Prep 

Information and Reminders

CBL Expo: Prep to Two, Pledge to Do! 

In the last week of school, our Prep, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students will be showcasing their learning about animals and the ways we can use our power to make a difference in protecting them. Parents will be invited to join us for this special afternoon on Thursday 17th September. Please bring a gold coin and this money will be donated to Zoos Victoria.

Come along to Movie Night

Hats

With the warmer weather returning, it’s time for hats to come back to school!

Prep students are reminded to bring their school hat back to school if they haven’t already and to make sure they are wearing it during outdoor activities and break times.

Please encourage students to get into the habit of having their hat ready each day so they can enjoy their time outside. Hats on, play on! ☀️

R U OK? Day

On Thursday 10 September, we will recognise R U OK? Day, an important opportunity to remind students about the power of checking in with others and having meaningful conversations. 

Term 3 Specialist Timetable

Curriculum

*Please remind your child to go to the toilet before they enter the classroom.

Phonics and reading 

We are learning about the digraphs WH (as in whale), PH (as in photo) and NG (ending sound as in sing.) 

Our learning focus will include reading words and short texts, spelling words containing these patterns, and writing simple sentences using our new spelling knowledge.

What can you do at home?

• Support your child to read the decodable book and/or UFLI text in their Reading Pocket. Try and aim to read every day, if you can.

• The 'Roll and Read' page is a great way to practise sounding out and blending words, especially for students who find reading sentences a little challenging.

•Review the letter names and sounds for all letters of the alphabet. When practising, say them like this: “A spells /a/.” Ask your child if they can show you the cued articulation for the sounds. 

•Learn the Heart Words (in red booklet).  New words were sent home last week. 

• Work through the optional UFLI pages. 

Sound / Letter cards to review:

Digraphs to review:

Optional UFLI Home Practice Pages:

Literature: reading responses and writing 

As we prepare for our CBL Expo, each Prep class will be exploring a different non-fiction text about a critically endangered Victorian animal. Prep A will be learning about Baw Baw Frogs, Prep B will be learning about Orange-bellied Parrots, and Prep C will be learning about Mountain Pygmy Possums. Students will use the information they gather from their texts to learn about their animal’s appearance, habitat, diet and other interesting facts, before writing their own information reports. This learning will help students understand the challenges these animals face and explore how we can use our individual power to make a difference in protecting them.

All of our mentor text sessions will incorporate writing, giving students opportunities to practise their writing skills while responding to and building on their learning from the text. Students will also explore the ways they can use their individual power to help protect their animal, writing about actions they can take and creating persuasive posters to encourage others to help protect these precious animals.

What can you do at home?

•Encourage your child to write about things they are interested in - a picture, a favourite animal, something they did that day or a story they have imagined. Encourage them to sound out words using the sounds they know and have a go at spelling independently.

•Help your child practise writing their name with a capital letter at the beginning and lowercase letters for the rest of their name.

Maths 

We will be wrapping up our learning about Sharing and Grouping before moving into a review of Teen Numbers. Students will revisit recognising, reading and writing teen numbers, as well as making teen numbers using concrete materials and visual representations. We will also reinforce the idea that teen numbers are made up of one group of ten and some extra ones.

What can you do at home?

•Give your child a small collection of objects, such as toys, blocks or pieces of fruit, and ask them to share them equally between 2 or 3 people. Talk about whether the groups are equal and what happens if there are any leftovers.

•Practise reading and writing numbers from 10–20. Show your child a number and ask them to say it, write it, and make it using objects such as blocks or Lego. Encourage them to explain how many tens and ones make the number.

CBL

Students will be writing information texts about their critically endangered animal. They will also create persuasive posters explaining how we can help protect these animals. Through their writing and artwork, students will showcase their learning and share their ideas at the Expo.

Wellbeing

R U OK? Day

R U OK? Day is on Thursday 10th September. Throughout the week, we will connect our SWPBS value of Be Kind to R U OK? Day through daily conversations about caring for others and looking out for our friends. Students will explore how we can recognise when someone else may not be OK by thinking about how we feel ourselves. They will also identify the good friends in their lives and discuss the qualities and actions that make someone a good friend.

While R U OK? Day provides a wonderful opportunity to focus on caring for others, these conversations are not just for one day. We want to encourage ongoing, everyday conversations with our students about looking out for others, checking in with our friends and showing kindness and care.

What can you do at home?

•Talk about feelings: Ask your child how they might know if a friend is feeling sad, worried or upset. Discuss what they could do to help their friend feel supported.

•Talk about being a good friend: Ask your child what makes someone a good friend and what kind things they can do to help others feel happy, included and cared for.