Reading

Over the past fortnight, our Prep students have continued to make fantastic progress in Reading through our daily InitiaLit lessons. We have been focusing on strengthening our understanding of letter-sound relationships while building confidence in reading and writing simple words and sentences.

Students began by learning about double consonants (ll, ss and ff), discovering that although there are two letters, they still make just one sound. They then explored the new digraphs sh, qu and ee, learning that two letters can work together to make one new sound. Students practised recognising these digraphs in words, saying the correct sounds, blending sounds together to read words, and segmenting words into individual sounds for spelling.

Throughout our lessons, students have participated in a range of engaging learning experiences including word building, sound boxes, flashcard activities, handwriting, group reading, decodable readers and literacy games. These activities help students develop automatic recognition of sounds, improve their decoding skills and build fluency when reading aloud.

We have also continued to expand our knowledge of Tricky Words. Students have been revising previously learnt words while being introduced to new ones, including all, call, ball, tall, little, go, so, no, this and then. Through repeated practice, games and sentence reading, students are becoming more confident at recognising these words automatically, helping to make their reading smoother and more fluent.

It has been wonderful to see students becoming increasingly confident when reading independently, participating in whole-class discussions and applying their phonics knowledge during writing activities. We are so proud of the persistence and enthusiasm they continue to show each day as they develop into capable and confident readers.

Maths

Over the past few weeks, our Prep students have been strengthening their subtraction skills. In class, we focused on subtraction within 10, using pictures, simple number stories, and hands-on materials to help children understand what it means to “take away” and find the difference.

Students were able to create their own subtraction number stories by looking at problem pictures, showing that they understood the action in the picture e.g how many were there to start with, how many did we take away and what was left. Students also practised representing their thinking in different ways. They drew clear pictures to match their number story and wrote or matched number sentences to show the subtraction they were solving.

To make the learning even more concrete, students used a range of materials such as counters, blocks, and teddy bears. These tools helped them physically build the problem, act out the “take away,” and then count what remained. Students also represented subtraction problems using ten-frames, using the counters to show what was taken away and to find the difference within 10.

We also spent time exploring how to find the difference between two numbers. Students learned that the difference can be discovered by making the amounts the same. Sometimes this meant adding more to reach equality, and other times it meant taking some away to bring both groups to the same number. This supported students to see subtraction as a way of finding “how many more” or “how many less,” not just as a set of steps.

A highlight of our learning was building block towers and comparing them with a partner to find the difference. Students enjoyed making two towers, then counting and comparing to decide which tower had more and by how much. Overall, students are now building confidence in solving subtraction within 10, explaining their thinking, and using a variety of strategies and materials to find answers.

Writing

Over the past few weeks in Writing, our Prep students have continued developing their letter formation skills, focusing on correctly forming lowercase letters as well as their corresponding capital letters. We have been making handwriting fun and engaging through a range of whole-class activities, including searching the classroom for hidden letters before practising writing them together. These interactive experiences help build confidence while reinforcing correct letter formation in an enjoyable way.

We have also continued practising writing CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words by carefully listening to the sounds in words, matching each sound to its corresponding letter and recording them independently. It has been wonderful to see the progress students are making as they become more confident segmenting and spelling words. Many students are now ready to extend themselves by writing CVCC words, demonstrating their growing understanding of letter-sound relationships. We are incredibly proud of the effort and persistence every student is showing.

Our sentence writing continues to grow with the support of Colourful Semantics, which provides a scaffold for students to organise their ideas into complete sentences. We have been labelling pictures by identifying "what doing" (the action taking place) and "where" the action is happening, helping students expand their oral language and written expression. It has been fantastic to watch students become more confident and capable each week as they continue developing their writing skills.

SEL and Other

In Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), we have continued exploring the topic of stress management by learning to recognise when we are feeling stressed and discovering strategies to help ourselves feel calm and feel better. Students have been introduced to the ideas of self-cheering and positive play, learning how encouraging self-talk and engaging in enjoyable activities can support their wellbeing. We have practised these strategies through mindful colouring, yoga and other calming activities, helping students build a toolkit of healthy ways to manage their emotions. It has been wonderful to see students growing in confidence as they identify their feelings and use positive strategies to support themselves.

In Integrated Studies (History), we have continued learning about the features of places and identifying the different natural and built features that make each place unique. Students have enjoyed exploring a variety of places through discussions, pictures and classroom activities, developing their understanding of how places can be similar and different. We have also shared stories about places we have visited and places we would like to visit in the future, encouraging students to make personal connections while building their vocabulary and communication skills. It has been wonderful to see students confidently sharing their ideas and becoming more curious about the world around them.

100 Days of Prep

WHAT AN EXCITING MILESTONE! Our Prep students celebrated 100 Days of Prep with a day full of fun, laughter and learning. Students looked fantastic dressed as if they were 100 years old, and it was wonderful to see the creativity and enthusiasm everyone brought to the day.

Throughout the day, students enjoyed a variety of 100-themed craft activities, games and hands-on learning experiences that celebrated everything they have achieved during their first 100 days of school. They worked together, counted to 100, created special keepsakes and reflected on just how much they have learnt and grown since starting Prep. To finish off our celebrations, we enjoyed a class party filled with yummy food and special treats. It was a wonderful way to celebrate this important milestone and the friendships, confidence and learning our Prep students have developed throughout the year. A huge thank you to our Prep families for your generous gold coin donations and for helping make the day such a memorable celebration for all of our students!

Wellbeing