Prep T4 W6 & 7

Term 4 Weeks 6 and 7

Hello,

PMP

The Preps are enjoying getting to participate in PMP sessions again. These sessions are on a Friday and are organised by Karen Pain, one of our phys.ed. teachers. She has Y6 students assisting her to allow them an opportunity to develop their leadership skills. The Preps are working on skills such as, proprioception (understanding the position and movement of their body) and crossing the mid-line. 

Library

A reminder that Prep A, Prep B and Prep C have library on a Thursday and Prep D on a Friday. We would appreciate it if you could encourage your child to bring their library bag on that day to protect the book your child borrows. It can be the drawstring bag available from the Uniform shop or any other bag that would fit a picture story book in it. Some students are using bags that they have made or the drawstring bag they used at kinder.

Clothing

We are working on having the Preps put hats and jackets straight in their bag when they take them off but some are still finding this challenging. We are very grateful to the parents who have names written clearly on hats and clothing as it makes it much easier to get things back to you. We realise that not being able to access lost property is making things more difficult. Steve is working with Belinda from the Uniform Shop on a solution.

Word study

Over the next two weeks we will continue to revise all the codes we have learnt this year both reading and writing them. Students will also continue to Bootcamp Silent Final E – job 1. This is when there is a silent 'e' at the end of a word, although it is silent it makes the vowel say it’s second sound e.g. make, Pete, mine, vote, tune. Alongside boot camping we are also reviewing and practising words that have the code ‘f’ and ‘ph’ (which we call 'f' 2 letter).

Reading

We are continuing to work with narrative texts and their features. Students have done some work on characters already. This week we will be concentrating on settings. Students will be looking at the vocabulary used to describe a setting, using the book 'The Magic Beach' by Alison Lester.  Next week we will begin to look at problems and solutions as a feature.

Writing

In writing, the preps are exploring features of a narrative text. They will be examining different ways that stories can begin and look at sentence structures that authors use to engage their reader. They will also be looking at how using adjectives to describe a setting helps to create a picture and context for the reader. We will be zooming in on some classic narrative stories that are familiar to the students and explore the author’s craft and techniques. 

Numeracy

In numeracy we are beginning our investigation into patterns. We will start by investigating what makes a pattern and look at patterns in our environment in things such as bricks, pavers and in nature, leaves and flowers. We will explore different ways we can form patterns using colour and shape We will move from simple patterns into ones including more elements and then into number patterns.

We will also be continuing our learning about data. We have previously collected and displayed data, now we will be moving into interpreting data displays. 

Unit of Inquiry

We have commenced our new unit of inquiry with the central idea ‘Creativity can be expressed and appreciated’. The Preps will be spending the next two weeks exploring different ways of being creative and will be encouraged to generate questions to guide our inquiries. They are working on expanding their vocabulary. For example, using words like 'realistic' and 'abstract' to describe artworks. 

They will also be familiarising themselves with our focus attributes of the learner profile for this unit of inquiry. They are:

• Balanced - I can be creative to help me relax
• Risk-takers - I can share my creations and my opinions with others
• Open-minded - I can consider new ideas

We are hoping that the language of the learner profile will become embedded in our Preps' vocabularies.

Well being

Playtime is very important to the Preps and most consider it the best part of their day. This is quite understandable this year in particular. We are working with the Preps on expanding any social skills that need some extra work. Some of these skills include:

• negotiation
• joining in a game
• going along with the majority if their choice is the minority vote

The attached cards provide some discussion prompts to help children having a challenging time with friends. At this age, children usually find it easier with a concrete example rather than an abstract idea.

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