Prep 2019 Elwood Primary

School

We Welcome You!

Welcome to Elwood Primary School! We are all looking forward to sharing a great Prep year with you and your child!

The first year of school is so important in setting the solid foundations for a lifetime of learning. We believe in working together with you to instil a love of learning within your children. The first few weeks of Prep are spent familiarising the children with the routines of the school day. This includes:

- Lining up and moving through the school - Soft Starts - Morning routines - Asking before leaving the classroom - Putting hands up when they want to contribute - Eating their food evenly across the day- not eating everything at recess! - Moving around the school safely - Finding their friends in the school yard - Finding a teacher on yard duty if there is a problem, even if it is not their teacher - Enjoying school and seeing themselves as successful learners

That is all on top of starting the curriculum - no wonder they are tired!

Literacy Literacy in Prep Our Literacy program focuses on the skills and abilities that children have been developing before school; reading and writing for enjoyment, gaining and consolidating fundamental knowledge that builds upon the set of literacy understandings that each child has begun to acquire. Prep students are exposed to a variety of literacy activities and teaching strategies from teacher directed learning, whole class and small group instruction to individual sessions across reading, writing and speaking and listening.

Literacy sessions include the following: ● Reading ● Writing ● Phonics/SMART Foundation ● Speaking and Listening ● Viewing and Responding ● Incorporating ICT and digital Literacy

We have whole school agreed strategies that include: Writing: Writers Workshop and VCOP

● Seeing themselves as successful writers ● Immersion in texts and linked to reading ● Direct instruction using authentic literature or teacher’s/students’ own writing ● Independent writing and time for sustained writing ● Teachers conferencing individual students and keeping anecdotal records ● Guided Writing; working with needs-based, focused groups ● Sharing and celebrating students’ writing ● Use of the whole class writers’ notebooks ● Using seeds to launch the Writer’s Workshop; a springboard for ideas ● Teaching children about the Writing Cycle and having them identify where they are in the cycle

● Big Writes (timed writing) and VCOP explicit instruction (Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers, Punctuation)

Reading:

● Seeing themselves as successful readers ● Teachers using high quality literature and author studies to encourage a love of reading ● Selecting Just Right Books – books that are not too easy, not too hard ● Use of Modelled, Shared, Guided and Independent reading strategies ● Teaching comprehension strategies of Predicting, Questioning, Visualising and Inferring,

Summarising, Making Connections and Evaluating ● Reading Conferences and goal setting ● Flexible Guided Reading groups focusing on the exact needs of the students in the group ● Rhymes, chants, alliteration – phonemic activities and programs

Phonics - SMART Spelling Approach

● Explicit teaching of sounds and letters through words ● Listening for and hearing sounds that then relate to letters ● Learning about letters, words and sentences ● Common words - Popcorn words taught in context ● Links made with reading and writing

Speaking and Listening:

● Knowledge ready – supporting our students to get ready for speaking and listening situations, questioning, discussing, rehearsing

● Tuning into ideas – focus on tone and voice with the use of visuals for support ● Consolidate & review – reflection, self and peer feedback, continual improvement ● Linked strongly to our current classroom curriculum and opportunities from focus students in

Investigations, informal and formal presentations such as sharing our work, assemblies, and buddy reading

Mathematics Mathematics in Prep Mathematics, or “maths” as it is more often known, plays an important part of our everyday lives. Our Math sessions emphasise the importance of problem solving skills, reasoning, fluency and understanding within the strands:

● Number ● Measurement and Geometry ● Statistics and Probability ● Working Mathematically

As with Literacy, maths concepts and understandings are taught through a variety and wide range of teaching strategies and approaches. Please visit the Victorian Curriculum website for more information about what is covered in the first year of school (Foundation level). http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/

Maths at Elwood Primary School

● Children experience success in a safe and supportive learning environment; ● We provide students with many opportunities to explore and develop a deep understanding of

mathematical concepts and ideas; ● We build their ability to think and work mathematically, with a heavy focus on the development of

essential skills and problem solving strategies; and

● We value children’s prior knowledge and know that children may need additional support or extending, our thorough planning caters for this.

At Elwood Primary we believe in the Six Principles of Effective Teaching of Mathematics developed by Peter Sullivan.

Articulating

Goals

Making

Connections

Fostering

Engagement

Differentiating

Challenges

Structuring

Lessons

Promoting

Fluency &

Transfer

Communicate to

the students the

goals of the

lesson and

explain clearly

expectations

Build on what

the students

already know

Connect with

stories and real

life.

Rich and

challenging

tasks developed

Allowing

students time

and

opportunities to

make decisions

Using a variety

of ways to

represent a

problem

Interact with

students as they

learn

Student to

student

interaction and

support

Asking and

answering lots of

questions

Actively think

about how to

support students

and provide

challenge for

those that need it

Individual and

group

responsibilities

are made clear

Students report

back to the class

different ways to

tackle problems

Teacher

summarises key

ideas and

explicitly teaches

where needed

Short everyday

practice of

mental processes

such as quick

recall of number

facts

Reinforcement

and transfer of

learnt skills to

new tasks

Investigations Each Prep grade will run Investigations three times a week as part of the Developmental Curriculum. These Investigations are set up in classrooms using children’s interests as motivation. The learning is often play based and allows children to explore, invent, create and use their imaginations. Teachers work alongside children in the Investigations to scaffold and extend children’s thinking and learning to ensure they are actively engaged and learning. The teacher also uses this opportunity to link the Investigations back to our learning intentions. Areas in the classroom include a Reading Corner, Writing area, Maths resource area, Dramatic Play, Construction, Create and Make, Sensory experiences and Tinkering. There are various roles within the Investigations including:

● Focus children who share their learning intentions at the start and end of the session and spend quality time with the teacher;

● A photographer and a reporter who will be directed to tasks throughout the session based on needs and will also have the opportunity to share; and

● Parent and adult involvement welcomed through running interest based clinics and student led clinics, or just coming along as an extra pair of hands.

