Prep Term 2 Overview
Prep 2024 Term Two
Welcome to Term 2 in Prep!
I hope that all Prep families had a safe and peaceful Easter break. Having the Preps back at school has been delightful. They're full of excitement and eagerness to learn. The good habits and routines they learned in Term 1 have continued this week effortlessly, as they transition into Term 2.
Please continue to contact me via email at cwoolley@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au with any enquiries in regards to your child’s learning. I will make every effort to respond promptly during weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm. If you would prefer to discuss face-to-face I am more than happy to schedule an appointment at your convenience. Your communication is valued and appreciated.
Important Dates
Thursday, 25 April - ANZAC Day (School Closure Day)
Friday, 26 April - School Closure Day
Monday, 29 April - School Closure Day (Teacher Professional Learning Day)
Wednesday, 1 May - Grandparents’ & Special Friend Day (Mass commencing at 9 am)
Monday, 6 May - Whole School Kaboom Sport Incursion
Monday, 13 May - Junior Responsible Pet Ownership Incursion
Thursday, 9 May - National Walk to School Day
Friday, 10 May - Mother's Day Breakfast - 7.30
Monday, 20 May - Wellbeing Week
Monday, 27 May - Reconciliation Day
Tuesday, 4 June - Prep Class Mass (Commencing at 10 am)
Friday, 8 June - Feast of the Sacred Heart Mass (Commencing at 10 am)
Monday, 10 June - King’s Birthday (School Closure Day)
Tuesday, 11 June - School Closure Day (Teacher Professional Learning Day)
Friday, 21 June - Family Bush Dance Evening
Friday, 28 June - Last Day of Term 2 (1 pm finish)
Inquiry & Religious Education
This term, our Inquiry unit, titled 'Healthy Me, Healthy You, Healthy Us', will centre on the Health and Physical Education curriculum. Students will delve into the concept of healthy living and its effects on their daily lives. They'll explore the functions of different body parts and how the body responds to different activities. Students will also brainstorm courageous actions that create a healthy, safe and active classroom environment. At the conclusion of the term, Preps will participate in a Health Exposition featuring outdoor activities created by Year 1/2 students. These activities aim to encourage a healthy and active school community.
In Religious Education, we'll study scripture about the Resurrection, including events like Pentecost. Through these stories, students will think about their connection with God and how He guides us to live a healthy life. They'll also reflect on belonging to God's family and being part of the parish and school community. They'll see connections to healthy living by looking at different types of prayers and understanding the importance of family gatherings in Church traditions.
Literacy
This term, in Literacy will be exciting for the Preps as they begin their Daily Reading Group Rotations. These rotations are designed to foster student development and encourage independent and small group learning. These groups have been carefully based on assessments, both formal and observational, from Term 1. This means we're targeting specific learning outcomes that directly support your child's growth.
This term, we'll be focusing on key concepts in reading, to strengthen your child's literacy skills. We'll focus on identifying beginning and ending sounds in words, matching similar sounds, and practising blending, segmenting, and stretching sounds to read consonants and vowels in a variety of words.
In Writing, students will continue to write about their weekend every Monday, using Colourful Semantics, a fun way to understand sentence structure. They'll colour-code words to help them remember what to include, for example who they were with, is orange. We'll also explore different genres of writing like simple narratives and procedural texts, which will link to our Inquiry topic for the term. Through these activities, students will improve their writing skills and creativity.
Our weekly Show and Tell sessions will continue, with each student presenting on their allocated day. Show and Tell provides a wonderful opportunity for students to practise speaking and sharing in front of their peers. It also helps them learn how to finish sentences in a simple and clear manner. Through these experiences, students will develop their communication skills and confidence in expressing themselves.
Mathematics
Throughout the term, as mentioned earlier, the Preps have been engaging in the lessons and resources provided by the ‘Teaching For Impact’ program. We've made sure that all students can fully participate by adapting resources and lessons. For instance, we ensure that every lesson includes concrete materials and encourage students to explore, recognise and represent numbers. They continue to enjoy participating in daily maths routines such as; Mini Maths, Calendar, Our Schedule, weather and 100 Days Of Prep.
In Term 2, the Preps will be engaging in the following Mathematic's areas:
Space and Location
Positional Language
- Describing the location of themselves or an object and using vocabulary like in front, behind or next to
Number and Algebra
Financial Maths
- Representing and partitioning collections of objects up to 10 and using the part-whole strategies by explaining the number 10 is made up of 6 and 4 more
Geometry
- Sorting, naming and creating basic 2D shapes
Counting and Place Value
- Naming, representing and ordering numbers 0-20
- Subitise a collection of up to 5
- Comparing collections of up to 20
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
The Preps have been shining brightly with their positive behaviours, receiving wonderful praise and celebrations. As we stride into Term 2, we will continue to review and embody St John’s expectations of "Be Respectful, Be Safe, and Be Responsible." We are learning to identify emotions on our ‘Zones of Regulation’ chart and how we can develop and maintain respectful relationships with our peers.
STEM
This Term our ‘Growing Well’ STEM lessons will focus on Biology. The students will explore the basic needs of living things that must be met in order to survive. Like all animals, we share many needs with plants, such as air, water and appropriate food. Through hands-on activities the students will explore the basic parts of plants. We will follow procedures to plant and germinate seeds and will observe how they grow and change over time. In learning about the basic needs of plants, we will compare these to what humans need to live and grow.
Digital Technology
This term in Digitech lessons the Prep students will continue to learn technology skills required for classroom participation, such as:
- Displaying respectful behaviours when using our school iPads - responsibly and carefully carrying Ipads
- Logging in and playing on approved educational websites and games independently
- Logging in and logging out of assessment apps using a QR code
- Instructing robotic toys and apps to perform entry level coding and functions such as following a given path
Prep Learning Timetable
Reminders
- Please continue to send your child to school with their reader bag everyday.
- Please continue to read with your child at home and practise their Magic Words.
- We have begun to use our headphones in Digitech and Reading Groups. If you are able to provide a pair of clearly labelled headphones with an aux cord for your child to use that would be appreciated. These headphones will be returned home at the end of the year.
Thank you to all parents who have participated in the Classroom Helper Support Course. It has been lovely having you in the classroom. Please reach out if you would like to organise a time to come in and assist with Literacy groups or Numeracy sessions.
Miss Cara Woolley
