In Prep
The Preps have had a very busy term and have been working very hard. They are continuing to form friendships in the classroom and working on building on these relationships in a positive way. Students are working on following routines and becoming more independent through organisation during the mornings and throughout the day with support and direction.
In reading, students have learnt a large range of letters and sounds and the cued articulation action to match the letter and sound. They are reading and writing short words using their sound and letter knowledge. Students are learning to read and write ‘tricky words’ to build on the students being able to read texts. It has been fantastic to send home the readers to your child this term and this has definitely given the children confidence to read stories at home and in the classroom.
In writing, we have focused on constructing short sentences using their sound and letter knowledge and also writing modelled sentences. They have worked on forming upper and lowercase letters correctly. Students have been introduced to using a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence and full stop at the end when forming sentences. Students have been learning to put two finger spaces between words and reading back their writing to see if it makes sense.
In mathematics, the children have been learning about number concepts. We have learnt about solving addition problems using the count on strategy and using concrete materials to solve problems correctly.
We also have been learning about data and representation. Students composed questions with a ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answer. They then needed to collect data from classmates using tally marks.
Next week students will continue to learn about data and representation. They will collect data to create simple graphs and make statements representing the data that they collected.
Students are enjoying this unit especially formulating questions and collecting data from their classmates. They are doing a fantastic job!
In our integrated unit students have been learning about ‘Earth and Space’. They have been learning about day and night and observed the changes that occur through observation and recorded this information. They have identified the differences between day and night and discussed activities they do at different times of the day. For example, during the day I go to school and at night I relax and go to bed! Students have predicted and recorded the weather over a period of time and have drawn weather symbols to match on each day!
In our health unit, students have been learning about the importance of being healthy and ways we can do this at school and at home. Students enjoyed discussing the healthy food options we can eat such as fruit and vegetables and being active such as participating in sport and incorporating brain breaks into our daily routine at school. We discussed how we need to move our bodies which helps us to learn and stay focused.
Students love doing yoga and having the opportunity for ‘brain breaks' during class time. They also enjoy mindful colouring and listening to meditation music, especially when watching ocean reef animals!
In Religion, we have been learning about God as the ‘creator’ and have been exploring different places in the world that God made. We have discussed the beauty of the world and the amazing animals God created. We responded creatively by making earth representing the land and the water. We explored Antarctica and found out information about what it looked like and some of the animals that live there.
Students then made their own picture of Antarctica including animals, ice and igloos! Students also have reflected on the importance of looking after our world focusing on animals and looking after our planet.
We are proud of what our Preps have achieved so far and we are looking forward to the students continuing to build relationships and learn for the remainder of this term and the rest of the school year!
Sarah O’Hara and Marie Georgiadis
Prep Teachers