As a Leader in Me School, one of our 5 Core Paradigms is that parents and teachers partner to support the whole child. What this means is that we value you as your student’s first teacher. You know your student best. Oftentimes it’s easy to assume that teachers are the only ones who are responsible for a student’s academic and social success in school. As a parent of a Leader in Me student, we believe that you are a valuable member of our Learning Team. You have an important role in the educational journey of your student. Research shows that when parents are engaged in their student’s education, the student’s success, academically and behaviourally, increases significantly. If we know this partnership is critical, what can we do to create a partnership?

We would love to get your insights and feedback on what we can do to nurture this partnership as well as your ideas on what you would like to do as a partner in your student’s education.

Following are a few of our insights on working together to create a partnership:

Partnering is about communication and relationships. We want to honor your family’s culture, beliefs, and circumstances.

We want to communicate with you about what is happening in school, but that’s only one part of effective communication.

We encourage you to share your opinions, ideas, and background. We believe all of us have unique gifts and talents.

If you are doing something at home that works well for your student, that you are proud of, or simply a fun fact about your family, share

it with us. Your input and voice is so important!

A partnership is not only about being physically present at the school, volunteering, or being on committees—that is only one

aspect of partnership. If you’re working full time, travel for work, or simply cannot be physically present to engage that doesn’t

mean you’re not our partner. There are other ways to engage such as:

Let’s keep the communication lines open! We may have questions or concerns. Let’s create space to ask questions and listen

to each other. We want to be there for you! Just like you, we can’t do this alone. We must come together as a Learning Team

to support your student and ensure they have every opportunity for success.

We look forward to our partnership!

The Power of Onset and Rime in Early Literacy

At the heart of early literacy development is a set of foundational skills that support children’s reading and writing success. One of the most powerful tools we use in our Prep classrooms is teaching onset and rime. This simple yet effective strategy plays a crucial role in helping young learners hear, recognise, and manipulate sounds within words, an essential step toward becoming confident readers.

What is Onset and Rime?
An onset is the initial sound or sounds in a word before the vowel (e.g., the c in cat ), and the rime is the rest of the word, beginning with the vowel (e.g., -at in cat ). By breaking words into these parts, children begin to understand how words work and how they can be changed and built upon. For example, once a child knows c-at , they can quickly learn m-at , s-at , and h-at .

Why Does It Matter?
Current research highlights that phonological awareness, including the ability to recognise onset and rime, is a strong predictor of early reading success. In fact, renowned literacy researcher Dr. Linnea Ehri emphasises that “children’s ability to segment and blend onsets and rimes provides a foundation for decoding unfamiliar words and recognising spelling patterns.” Research shows that when students develop this skill early, they are more likely to become fluent, accurate readers in the years ahead.

Engaging Young Minds
In Prep, we explore onset and rime through games, lessons, songs, rhymes, and visual prompts. These activities enable children to experiment with sound combinations in a fun and meaningful way. For example, using word families like -an , -ig , or -op helps children generate a list of rhyming words, boosting vocabulary and phonemic awareness.

Building Strong Foundations
Research from the Early Childhood Education Journal suggests that children who are explicitly taught onset and rime, alongside other phonological awareness strategies, show greater progress in reading readiness compared to those who are not. When paired with rich oral language experiences and quality picture books, this approach gives our Prep students the building blocks they need to thrive as early readers.

At OAGS, we are committed to ensuring every child’s learning journey begins with strong, research-informed foundations. Teaching onset and rime not only supports early literacy development but also nurtures confidence, curiosity, and a love for language.

Prep Coordinator

Mr James Bornen