Prep Report

Welcome to the Prep Community

Showing Kindness

Our school value of 'Be Kind' frames our Social and Emotional brain. In Prep, we work towards expressing and demonstrating care, empathy and acceptance through our actions. In the Prep Learning Community, you will see students helping each other, actively listening, and acknowledging others and their differences. We regularly revisit kindness and what it means to be inclusive to all, and unpack the appropriate language and actions we would hope to see together. Students have a strong voice in developing this, as we want ownership to come from them and be appropriate to their social and emotional development stage. 

Resilience & Growth Mindset

The Prep students have been developing their resilience and growth mindset as these qualities promote joy, curiosity and brilliance and help them to bounce back from challenges and setbacks. 

Each week, students participate in Social and Emotional lessons that encourage and support them in tackling difficult situations, such as addressing friendship concerns, facing new experiences, and even how to deal with the occasional failure. 

Students who are resilient and have a growth mindset approach school with a sense of optimism and a willingness to take on new challenges. By teaching and supporting our students to be problem solvers, show perseverance and take on challenges, we foster a passion for learning and a commitment to achieving their best! 

Emotional Regulation or Self-Regulation in Prep

Emotional Regulation is the skill of managing feelings so that they don’t reach overwhelming levels and interfere with learning and development. Some children need support as they struggle to manage their emotions and mitigate their anxiety. They may struggle to understand: 

1. How they feel 

2. How others feel 

3. How to interpret visual cues of how others feel.

Emotional regulation is a teachable skill. In Prep, we use mindfulness to teach children skills like attention and focus, impulse control, and emotional and sensory regulation. Learning mindfulness techniques can help children regulate their emotions and focus better. 

At times, we will use mindfulness when children come inside after lunch or recess. We also take short brain breaks throughout the day. This helps students regulate themselves and get their bodies ready for learning. An example of a calming activity may be playing relaxing music or focussing on our breathing with breathing exercises.

Breathing exercise you can try at home with your child:

Flower Breath: Imagine smelling a beautiful flower, breathing in through the nose and out the mouth, releasing any tension. Stop and smell the roses, daffodils, daisies, or any other flower they like. This is a simple way to connect children to their breath and how it helps them feel.

Problem-Solving

To support our growing independence and problem solving skills we have been learning a song, with some actions to help us remember strategies we can use if someone is 'popping our bubble'.  

"Please Stop"

(sung to the tune of "Stop" by The Spice Girls)

Please stop, thank you very much,

This is my bubble, and you can not touch. 

Please stop, I’m gonna walk away

Here’s my teacher, they’ll help me today.

These are the steps we can take to problem solve independently, before we need to ask a teacher for help. The preps have done a fantastic job learning the song and actions. 

Kids' Voice

We asked the Prep Students for their voice on their emotional well-being; this is what they said:

'When you are feeling upset or angry, how do you calm yourself down?'

'I breathe in and out, and sometimes I do some colouring.' - Imogen, Prep E

'I take deep breaths, and I make a smart choice like asking my grandma for her iPad so I can watch something.' - Rayna, Prep F

What is your favourite thing to do for a brain break?

'Play Floor is lava!' - Athanasia, Prep G

'Dancing!' - Mikal, Prep E

'Doing painting with my friends.' - Lionel, Prep G

'Yoga.' - Aydin, Prep D

How does mindfulness after play help you?

'It makes me calm and happy.' - Ivy, Prep C

'It makes me nice and calm.' - Sienna, Prep B

'My mindful colouring helps me be calm.' - Adam, Prep D

Awards & Acknowledgments

Be KIND Awards 

October 4th: Athanasia Prep G

October 7th: Mia Prep C

October 8th: Katya Prep C Teacher

October 12th: Ivy Prep C

October 20th: Aarav Prep G

October 27th: Alex Prep F

October 27th: Anant Prep F

October 28th: Angelina Prep C