In Week 1, for Inquiry, we started our journey of discovery to become immersed into the properties and uses of different materials.

We also talked about predictions. We guessed…

-how many marbles would fill a jar,

-how many joined paper clips would be the length of a ruler and

-if a ball of playdough will be shorter or longer than a 30am ruler.

In Literacy, this term, we are focusing on the Report Genre.

An information report provides readers with information on a chosen topic by providing them with facts. Generally, an information report is written to provide facts about a living or non-living object.

For our first report we made a ladybird poster. We learnt how to properly lay out a project.

In Week 2, we constructed reports about Pandas and Sharks. Come and look at them in the classroom.

In Maths, we learnt about time. We made watches using analogue clock faces and a digital clock. We also learnt the order of the days of the week by singing a catchy song to the tune of ‘The Addams Family’.

Days Of The Week Addams Family (Parody) | Fun songs for Big Kids, Preschoolers and Toddlers

We also made jellyfish. We numbered the tentacles and dabbed paint with a cotton bud with the correct number of spots.

In Inquiry, we continued focusing on our topic of Discovery, by learning that different materials have different characteristics. We learnt we can bend a pipe cleaner, roll playdough, rip and fold paper. We also learnt words to describe materials, for example, a marble is shiny, wood is hard and foil can be scrunched and folded.

In Week 3, in Maths, we learnt all about 3D shapes. We made cubes, cones, rectangular prisms, cylinders and square based pyramids.

3D Shapes Song | Shapes for kids | The Singing Walrus

In Literacy, we made clownfish for our report writing genre.

We learnt that:

All clownfish are born male.

They live in sea anemones.

They are covered in slime that protects them from the sea anemones' poisonous tentacles.

We also made frogs and looked at their life cycles.

Did you know they start as eggs → tadpoles → tadpoles with legs → froglets → frog

We also made Arctic Seals.

In Mappen, we continued exploring the properties of materials. This week we focussed on playdough. We found that Playdough is soft and we are able to bend it, fold it, poke it and roll it.

This term, Chloe Farnsworth joined us in Prep. Chloe is a 4th Year Pre Service Teacher from Australian Catholic University. This is her last placement before she graduates next year. Chloe loves reading and playing netball and tennis. Her favourite subject to teach is Science and she is specialising in Religious Education.

“I’m very excited to see all the great things that happen in Prep, I have already met so many very clever little people. I can’t wait to get to know everyone at St Bridget’s!!”- Chloe

In Week 5, in Inquiry, we looked at the uses of aluminium foil. We discovered that aluminium foil is foldable, reflects light, can float on water and can get wet (unlike paper).

We needed to make a ‘structure’ of some kind that would hold a small teddy in it and float on water.

In Maths, during Week 5, we have been continuing to learn about Length. We invited the Year 4/5/6 students to help us measure our height using informal units such as streamers, icypole sticks and footprints.

We also made dogs to show long, longer and longest.

In Literacy, we made sloths and learnt some facts about them. Did you know that they are so slow that moss sometimes grows on their backs.

At Assembly, we presented the gospel Mt 14:22-33 Jesus walks on water.

For Inquiry in Week 6, we looked at the uses of WOOD. We made boxes with icy-pole sticks. We can use them to put our precious things in. We painted our boxes and decorated them with some jewels.

We did a project about Koalas. The children love these projects and learn lots of interesting facts as well as learning how to present information as a report.

In Maths, we have learnt about Mass. We used balance scales to compare the weight of different objects. We predicted how many teddies, for example, we needed to balance the scales.

In Week 7, we had the book parade. The Preps looked amazing in their costume. We spent the morning doing Book Week Activities in our Wellbeing groups.

We made elephant toothpaste as an experiment with Miss Farnsworth.

In Literacy, we did a project about cheetahs. Did you know they are the fastest land animal?

In Week 7, in Inquiry, we looked at the uses of paper. We looked at corrugated paper and its uses and why it is so sturdy. We experimented with newspaper and rolls to make bridges; we did a great job.

In Week 8 we did a project on Hippos.

In our Soundwaves we have been studying words that start and/or finish with the sound sh and ch.

In Maths, we have been learning about Volume and Capacity. We have been measuring water in different containers and predicting how many cups would fill a large container.

In Mappen, we made calico bags. We decorated them with offcuts from different types of fabrics.

Thank you to Tenille for providing us with these materials.

This week for show and share, the children brought in fabulous creations made from aluminium foil.

We made lava lamps for an experiment.

We made Father’s Day cards that looked like a tuxedo and used real buttons. We also made frames with our Dad as a superhero.

Kind regards,

Mrs Margaret Maher & Mrs Anna Di Lorenzo

Prep Classroom Teachers

St Bridget's Primary School Newsletter

At St Bridget’s we are strong and courageous. We believe that individuals must stand up for the values expressed in the Gospels (freedom, love, justice, integrity and forgiveness).

Issue 4 · 17 Sep 2023

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