Welcome to our Term One, 2023 Newsletter!

Firstly, we would like to say a big welcome to all the new families who have joined the GWPS community this year. It has been wonderful to see the Prep learners settling beautifully into their classes and forming new friendships during play.

We hope that you find the information within this quarterly newsletter helpful in understanding what is happening for the Prep learners but also to introduce you to our expectations and learning for Term One. Should you have any questions regarding the information below, please see your classroom teacher who will be happy to answer these at a suitable time.

Morning Bell

Each morning, music plays at 8.50am to signal that children may enter the classroom and begin their day. To ensure teachers can provide for optimal learning, we ask that you allow the teachers time prior to 8.50 to organise for the day. We understand that sometimes a meeting is required, for this we recommend organising a time with your teacher. It is important that you remain outside the ELC (weather permitting) to supervise your child in the playground until the yard duty teacher arrives at 8.45am. Please be aware that each prep class has their own designated entrance and teachers will open the door and bring the learners in to begin the morning routine. If you are unsure of the location, please speak to your child’s teacher.

Hats and Water Bottles

As we are a SunSmart school, learners have been reminded to bring their hats labelled with their name, to school every day in Term One and Term Four to protect them from the sun when outside. We also recommend that you apply sunscreen with your child before they come to school in these terms. If you haven’t done so already, please provide a refillable water bottle, labelled with your child’s name to be stored in the classroom. 

Eating Times 

Learners are provided with several eating times throughout the day under supervision of the teacher. Once they have finished or had enough to eat, they may be permitted to play. 

10am- Brain Food (10 minutes approx. ‘Brain Food’ is fresh fruit or vegetables) 

10.45-11.00 Snack (prior to recess play) 

1.15-1.40 Lunch (As of Monday 27th February) 

Library

Once a week, every Prep Class has an allocated session to spend in the Library, which may vary term to term. Your child may choose a book of interest during this time and will use a bag already provided to carry their chosen book to class. Please take note of your child’s Library day (see below) and ensure that any borrowed books are returned the next week so that they may borrow that day. There may be times when library days may change due to whole school timetabling, when this occurs your child’s teacher will let you know.

Take-Home Reader Book Bags and Home Learning 

Every day learners are asked to bring their Take Home Reader Bag to and from school. The Reader bag should contain, a levelled book to read overnight, a GWPS diary (to record books read and messages to the teacher), Magic 100 Words and a set of alphabet flashcards.  You may also find included on occasions notes from the office, school nurse and Home Learning workbook (Fridays). 

It is helpful that you check the Take Home Reader bag daily and that borrowed books are kept in the Reader bag to prevent damage or loss. If you haven't already, you can purchase one for your child through the school’s uniform shop. This assists with learners being successful with their daily routines.

Home Learning is sent home each Friday and is an opportunity to share and revise the learning that has occurred at school during the week. We encourage you to discuss the learning with your child before they independently record their tasks into their home learning book. Should you need to complete tasks online, all logins for Reading Eggs, Mathseeds and Seesaw are located at the front of each diary. Please note that the Home Learning is due each Friday and can be handed in via the Take-Home Reader Book Bag. 

Please click on the links below for further information in regards to supporting your child with Take Home Readers, Magic Words and Alphabet Sounds.

• Take Home Readers  
• Magic High Frequency Word Keyrings 
• Alphabet Sounds 

Reading

During Term One, students will commence the Whole School Approach to reading using the C.A.F.E. Reading Program that builds reading skills in Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary. This term, students will be explicitly taught strategies from the Comprehension and Accuracy strands. 

Learners will begin by orally making text-to-self connections to help them understand and relate to events and characters from a shared story. They will then use the pictures to help them recognise parts of a story, sequencing events, as well as matching the first letter with a sound and stretching and blending letter sounds.  Students will also be using the online Reading Eggs program at home by logging in using their login and password provided in their diary. In addition, students will engage in one to one reading conferences with their teacher to provide guidance and support with their personalised reading goals.

The Term One sequence of letter sounds is: s, a, t, p, m, i, d, n, g, o , c, k, ck, r, e, j, u, h, f, ll, ff, ss

What you can do at home: 

• Support your child by reading their take home book daily.
• Revise the letter sounds learnt at school. 
• Practice reading Magic Words daily.
• Ask your child to tell you what happened in the story after reading.
• Access Reading Eggs app

Writing 

In Writing, Prep learners will be introduced to our whole school approach of VOICES. This term, students will be looking at dominant sounds in words when writing their own texts. During explicit mini lessons, they will look at letters and identify the different sounds they make to produce words. Students will be learning to write Victorian Modern Cursive script at school. Various learning tasks to support the development of fine motor control for handwriting will be practised, such as play-dough, threading and tracing.

What you can do at home: 

• Engage in fine motor activies such as cutting, threading, playdoh, ripping paper
• Focus on correct letter formation.
• Support your child to read their writing out loud or describe their pictures. 

Mathematics  

In Mathematics, Preps will be exploring numbers through hands on materials, also known as concrete materials. We are learning to write, sequence and recognise numbers in our environment and connect quantities to each value.  Many learners will have already engaged in teacher and student one-on-one conferences, where we have further identified an individual Mathematics learning goal. Learner’s goals align with the whole school approach, utilising the SURF Proficiency Framework (Problem Solving, Understanding, Reasoning and Fluency) to build on their developing skills.   

The following units of learning will be covered in Term One: number, shape and patterns, time (days of the week and duration of events), ordinal numbers

What you can do at home: 

• Talk to your child about the numbers they see around them (signs, clocks, phone numbers, calendars, letterboxes). This helps them read numbers and connect their purpose of learning at school to the real world. 
• Practise counting objects- anything you have around the home or out and about. Ask ‘How many?’ and ‘How many are there if I have one less?’ 
• Identify and name different shapes in your environment, for example; go on a shape hunt when out and about.

Inquiry 

This term learners will explore the topic ‘How Do I Respect Myself?’, through the Global Goal lens of Good Health and Well-Being. By building an understanding of who they are culturally, academically and socially, they will reflect and work towards how they can successfully contribute to a cohesive classroom and school community. To support their learning, the Preps will develop a common language to identify and express their emotions through the Zones of Regulation. They will have the opportunity to participate in developing a toolbox of strategies to regulate their emotions in a manner that is safe and respectful of themselves and others.  Your child will also build their understanding towards the School Values and expectations of a learner at GWPS, including the power of positive self-talk to overcome challenges which will lead them towards success. 

Tips for home: 

• Have a conversation about the friendships your child has made at school including ways they have played respectfully. 
• Talk about the strategies they have learnt at school to cooperate and get along. 
• Model positive self-talk when faced with challenges or when making mistakes to mirror the GWPS Learning Norm ‘Mistakes are valuable’.

Social and Emotional Learning

Social and Emotional learning is embedded throughout all areas of learning with strong links to our Inquiry unit of ‘How Do I Respect Myself?’ Interactions with their classmates will provide opportunities for your child to apply their learning in a real life context. This is the beginning of your child’s self-regulation journey at Glen Waverley Primary School. In Prep, we define self-regulation as students displaying self-awareness, understanding their emotions and applying strategies to make positive choices.

Tips for home:

• Encourage your child to pack and unpack his/her bag independently.
• Ask your child “What went well today?” at the end of the school day.
• Name your emotions when you talk to your child. For example: “I feel proud when you try to dress all by yourself.”

We look forward to a wonderful term of growing and learning with your child in Prep.

Mrs Stefanidis, Mrs Javidi, Mrs Baguley, Miss Chow, Miss John and Miss Scanlan