Prep Community News

Dear Prep Families,

We have had a wonderful time learning and growing together! Here is a snapshot of what we have been exploring in the classroom in Week 3 and Week 4, and some simple ways you can support your child’s learning at home.

InitiaLit – Phonics and Tricky Words

In InitiaLit, we reviewed the sounds wh, th, oo and ay and introduced CVCC (consonant-vowel-consonant-consonant) words, such as jump, hand andlost. 

We also introduced the new tricky words come, some, could, would and should, while continuing to revise previously learnt tricky words.

At home: Encourage your child to practise reading their sounds and words. You could look for CVCC words in books, on signs or around the house!

Storybook – Edward the Emu

Our focus storybook was Edward the Emu. We explored new vocabulary to help us develop our understanding of the story and expand our word knowledge.

Our vocabulary words were:

• Amusing – something or someone that is funny 
• Detest – to really dislike something.
• Impressive – something that is amazing or very good

At home: Challenge your child to use one of these words in a sentence or think of something they find amusing, detest or impressive.

Writing – Retelling Stories

We continued changing a part of The Gingerbread Man to create our own versions of the story. We also began learning how to retell The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

We are focusing on including important story elements when retelling:

• Beginning: Who are the characters, and where does the story take place?
• Middle: What is the problem? How do the characters feel, and what do they do?
• End: How is the problem solved, and how do the characters feel at the end?

At home: Read a familiar story together and encourage your child to retell it in their own words, remembering the beginning, middle and end.

Maths

In Maths, we explored several important concepts.

Patterns: We practised drawing, creating and continuing patterns using shapes and symbols.

Time and duration: We compared activities to decide which take a longer or shorter amount of time.

Sharing: We learnt how to share collections fairly using concrete materials, making sure there were no remainders.

Digital clocks: We practised reading digital clocks to the hour, using the term o’clock.

At home: Look for opportunities to discuss time during everyday routines. Ask questions such as, “Which took longer tonight: brushing your teeth or eating dinner?” You could also practise reading digital clocks and creating patterns with toys or household objects.

Respectful Relationships and Health

We continued developing our understanding of personal safety and making safe choices.

We learnt about:

• Playing safely outdoors and following the rules of outdoor games.
• Staying safe in the natural environment, including looking both ways before crossing roads.
• Always asking an owner before touching their pet.
• Knowing our home address and our parents’ phone numbers.
• What to do if we become lost: stay where we are, if it is safe to do so, and tell a trusted adult, such as a shop assistant or police officer, that we need help.

At home: Practise your child’s home address and a parent’s phone number together. Discuss who they could approach for help if they became lost and remind them to stay in a safe place.

Humanities – Country and Place

We explored the meaning of Country and Place and why it is important to care for the land and environment around us.

We discussed how storytelling helps people share knowledge, experiences and important information. We also learnt about showing respect for the land by taking only what we need, cleaning up after ourselves and helping to keep our environment clean.

At home: Talk about the places that are special to your family and ways you can care for them together, such as picking up rubbish, looking after plants and respecting the natural environment.

Reminders:

As we head into Term 4, please ensure your child brings a sun hat clearly labelled with their name to school each day. Hats are essential for outdoor play and activities during the warmer months. If your child does not have a TRPS hat, these can be purchased from the school office.

Thank you for helping us keep our students sun-safe!

Students Achievements

In Prep, we love recognising students who consistently demonstrate our school values! Over the past fortnight, each Prep class has celebrated one student who has done an amazing job of showing Growth while at school. Here are our Growth superstars:

PA - Keenan has shown the school value of Growth by trying to complete tasks even when they challenge him. Keenan has been working really hard to complete all number facts d our timed fluency practice! 

PB - Mohamed has shown so much growth in his writing! He is able to stretch out words, hear the sounds in words, and write the sounds beautifully! He can even write words with digraphs! Way to go, Mohamed!

PC- Ananya has shown Growth by working hard to write words independently. She is now able to write some VC (vowel-consonant) words with familiar sounds! Way to go, Ananya!

PD - Pranshi for showing the value of growth by settling into school so nicely and taking on all the learning so well! 

PE - Nawaab has shown growth by trying his best to follow our school values and classroom expectations. We are proud of the effort he is making to make positive choices and continue developing his understanding of our school values.

PF- Mahinarangi has shown the school value of growth in her fact fluency and is becoming more confident in recognising her friends to 10 when adding. Well done, Mahinarangi!

PG – Zayah has shown wonderful growth in her confidence and independence, demonstrating a positive attitude towards learning and a willingness to challenge herself.

PH - Angel has been working so hard at her writing and never gives up even if things get tricky! She has a great attitude towards her learning.

PI -Christopher has shown the school value of growth in his writing and is becoming more independent at sounding out words and writing sentences. Great job, Christopher!

PJ – Jainish is continuing to develop his confidence as a learner and is encouraged to challenge himself, try new things and persevere when learning feels difficult.

Thank you for your continued support and for being part of our learning journey. It is wonderful to see the children building their confidence, developing new skills and sharing their ideas each day!

Warm regards,

The Prep Team