Prep
Prep is an exciting year, it is a year of starting school, learning new routines and finding themselves in their new school environment. Students make new and positive relationships with their teachers and friends to support their learning. It is engaging, hands on and full of fun exploration.
Literacy
Reading, reading, reading!! Lots of reading of books together to promote and instil the enjoyment of reading. Students focus on predicting what might happen and what has happened in books (comprehension), understanding how print works (left to right, top to bottom etc.) and assisting them to see themselves as readers.
At the beginning of the School year there is a strong emphasis on learning the sounds of the alphabet. The Jolly phonics program is implemented, being an interactive, engaging tool; focusing on learning the sounds through songs, actions and explicit teaching. This includes the sound it makes, how to write it and words that may contain it. The focus will be on ensuring children say these clearly and correctly.
Later, once students have learnt sounds, letter names are taught. We begin to blend the sounds to show how words are formed. This will also support their early writing, which focuses on students listening to words and recording the sounds they hear. Correct formation of the letters is encouraged, initially through practicing the letters in their name which leads to writing simple words and sentences.
Writing tasks are mostly focused around personal experiences. These may be experiences at school as well as the children’s personal lives from home. Teachers structure these experiences to be fun and enjoyable to foster student engagement. Opportunities are provided for students to develop their oral language by talking about each experience before recording their ideas through words and pictures.
Numeracy
Throughout Semester 1 in Numeracy there is a strong focus on identifying, making and recording the numbers to 10. As the basis of our numeric system, students need to establish a strong understanding of the many elements of these. We will: explore each number; make it using effective one–to-one correspondence (pointing to each item as they count); break into parts (e.g. 3 and 1 is 4, 2 and 2 is 4); discover what numbers are more than or less than others; and explore these numbers in our world.
Later in the year, throughout Semester 2 in Numeracy we further explore the numbers from 11 to 20. Similar to Semester 1, exploring these numbers; making, counting (one-to-one correspondence), breaking into parts and discovering what these numbers mean to us in our world. Students begin to make connections between their understanding of how numbers to 10 work to help them further understand larger numbers, initially to 20 and then beyond.
Across the year, there is a big emphasis on subitising, especially with these numbers. This allows the students to form a mental image of the number as well as seeing the different parts.
Numeracy in the prep classroom is always hands-on and interactive where students are provided with a range of concrete materials to support their learning and exploration to extend their understanding of number knowledge.
Inquiry
In Prep students will investigate the following topics:
‘What can I do to succeed at school?’
The students learn about the different ways we can be a good friend and a good learner. They learn strategies that will help support them in building friendships and will help them engage in their new classroom.
‘What is a family and how have I changed?’
Students share the knowledge they have about where their families are from, who lives with them and the special traditions they celebrate. We celebrate with a Grandparents afternoon at school so that we can learn more about their families.
‘Can we build it?’
The students will explore a range of materials that they can use to build different creations, such as, vehicles and robots. They participate in an incursion where they get to use real tools and wood to create an aeroplane. The students love using their imagination during this inquiry topic.
‘What is the cycle of life?’
Students explore a range of life cycles during this topic. They get to spend some time with chicken eggs, watching them hatch and grow before being able to hold them and learn more about them. We visit a farm where the students learn about the baby animals and get to explore what is important in looking after animals and what they need to stay healthy.
Throughout the year, students participate in a range of incursions and excursions to further enhance and support their learning
Buddies
We have a Buddy Program within the school where Prep students are paired up with Grade 6 students. They participate in open-ended, flexible, creative and fun activities to foster nurturing and caring relationship between students across different year levels. The program promotes confidence and self-esteem within students. The students look forward to spending time with their buddies and having someone familiar outside in the yard.
Special Days
Through the year there will be days where special events occur. We specifically celebrate 100 Days of School each year in Prep, as well as participate in other special days like an Easter Hat Parade, Grandparents afternoon, Footy Day, Education week, Multicultural Day, Pancake Day and many more.
PMP (Perceptual Motor Program)
Every week the Prep classes visit the Gym for PMP sessions.
PMP is a movement-based program which helps younger students improve their eye/hand and eye/foot coordination, fitness, balance, locomotion and eye-tracking skills.
Homework
In Prep, we begin the routine of homework by setting up and encouraging take home readers on a nightly basis. The students are encouraged to see themselves as readers by sitting with an adult and enjoying the reading process. As we begin learning sounds of letters in our Jolly Phonics Classroom Program, students bring home a phonics homework folder where they can practise and consolidate the learning within the classroom.