Dear Prep Families,

We can’t believe we are already more than halfway through Term 2! The weeks are flying by, and the term has been filled with lots of learning, growth, and exciting experiences for our Prep students. We are so proud of how confidently the children are following routines, showing independence, and continuing to build positive friendships within the classroom and playground.

Over the past few weeks, students have been working hard across all learning areas and showing great enthusiasm for their learning. It has been wonderful to see their confidence continue to grow each day. Here are some of the things we have been learning this week:

English

In our InitiaLit lessons, we have been learning the sounds /h/, /e/ & /n/ as well as practicing how to identify words that begin with these sounds.

We have also been practicing oral blending, where students listen to individual sounds and blend them together to make a word (for example: /m/ /e/ /n/ → men). These skills help to build your child’s ability to read and write. Some words we have been reading are /h/ /e/ /n/ - hen - /f/ /e/ /d/ - fed and /h/ /o/ /p/ - hop.

You can support your child at home by practicing the /h/, /e/, and /n/ sounds and thinking of words that begin with this sound, such as, hat, hop, hippo, egg, elephant, engine, name, number, and neck. You can also practice oral blending by slowly saying the sounds in a word and asking your child to blend them together quickly.

Click this link to practice all of the sounds we have learned so far in Prep (0:00 -2:30)

Prep Sounds

We have also been learning some tricky words! These words are tricky because we cannot sound them out; we just have to know them by heart.

The tricky words we have learned are:

Click this link to practice all of the tricky words we have learned so far in Prep (0:00 - 1:13)

Prep Tricky Words

You can help us practice by showing us these words and letting us read them to you. You can also use them in sentences such as the ones below:

Storybook

In our Storybook lessons, we have been reading a new story! Our new story is called ‘Thunderstorm Dancing’, written by Katrina Germein and Judy Watson. Our focus words from this text are pounding, twirling, and gleaming.

Through our Storybook lessons, we learn essential reading skills such as predicting, summarising, and answering questions about the text. We then make connections between the text, ourselves, and the world around us.

To support your child’s vocabulary development, you can ask them for the definition of each word or to use it in a sentence! Another fun activity is to act out the word. Ask your child to act out the following scenarios:

Show me how you would look if you were pounding a hammer.
Let’s twirl together in circles.
Show me how something would look if it were gleaming.

Writing

In our Writing lessons, we have been focusing on correct sentence structure, including capital letters and full stops.

Using a picture prompt, students have written this sentence in their writing books, spelling each word aloud with teacher support: “The man had a kip in the rug.”

Students have also had a go at using the picture prompt to write their own sentence independently, making sure to include a capital letter and a full stop.

Language Experience

In Language experience, we have been learning about why it is important to brush our teeth. We have explored how to keep our teeth healthy and strong through discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on learning activities. We have also been using sequencing vocabulary, such as first, next, then, and last, to help us order the steps of correctly brushing our teeth. This has supported students to build their oral language and understanding before sharing and writing about the process.

Maths

In Maths, we have been learning about the plus symbol (+) and what it means when we add groups together. We have been reviewing and writing our numbers to 10 and practicing counting in our heads. We are also practicing counting to 20 and counting backward from 10 to 0.

To support your child at home, you can ask them to read and solve simple addition problems and identify the plus (+), and equals (=) symbols.

We have also been learning about capacity and exploring the concepts of full, half full, and empty. You can help at home by pointing out different containers, such as cups, bottles, or tubs, and asking your child whether they are full, half full, or empty. You can also explore this during bath time or while cooking together.

General Reminders

Payments for the Fairytale Fiasco incursion are open on Compass. Our Prep students will have the opportunity to bring fairytales to life with the Fairytale Fiasco! incursion, where students will use drama and performance to explore narratives, fairytales, and creative narrative structure. Students engage in this fun fractured fairytale as characters who need to restore order to Fairytale Land. They will dress up as iconic fairytale characters - Witches, Dragons, Pigs, Wolves, Cats, Mice, and more, to act out a dramatic adventure, learning narrative story structure and expressive storytelling along the way. The cost of this incursion is $22, due on the 9th of June, and is non-refundable as per our refund policy. Some families will have SSB/CSEF credits on their account. If this is the case, your cost has been adjusted accordingly.

At Tarneit Rise, we encourage students to read every night to practice their reading skills and develop a lifelong love of books. Regular reading at home helps build confidence, fluency, and comprehension. Each child has been allocated a specific reading satchel day, which is displayed on the door of your child’s classroom. On this day, please ensure your child brings their reading satchel or red bag so they can change their books and safely transport library books between home and school.

Please make sure that all items your child brings to school are clearly labeled with their name and class (e.g., PA). This includes hats, jumpers, drink bottles, lunch boxes, and uniform items. Labeling helps us return lost items quickly.

As it is now Term 2, children are no longer required to wear hats outside during play times. However, you are still more than welcome to send your child to school with their hat if you would like them to continue wearing it outside.

The first bell rings at 8:45 am, which is when students begin entering the classroom to get ready for the day. Please ensure that your child is at school and ready to learn every day at this time. Learning begins promptly at 8:55 am, and the school day finishes at 3:10 pm.

We kindly ask families to continue supporting this by allowing students to walk into the pod and classroom on their own each morning. If you need to speak to your child’s classroom teacher, please email the school, and this email will be forwarded to the teacher.

School Value

This week, we have been focusing on the value of growth.

Prep A: Sathvik - He has been working hard to actively participate in all learning tasks, and this shows with his growth in writing.

Prep B: Jaskirat Singh - For demonstrating growth in his ability to follow school rules and routines. Jaskirat is always helping his friends to make good choices in the classroom and out on the playground!

Prep C: Dhanashree - For giving all new learning a red-hot go and trying her very best to blend sounds together to read new words. She can now read words with any sound we have learned so far!

Prep D: Shaurya - For improving so much with his learning. He can write his numbers and letters correctly and read simple words. Well done, Shaurya!

Prep E: Evan – He has demonstrated the school value of Growth by consistently trying his best, learning from feedback, and showing improvement in his learning each day.

Prep F: Raunak – She has demonstrated our school Value of Growth by applying her letter-sound knowledge to segment and blend words and is now confidently reading CVC words. She consistently tries her very best in all areas of her learning and should be very proud of her efforts.

Prep G: Raza Haider Polra - For asking for help when needed and staying determined through even more challenging tasks, Raza has shown outstanding personal and academic growth this term.

Prep H: Kevin – He has shown growth by always trying his best at all tasks! He is always participating in lessons and has a positive attitude towards his learning.

Prep I: Samanvi – For spelling CVC words in her sentence by herself.

Prep J: Anaya – For showing a positive attitude towards learning. She is becoming more confident in class discussions and is always eager to participate and share her ideas. We are very proud of the progress and confidence she continues to show each day.

Teddy Bear Picnic

The students thoroughly enjoyed their Teddy Bear Picnic, sharing a fun and engaging experience with their friends and favourite teddy bears. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to build friendships, participate in group activities, and enjoy the outdoors together. Please enjoy the photos below capturing these special moments.

We look forward to celebrating all the wonderful learning and achievements still to come this term.

If you have any further questions, please contact your child’s classroom teacher for support.

Kind regards,

PLC Prep

Big Childcare