Prep News

Important Reminders

All important dates and events are on our Compass Calendar, please check the calendar regularly to stay up to date!

16/11: Prep CERES Excursion Consent & payment due
If you would like to be a parent helper for the excursion, please fill out the parent helper form https://forms.gle/yBnk3tZk2f2EtSR68 . We will advise parents if you have been randomly selected to attend.

Swimming week is fast approaching! Prep, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students will have their swimming lessons each day from Monday 20th October - Friday 24th October. Swimming lessons will be held at Paul Sadler Swimland, Rowville.

Please see below for specific information regarding the swimming lessons for Prep students.

PD and PL will have their swimming lessons from 2:00-2:30.
PR and PB will have their swimming lessons from 2:30-3:00.
Students can wear their bathers to school if they want, however, we will make sure they have time to change into bathers at the pool if they prefer.
Please ensure your child/ren brings a small bag to school that has their towel, thongs/slides, goggles (if wearing) and bathers (if not already wearing).
Students will leave their runners at school, wearing only their thongs/slides to the pool.
Please ensure every item of your child’s clothing is clearly named in the event of items getting mixed up in the change rooms.
Grade 1 students will be encouraged to eat their lunch at snack time, then to keep their smaller snack to eat at lunch time.
Given that there will be time back at school after swimming, it would be good if students could have an additional small snack or piece of fruit to eat then if they are hungry.
There will be no lunch orders during swimming week.
If you wish to attend your child’s swimming lesson, please be advised that parents are not permitted to enter changerooms. Teachers will be there to assist students getting changed if required.
If necessary, please practise with your child to ensure they are as independent as possible with getting changed out of their bathers and back into their school uniform.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

We look forward to a wonderful week!

Learning in Action

Literacy

Over the fortnight, we read the narratives ‘Saved’ and ‘Giraffes Can’t Dance’. We used the ‘narrative hill’ to retell the stories by looking at the orientation (characters and settings), problem, character response (feelings) and solution. We worked on the fluency strategy, ‘find and fix’. When making a mistake whilst reading, we had to think about whether the words made sense and looked right. We then practised finding the mistake and fixing it up to ensure we are reading accurately. The Preps were so excited to craft and write their very first narratives. They used a beginning, middle and end template to plan out their ideas and then wrote sentences to convey their story. We were so impressed with the creative ideas that our preps came up with!

Preview: Students will be introduced to the Persuasive genre where they will form opinions about books.

Maths

Over the past fortnight, students have started to revise addition and that it means to add numbers together. Students have revised using the strategies on ‘count all, count on, friends of 5, friends of 5 and counting on from the bigger number’.

After finishing their unit on location by giving their partner directions, the Preps have learnt about capacity. We now know that it means how much a something can hold. Students filled up containers with water, and estimated which container would hold more or less. It got a bit messy but it was lots of fun!

Preview: Next week we will continue to revise addition and focus on the strategy of ‘counting on.’

Inquiry

This fortnight students have continued their research into different types of waste, focussing closely on recycling and composting. Students shared their knowledge of recycling, knowing at home we can recycle cardboard, hard plastics, tin cans and paper. It was great to visit our special recycling station to see alternate objects we can recycle including batteries, stationary, bread bags and tags, bottle caps, and mobile phones.

The prep students have been very determined ‘waste warriors,’ using the compost bins in the classroom to get rid of their food wastage, including apple cores, banana peels and the blueberries that often roll out of their lunchboxes.

Preview - Next week we will be completing a waste sort.

Wellbeing

Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships has seen students build on their knowledge of ‘Fair and Friendly Play’ by exploring violence. The session ‘What is Fair? What is Violent?’ allowed Preps to explore the language and behaviours around fair and friendly play and play that is too rough. Key vocabulary include: fair, respect, violence and self-control.

During Friendology, students revised the four Friendship Facts. Preps were placed into small groups and worked together to illustrate how to show each Friendship Fact before role playing a scenario demonstrating the Fact to their peers.

Fact 1: No friendship or relationship is perfect

Fact 3: Trust and respect are the two most important qualities of a friendship.

Fact 4: Friendships change… and that’s OK!

Preview: Next week in RRRR, students will explore sharing play spaces and equipment fairly, and using their knowledge of fair and friendly play in a practical setting.

Voice

This term our prep students have enjoyed using their Voice during “Curious Kids.” This is an open investigation unit, where each student was able to choose an area they would like to learn more about, settling into 4 groups, Airport, Bunnings, Hospital and Grocery Shop. Over the term students have been honing their collaborative skills by engaging in play-based activities, either STEM, movement, construction, craft or role play. The Preps have loved using their voice when working with a partner, sharing ideas, acknowledging those of others and coming to an agreed action that benefits everyone.