Prep

Dear Prep parents,

The time has come to say goodbye to the academic year of 2024. It has been an incredible year for our Prep cohort. Our students have worked so hard and it evident in the progress we have seen. It has been a joy to witness their growth, both as active members of the Saltwater school community and as engaged learners.

We cannot believe that our youngest learners of the school will soon be transitioning into Year One in 2025. The students were feeling confident and excited to meet their new teachers and 2025 classes at our transition morning on Thursday 19 December.

Christmas Carols Concert

We are so proud of our Prep students worked with great effort, dedication and commitment to practise their songs and ensure their dance moves were amazing for the school carols performance. It was great to see the students all up on the stage being risk takers and enjoying performing together. What a celebration! We all hope that you were able to enjoy the carols and that some lasting memories were made.

 Christmas Activities

The students have been enjoying some Christmas based activities throughout last week and our Christmas parties were held to celebrate the end of a magnificent year together in Prep. Much fun was had by all as we played Christmas songs, danced with friends and enjoyed party food.

Reading

In Reading, the students have been looking at a variety of Christmas books and creating items based on the books such as Christmas decorations and characters. They have made connections and comparisons as well. The students continued to work on Reader's Theatre where they used their voices, facial expressions, and body language to bring the characters and story to life. This has allowed students to engage with literature and practise their reading skills while also exploring the emotional depth of characters and stories.

Writing

In our writing sessions, we continued to explore letter writing. Students have explored the various features of a letter, recognising essential components like the heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature. As part of the process, students actively engaged in writing letters to kinder students, next year's teachers, Santa, an elf or a family member. They created cards and have shown creativity when they have written their messages with emotion, conveying their thoughts and feelings and using this traditional form of communication to write for purposeful reasons.

Mathematics

Our students have engaged in fun and educational Christmas-themed maths activities during the last week. We used Christmas-themed objects like candy canes, ornaments, or jingle bells for counting, sorting, and solving basic Maths problems. Students created groups and patterns by using colour, size, or features. We have enjoyed counting down on an advent calendar, as a special Christmas countdown. We included a maths problem related to the number of days left until Christmas and other math-related Christmas trivia. We read Christmas stories and asked math-related questions such as, "If Santa visited 10 houses and ate a cookie at each house, how many cookies did he eat altogether?” What a fun way to immerse our students in everyday maths!

Thank You

As we conclude this wonderful year, we would like to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you for the support you have given your child/ren this year. Taking time to read with them and find artefacts, talking about their day and what they have learnt, encouraging and building confidence, has all impacted the success they have made this year. It has been our pleasure working alongside you to see your children grow and learn. We wish you all a happy holiday and all the best for 2025.

Wellbeing

Over the past two weeks, students participated in activities designed to help them 'embark on a journey' of self-discovery, exploring how their emotions can guide them down different paths and impact their learning. The Preps had the chance to engage in imaginative play, practising ways to navigate emotional challenges and create pathways to self-regulation. They learnt that sometimes we feel very angry or scared, which is when we’re in the 'Red Zone'. They further discussed how emotions in this zone are like traveling on a bumpy road, but with the right strategies, they can return to a calmer state.

Reminders:

• Thursday 19th December 2024, is transition day for Years One to Eight.
• Thursday 19th December 2024, is the last day of school for students, with dismissal at 2.40pm across the school.
• Thursday 30 January 2025, Years 1-9 begin school. 

Thank you,

The 2024 Prep Team.