Prep

Dear Prep Students and Families,

Our amazing prep students have now completed eight weeks of school and continue to exceed our expectations. 

We are incredibly proud of our youngest students! They have shown that they've effortlessly adapted to the school routine, displaying confidence, and embracing new challenges in our school environment.

Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest at night, as adjusting to this new schedule can be tiring for some. 

Students are now more aware of classroom and teacher expectations. As teachers, we have really enjoyed getting to know our prep students and have been so proud of all their efforts and positive attitudes towards school. We are looking forward to building on their enthusiasm for learning as the year progresses. 

Reading 

In Reading, students have consolidated their understanding of 'Concepts of Print' and ‘Prediction’ through modelled and shared reading in the classroom. Students have continued developing their knowledge of 'Good Reader Strategies' with a focus on using the 

'THINK' strategy which promotes thinking ...do the words 'LOOK RIGHT?', 'SOUND RGHT?' and 'MAKE SENSE?', to help develop the students comprehension skills.  Students have also made fantastic progress with their independent reading engagement and focus. During independent reading the students have free choice of reading fiction and non fiction texts and have been practising becoming  successful independent readers .

We have also begun exploring the concepts of rhyme. ‘Rhyme’ is a repetition of similar sounds in the final stressed syllables e.g. cheese and please. Students have enjoyed participating in rhyming activities. They have enthusiastically built their word sound knowledge by identifying similar sounds in words. Hearing and understanding rhyme helps them discover many common word patterns (such as those in cat/sat or day/say), which assists in reading and writing.

To further help support your child's reading at home, a minimum of 10 minutes per night is recommended. Encourage them to make predictions before reading, as well during reading. Discuss what clues they can use to make predictions to better comprehend what they are reading. Ask them if they noticed any words that rhymed. Give them an ending pattern such as 'an', 'at' or 'in' and allow them to come up with the onset to create a word bank of rhyming words. 

We have also become superb singers showing lots of progress in our Articulation song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZPaS-3C5vQ which focuses on Prep letter sounds in addition to the letter names .

Phonics

Our Phonics lessons have continued ensuring that students connect sounds with the correct letters for both reading and spelling. This fortnight, we’ve been working with the letters k, e, r, u,  In addition to these sounds, we’ve also been revising the high-frequency words ‘a’ and ‘my’. These simple, high-frequency words are crucial in supporting early reading and writing skills, and the revision ensures students are mastering these fundamental components of the English language. Please remember to practise high frequency words at home to support your child's progress - these can be found in their reading satchel on the  word card key ring.

Writing/PYP

In Literacy, students have continued practising writing in their Special Writing Books, with a focus on the high frequency words of the last two weeks 'a' 'my' Students have been risk takers when attempting to independently write full sentences using their knowledge of letters and sounds. 

Furthermore, the Prep cohort conducted a provocation lesson where students listened to the story " Who We Are" and shared wondering of relationships, culture, likes and dislike relating to this book. These wonderings will now be fostered and develop our pathway for the unit ahead.                                                               The students have also continued to explore the IB Learner Attributes of being ‘Open-minded’, ‘Knowledgeable’, ‘Reflective’, and a ‘Thinker’ through various mentor texts. These attributes are crucial in helping students become reflective, knowledgeable, and open-minded writers. Our recent mentor texts were 'Elmer' ,  ‘Stay for Dinner’ and ‘Henry the Finch' which we celebrated with writing crafts.

Additionally, students have continued developing their thinking skills using the 'Think, Draw, Write, Share' model as we embarked on recount writing. They have been learning the importance of labelling their pictures to help them write a sentence that matches their drawing. Students are encouraged to reread their sentences to check if they make sense. We are proud to say that they are not only gaining increasing confidence to write but are enthusiastically seeking opportunities to share their work with their peers.  Writing about 'weekend fun' has been the focus for our Prep children,  which has been insight to read all about.

Mathematics

In Maths we have been focusing on  making collections up to 10 and using 1:1 correspondence. Students have been using hands on resources to practise the counting techniques of touching and moving objects as they count.

This ensures we are counting with increasing accuracy. We have been challenging ourselves to count up to to 20 forwards and backwards.

Wellbeing 

Over the last two weeks in Wellbeing, students have been learning about making responsible choices so that their classrooms and outdoor spaces can be a safe environment. In light of this, they have also been learning to develop vocabulary to identify emotions and identify the ways in which emotions are shown in body language. Our Preps have successfully recognised and named some commonly experienced emotions and have been able to identify what the emotions look like through facial and body expressions. 

Reminders

• Satchels: Please ensure your child brings their satchel every day to school.

• Spare Clothes: A reminder to pack a spare set of clothes for your child.

• iPads: Prep students will begin using iPads in Term Two. Your child’s iPad will need to be configured by our IT team. Any device manufactured after 2020 will be suitable for use at Saltwater P-9 College. Please look out for a recent notification detailing when to send iPads to school for configuration.

• Hats are to be worn when outside from August to April. Please ensure to put sunscreen on your child before arriving at school. We are unable to apply sunscreen on children, please practise this task with your child. 

• Snack and lunch times are 20 minutes long. Please encourage your child to eat their snack/lunch within a 20 period.

• Early Dismissal on Last Day of Term One – 2.30pm

Warm regards,

The Prep Team