Prep
Dear Prep families,
Our prep students were excited to celebrate literacy and reading in Book Week over the last two weeks. It was a thrilling time to warp through the amazing literature of books and stories.
Reading
Our Preps continued to work in guided reading groups to build their skills to decode, achieve individual reading goals and discuss the text to develop literal and inferential thinking. The Preps enjoyed a wonderful week of learning about books and displaying their amazing book week costumes on Friday.
Independent reading is an important part of developing strong literacy skills because it allows students to choose texts that interest them, build reading stamina, and practise applying strategies on their own. During independent reading, students use strategies such as predicting what might happen next, visualising scenes in their minds, rereading for clarity, and using context clues to figure out unfamiliar words. These strategies help them stay engaged and make meaning from the text. In reading groups, students have the opportunity to share their thinking, ask questions, and listen to different perspectives. Working together in a group encourages deeper comprehension, as students can clarify misunderstandings and practise strategies like summarising, making connections, and inferring. Both independent reading and group discussions are valuable because they give students the chance to become more confident, thoughtful, and independent readers.
Writing
In Prep, we have been focusing on Retell and Information texts. Our Preps write retells and information texts as a way to share their ideas and show what they know. A retell is when students write about a story they have read or listened to, using their own words to describe the beginning, middle, and end. This helps them practise sequencing events and understanding the main ideas. Information texts are different because they give facts about a topic, such as animals, weather, or transport. When writing information texts, children learn to organise their ideas, use simple headings, and include interesting details. Both retells and information texts help prep children develop early writing skills, build confidence, and learn how writing can be used to tell stories and share knowledge.
Literacy Focus: Phonics and Spelling
In phonics the last few weeks, our Prep students have been continuing to strengthen their understanding of grapheme-phoneme correspondences – the relationships between letters and sounds – to support both reading and spelling. They have continued to broaden their High Frequency Word lists with words such as go, no, so, little, one, on.
We introduced sounds: zz, ss, ff and ll, and revisited key vowel sounds as part of our phonics revision. A big focus this week was on understanding how the letter 'q' is always followed by 'u' in English words (for example, queen, quick, quiet).
We also explicitly taught that when we hear the /kw/ sound in a word, it is usually spelled with qu.
Students participated in various games, word-building tasks, and guided spelling activities to reinforce these patterns. You can support this learning at home by looking for qu and x words in books or during conversations and encouraging your child to sound them out.
Maths
The last few weeks in Maths, our Prep students have been exploring days of the week and schedules with engaging activities. Learning the days of the week helps prep children understand time and routines. By singing songs, using calendars, and repeating the names of the days, children begin to recognise the order of the week from Monday to Sunday. They learn that each day has special activities, like school days, sports days, or weekend family time. Understanding schedules gives children a sense of structure and helps them know what to expect each day. For example, they might remember that library day is on Wednesday or that Saturday is a play day. Practising the days of the week and talking about daily routines helps young learners build confidence in organising their time and following a schedule.
Wellbeing and Inquiry Learning
Inquiry has been based on living things and we enjoyed science week. Learning about living things in science helps prep children explore the world around them. They discover that living things, like plants, animals, and people, need food, water, air, and shelter to survive. Children can learn through fun, hands-on experiments, such as planting seeds to watch how they grow with sunlight and water, or observing insects in the garden to see how they move and live. Simple experiments encourage curiosity, problem-solving, and asking questions like “What will happen if…?” or “Why does this change?” By exploring living things through play and discovery, children begin to understand the basics of science and develop a sense of wonder about the natural world.
Wildlife Xposure
Over three days at school we learned about Australian native animals that sometimes come close to where people live and some that don't. We were able to touch them and hold them. We saw a possum, python snake, barn owl, lizards, and crocodile.
Crocodiles live in rivers and swamps. If one comes too close, we must stay far away and tell an adult. They are very strong and can move quickly.
We also learned about a Barn Owl. Owls come out at night and may sit in trees near schools or houses. They are not dangerous, but we should look at them quietly so we don’t scare them.
A snake might sometimes slide into a yard or playground. Snakes can be dangerous, so if we see one, we must stay still, keep our distance, and get a teacher or adult straight away.
Lizards like to sunbake on rocks and walls. Most lizards are harmless, but we should never try to pick them up.
When animals come close, we must always be calm, safe, and let adults know. Animals belong in nature, and we can respect them from a safe distance.
End of Term 3 – Important Dates
Term 3 will conclude on Friday, 19th September, with an early finish at 2:30pm for all students from Prep to Year 9. We will then take a two-week break, and we hope all our families enjoy a safe, restful, and enjoyable break.
Reminders
Students are expected to bring their satchel to school EVERY DAY.
Prep students have begun using iPads. Your child’s iPad will need to be configured by our IT team to enable them to use them at school.
Snack and lunch times are 20 minutes long. Please encourage your child to eat their snack/lunch within a 20 minute period, as this will help them to follow school routine.
Please remember to pack a spare change of clothes for your child. Sometimes, little children can have toileting accidents and spills at school.
If you would like your child to practise our school song, this is the Youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua5RnSttwyY
Lastly, a reminder about bringing in headphones if you have not already done so. We will be using them with iPads.
Warm regards,
The Prep Team