Prep T3 W8

Term 3 Week 8

Hello,

Thank you very much for your assistance with outfits on Friday for our 'Good guys and bad guys' day to reinforce the 'aw' in 'law' code. We hope that it helped the Preps with their motivation to get going on Friday.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all the dads, grandfathers, uncles and significant men in the lives of our Preps, a very Happy Father's Day for next Sunday. 

Codes

This week we are introducing two new codes. On Monday and Tuesday, we will learn another code that makes the same sound as last week’s codes 'aw' as in 'law' and 'au' as in 'haunter' this week we learn 'or' as in ordinary. On Thursday and Friday, we will learn 'ck' - 2 letter.

We are going to continue with boot camping the rule 'y replaces i at the end of an English word'. This week when boot camping we are going to introduce a new element - dictating a sentence for them to write. The Prep teachers have decided to focus on less words so the children can stay focused to the end of the lesson. The teacher will role model a word, the children will practise two words independently, then they will have a go at writing the dictated sentence. We need to practise this rule many times for the children to retain it and for it to become an automatic file in their brain. This means when they come across a word like this when reading and spelling they will remember and apply it independently. On Friday students will be given an informal test. This will enable us to see who needs further consolidation of the rule. 

Literacy

This week will begin with the preps creating a Father's day poem for a special man in their lives. The children will be given some sentence starters to finish to create a poem. They may like to think about super heroes or animals, or they may have their own ideas to finish the sentences. 

We are beginning to look at narrative stories and the important part characters play in a story. Often children are very good at physically describing a character but are not as able to articulate the emotions or traits of a character and the role this plays in a story. We will begin by looking at a very familiar character on the outside, their physical features and the inside, their emotions and traits. Later in the week the children will be given a ‘would you rather’ scenario regarding two characters from a story and will need to respond with which character they would rather be using the word ‘because’. This will encourage them to think more deeply about the character and how they connect to the character emotionally in a story. 

There will be an activity to consolidate the learning of the two new codes for the week or and ck. This provides a further opportunity to practise words with these sounds in them, reinforcing both the reading and writing of these words.

Numeracy

This week will be our final week focusing on subtraction for this term. We will be focusing on the importance of the equal symbol = and making sure that both sides of the equal symbol are worth the same. For example, 3+4=7 and 7=3+4. The Preps will be making equations that feature a given number. They will also be considering the relationship between addition and subtraction.

On Thursday they will be completing an assessment task so that we can gauge where they are at with this area of Number. This will assist us with our planning for next term. It would be useful to us if this data is accurate and so would appreciate you allowing your child to complete this task independently.

The Preps will have activities assigned to them in Mathletics this week. If you are having trouble accessing Mathletics please let your child’s teacher know. There is a new feature in Mathletics called Meritopia which is an online world within Mathletics. The more activities that the students complete the more points they earn to unlock various things in Meritopia. Another feature of Mathletics that your child may not be familiar with is Rainforest Maths. It can be found by clicking or tapping on Play and then scrolling down the screen. Rainforest Maths has activities for the children to do to reinforce different concepts.

Unit of Inquiry

This week is our last week inquiring into homes. Students are going to be given the opportunity to show their knowledge by creating a house that serves a purpose. They will have to go through the building process, first being an architect, then a builder and finally a conveyancer. They will evaluate their design and be asked to explain what makes a house a home. At the completion of their building process they will receive a building certificate from their teacher. This is their opportunity to demonstrate the skills and understandings they have acquired throughout this unit. 

Well being

To support the well being of all of the BPS students, the specialists have organised a Well being day for this Wednesday. We will suspend our regular programming for the day so the Preps can focus on the special activities. 

Please check the Google Meet schedule as they are continuing as normal to ensure that there aren't students who miss out this week.

If you have not completed a media waiver form or have indicated 'no' to your child's photo being used, please let your child's teacher know if your child's photo can be used for the special BPS Kids channel. (See Compass)

The Prep team

0A - Kathryn Morrison

kathryn.morrison@education.vic.gov.au

0B - Deb Barden

deborah.barden@education.vic.gov.au

0C - Danielle Palombi

danielle.palombi@education.vic.gov.au

0D - Julie Daniel

julie.daniel@education.vic.gov.au

HU - Krystle Horadam

krystle.horadam@education.vic.gov.au