Foundation

We Are Becoming Authors!

Watch out, Australia… the next generation of bestselling authors is hard at work in Prep!

This term, we have started to learn what every great author knows, a sentence is not just a random collection of words! The Preps have discovered that every complete sentence needs a noun (who or what the sentence is about) and a verb (what the noun is doing). They have become fantastic "sentence detectives", checking that their writing makes sense before declaring it finished.

Of course, every professional author also knows that punctuation matters! We have been making sure every sentence begins with a capital letter and finishes with the correct punctuation, a full stop for a statement or a question mark for a question. We are becoming quite the punctuation experts.

One of the highlights of our writing lessons has been introducing our very own Author's Chair. This special chair gives the Preps the chance to become published authors by sharing their writing with the class. Sitting in the Author's Chair takes courage, but our Prep students have embraced the challenge with huge smiles and growing confidence.

As audience members, students learn to listen respectfully, celebrate each other's successes, ask thoughtful questions and give encouraging feedback. It has been wonderful to watch my students cheer one another on as every student proudly shares their work.

The excitement around the Author's Chair has been incredible! Students are taking greater care with their writing because they know they will have the opportunity to share it with an authentic audience. The result? Some amazing pieces of writing that any author would be proud of.

We are reading the text ‘The Most Magnificent Thing’ and the Preps are learning the difference between a statement sentence and a question sentence. They practiced writing some questions related to the text and getting their peers to answer their wonderful question sentences. Please turn up the volume as the quality of the video is not going to win any Academy Awards.

I am so proud of my budding authors and cannot wait to see the wonderful stories and sentences they continue to create throughout the term. Who knows, you may have a future bestselling author living in your house!

REMINDER - SWIM/GYM

This term, the Prep students will be attending their Swim/Gym program on the following dates:

• Friday 24th July

• Friday 31st July

• Friday 7th August

• Friday 14th August

• Friday 21st August

Students will need to wear their swimmers underneath their school uniform on these days, and bring a towel and goggles (if using) in a plastic bag for their wet things to go into after the swim session.

We are on the lookout for some parent volunteers to drive 2-3 students to Wendouree to attend the Swim/Gym program. If you are able to help on the 24th July, 31st July or 21st August, please let me know and I can add you to the list!