Prep News

Learning Centre Three

Wow, can you believe we’re already at the end of Week 6? Time is flying in Prep! 

The learning space has been buzzing with excitement as we continue learning, exploring, and celebrating all the wonderful growth we’ve made this year. From hands-on maths activities to Multicultural Day crafts, our Preps are showing just how much they’ve learned since the start of the year. We’re enjoying every moment together as we count down the final weeks of our Prep journey - with lots more fun still to come!

Multicultural Day

Last week we celebrated the many cultures that make up our school community. There was a palette of colours in the learning centre as students arrived in cultural attire or displayed the colours of their countries. Students created artworks from three different parts of the world: masks from Africa, clay landmark sculptures from Italy and colourful birds based on the story How the Birds Got Their Colours from Australia. Preps then finished the day joining in with dances from around the world.

Inform and Empower

Each term, students have participated in Inform and Empower cyber safety and digital wellbeing sessions. This term, prep students learnt about screen time and agency. They focused on comfortable vs uncomfortable feelings and strategies that can help them navigate uncomfortable situations online.

Water Safety Incursion

On Thursday, we had a visit from a lifeguard from Lifesaving Victoria. She taught us about how important it is to have an adult actively supervise children when they are around water, even in the bath! 

"I learnt that if you are not safe in the water, you need to ask your mum and dad to look at you" -Emilie, Prep White

"Always wear a life jacket" -Vanessa, Prep Orange

Feast Day Celebrations

Today we celebrated our school’s feast day. The day began with a procession through the school, followed by mass.

After break students had a lot of fun participating in different activities, facilitated by Kaboom Kids.

"This was the best day EVER!" -Krishav, Prep Blue

Phonics

Students have been learning new digraphs, two letters that make one sound. Their first digraphs are ck and sh.

Students have also learnt the new Heart Words: all, saw, out, now, down, ball, onto, o’clock, keep, seen, please.

Please continue to read with your child each night and record this in their Reading Journal. Ask your child some questions before, during, and after a story to encourage them to think about the story. Some questions you might use could include:

• What do you think will happen in this story?
• Who was your favorite character? Why?
• How did the character feel in the story?
• Did you like the way the story ended? Why/why not?

Congratulations to this week's superstar readers who received certificates for their nights of reading:

Prep Blue: Chelsea, Harper, Dhanvi, Chaneli

Prep Orange: Hartegh, Trisha, Guy, Gabriele

Prep White: Nihira, Leah, Ayla

Literacy

Students have been learning to write procedures. Students recorded the ingredients and equipment they would use as well as the steps that they needed to follow. On Thursday, they used their procedures to make some amazing things. Prep Blue made yummy chocolate crackles, Prep Orange made some colourful fairy bread and Prep White made a raincloud in a jar!

Maths

This week, students have been learning about ordinal numbers. They have been practising how to write numbers from 1st to 10th and use them to describe order. On Thursday, the children took part in a range of fun games and activities to help them recognise and use ordinal numbers in different ways.

Religion

As the end of the year draws closer, students have begun to learn about the season of Advent. Advent is a special time in the Church year that helps us get ready for Christmas. It begins four Sundays before Christmas Day and is a time for reflection, hope, and joyful preparation as we wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus. During Advent, we often use an Advent wreath with four candles — one lit each week — to remind us of the growing light and hope that Jesus brings into the world. For the remainder of the term, students will learn about the symbols of Advent and the events of the Christmas story.

Buddies and Discovery Play

Each week we look forward to Buddy afternoons and Discovery Play. It is a fun time to interact with others and participate in different activities.

Inquiry

Students have been learning about how plants grow and change. A few weeks ago, each student planted their own seed and has been carefully observing and recording its growth each week.

Upcoming Events

There are a number of incursions planned for the next few weeks to support the learning that is happening in the prep space!

Week 7: Hands On Science will join us to teach students about the life cycles of plants and animals. Through various hands-on activities, students gain a deeper understanding of the differences between living and nonliving things.

Week 8: Students will have the opportunity to get up close to a variety of animals at our interactive wildlife incursion!

Week 9: We will have a visit from a friendly dog and their carer who will guide students in how to live safely with dogs and how to approach them with caution and care. 

We will also bring learning to life with a Minibeasts incursion! Students will transform into grasshoppers, ladybirds, dragonflies, butterflies, worms, spiders, caterpillars and slaters, using drama to explore living and non-living things.

Lost Property

There are a number of unnamed items in our Lost Property Tub. A reminder to please make sure that all jumpers, hats, drink bottles, etc. are clearly labelled so that we are able to return them if they happen to go missing.

Thank you for your continued support.

Prep Team: Dasanthi, Emma, Gillian, Jamie, Natasha, Rachael, Sarena, Teagan and Tina