From the Year Prep Classroom

It has been a busy and exciting time in Prep, with students showing wonderful enthusiasm and growth across all learning areas. We are so proud of the confidence, resilience, and curiosity they bring to the classroom each day. 

English: 

In English, we have now learnt the first 12 sounds of the code: 

Using these sounds, students have been working hard to blend and segment many CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. We are now extending this learning by beginning to blend and segment more complex words, including CVCC words such as rest and mist, and CCVC words such as crop and flag. 

We have also been loving learning our tricky words and have officially introduced: I, my, was, the, to, and you. Students have been learning about what makes each word “tricky” and identifying which part of the word they need to learn “off by heart.” Ask your child if they can tell you what the tricky part is! If you would like to support this learning at home, practising writing and spelling these tricky words is a great way to help. Many children find it easier to read these words than to write them independently, so extra practice writing them can really build confidence. 

We have also been completing regular progress monitoring in class and are incredibly proud of the progress our students are making. One area we noticed some students finding tricky was distinguishing between counting syllables and counting sounds in words. Practising syllables at home can be very beneficial, as breaking words into syllables helps support students’ writing. Counting and writing syllables can often feel less overwhelming than identifying every individual sound in a word. 

Hearing Screening – Sound Scouts Later this term, the school will be conducting hearing screenings using Sound Scouts as part of supporting student wellbeing and learning. Please refer to the email sent last week for more information. If you could provide permission as soon as possible, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you to those who have already responded. A report from the screening will be emailed directly to parents/carers. 

Maths: In Mathematics, we have recently completed our unit on Friends of 10 and partitioning numbers to 10. Students worked hard to build strong number knowledge and develop flexible ways of thinking about numbers. 

We are now beginning our new unit on 2D shapes! Over the coming weeks, students will be learning to identify, make, describe, and compare shapes by discussing their features (or attributes), such as sides and corners. A fun way to support this learning at home is to encourage your child to go on a “shape hunt” around your house- see how many circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles they can find! 

Inquiry: During Inquiry, we have been learning about Special Places and People in Our Community. Students have enjoyed sharing special places they like to visit with their families and discussing why these places are important to them. 

In the coming weeks, we will be exploring the different people who help us in our community and identifying services we can access for fun, safety, and health. This will help students develop a greater understanding of the important roles people and places play in our everyday lives. 

Thank you for your continued support at home - it makes such a difference to your child’s learning journey. We are so proud of all the amazing learning happening in Prep! As always, if you have any questions, please reach out!  

Dates for the Diary: 

• Friday 22nd May – Walk Safely to School Day 
• Thurs 28th May Whole School Cross Country –Vic Park 11.40am -3pm