Prep Community News

Dear Prep families,

Welcome to Prep! We are so excited to begin the 2026 school year! Over the last week we have really enjoyed meeting with each child and getting to know them individually before welcoming them as a whole class.

                                                                 Meet the Team

Assistant Principal

Alison Cummins (Miss Cummins)

Leading Teacher

Kelsey Pritchard (Miss Pritchard)

PA – Jessica Cox (Miss Jess)

PB – Lauren Faulkner (Miss Lauren)

PC – Breanna Rayner (Miss Rayner)

PD – Paul Quarton (Mr Quarton)

PE – Priscilla Koueik (Miss Priscilla)

PF – Taylah Fredrickson (Miss F)

PG – Casey Maher (Mrs Maher)

PH – Emma Wilby (Miss Wilby)

PI –  Juliette Tardif (Miss Tardif)

PJ –  Donita Delantar (Miss Delan)

Ready, Set, Prep!

Each Prep student attending a Victorian government school in 2026 will receive a Prep bag to celebrate this milestone in their education journey. The red bags are filled with engaging learning items and information for parents and carers to help families have a great start to the year. This year’s theme, ‘Ready, Set, Prep!’, acknowledges students’ readiness to transition from kindergarten to school and aims to add to the excitement of their first days of Prep.

Learning to Learn

The beginning of this term will focus on Learning to learn. This is where we learn about our school values, classroom expectations and our daily routines. The children will be taken on regular tours of the school and have lots of practice of our routines which will set them up to be successful learners. 

Bravehearts Incursion

On Thursday 12th March, the Prep students will be attending the Bravehearts incursion. The Bravehearts Education team will provide a personal safety incursion for all Prep students. The focus of the preventative education program is to protect children from sexual harm. This includes a simple, fun, non-threatening incursion for the students with Ditto, the brave Lion Cub mascot who will lead the songs and actions which reinforce the important personal safety messages. Please provide consent and payment through Compass, the cost is $11 and is due by Thursday 5th March. If you have any difficulties, please contact the office who will be happy to help you. 

Take Home Reading

At Tarneit Rise, we encourage reading on every school night to practice and develop enjoyment in reading. Each child will be given an assigned day which is displayed on the door of your child’s classroom. On their day, please bring their reading satchel, or the red prep bag mentioned above for the books to be stored in.

General Reminders

• In terms 1 and 4, students are required to wear a hat outside during recess and lunchtimes. Hats can be purchased from the office if needed. 
• Please label everything that your child brings to school with their name and their class (e.g. PA). This helps us with lost items and ensuring that your child’s items are returned to them. This includes hats and all items of clothing that they may remove throughout the day. We quite often end up with parents having to repurchase uniform as the children lose it throughout the day and it cannot be found. If it has a name and class on it, it will easily be returned to the teacher within a few days. 
• The first bell rings at 8.45 signalling students to make their way into class and be ready to begin learning at 8.55. The school day finishes at 3.10. In Term 1, parents drop off and collect their children from the classroom inside the pod. If your child will be attending Big Childcare after school, they will be collected from their classroom and walked over to the gym.

If you have any further questions, please contact your child’s class teacher for support. We look forward to a wonderful year of growth with all the children in their first year of school!

PLC Prep