Prep Curriculum News

Term 1, 2024

Prep Curriculum News Term 1, 2024 

Congratulations to all Prep students and their families on a wonderful start to 2024! 

Term 1 is always a very busy term, often proving exhausting for our students. We are all very proud of how well everyone has settled into school life and look forward to an exciting year together. 

Units of Inquiry

HOW WE ORGANISE OURSELVES

Schools are organised to help us learn and play together.

 Lines of inquiry:

• The school buildings and grounds
• Why people go to school
• The people who work at our school and their roles, routines and systems
• The ways we can get along with each other

 WHO WE ARE

Many people teach us how to be healthy and safe.

 Lines of inquiry:

• The things we can do to keep ourselves healthy and safe
• Personal physical and social health
• The many organisations and people that keep us healthy and safe
• Identifying  dangers in our environment

Whole-school Focus on PYP Learner Profile

• February: Caring
• March: Risk-taker

Literacy

During Term 1, the Prep students will be exposed to a variety of rich literature and text. In line with our ‘Smart Spelling Approach’ students learn a ‘word of the week’ to drive our phonic instruction, focusing on the letters and sounds of the word. 

Families have commenced the home Reading program which aims to foster a love of literature, great discussions and connections to real life experiences. Students will use a variety of experiences as a basis for their weekly writing.  Children are invited to bring along something of interest for Show and Tell sessions. This will assist students to develop their Speaking and Listening Skills.

Numeracy

During Term 1, the students will participate in hands-on activities to promote number awareness. They will develop their knowledge of the number system through daily exposure to mathematical concepts. 

This in-depth understanding of numbers will involve students recognising, recording and making numbers from 1 - 10. The students will practise counting forwards and backwards using a number chart, bead frame and other concrete materials. They will learn about the attributes of 2D shapes - circle, rectangle, square and triangle, be introduced to the concepts of taller/shorter and curved and straight lines.

Inclusive Approaches

The Resilience Project

In Term 1 Prep students will start participating in activities from The Resilience Project. They will begin to work on activities in their Resilience Project workbooks.  These activities offer practical strategies to build resilience and happiness.  We promote the values of Gratitude, Empathy & Mindfulness (GEM) in all class activities.

Understanding the Zones of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation, developed by Leah Kuypers, is a systematic framework that helps individuals, especially children, understand and manage their emotions. It categorizes emotions and states of alertness into four color-coded zones: 

Blue Zone (low alertness)

Green Zone (optimal alertness)

Yellow Zone (heightened alertness)

Red Zone (extremely high alertness). 

By fostering emotional awareness, teaching self-regulation strategies, creating a Zones-friendly environment, and using visual supports, we empower children with essential skills for emotional well-being and self-control. 

Special events

• Wednesday 6 March - Meet and Greet Interviews
• Tuesday 12 March - School Photos
• Monday 11 March  - Labour Day Public Holiday
• Wednesday 13 March - Preps commence Fulltime attendance
• Saturday 23 March  -  BNPS Fete
• Thursday 28 March  - Term 1 Finishes 2.30pm