Prep News
Welcome to our Prep newsletter!
📅 Important Dates & Reminders
Reminders -
Please read with your child each night.
17/8 - LPS Science Day
18/8 - Myuna Farm Excursion
25/8 - 26/8 - Parent/Teacher Interviews - information to come
18/9 - Footy Dress Up Day and last day of Term 3 (2:30pm dismissal)
Literacy -
This fortnight in Prep we finished our Literature unit on Giraffes Can’t Dance. In our final lessons, we learned about facts and opinions. We loved reading facts about how animals move in the wild and then shared our own opinions about the story Giraffes Can’t Dance. We also worked on our sentence writing by creating sentences using the conjunction ‘because’ to justify our opinions. Some examples are:
“I think the cricket is good because he is kind.” Zoe
“I think Gerald was good because he was brave.” Billie
“I think Gerald is good because he can dance.” Max
Next, we explored the difference between a fragment and a complete sentence. Using our simple sentence checklist, we created our own sentences that included a capital letter, a noun, a verb, and a full stop. The students worked very hard to make sure their sentences were complete and made sense.
We have continued working hard on our Sparkle reading goals and readers. We have especially enjoyed our fluency partner reading sessions, where we sit shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee and practise our reading with the chant: “I read to you, you read to me!” It has been wonderful to see students building confidence, fluency, and expression as they read together.
Our Word Work lessons have also continued to expand our knowledge of digraphs and trigraphs. We are now learning -air and -ear, and students are becoming increasingly confident at spotting these patterns.
We are so proud of the fantastic effort all Prep students are showing across Reading, Writing, and Word Work!
Preview - Children will explore the picture story book ‘Farmer John’s Tractor’ by Sally Sutton, which is about a family stranded when their car gets stuck in rising floodwaters. Various modern vehicles attempt to pull the car out. Together we will explore narrative story structure, retell and expand sentences using preposition phrases to indicate time.
Knowledge Rich Preview- Over the next fortnight, we will begin our Knowledge Rich Unit: Seasons and Weather. Students will learn about the four seasons and how the weather changes throughout the year. We will explore different types of weather, such as sun, rain, wind, clouds and storms, and talk about how weather affects what we wear, do and see around us. Students will also learn new weather words and practise observing and describing the weather.
We are excited to become little weather experts!
Maths - Over the fortnight, we have been learning all about Measurement. Students have been developing their understanding of how we can describe and compare objects using attributes such as length, height and mass. We have been using mathematical language including longer, shorter, taller, shorter, heavier, lighter, bigger and smaller to explain our thinking. Students have also learnt that an object doesn’t have to be small for it to be light, or big for it to be heavy. A rock is small but heavy and a balloon is big but light.
Through a range of hands-on investigations, students have been comparing objects directly, making predictions and checking their ideas. We have explored which objects are longer or shorter, taller or shorter, and heavier or lighter. Students have also been learning to explain how they know when making a comparison.
Our classroom has become a place for lots of mathematical discoveries as students investigate everyday objects around the classroom to share their ideas and use measurement language in meaningful situations.
Preview- We will continue developing our measurement skills by exploring capacity, and understanding which containers hold more or less. Students will also continue to compare, order and describe objects using length, height, mass and capacity. Students will have opportunities to make predictions, use informal units to measure and check their ideas through hands-on investigations. We will also explore simple measurement problems, encouraging students to explain their thinking, justify their answers and use mathematical language to describe what they notice.
Wellbeing- Understanding Stress
This fortnight, the Preps have been exploring what stress is, how it can make our bodies and feelings react, and ways we can manage it. We talked about different situations and used a simple stress scale to decide whether they would make us feel no stress, a little stressed, or deep-end stress. Some of the scenarios we discussed included not being able to find your jacket, losing a game, or forgetting something important. Students enjoyed sharing their ideas and learning that people can feel different levels of stress in the same situation. We also practised strategies such as taking deep breaths, asking for help, and using calm thinking to help us cope when we feel stressed.
Student Awards
We would like to congratulate the following award winners on their achievements!
Please note, you will be notified before your child receives their first award.
PA - Sienna, All of Prep A
PB - Koha, Rory
PS - Zoe, Lucy
The Prep Team
Mrs Sandeman, Miss Bouloukis and Miss Sweetten