Prep 

Information and Reminders

Welcome back!

Our Preps have returned to school refreshed after the holidays and have settled straight back into classroom routines with positivity and enthusiasm. It has been wonderful to reconnect with everyone and hear all about the exciting adventures and special moments from the break!

Term 3 promises to be an exciting term, with gymnastics, 100 Days Brighter, the excursion to Healesville Sanctuary and Book Week all just around the corner. It is often one of the biggest terms for growth in Prep, as students become increasingly confident, independent and ready to embrace new challenges. We are looking forward to guiding our wonderful Preps throughout this busy, fun filled term.

iPads

• Our iPad program works best when all students who have their own iPad bring it to school each day. Please remind your child to pack their iPad in their school bag every morning .
• iPads can be brought to school once the Acceptable Use Agreement has been returned with all required sections completed and signed. Please make sure your child returns it this week (even if they are not bringing their own iPad).
• We have shown students a Social Story to reinforce our expectations for using iPads at school, which we have attached below. We encourage you to discuss it together so you can help reinforce the importance of using iPads safely and responsibly at school.
• Please note: If you are sending an iPad to school for setup, this can only be completed on Wednesdays, as this is the day our IT technician is on site.

Updated: 100 Days Brighter! - Friday 31st July

Please see the table below to see which item to bring along on the day. This information has also been emailed.

Curriculum

*Please remind your child to go to the toilet before they enter the classroom.

Phonics and reading 

Last week, we completed our learning of the alphabet with the letter Z! Before we move on to new concepts, we are solidifying our understanding of the short vowels and applying them to longer words. 

This week, we are completing reviews of short I (as in list) and short O (as in pond).

Our learning focus will include:

• Reviewing the phonemes (sounds), cued articulation and graphemes (written letters)
• Identifying where we might see each letter in a word
• Reading and writing 3 and 4 letter words

What can you do at home?

• Support your child to read the decodable book in their Reading Pocket. Try and aim to read every day, if you can.

• The 'Roll and Read' page is a great way to practise sounding out and blending words, especially for students who find reading sentences a little challenging.

•Review the letter names and sounds for I and O, as well as the sounds we have learned so far using the cards below. You can also find these cards in your child's book pocket. When practising, say them like this: “A spells /a/.” Ask your child if they can show you the cued articulation for the sounds. 

•Learn the Heart Words (in red booklet). A new page was added just before the holidays. 

• Work through the optional UFLI pages. 

Sound / Letter cards to review:

**There is not an X card. You make the sound by combining the /k/ and /s/ sounds

**There is not a QU card. You make the sound by combining the /k/ and /w/ sounds

Optional UFLI Home Practice Pages:

(please see the Wonga Weekly from Term 1, Week 7 with an explanation on how to use these practise pages)

Literature: reading responses and writing 

Our mentor texts this week are two non-fiction texts about Platypuses and Tasmanian Devils. These texts have been chosen to complement our learning for our CBL Big Idea (see below for more details). Last week, students explored the features of non-fiction texts. This week, they will learn to distinguish between facts and opinions, and use the information they have learned to write their own short information texts.

In Writing, students have begun using their Sky, Grass, Ground books, which feature coloured dotted thirds to support correct letter size, placement, and handwriting development. This week, we are reviewing the correct formation of the 'Magic C' letters - c, a, o, g, q, d and s - focusing on consistent letter formation using the correct entry and exit points.

Students will write short dictated sentences. They will also independently create short texts based on a picture prompt. As part of this, students will review adjectives and explore how they can make their writing more descriptive and engaging.

We have begun incorporating writing into our Mentor Text sessions. Students will write facts about Platypuses and Tasmanian Devils. 

What can you do at home?

•Practice letter formation of 'magic c' letters - c, a, o, g, q, d and s

•Write some 3 or 4 letter words. Students now know every letter and sound of the alphabet!

•Help your child practise writing their name with a capital letter at the beginning and lowercase letters for the rest of their name.

Maths 

We are continuing our learning about addition and subtraction, with a focus on subtraction (we focused on addition last week). Students will explore subtraction through pictorial number stories, represent 'take away' stories using concrete materials and ten-frames, and create their own subtraction stories within 10.

What can you do at home?

• Practise simple addition stories at home using everyday objects eg. “You have 3 toys and get 2 more - how many altogether?”  Practise saying the answer like this "3 and 2 is 5".

•Practise simple subtraction stories using everyday objects eg. “You have 5 strawberries and eat 2. How many are left?”), encouraging your child to act it out, count what remains, and explain their thinking. Practise saying the answer like this "5 take away 2 is 3".

**Please note - we are using the words 'and' (not 'plus') for addition, 'take away' for subtraction and 'is' (not 'equals).

CBL

Our new Big Idea is Power. Students will use guiding questions to explore native animals and consider how they can use their individual power to help protect endangered native animals.

Guiding Questions: 

What is Power? 

How do we use our power in everyday choices? 

How do our choices affect the living things around us? 

Essential Questions:  

How can we use our power to make a positive difference for living things?  

Challenge:  

Prep – 2s Pledge to Do!  Use your powerful voice to make a change! 

Wellbeing

SWPBS

Our focus is to review our Be Kind, Be Safe, and Be a Learner expectations as we return from holidays, ensuring that students are confident and consistent in following them so that everyone can enjoy a positive and successful time at school.

We will also focus on safe and responsible transitions by ensuring students are ready and in the class line by the end of the second bell. This helps our learning time begin smoothly and safely for everyone.

Respectful Relationships

In the lesson, Can Everyone Play?, students will explore how to include others in play by recognising different strengths and abilities. They will discuss and practise ways to solve problems fairly so that everyone feels included and able to participate.