Dear Prep Families,

Our enthusiastic preps have been settling into their first term at Tarneit Rise Primary School. They have started forming new friendships, learning their way around our school and grasping new routines.

English

Our InitiaLit program has introduced our students to rhyming words, syllables and blending onset and rime. These skills will build your children’s ability to read and write. We have been practising identifying the sound for m and s while also forming these letters. You can help to support your child at home by asking them to share the sound that m and s makes. You can ask them what sound does ‘monkey’ start with? What sound does ‘snake’ start with?

During our story champs lessons, our students have been learning to retell stories. We have been practising identifying the character, problem, feeling, action and solution from the stories we’ve read. You may like to ask you child to share the character or feeling in a book you read with them at home.

Maths

In Maths, we have been learning to count. Our students have been practising each day to count as a class and are now focusing on counting collections. We have been learning to identify the symbol and share what number it is. Our students have begun to learn how to form numbers by using the language slide forward, slide back, curve forward and curve back from Direction Duck. You can support your child with things we have been learning in maths by practising counting objects around your home!

Other Areas

Some other areas of learning that we have been completing each week include Digital Technology and Respectful Relationships. During Digital Technology, our students have been exploring the features of an iPad. In Respectful Relationships, our students have been learning about different emotions and when/ why we might be feeling them.

Bravehearts Incursion

Our preps were lucky enough to have a visit from Ditto! The Bravehearts Education team provided our students with knowledge on personal safety. The focus of the preventative education program is to protect children from sexual harm. Ditto, the brave Lion Cub lead songs and actions that reinforced important personal safety messages. The students loved singing and dancing along while learning how to be safe.

Reminders

Take Home Reading

At Tarneit Rise, we encourage reading each night to practise and develop enjoyment in reading. Each child has an assigned day to change their reading books. Please bring their reading satchel on this day so classroom teachers can check reading journals and assist your child in getting new books. In the reading journal you can record how many nights of reading your child has done. At the end of each term, certificates will be given to celebrate hitting certain milestones for nights of reading!

Hats are compulsory in Term 1 and 4. Please ensure your child has a hat that is labelled clearly with their name.

Please label everything that your child brings to school with their name and their class (e.g. PA). This helps us with lost items and ensuring that your child’s items are returned to them. This includes hats and all clothing items they may remove throughout the day. We quite often end up with parents having to repurchase uniforms as the children lose them throughout the day and they cannot be found. If it has a name and class on it, it will easily be returned to the teacher within a few days.

The first bell rings at 8.45 am signalling students to make their way into class and be ready to begin learning at 8.55 am. The school day finishes at 3.10 pm. In Term 1, parents drop off and collect their children from the classroom inside the pod. If your child will be attending Big Childcare after school, they will be collected from their classroom and walked over to the gym.

If you have any further questions, please contact your child’s class teacher for support. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about your child’s learning this week!

PLC Prep

The Fortnight Ahead