Prep Term 2 Overview

Prep 2026 Term Two Overview

“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” - Psalm 36:9

Welcome to Semester 1, Term 2

We hope you all enjoyed a safe and restful Easter break. It has been a pleasure welcoming our Prep students back to school for Term 2. They have returned happy, enthusiastic and eager to continue their learning.

It has been fantastic to see how smoothly they have transitioned back into school life, confidently re-establishing routines and building on the strong foundations formed in Term 1.

Important Events

• May 6 - Grandparents Day Mass & Activities 9.00am-11:00 am

• May 8 - Mothers Day Breakfast 7:30 am & Stall 

• May 12 - Prep Class Mass 10:00 am

• May 13 - Prep Excursion to the Aquarium (Details to follow)

• May 18-19 - School Closure Days (Staff Review, no students)

• May 20 - Junior Responsible Pet Safety Incursion 

• May 26 - National Sorry Day for Reconciliation & Long Walk 

• May 26 - Prep 2027 Information Night

• June 8  -  Kings Birthday Public Holiday 

• June 9 - (School Closure Days, no students)

• June 16 - Whole School SHINE Day RE Activities 

• June 17 - 100 Days of Prep Celebration & History Incursion

• June 22 - Prep School Assembly 2:50 pm

• June 23 - Feast of the Sacred Heart Whole School Mass 10:00 am

• June 24 - Geography Whole School Expo - 2:20 - 3:20 pm

• June 26 - Students Last Day of Term 2, Assembly 12:15 - 1:00pm & Students Finish Early 1:00 pm

Religious Education  

In Religious Education, our whole-school focus for the year is SHINE, inspired by the Jubilee Year in the Catholic Church. SHINE encourages students to recognise their own unique gifts and consider how they can bring hope and joy to others and the wider world.

To celebrate this, students will take part in a special SHINE Day, filled with a range of engaging activities designed to help them discover and share what makes them special. We are also excited to welcome a special guest performer who will lead the students in songs about shining and sharing their love of Jesus.

Following their rich and in-depth learning about Lent and Holy Week leading to the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection - students will continue to deepen their understanding of faith in Term 2.

They will:

• Learn about and retell the story of Jesus blessing the little children (Mark 10:13–14) in their own words
• Identify different ways they can be a good friend to others
• Describe how Jesus shows that God cares for everyone

Through these learning experiences, students will continue to explore how they can live out Jesus’ teachings in their everyday lives.

Geography

This term, our unit focus is Geography, guided by the big question: “How do natural and man-made features of the land connect to Aboriginal Dreaming stories and perspectives about caring for Country?”

We’ll explore the difference between natural and man-made places, looking closely at familiar locations such as our home, school, and important community places like the library, shops, hospital, and playground, using the text ‘Window’ by Jeannie Baker to inform our learning.

Students will learn about the different types of work and services found in these places, like healthcare, shopping, learning, safety, farming, and play. They will locate these on a pictorial map and begin to think about why each place is in its location.

Literacy

This term in Literacy, our Prep students are excited to continue with our Daily Reading Group Rotations. These small group activities, informed by Term 1 assessments, support both independent and collaborative learning. We will explicitly teach and revisit key skills such as recognising beginning and ending sounds, blending, segmenting, and stretching sounds to read CVC and CCVC words independently. Students will also practise reading “tricky” or irregular words that don’t follow usual sound patterns, both at school and at home, to help build reading fluency.

Reading regularly at home is incredibly important in building your child’s confidence and fluency. If your child is unsure of a word, encourage them to sound it out, look at the picture for clues, or simply tell them the word and have them repeat it - keeping reading a positive and enjoyable experience. It is also valuable to talk about the story together by asking simple questions such as who the characters are, what happened in the story, and making connections to your child’s own life to support their understanding.

In Writing, students will continue to use Colourful Semantics to support the structure of their independent writing. They will write about their weekend each Monday and explore a range of simple text types, including informative reports using the mentor text The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base, as well as simple persuasive sentences. We will also continue daily practice of writing names and forming letters clearly and legibly.

Show and Tell will continue each week, providing students with the opportunity to speak clearly and confidently in front of their peers. This supports them in structuring and completing their sentences, while building strong communication skills.

Mathematics

The Preps have been actively engaging in daily Mathematics routines, such as regular reviews of prior learning, use of concrete materials, daily schedules and calendar, weather, and counting the 100 days of Prep, to encourage full participation and support their learning. 

In Term 2, the Preps will focus on the following areas of learning: 

• Place Value (part-whole numbers)
• Shape (2D shapes)
• Counting & Place Value (numbers 0-20, subitising (recognising the number of objects in a small group without counting), and comparing collections). 

We encourage simple number activities at home to support learning, particularly counting with 1:1 correspondence, practising making numbers, one more/less, and partitioning numbers to 10 (e.g. 6 and 4 makes 10), as well as practising writing and forming numerals to 10. If your child is confidently working within numbers to 10, they are welcome to explore and extend their learning with numbers beyond 10.

Please feel free to reach out if you need suggestions for home activities.

Social & Emotional Learning

Students will continue to define and visualise expected behaviours through role plays and explicit teaching of the Whole School Behaviour Matrix. They will also continue their lessons with The Resilience Project.

This term, students will begin using a Weekly Mood Check-In to support their emotional awareness and reflection. They will learn about empathetic listening, gratitude for the people and things around us, and how to notice and understand how others may be feeling. We will continue to explore and discuss our emotions, developing strategies to help us manage ourselves in different social situations.

STEM & Digital Technologies

In STEM, students are focusing on Earth and Space Sciences, where they will be introduced to different types of weather and the vocabulary used to describe them. They will make and record simple weather observations and engage in a range of related learning experiences, including weather vocabulary activities, display posters, and craft tasks.

Each student will also bring home a Weather Report Booklet in their reader bag. This can be completed at home as an optional additional task to support learning. It may also be a helpful routine activity, for example, using the weather report to help your child think about and prepare their clothing for an organised morning.

In Digital Technologies, students will focus on Healthy Digital Habits through our online program Inform & Empower, with a particular focus on active versus passive screen time. We will explore the difference between creating and consuming digital content, and how this can support students in making thoughtful and balanced choices around screen use. Students will complete an activity at school and will also bring home a copy to complete with their family using an app at home.

At St John’s, we strongly encourage families to support the development of healthy screen time habits at this young age. At school, screens are only used when necessary to support and enhance learning experiences.

Specialist Timetable

This term is set to be both busy and exciting, with a range of incursions and excursions planned throughout the weeks ahead.

Please feel free to get with your child’s teacher if there’s any way we can support you in assisting your child’s learning at home.

You can contact us via email or by leaving a message at the school office. We aim to respond within two working days, between 8:00am and 5:00pm.

We also encourage you to keep up to date by reading the school newsletter, which is emailed every second Monday and by checking the Prep News Board located at the bottom of the stairs. For a glimpse into what’s happening at St John’s, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

With faith and love,

Cara Woolley & Rebecca Stuart

Prep Team

cwoolley@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

rstuart@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au 

https://parents.informandempower.com.au/