Prep News
Welcome to our first Prep newsletter of the year! We are so excited to begin this amazing journey together. Please check the timetable below for your child's weekly Specialist times, including Library and Curious Corner.
📅 Important Dates & Reminders
All important dates and events are available on our Compass Calendar. Please check the calendar regularly to stay up to date.
- From Monday 9th all Prep students will be attending school from Monday to Friday - 9:00am to 3:30pm.
- Please remember to bring your ‘red bag’ back to school with their name on it so that your child can use it as a Library bag in week 5.
- Students are required to bring their take-home bags to school daily.
Literacy
In Prep, our Literacy program is based on the Science of Reading, helping children learn to read, write, and spell. Through explicit phonics instruction, students learn letter sounds and how to blend and break words down to support both reading and writing. Lessons are explicit and hands-on, using stories and activities to build fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Children explore a variety of texts, including decodable readers and picture story books, while also developing sentence structure and early writing skills to express their ideas clearly.
In our first two days of school, Prep students began their Little Learners Love Literacy program, where we learn our alphabet letter names and sounds. This is taught in a fun storytelling format, where the main character, 'Milo Monkey', is having a party and inviting his friends, each one representing a letter of the alphabet. On Thursday, we were excited to meet Milo the Monkey and learn about the letter Mm. We practised the letter name and sound, explored the shape of the letter, and played I Spy, identifying items that begin with the 'm' sound, such as milk and monkey. The next day, we were thrilled to discover that another special guest was invited to Milo’s party, 'Sally Snake', representing the letter Ss.
Each day, Prep students will continue to practise the letter names and sounds of the characters they have met, while also being introduced to a new character and letter.
Preview - Next week children will be introduced to the letters Ii, Aa, Nn, Tt and Pp. We explore the text ‘Come Over to my House’; a warm, rhyming picture book that invites readers into the homes of children and parents who are deaf or disabled. Co-written by disability advocate Eliza Hull and Australian Children’s Laureate Sally Rippin, it shows different ways families live, play, eat, and communicate, highlighting accessibility and inclusion while friends come over to visit.
Mathematics
Mathematics is a wonderful subject that helps our students build a deep understanding of numbers, shapes and the world around them. This term, our learners will explore key mathematical concepts including Patterns, Measurement (with a focus on time), Counting, Place Value and Location.
To keep you connected with your child’s learning in Maths, we will share a fortnightly update. In these updates, we’ll highlight what we’ve been learning in class and give you a sneak peek into what’s coming next!
Our Preps will begin their learning journey with Patterns. They will explore two and three-part movement patterns, developing their ability to recognise, continue and create sequences. This hands-on, playful learning will lay the foundations for mathematical thinking that they will build on throughout the year.
Stay tuned for our first fortnightly maths update!
Wellbeing
Our Prep students have been busy settling in and becoming familiar with their new classroom, important spaces around the school, and the many friendly faces they see each day. The children have been learning daily routines, exploring their learning environment, and beginning to build relationships with their teacher and classmates. We have focused on creating a safe, calm, and welcoming classroom community where everyone feels supported. It has been lovely to see students starting to make connections, share experiences, and take their first steps together on their school journey.
Homework
At Lysterfield Primary School our students work incredibly hard during the day. At 3.30pm when they leave, they need time to unwind and have fun. We believe that in order to live a happy and healthy life, it is important to participate in extracurricular activities outside school. We want students to join sports clubs, Scouts, do music lessons and art classes as these are important for a child’s overall growth and social connections. We also understand that homework puts a lot of stress on families.
In addition to our beliefs, there is no evidence that homework in a primary school setting has a marked impact on students' learning or success. What is proven is that reading daily has a significant impact on a child’s ability to decode and comprehend. As such mandated homework at Lysterfield Primary School is limited to reading daily, including the practising of phonics (letter/sound relationships). Level newsletters will outline the expectations around reading and how teachers will support students with having appropriate texts to read. For some students that may not be making the expected progress for their year level, it may be beneficial for the teacher and parents to work together to reinforce the learning from the classroom with follow-up work.
We also understand that some students and families would like to practise other skills at home. To support this, at the beginning of each school year, parents will be provided with a set of additional resources that can be used for students to practise other curriculum areas. This work is not mandated and it is up to parents to implement and monitor, staff will not correct this work.
Adam Wight- Principal
If you would like some additional homework please see the below:
Prep 2026, Additional Homework
Literacy
- Enjoy reading to your child nightly using books from your home, local library and school library.
- Practice writing your name.
- SATPINM letter tiles will be coming Week 4, please practise letter names and sounds.
Mathematics
- Practice reading and writing your numbers 1-10
Meet the Teacher
Birthdays
Student Awards
Please note that when Prep students begin attending assembly, one student from each grade will be selected by their teacher to receive a 'Student of the Week' award. Parents and carers of the selected child will be notified by email (please note this will be for their first award only).
Have a wonderful weekend,
The Prep Team
Mrs Sandeman, Miss Bouloukis and Miss Sweetten.