Prep News 

English

Reading 

In term 2, students will be reading different fairytales through the progression of the term. Students will be asked to use their prior knowledge to re-tell or sequence a book in order of beginning, middle and end. Students will be working on their prediction skills, using the “I predict” statement to state what they believe will happen next in the story they are reading. The commencement of reading groups will also take place, where students will be enabled to work in small groups with their own teacher, allowing for greater growth in the subject of reading. It is expected that prep students continue filling in their take home readers, reading three skill-based texts and two free choice texts that they have chosen with the help of their home room teacher. It’s looking like a fantastic term in reading for our prep students!

Writing 

During term 2, students will be constructing information reports on different farm animals. We will begin by collecting information on the different types of farm animals, delving into any prior knowledge the students may have on these animals. We will then go through the process of writing an information report. Students will continue the ‘Sounds Write’ program focusing on matching sounds to letters and forming 3 letter CVC words. This program is supplemented into the writing and reading subjects, allowing students to learn about all the different sounds the English language has to offer.

Once a week, students will also get the chance to immerse themselves in a language experience in the form of a recount. The students could construct a recount on any experience they have been involved in at school or even at home. For example, Students in prep wrote a recount of our experience in the sensory garden, touching on what we could see, smell, touch & feel in the first term.

Mathematics

In mathematics, students will commence the term focusing firstly on comparing collections of objects from the numbers zero-ten. This will be looked at for the first three weeks of the term. During that time, we will also be focusing on the unit of time and recognising and ordering days of the week and connecting them with familiar events. The following three weeks, we will begin our pattern unit, constructing patterns using 2D shapes & maths materials in the classroom. This unit will be accompanied by a length and height unit and getting used to using language such as “longer and shorter” To finish off the term, the grade prep cohort will be exploring numbers 1-20 forwards and backwards and identifying numbers before and after each other. Whilst learning this topic for three days, we will also be learning to name and describe 2-dimensional shapes. It's looking to be a busy but exciting semester for our preps in mathematics!

Inquiry

Students will continue their focus on respectful relationships in our social and emotional unit. This educates students on how to deal with their emotions as well as their classmates. For inquiry, we will be learning about different members of the community. Students will focus on members such as police officers, paramedics, and fire officers. To finish off our inquiry unit, we will also commence our Auslan unit. Students will begin with the basics of Auslan, learning how to sign simple gestures. It looks to be a great term in Inquiry!

Science

Welcome to term 2 Science where the Prep students will be focusing on the Earth and Space Science strand and learning about daily and seasonal changes in our environment, and how they affect everyday life.

 The unit will begin with linking the changes in the daily weather to the way we change our activities and dress for different conditions; such as wearing warm clothes in winter and the need to sometimes choose indoor activities, and wearing cooler clothes in summer and going to parks and the beach.

 Through various activities, students will monitor and describe weather conditions, learn about common weather symbols and investigate how seasonal changes affect humans, plants and animals. I am looking forward to exploring and having fun with Preps!

LOTE - AUSLAN

Welcome to Auslan, Term 2! It is an exciting time as teaching and learning will begin this term. Grade Preps will learn about Auslan being a signed language using the  hands, with no voice, which is used by the Deaf Community. They will learn the Auslan  Alphabet, and frequently use signs associated with Colours, Family, School, Farm Animals, and Describing Animals. Grade Preps will also learn to sign Numbers in Auslan  using their dominant (writing) hand. This learning will be introduced through explicit sign teaching videos, games, stories, and  group practice. Learning Auslan will involve both expressive (signing) and receptive  understanding skills (reading back what others’ sign), hence activities are designed to develop these skills. Students will be encouraged to participate in lesson related  activities and to share their learning and understanding with their peers and teacher. 

Art

Welcome to Term 2 Art, 2024! This term the Preps will revise the routines and expectations in our classroom environment, including correct use of tools and materials. We will revisit and consolidate our knowledge of colour theory from Term 1, and incorporate this in our activities. We will also explore the element of line. This will include directed drawing and identifying and naming different types of lines e.g. horizontal, diagonal or vertical. Students will explore how to form different types of lines (straight, wavy, curly, zigzag and spiral) to create shapes. A variety of lines will be used to create our artworks. The mediums we will explore include oil pastels, charcoal, paints and chalks.       With lots of exploring and fun to be had, we look forward to creating fabulous works of art this term!

P.E 

This term our grade prep students will be continuing their development and progress in Physical Education by again working on the fundamental movement skills. In addition to this, each student will be tasked to learn new class games, work with others, and begin problem solving to participate in various activities. Some of the movement skills that will be worked on are, throwing, catching, running, jumping, skipping, and kicking. Some of the games that our students will participate in will be numbers, tag, feed the frogs, hopscotch, and spud. All these games promote teamwork, fair play, and will develop our student’s ability to follow rules. Towards the end of this term the whole school will be participating in athletics week. The Grade Prep students will be active and involved in this week which should be very engaging and fun for everyone. I am looking forward to working with the prep students for term 2 and continuing the development in Physical Education of every student. 

MUSIC

Welcome to Term 2, Music, 2024! In Music, Grade Preps will continue to work on the topic of Sound. Students will consolidate their understanding of dynamics (loud and soft) and tempo (fast and slow.) Grade Preps will explore deeper the element of pitch (high and low) as they will experiment making high and low sounds with their voices including singing songs with varied pitches. They will also learn to identify pitch and use tuned instruments such as a xylophone to locate the high and low notes. Grade Preps will practise keeping a beat with percussion instruments and whole body percussion such as clapping, tapping knees and dancing. Students will learn to recall rhythmic patterns to prepare for learning about rhythm in the semester. Grade Preps will continue to be exposed to many songs including nursery rhymes to support their knowledge of pitch and beat. Looking forward to working with our Preps in Music this Term!