Prep

Last Thursday was our Preps ‘First Day of School’, which involved staggered starts to the classrooms. There was excitement, a few nerves, and lots of happy smiles. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet our new families, and we look forward to getting to know you all better as you become part of our Yarra Road community. A big thank you to our wonderful Parents Association for organising a morning tea in the gym for all our Prep parents and for helping to celebrate this important milestone.

Our Preps have settled in well to school life and are enjoying playing with their buddies at recess and lunchtimes. Some students have undertaken their Prep Entry Assessments, and this will continue each Wednesday for the remainder of February. These assessments provide the teachers with valuable information about your child and allow us to determine their point of need with their learning.

In class, our focus has been on establishing morning routines, such as unpacking our school bags and drink bottles, going to the toilet, eating our brain food, marking the roll, and eating our snack and lunch. This week our students will begin walking with their teachers to front and back gate at the end of the day.

This week our students have also had the opportunity to meet our specialist staff members, which include Mrs Smith in Performing Arts, Mrs Baum in STEAM, Ibu Grogan in Indonesian, and Mrs Pagliaro in PE.

In Wellbeing, we have introduced the students to our Whole School Wide Behaviour Matrix. This includes the rules for behaviour in the classrooms, in the yard, for lining up, and for moving safely around the school. In class we have been learning how to use our crayons, how to use our glue sticks, how to ‘shine in a line’ , and how to use our mat manners (listen with your ears, look with your eyes, cross your legs, lips zipped, and hands in laps). Our School Values of Safety, Kindness, and Respect are embedded across all learning spaces, including classrooms, playground, and toilets, and are universal rules of behaviour expected of our students.

Many of our students received their first day of school letter and ‘jitter glitter’, which they placed under their pillow to ease their nerves on the first day of school. We are getting ready to send home the children's' first day of school bags, outlining important information about starting school from the Victorian Government. There are also some wonderful picture story books for the children to keep.

Just a reminder that we have our School Nurse Visiting the Preps on the 2nd, 3rd and 6th of March to check hearing and vision. Also, our Prep Social Event for students and parents is on the 26th of February, with more details to follow shortly.