Prep News 

ENGLISH

Reading:

In Reading this term, the Prep students completed an author study on Mem Fox. Throughout the study, students learned about the author herself and explored the different characters, illustrations, words and themes found throughout her texts. We explored books such as Possum Magic, Hattie and the Fox, and The Magic Hat. Students applied comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising and questioning to understand and discuss texts that they listened to, viewed or read. They also continued engaging in Phonics lessons, which embedded the process of learning the relationship between letters and sounds and how to use those relationships to read and write words.

Writing: 

In Writing, the Prep students continued their work on recounts of experiences, using the elements of who, what, when and where. They also learned how to write a narrative, with a focus on retelling the stories they had been exposed to during Reading. They then used these skills to develop and write their own narratives, including a beginning, middle and end. During writing sessions, they also focused on holding their pencil correctly, using capital letters for names and at the beginning of sentences, and applying full stops and punctuation marks to signal the end of a sentence.

MATHEMATICS

In Maths, the Prep students learned about 3D objects. They named and sorted shapes such as cubes and spheres. Students also engaged in a unit of Addition and Subtraction, where they added and subtracted groups to find the total. They continued working on number recognition and counting from zero to twenty, as well as subitising. Students also began a unit on Capacity, which involved comparing objects to determine which were heavier or lighter.

INQUIRY

In Inquiry, the Prep students explored their family history. This involved identifying members of their families, their cultural traditions and the ways different cultures are represented. The key concepts covered this term were identity and culture, namely our place in the world and who we are. The key understandings we addressed included sharing and reflecting on personal histories and cultures, and learning about Dreaming stories to help describe the cultural history of Australia’s First Peoples. Some of the key questions we used to guide our inquiry were: What is my history / my story and how do I know? What are cultural traditions? What are some of the traditions that I celebrate? What are the different ways that we show our culture to others?

SCIENCE

Throughout Term 3, the Preps have been introduced to the Physical Science strand of Science and have been learning about movement. Students have practised different movements using their own bodies, such as jumping, hopping, rolling and crawling, and have been investigating how toys and objects move, such as rolling, bouncing, spinning and sliding. Students have demonstrated their learning through various activities which have included dancing, cutting and pasting, carrying out investigations and experiments; students especially enjoyed the “investigating rolling” experiment where they put toys on a ramp to investigate which ones rolled! They also participated and performed very well in the body movement activities.

LOTE - AUSLAN

During Term 3 Auslan, the Foundation students learnt about: Fruit, Zoo Animals, Wh Questions, Handshapes, HOLM+ NMF (Handshapes, Orientation, Location, Movement and Non-Manual Features), Feelings#2 (extending on previous learning about feelings), About Me, Clothing, Medical/Health. These topic signs and features of Auslan were important as they extended our skills and built toward future learning. One activity involved the students using Auslan to describe their features/appearance, e.g., hair type and colour, eye colour from the Lesson ‘About Me’. Explicit teaching through videos, with stories, songs, poems and games provided an opportunity for learning, whilst having fun. The students began to understand what Auslan communication is about, by watching Deaf adults signing on the videos. At this level the teacher guided and supported the students’ learning, as they also continued to develop their own skills.

ART

The Preps have had another fantastic term in Art. They have explored the elements of shape and form, and worked with a range of materials including modelling clay, chalk and fabric. They have also created artworks using a combination of these different materials. Indigenous artworks were incorporated into some sessions and the works of Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso were the inspiration to explore how shapes and angles can be used to create artworks. Art activities involved lots of discussion and play, as we discovered the creative possibilities in making artworks using a range of elements. Fantastic work Preps. What wonderful artists you are!

P.E

For physical education this term, our Prep students will continue building their fundamental motor skills, with a focus on controlling their body movements during different activities such as dance/music, and some different sports throughout the term. We’ll be practising skills like balancing, jumping, and catching, and will then transition into learning how to strike a ball with rackets to develop hand-eye coordination. I’m really looking forward to working with each student and helping them continue to grow and enjoy being active in physical education this term!

MUSIC

During term three, preps explored and listening to different genres of music. For example, they listened to rock music, classical music, jazz and popular music. Students learnt to recite several rhymes. Students used body percussion to clap the rhythms of the rhymes percussion instrument to play simple rhythms. Students also learnt how to play in time and count 1,2,3 4, and to keep a steady beat. Students played and explored the sounds they could make with different instruments such as keyboard, the ukulele and the djembe. Students also sang songs as a class such as ‘If you’re happy and you know it’, ‘Dingle, dangle Scarecrow’ and ‘The hokey pokey’.