Prep News
The Prep teachers would like to welcome all of you to Melton West Primary school and we are looking forward to an exciting year of learning with your children. Students will undertake learning centred around how to be a successful learner and the skills, routines and expectations needed. They will become familiar with the routines and will contribute to establishing a collaborative learning environment in which they will learn different strategies to assist with learning and support them to make positive choices.
ENGLISH
Reading:
This term, Prep students are reading decodable texts that match the letter–sound knowledge they are learning in phonics lessons. These texts allow children to practise blending sounds to read words independently, building confidence and accuracy as early readers. By using decodable books, students are developing key reading skills outlined in the Victorian Curriculum, including phonological awareness, decoding, and early comprehension. Re-reading familiar texts helps children strengthen fluency and develop a love of reading.
Writing:
This term in Writing, we are learning about “Talk, Draw, Write.” This approach helps students build confidence by saying their ideas out loud first, then drawing a picture to match their thinking, and finally writing about it. Talking helps students organise their thoughts, drawing supports them to plan their message, and writing allows them to record their ideas using letters, words and simple sentences. You can support this at home by encouraging your child to talk about their drawings before they write and reminding them that their picture and writing should match.
MATHEMATICS
In Mathematics, students will be engaging in rote counting - e.g. counting songs, counting days of school , daily attendance, Lining up - ordinal number, Calendar math; What’s on today?
Simple graphs - birthday graph, letters in their name, eye colour, people in your house, Math games and activities, sorting, and subitising - explore the concept of ‘how many’ without counting. We will then move onto number, counting with a focus on number sequence, before and after, matching numerals to representations of objects, Identifying how many objects are in a picture and continue with subitising - explore the concept of ‘how many’ without counting. We will also be learning about Time (Days of the week), Pattern, where students follow a short sequence of instructions; recognise, copy, continue and create repeating patterns represented in different ways and Space, where students describe the position and location of themselves and objects in relation to other people and objects within a familiar space.
INQUIRY
As part of our Safe and Sound in the Community learning, students will be exploring about the people we can trust in our community. We will discuss who trusted adults are, how they help keep us safe, and what to do if we need help. Students will learn to identify safe adults such as family members, teachers, police officers and other community helpers. Through discussions and activities, we will reinforce that being responsible means knowing how to seek help, making safe choices, and looking out for ourselves and others. We encourage families to continue conversations at home about who your child can go to if they ever need support.
SCIENCE
Welcome to all of our new Prep students! In Science this term, students will be focusing on Biological Science as well as developing an understanding of what Science is as a subject at school. The topic we will be covering is called ‘Features of Plants and Animals’. Students will be learning about how plants and animals have observable features that can be used to group them in different ways. Throughout this term, students will:
group plants using cards and collected materials
draw a scientific diagram of a plant to show features and name parts of the plant
identify animals by observing features such as feathers, fur, fins or scales
label a scientific diagram to show these features and apply their understanding by creating and labelling their own animal diagram
group animals based on shared characteristics, such as legs, fins, shells or wings
sort different animals using animal cards.
LOTE - AUSLAN
Welcome to Grade Prep Auslan 2026! During Term 1, students will learn about:
‘What is Auslan?’ (Australian Sign Language). Auslan is a signed language using the hands, with no voice, which is used by the Deaf Community. They will learn the Auslan Alphabet, and frequently use signs associated with Colours, Family, School, Farm Animals, and Describing Animals. The students will also learn to sign Numbers in Auslan using their dominant (writing) hand.
The topics taught are the core for future learning in Auslan. This learning will be introduced through explicit sign teaching videos, games, stories, and group practice. Learning Auslan will involve both expressive (signing) and receptive understanding skills (reading back what others’ sign), hence activities are designed to develop these skills. The students are encouraged to participate in lesson related activities and to share their learning and understanding with their peers and teacher.
At this level the focus is on learning Auslan signs through repetition with songs, games and poems. Students will mainly work in the whole group that is managed by the teacher.
ART
Welcome to Prep Art! This term, students will be settling into the art room and learning routines and expectations. They will explore the art space, learn how to use materials and tools safely and practise positive behaviours during Art lessons.
At the beginning of Term 1, Foundation students will learn to create pictures using patterns and colours. They will then be introduced to colour theory, learning about the primary colours (red, blue and yellow) and how to mix them to make secondary colours (orange, green and purple).
Students will use a range of art materials, including paint and look at artworks by different artists to explore how colour can be used creatively. We are looking forward to a fun and creative start to Art this year!
P.E
A huge welcome to our Prep students for 2026! In Physical Education this term, students are practising basic movement skills and developing their confidence in moving their bodies in different ways. They will also be working on ball handling skills through a variety of engaging games, including tunnel ball and different versions of tag. Students will explore balance through movement, learning how to control their bodies while stationary and while moving. Throughout the term, we will continue to build positive routines, focus on being safe and respectful in Physical Education, and encourage teamwork and fair play through game-based learning. I am very excited to work with the Prep cohort and look forward to seeing their skills and confidence grow this year.