This Information Sheet provides useful tips for parents to decrease the stress by being prepared beforehand.

First day tips