Preps

Fire Safety Incursion

Our Prep students were very excited to welcome firefighters to our school for a special Fire Safety Incursion. During the visit, students learnt about what is considered an emergency and when it is important to call for help. The key message students took away was the very important saying: “Get out and stay out” if there is a fire.

We were also lucky enough to have a fire engine visit the school as a surprise! Students explored the different uniforms firefighters wear depending on whether they are fighting fires inside buildings or outdoors. The highlight of the day was having the opportunity to hold the fire hose while water sprayed out. The smiles and excitement on the students’ faces were priceless, and it was wonderful to see so much joy and engagement throughout the experience.

Maths

Over the past few weeks, our Prep students have been busy participating in hands-on learning experiences focused on graphs and addition to 10.

When exploring graphs, students learnt how to read data by identifying how many items were in each column and comparing which groups had more or less. They also discovered the importance of spacing sorted items evenly to ensure an accurate representation of data.

In addition, students have been developing their understanding of number bonds. We have been learning that addition is made up of two parts that combine to make a whole — two smaller parts joining together to create a bigger whole. The students have enjoyed using concrete materials and practical activities to strengthen these important maths concepts.

Buddies

Our Buddy Program has continued with a fun maths focus. Students designed creative monsters based on numbers rolled on a dice to determine how many eyes, ears, legs and other features their monster would have. They then placed their monster into a landscape of their choice and wrote a sentence explaining what their monster was doing.

Travis and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the wonderful conversations taking place between buddies. It has been fantastic to see our older buddies being so thoughtful, supportive and encouraging as they work alongside and guide our younger students.

National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday, we joined millions of students across Australia to participate in National Simultaneous Storytime, with readers joining in from more than 16,000–20,000 locations nationwide. Each year, the event aims to exceed 2 million simultaneous readers all sharing the same story at the exact same time.

This year’s story was Luna Roo, written by soccer veterans Adam Jackson and Adrian Lloyd. The story follows rookie captain Luna Roo as she leads FC Outback in an exciting match against Bush United. Along the way, Luna faces bubbling nerves, a spider goalkeeper and snakes in attack, learning to trust both her skills and her teammates.

Following the story, students completed a directed drawing activity of Luna Roo and did an amazing job carefully following the instructions to create their own wonderful illustrations.