End of Term Newsletter – Term 1

Well done to all the prep students for completing their first term at school! Everyone has worked very hard and are settling into their new classroom routines. We would like to give a special thank you to all the parents and carers who have supported their children with their learning and made the transition to school enjoyable.

Literacy

Throughout the term in Phonics:

students have worked on making connections between the names of specific letters of the alphabet and their sounds, and verbally blending those letters together to make whole words
developed correct writing grips and progressed their ability to form letters correctly when writing
shown an ability to work with their peers to read letters and short two and three lettered words
learnt a series of words from the first ten High Frequency Words.

Throughout the term in Reading:

students have continued making connections between letters and sounds
they have participated in reading books, poems and chants daily as well as developing their independent reading stamina
students have continued to revise the concept about print - front and back cover, spine, where to begin reading and the direction in which we read.

Throughout the term in Writing:

students have been writing daily
students have been learning to share their message with their peers and draw a picture as a plan for their writing
students have been focusing on recording the sounds they hear in words to write the beginning sounds in words

Throughout the term in Handwriting:

students have been working on improving their fine motor skills by developing a strong pencil grip and posture, which has helped them form our focus letters with greater accuracy.

Numeracy

Throughout the term in Numeracy students have been

consolidated their understanding of counting forwards and backwards to 20 using hands on materials, playing games, singing songs and taking part in daily fluency activities
practiced writing numbers with the correct information and counting using one-to-one correspondence
learnt to copy, continue and create different objects
learnt how to identify the sequential order of different daily events, and learnt about events that occur in the daytime and nighttime
learnt the days of the week, practiced naming the days that come before and after certain days, how to sequence the days in the correct order and count the number of days we have been at school so far this year.

Social and Emotional Learning

In Social and Emotional Learning

students learnt about emotions (joy, fear, sadness, anger, disgust and surprise)
students learnt how to identify these emotions in their own and their peers’ personal experiences.

Other Special Experiences

Importantly, our Prep students worked hard on learning a dance routine for Harmony Day and successfully performed this dance with the grade 1/2 cohort in front of our whole school community at our school assembly.

Furthermore, students were also able to participate in their first incursion. An educator from R.AC.V. delivered a one-hour lesson on how to be safe in a variety of daily situations that they can relate to. Through a range of hands on and engaging activities students were able to identify safe behaviours when at home, as a passenger in a vehicle and when being a pedestrian around roads.

Additionally, every Wednesday morning in session one this term students participated in hands on physical activities in the big gym to develop their fine and gross motor skills and coordination.

Term 2 Reminders

school starts at 8:50am and ends at 3:10pm
we will be sending hats home on the last day of Term1 as they are not required in Term 2 and 3
the weather will be cooler in Term 2, so please remember to bring jackets and jumpers which are clearly labelled with your child’s name
High Frequency Words will continue be sent home in the red folders for reading and spelling practise on the first day of Term Two
Diaries will continue to be sent home in the red folders as well to record the minutes and pages read of students’ Just Right books
Please make sure all clothing is clearly and permanently labelled with your child’s name to help make sure they don’t get lost
Please bring a water bottle labelled with your child’s name
Please continue to pack a full day’s worth of a healthy lunch and healthy snacks as our school has still not been able to get our canteen up and running
Term Two will commence on Tuesday the 22nd of April.

We wish you a safe and happy break and are looking forward to seeing everyone in Term Two.

The Prep Team

Mark Turner, Emily Routley, Grace Rosella, Diana Polazzon, Serina Curini, Rupinder Kang and Melissa Ozdemir

Visual Arts

with Ms Popovic