Prep
Welcome to week 4 of our Prep newsletter!
What a wonderful and busy fortnight it has been in Prep! Students are settling into school routines, learning to be independent and building confidence every day. We are so proud of the way they are trying their best and showing kindness to others.
✨ Prep Meet and Greet — Building Strong Partnerships ✨
On Tuesday 17 February, we had the pleasure of welcoming our Prep parents and guardians into the school for our Meet the Teacher conferences, and it was truly wonderful to see families alongside their children as they began their school journey together.
The evening provided a valuable opportunity for parents to meet their child’s 2026 teacher, share important information about their child, and begin conversations about how we can work together to support each student’s learning, wellbeing, and goals. There was a warm and positive atmosphere across all Prep classrooms, with excitement clearly visible from both students and families.
Our Prep team greatly valued the opportunity to start building strong partnerships with families. We believe that open communication and collaboration are key to ensuring every child feels safe, supported, and ready to learn.
We sincerely thank all families for their time, trust, and support in creating a positive transition to school. Working together, we look forward to making our students’ first year of school a memorable and successful experience.
Fine Motor Skills
Students have been working hard on developing their fine motor skills through a range of hands-on activities. These include developmental play and the manipulation of materials such as play dough, practising correct pencil grip and learning how to cut safely with scissors. These skills are very important as they support writing and independence in the classroom.
Reading
In Reading, students have been learning about the basic features of a book, including the front cover, back cover, title, author, pages and spine. Students have also begun exploring rhyme through Nursery Rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
Each class has started daily read-aloud stories with the intention of fostering a love of reading and reinforcing important concepts of print, such as reading from left to right and understanding that print carries meaning.
Writing
In Writing, students have been learning to write their name and communicate their thinking through images. They have also been practising correct letter formation by tracing and copying short sentences. We are encouraging students to have a go, build confidence and feel proud of their efforts.
Mathematics
In Mathematics, students have been learning about the days of the week and parts of the day. They have enjoyed singing the Days of the Week song, tracking how many days we have been at school and sorting common activities into categories such as morning, lunchtime, afternoon, evening and night.
UOI (Unit of Inquiry)
As part of the PYP IB program students have been learning about our learner profiles. This fortnight we have focused on being good communicators and being principled. Students explored what it means to be principled and shared the times they have been principled with their peers. They also practised being good communicators, reflecting on our 5Ls and practising their listening skills in pairs when sharing books of interest with each other.
Homework
This week, all Prep students will have received their Take Home Book satchel. Enclosed is:
An introduction letter explaining how the Take Home Reading Program works
A High Frequency Word list
A tracing alphabet chart
A couple of take-home readers
When beginning to read, it is absolutely okay to help your child read the words, as this is very new for many students. The most important thing is to make reading an enjoyable experience.
REMINDERS:
Students are expected to bring their satchel to school EVERY DAY – from week 5.
There is no school for the Prep students every Wednesday during February as assessment is conducted on these days.
Please ensure all of your child’s belongings are clearly labelled with their first and last names.
Hats are to be worn when outside for the whole of Term One. Please ensure to put sunscreen on your child before arriving at school.
Snack and lunch times are 20 minutes long. Please encourage your child to eat snack/lunch within 20 minutes as this will help them to follow the school routine.
Kind Regards
The Prep Team