Foundation (Prep)
The Prep students returned from their school holidays refreshed and launched straight back into learning. It is wonderful to see the children growing in confidence with their school routine and in turn, growing in confidence with their participation in class.
English
It is an exciting time of term in Prep. Students are beginning to blend their knowledge of letter sounds together to read and write words. The children practice the correct formation of the letters in daily handwriting tasks and are beginning to write simple captions and sentences. The more we discuss stories, the deeper the students' comprehension becomes. We enjoy talking about the characters and different settings in the book and create story mountains to look closely at the elements that are changing in the text.
This term we have introduced small teacher-led reading groups. A small group of children work closely with the teacher to introduce new reading skills and practice their decoding and reading fluency. During this time, their classmates are developing the skills to work independently on book response activities followed by a range of literacy games and puzzles.
Mathematics
This term in Grade Prep Maths, students have been enthusiastically exploring patterns, numbers, measurement and time through hands-on learning experiences and everyday connections. Students have been learning to recognise, copy, continue and create repeating patterns using colours, shapes, movements and objects represented in different ways. They have also explored sequencing the days of the week and identifying times of the day including morning, lunchtime, afternoon and night-time, while connecting these to familiar routines, events and activities.
Our young mathematicians have also been investigating and comparing the attributes of objects and events, including length, capacity, mass and duration. Through direct comparisons and rich classroom discussions, students have been developing their mathematical language and communicating their reasoning with growing confidence.
In number learning, students have been strengthening their understanding of Additive Thinking through Part-Part-Whole relationships. They have been practising partitioning and combining collections up to 10 and beyond for those that love a challenge and using subitising strategies to quickly recognise and name parts within collections. These experiences are helping students build strong foundations in number sense and problem-solving while developing confidence and enjoyment in mathematics.
This term, our Prep students have been enthusiastically participating in activities from The Resilience Project program. Through engaging lessons and class discussions, students have been learning the importance of empathy, kindness and recognising emotions in others.
As part of an Empathy lesson, Foundation students explored how empathy means understanding and caring about how other people feel. They learnt that showing empathy can be as simple as being kind, helpful and compassionate when someone is having a hard time or feeling sad. Students practised ways they can respond thoughtfully to others and discussed how small acts of kindness can make a big difference.
Students also explored the joy that exists in everyday moments. They shared simple moments from their day that brought them happiness, helping them to recognise and appreciate the positive experiences in their lives. From playing with friends to spending time with family, students discovered that joy can be found in many small but meaningful moments each day.
It has been wonderful to see our Prep students building important social and emotional skills while creating a caring and positive classroom environment.
Life Education
During this first half of term, the Prep students had the opportunity to participate in the Life Education program. The children met Healthy Harold the giraffe and discussed ways to keep their body clean and how to care for their bodies. Topics discussed included:
- The importance of personal hygiene
- How “fabulous food” gives us energy and helps us grow
- Benefits of physical activity and sleep
Cross Country
A highlight this term was attending the Preps first cross country event. We were very proud of the way the students walked over to the course by the river. Everyone had fun playing games with the giant parachute and participating in the cross country run. Thank you to our buddies for their support and to all the families who came to cheer the children on.
Mont de Lancey Excursion
This semester, Prep-2 students are engaging in a history unit. One of the key elements covered is identifying continuities and changes in daily life by comparing the past and present and identifying the causes and consequences of those changes. Our visit to Mont De Lancey Homestead will allow the students to see how early Australian settlers lived and look at the types of furniture, household items and tools people used to use over 100 years ago.
To really immerse ourselves in the experience, students are invited to dress in 'olden days clothing' and need to be dressed appropriate to the weather - it can be cold and wet in the hills and some activities will be outside - raincoats / gumboots are advised if it is cold and wet. Please don't buy additional clothing - op shops / dress ups are fine, as is school uniform. |
Giggle Corner
Q: What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A: A gummy bear!
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Lettuce.
Lettuce who?
Lettuce in, it’s freezing out here!
Important dates:
King's Birthday Public Holiday - 8th June
Curriculum Day - 9th June
Mont de Lancey Excursion - 17th June
The Big Freeze - 26th June
Last day of Term 2, early dismissal 2:30pm - 26th June