PREP NEWS!

Prep’s First-Ever Learning Exhibition

What a tremendous term it has been for our youngest learners! This term, the Preps embarked on an exciting inquiry journey, with the central idea being: We use special ways to celebrate and remember important events. Their goal was to explore their own stories and understand that, just like our school, their lives have a significant and memorable past. By learning about why things happened and why things are the way they are, they discovered how the past helps mold our present and future.

This deep dive into our collective past began with a line of inquiry into personal and family memories. To start, students drew a self-portrait depicting something special about themselves. This activity helped them connect the concept of "special" to their own identity. From there, they became interviewers, talking with their family members about a significant family event or celebration. They collected details, such as who was there, what happened, and why it was special, and then proudly presented these findings as a poster to their class. Through this, they learned that celebrations and memories are meaningful, and that there are diverse ways to celebrate a special event. Students also interviewed their extended families to find out their core memories—stories that may or may not have involved the students themselves and may have even happened before they were born.

Next, their inquiry took them outside the classroom, where they became school detectives. They conducted a local walk around the school grounds, using their detective skills to find and record historical clues. They collected crayon rubbings of commemorative plaques and took photos and/or drew special statues and places. Their work showed them that the past informs the present and future, and that stories and artefacts help us remember.

All of their learning came together on Tuesday, 16 September, for their very first Learning Exhibition. The students were thrilled to share their work with their Year 5 buddies, teaching them some facts about their family histories as well as the school's. They proudly shared their hand-drawn "Memory Panels" and "School Story" panels with their families, telling the stories they had uncovered about their families and our school.

It was a joy to watch our Preps stand tall and share their learning with such confidence and pride. This exhibition wasn't just about the facts they learned; it was about the curiosity they cultivated and the connections they made. Their journey shows us that history isn’t just in books—it's all around us, waiting to be discovered, one story at a time.

Warm regards,

The Prep Teaching Team