Year Levels - Prep
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Prep Newsletter – Term 1
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All students are required to have an art smock for art. This will protect their uniform when they are in the art room. An art smock can be any old shirt or top from home that is no longer needed.
Library
All children in Prep are required to have a library bag, which will be provided by the school. Regular borrowing from the library will help children to develop their literacy skills and establishes the important lifelong skill of reading for information and pleasure. Please encourage your child to borrow regularly from the school library by discussing and sharing the books they bring home. Students must return their book to be able to re-borrow.
During the first term in Prep, students will become familiar with many skills and strategies they need to know in order to begin their reading journey. They will be exploring the direction of text in books, learning to point to each word when reading and using reading strategies to help work out unknown words in books (such as looking at the pictures). Each week students will receive a group of focus words, which they will learn to read using a variety of games and activities in the classroom. They will also get additional words to practise at home, which will come from the CSPS word list.
Writing:
We have a busy term of writing ahead of us. Students will be learning how to write their names using a capital letter and following with lower case letters. They will also be learning to use the correct pencil grip and to form their letters from the correct starting point. Students will begin to write high frequency words and to record sounds they hear in words. We will be strengthening students’ fine motor skills to assist with their writing through activities such as tracing, play dough, threading and cutting.
We will be modelling appropriate speaking and listening skills and encouraging all students to share their ideas, reflect upon their learning and ask each other appropriate questions. Parents are encouraged to support their child to use appropriate speaking and listening skills.
This term students will be learning to count forwards and backwards in the correct order, first to and from 10 and then moving on to 20. Students will be provided with a variety of counting experiences to establish a strong knowledge of number. They will learn to identify numbers in both the digit form and as a collection. Students will become familiar with tools and strategies that are helpful when counting, making and comparing groups of objects such as ten frames and subitising.
Students will learn about 2D shapes such as triangles, circles, rectangles and squares. They will be exploring, sorting and learning to describe these shapes. Pattern is another focus this term where students will be investigating what makes a pattern, how to create their own patterns and what different objects they could use. The final topic will be on data, where students learn to answer and record yes and no questions for a range of different topics. Students will participate in a variety of hands on activities to deepen their understanding in these areas of the curriculum.
Our Integrated Curriculum topic this term is called Healthy Me. Students will be learning about what people require to help them grow, be healthy and stay safe. They will be working with their Year 4 buddies throughout the topic and will celebrate their learning by having a Healthy Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Students will also be participating in an In-School activity run by the RACV to support their learning about staying safe when using roads.