Reading

In Prep this week, our students have been developing their early literacy skills through a variety of engaging phonics activities. We’ve been focusing on connecting sounds to letters, including linking the sound /h/ to the letter ‘h’, the sound /d/ to the letter ‘d’, and the short vowel sound /e/ to the letter ‘e’. Alongside this, we’ve been learning to read and write both individual sounds and tricky words, helping to build essential decoding and spelling skills. Through songs, stories, and hands-on games, our learners are becoming more confident in recognising sounds and applying them in their reading and writing. Students can now hear the sound /d/, name and write the letter ‘d’, and connect the sound to its matching letter. They are also developing their ability to sound out and read CVC words, identify the middle sound in spoken words, and write CVC words using the sounds they hear. Many students are confidently writing the letters ‘o’, ‘r’, ‘f’, ‘i’, ‘p’, ‘a’, ‘t’, ‘s’, ‘m’, ‘c’ and ‘d’, and are beginning to read captions with both CVC and tricky words. We’ve also been practising recognising and reading tricky words like *was* and *you*, and writing them in sentences. It’s been wonderful to see their excitement and growing independence as readers and writers!

Maths

In Maths this fortnight, our Prep students have been developing a deeper understanding of numbers by exploring partitioning meaning breaking numbers into smaller parts. This important skill helps build strong number sense and lays the foundation for addition and subtraction.

We’ve been learning to partition numbers up to 5 and 10 into two and even three parts, using a range of hands-on materials like counters, teddy bear counters, and dice. Students practised identifying the parts and the whole in different combinations, such as 3 and 2 make 5, or 4, 3 and 3 make 10.

We’ve also been working on subitising, which helps us recognise parts within a number set without counting. This helps students quickly and confidently see how numbers are made up, especially when working with small collections.

It’s been fantastic to see students confidently experimenting with number combinations, explaining their thinking, and using materials to show their understanding in creative ways. Keep an eye out for their growing ability to talk about numbers and their parts—you might be surprised by what they can explain!

Writing

In our prep writing lessons, students have been working hard on developing key early literacy skills. We’re focusing on forming letters correctly, holding the pencil with the correct grip, and confidently copying and writing CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words such as "cat," "dot," and "hat." These foundational skills support both handwriting and early spelling, setting students up for success as young writers. It’s been wonderful to see their pride as they form letters more neatly and begin to write simple words independently!

Integrated

In Integrated Studies, we have been exploring Family History through two key themes: how we grow and what makes our families special. This week, our students focused on how we change over time and who the people in our families are. We began by reading the stories Family Tree and Too Big or Too Small to help us understand how we grow from babies into adults. Students looked at images of the human life cycle, learned new vocabulary such as baby, child, teenager, and adult, and discussed what people can do at each stage of life. Later in the week, we shifted our focus to families. Through books like All About Families and The Family Book, students celebrated the diversity of families and shared who is in their own family. They talked about where their family members were born, how they are connected, and how stories and traditions are shared across generations. Students also completed activities like drawing themselves as a baby and now, and creating puzzle pieces that show both how they’ve grown and who is in their family. These activities help children understand their own identity and appreciate the unique stories that make up their family history.

Let’s Talk

This term, we have been learning about our new wellbeing program at Grayling Primary School called Let's Talk. We discovered that Let's Talk will help us to share our feelings, listen to others, and support our friends. We also learnt about our wonderful Let's Talk Mentors — Grade 5 and 6 students who wear pink vests and are available during recess and lunch. They have been specially trained to help younger students when they are feeling sad, worried, or just need someone to talk to. We read the story Ruby Finds a Worry and created a special craft showing all the trusted people we can talk to if we ever have a worry. It has been such a positive start to building strong connections and supporting each other!

Respectful Relationships

This week, Prep students explored emotions, strengths, and how we show respect to others. We read The Lion Inside and talked about how the characters felt and the strengths they used—like courage and kindness. Students learned that respect means being kind, listening, helping others, and treating everyone fairly. We finished by drawing a moment when we gave or received respect, such as helping a friend or being brave like the mouse. It was a great way to learn how our actions and words can help others feel valued and respected.

Mother's Day Morning

Last Friday, we were thrilled to welcome our wonderful mums and special carers into the classroom for our Mother’s Day Morning. It was a beautiful way to celebrate and appreciate the important people in our lives.

Throughout the week, students prepared for the big day by creating a special, handmade gift—a magnetic love heart craft—to surprise their mum or special person. They put great care into decorating their gifts and were proud to explain who they made them for and why they are so loved. We also read the book Why I Love My Mummy and talked about what Mother’s Day means, why it’s important, and how different families celebrate in their own special way. During our morning celebration, students and their mums enjoyed a variety of fun classroom activities together, such as colouring, puzzles, bracelet making, nail painting, reading books, and playdough fun. To finish the morning, we gathered together to reflect on the meaning of Mother’s Day and share how we’ll be celebrating with our families.

Thank you to all the mums and carers who joined us—it was a joyful morning filled with love, laughter, and special memories

Grayling Primary School Newsletter

Proud & Connected

Issue 6 · 20 May 2025

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