Welcome to Room 5 Pre Primary

Welcome everyone to the Classroom Blog for Room 5 Pre-Primary for 2016. 

From Miss Baines

I would like to welcome all the students and parents to Pre-Primary, and a special welcome to all our new students and families. I look forward to working with the parents and getting to know your children better throughout the year.

It has been a busy start to the year and the students have done well adjusting to full time school, especially considering some of the extremely hot days we have been experiencing. To ensure your child gets the most out of each school day, please make sure they are getting plenty of sleep each night. Children this age still need between 10-12 hours of sleep to be able to function.

As mentioned at the Parent Information Evening, I am available by appointment on Wednesdays and before or after school most other days.


Parent Information Evening

Thank you to all the parents who came to the Parent Information Evening. The information that we discussed was included in the handbook that was given out. I have uploaded some of the slides from the PowerPoint that I used as there were ideas of things that parents could be doing at home.

If you were unable to attend the Parent Information Evening, the student handbook was sent home in your child's note folder. If you have any questions please feel free to come and see me.

As discussed at the parent evening, a laminated A4 copy of the Victorian Modern Cursive letter and number formation was sent home with your child. This is for you to keep at home to refer to and to allow your child to practise the correct number and letter formation.


School App

If you haven't already done so, download the Wattle Grove Primary School App. It allows you to notify the school if your child is absent, order from the canteen, keep up to date about coming events and receive the school newsletter.

The App is available for Apple as well as Android phones.

Canteen

The canteen operates on a Wednesday and Thursday. Orders can be placed online, via the School App, or by writing it on a lunch order bag, available from the classroom. Students can order for recess and lunch (if you are ordering using the lunch bags, you need to write recess and lunch orders on separate bags). Pre-Primary students are allowed to order icy poles, slushies and ice creams.

Library

Our Library day is every Monday afternoon. Students are allowed to borrow two books at a time. Students must have a library bag to be able to borrow books and books must be returned before they can take more books. Library bags and books need to be put in the Library box.

News Topics

The News Roster is now on the door outside the classroom. Please check the roster to see which day is your child's news day. I will update the Blog each Friday so that you know what the students need to talk about. The News Topic is also written on the notice board outside the classroom.

This week's News Topic is - My Favourite Toy. Students can bring in their favourite toy and tell the class about it.

Merit Award Winners

Congratulations to the Merit Award Winners, Isha, Amelia and Rylee. Keep up the great work!

On Entry Testing

I will be conducting the On Entry testing on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday of Week 5. As the test needs to be one-on-one, I will be out of the classroom. The students will have a relief teacher on these days. I will discuss your child's results from the On Entry testing with you at the parent interviews on Tuesday of Week 10.

Aussie Day Dress Up

Thank you to all the students who dressed up in their Aussie clothes to raise money for the Yarloop bush fires. The children looked amazing and thanks to your generosity, we raised over $2000. Our School Motto is Give to Receive and I'm sure that the people of Yarloop will be very grateful.

Our Program

To make the transition from Kindergarten to Pre-Primary easier, we are currently revising some of the things taught in Kindergarten. We are revising the letter sounds, numbers 1-20 and the Kindergarten sight words. 

Whilst revising, we are also focusing on new concepts, such as letter and number formation, among other things.

If there are any areas that your child may need extra assistance, I will let you know so that we can work together to ensure that they have a strong foundation.

Thank you and Merry Christmas!!!

How the time has flown by! I can not believe this will be the last blog for 2013. I have been busy making sure all of the children's work is ready to go home and I came across the first sample of work the children completed in February on their first day of school. I am so proud of how far they have all come, academically, socially and emotionally. I am going to miss all of my students and thank them all for a wonderful year!

The children have continued to work hard this term. We have had swimming lessons, Edudance lessons, Graduation rehearsal, all on top of their day to day activities. The Pre-Primary students have also been attending Year One for short periods to ensure a smooth transition. The Pre-Primaries are ready to move on to Year One and I am sure they will enjoy the challenges and the responsibilities that go with moving up to the ‘big school’.

I would like to thank all the parents, grandparents and other family members for your support this year. You have all made me feel very welcome at Wattle Grove and I could not have asked for a nicer group of parents and students. The way that schools, teachers and parents work together creates a strong and cohesive environment for the students to grow and develop. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holidays!

Miss Baines

Graduation

Just a reminder that the Kindergarten and Pre Primary Graduation will be held in the undercover area on Friday 13th December at 9.00am. A note was sent home regarding the costume for the Edudance concert. Students need to come to school dressed in their black shorts and brightly coloured t-shirt. Students should have their school uniform in their bag to change in to after the Graduation.

Class Party

There is a note on the board outside the classroom regarding our class party. Our class party will be held on Tuesday 17th December at 12.30pm. All students are encouraged to bring a plate of healthy food to share with their peers. Please write what your child will be bringing next to their name on the list, to avoid doubling up on the food. 

Buddy Class

Below are some photos of the activities we have been doing with our Buddy Class, Room 17, this term!

Practise, Practise, Practise!

As the holidays are the longest break, please ensure that your child continues to practice the skills  they have learnt this year.

· Read the words in their sight word folders.  Practice letter sounds and sounding out words.

· Keep a journal or diary once a week or after an event or an excursion. Remind them to begin a sentence with a capital letter and end with a full stop. Include a finger space between the words and sound out unknown words. Encourage your child to include adjectives to make their writing interesting.

· Counting, addition and subtraction, sharing a collection of objects evenly, comparing objects, arranging and sorting collections of objects.

· Talk to your child. Have a conversation, talk about events, retell stories, and ask questions about places you went, books you have read and movies you have seen.

· Retell stories you have read, including the beginning- when, who, where and what, the middle- problem and the ending – resolution. Discuss the characters.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Room 4 Update

Sadly, we are almost at the end of Pre Primary. 5 more weeks and we will all be on Christmas Holidays! This year has gone by so quickly, but I wanted to take the time to say how proud I am of the Room 4 students. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching your children and have loved watching them develop and improve throughout the year. 

We have hit the ground running this term and already so much has happened!

Edudance 

We started our Edudance lessons in Week 2. The children are really enjoying participating each week, learning the new steps for our dance. I know that you will all be very impressed when you watch our concert at the end of the year. I will let you know closer to the time what the children have to wear on the day. 

Swimming Lessons 

Swimming lessons were a huge success. This was the first time for the Pre Primaries and they are to be commended on their behaviour and the way they coped with the changes to our normal class routine. Well done to all the students who passed and for all those that tried their best! I know that the students had a fantastic time and can not wait until next year! 

Student Teacher 

As you have probably noticed, Miss Jovina Vidad has been running the class from Week 4. She will continue to do so until Week 6. Jovina is doing an amazing job with the children. The lessons she has planned have been fun and engaging. She has implemented some new behaviour management strategies and new reward systems for the children, which has motivated them. I know she will continue to do a fantastic job! 

Mini Beasts

This term our theme has been Mini Beasts. Here are some examples of the work we have been doing.

Computers

This term we have been teaching the children how to log on to the school computers, access the internet and type a document using Microsoft Word. The children are doing a great job! Here are some of the worm stories that they wrote and then typed.