Prep News
Literacy
This week in Literacy, we have been learning about the plural -s and how we apply it to words. We also explored nouns and identified them in our reading and writing. Our decoding and encoding skills continue to grow as we practise sounding out and spelling words. We have also been engaging in reading stories and analysing them together. In writing, we have been busy editing and publishing our own pieces, ready for next week’s Writers Festival! We are so excited to be sharing these with everyone. Our published pieces will be proudly displayed in the junior corridor outside the Prep classrooms from next week – we can’t wait for you to see them!
Mathematics
In Maths, we have introduced our new unit on subtraction. We are learning to understand subtraction through the language we use, such as take away, minus, and how many are left. We have been using hands-on materials like counters, blocks, and drawings to act out subtraction stories and see how numbers change when we take some away. We are also learning to write subtraction number sentences and represent them in different ways. Our focus is on building a strong understanding that subtraction means finding the difference or removing a part from a whole.
Inquiry
Our world travels have continued! We have now departed Thailand and arrived in China. We were very lucky to have Catherine, Mackenzie’s mum from Year 3, visit our class to share her knowledge of Chinese Calligraphy. Calligraphy is a highly valued and ancient art form in Chinese culture, representing beauty, expression, and tradition. Catherine showed us the tools needed, including brushes, ink, and rice paper, and explained the history of Chinese characters, which have been used for thousands of years to record language, culture, and stories. We then had the opportunity to practise writing some characters ourselves using real calligraphy brushes. A big thank you to Catherine for her time, generosity, and sharing such a special part of her culture with us – it was an unforgettable experience!
Book Week
We are so excited for Book Week next week! Our Prep doors and classrooms will be transformed into Munchkin Land, and the students have loved helping create colourful decorations. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm for reading and celebrating books. A friendly reminder that the Book Week Parade will be held next Friday, followed by Open Classrooms – we can’t wait to see many of you there!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Warm regards,
The Prep Team