Prep 

INFORMATION

💐 Thank you Prep parents!

Thank you to all the wonderful parents who have supported us this term. It has certainly been a busy one, with our 130th celebration, two excursions and a swimming program. Events like these are only possible because of the time and help of our amazing volunteers, and we are truly grateful for the support we have received. Thank you so much!

🍎 Final Prep Transition session - this Wednesday

This Wednesday we will have our final Prep Transition session for the year. This session will be a little longer than usual, and our current Prep students will spend half the day working with a CRT. As usual, students need to take their bags to the amphitheatre, where they will be met by their teachers for the day.

👴🏻 👵🏽 Grandparents Day - Monday 8th December, 12.15 - 1.30pm

🍭🍬Graduation Lolly Buffet Donations

Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated lollies for Graduation. We’d love for the donations to keep coming – your support is very much appreciated!

📚 Library

Students are no longer able to borrow from the library. We’d love your help returning any library books with the WPPS stamp - remember to check under beds and in those tricky hiding spots!

CURRICULUM

📚 Phonemic awareness: reading and phonics

We are focusing on one lesson this week about closed syllables, which supports students in reading longer words.

Our focus will include:

• Learning the phonemes (the sounds the letters make).
• Practising the graphemes (how we write the letters with correct formation).
• Reading longer words 
• Reading short texts that include the focus long vowel sounds, as well as previously learned digraphs.

We will be reviewing previously learned heart words.

What can you do at home?

• Help your child read the take-home book, decodable passages and Heart Words from their book pocket. Aim for fluency by the second day of reading. 

As your child reads, encourage them to recognise familiar words instantly and only sound out unfamiliar ones.

• Enjoy bedtime stories together to build vocabulary, comprehension and a love of reading.

• Work through the optional UFLI home pages if you’d like some extra phonics practise at home.

📝 Literature: reading responses and writing 

Our mentor text is One Koala, One Hundred Trees by Leesa Allinson. This book has been thoughtfully chosen to support our CBL challenge about respecting and caring for native animals and plants. Students will explore the Author’s Purpose and understand that texts are written for different reasons. They will also write some interesting koala facts and create a short procedural text about how to plant a koala habitat.

This week’s Mentor Text sessions will include plenty of opportunities for writing. Students will be creating a special card for their grandparents for Grandparents Day, as well as continuing to refine their handwriting using their Sky, Grass, Ground books.

What can you do at home?

• Build in authentic writing experiences like writing a shopping list, birthday cards, wish lists or notes for family members. 

• Say it, then write it – Ask your child to say their sentence out loud first, then write it down.

• Check for capitals and full stops – Remind your child to start with a capital letter and finish with a full stop.

•  Practise writing the Heart Words, taking care to notice the tricky 'heart' parts in the word.

🔢  Maths 

We are learning more about measurement. Students will explore how to compare objects by looking closely at their length, mass and capacity. They will solve real-life problems by directly comparing items to see which is longer or shorter, heavier or lighter and which container holds more or less. We’ll be using plenty of hands-on activities to help students build a strong, practical understanding of these concepts.

What can you do at home?

• Compare everyday objects together eg. “Which spoon is longer?” or “Which book feels heavier?”

• Involve your child in cooking by helping measure and compare how much different containers can hold.

• Encourage your child to use language like longer/shorter, heavier/lighter and holds more/holds less during play.

• Provide simple household items (cups, boxes, toys) for your child to sort and compare by size, weight or capacity.

🌏 CBL - Discovery

Our learning in CBL will be guided through our Mentor Text. We will also be preparing for Grandparents Day by learning a special song and creating some gifts for our loved ones.