Prep Home Learning At Elwood Primary the children learn and develop specific literacy skills through the schools agreed strategies and approaches so they can practise these skills with confidence at home. The Take Home Reading Program will begin in March. Each child will bring home a book/s each night. At this time of the year, most Prep students can be described as beginning readers. They are beginning to learn about reading: e.g. directionality of texts and matching text to spoken words. As students do not have a bank of words they readily recognise, the books are generally based on repetition, rhyme and are strongly supported by pictures. To practise their reading and develop a love of reading, your child will bring home a book each school night. They may not have encountered these books before and may require some support. Particularly at the start of the year, reading the book first to them or together is fine. Allowing time for thinking and processing can be helpful at this stage. You can ask them, “What can you do when you do not know a word?”; “What word would make sense?”; “Can you chunk the letters to sound it out?”. Try to keep reading as stress free as possible and judge when to just read the book to your child and ‘tell’ the words. Students should have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the book before attempting to ‘read’. Beginning readers gain most of their information and meaning from pictures in the book, therefore it is very important to discuss pictures and what might be happening in the book. This will help children predict unknown words in context. The pictures are a great strategy for students to use when beginning to read for meaning. The person assisting with reading should read the title while pointing to the words, and perhaps read the book to the child or along with the child. Beginning readers often role play the reading process and will sometimes be reciting books rather than reading. This is why pointing to words can be a handy strategy to focus students on the actual text. Other ways to focus on text is to point out words that may be repeated regularly throughout the book or might have been in a book read on a previous night. Other tips to help you out:

● Look at the title, cover and illustrations to discuss what the book might be about. The children are used to this aspect of visual literacy;

● Browse through the book and discuss or comment on pictures or text that will help predict the plot; ● Listen to your child read aloud and encourage a phrased, fluent, conversational style; and ● Feel free to demonstrate a dramatic reading of the book to model a fluent style and to have some

fun with the text. Beginning reading is a very important stage in your child’s education when attitudes towards reading, learning and success are developing. Children should enjoy learning to read, feel successful and know that their family enjoys reading and values books. Establish a daily reading routine in a relaxed atmosphere that suits your family, to ensure that children have a positive attitude to learning and become lifelong readers. The blue Home Learning folder is to be used to take the books and Reading Diary to and from school each day. The teachers will also put any notices and reminders in there so please make sure you check it and return it to school each day. The Reading Diary is a way of recording your child’s reading progress, please have a read of it as it contains lots of useful strategies and information. The children will bring their SMART Foundation book home every Tuesday that has the ‘Word of the Week’ sheet ready to go. Your child should try to read the SMART Word of the Week and common words in blue (Popcorn Words). The Word of the Week has been explicitly taught and the letters and sounds isolated. Children can use their hand to help identify each sound. Place a dot if they still need your help to read the word or a tick if they can do this independently. If your child is able to read the word of the week, you can

extend them by having them write the words, create letter patterns or think of other words they can write with the letters in the word. For more extension ideas, please see your class teacher or the Teaching and Learning Coach. Please let your class teacher know if you need any additional information.

A Helping with Home Learning Session will be held in the staffroom on the 18th March 2019 at 9.15am and repeated at 2.40pm. More detail on how you can assist your child at home will be demonstrated here.

Organisational Information

School Times – School starts at 9am. Please make every effort to be at school on time. Children sometimes line up before school and come in to the classroom with the teacher. This is also a great opportunity for the children to carry their own bags and become more independent. There is always a teacher on duty in the yard from 8:45am. Children are encouraged to put their bag in their class line and play until the music begins. If it is raining, children can come directly into classroom from 8:45am. Soft Starts – Your class teacher will communicate their soft start days with you. On these days, you and your child are able to enter their classroom from 8.50am. They can put their bags away, read on the carpet and settle in for the morning. The children however may choose to stay outside and play if they prefer and then come in when the music begins ready to begin their day. Home Learning– You will also be receiving a Mathletics and Reading Eggs login and password for your child. The children will be taught over the year how to use them both at school. If you would like to access this at home as well please do! Early Student Collection (Yellow Slip) - Any time you wish to collect your child from school before the end of the school day it is essential to sign them out in the Main Office. Please complete and sign a ‘yellow slip’ and then give it to the teacher in charge of your child at the time. Lateness (Yellow Slip) - If students are late, (9.10am or later) they must be signed in at the office and the ‘yellow late slip’ brought to the classroom teacher. Lunch - Children will eat their morning tea at 10.45am and their lunch at 1.30pm in their classrooms. They need to have a water bottle with them please. Talk to your child about what is their recess snack and what is for their lunch. Lunch Orders – Lunch orders are available every day from the Bakery. These need to be written clearly on a lunch order bag and include your child’s name and class so it gets to them. They need to be placed in the lunch order box located in the school office before 9am. On Wednesdays, you can order Sushi and on Tuesdays Rice Paper Rolls from a different location so please place in the correct box located in the office. The lunch orders do not arrive at school until after 1pm so please give your child a substantial morning tea and a water bottle so they can have a snack with the other children. Lost Property - Please clearly label all items such as clothing and equipment. The Lost Property hangers are located in the JLC building (Grade 1 area) and outside the Senior School bathrooms. School Uniform - Full school uniform is compulsory. There is a second hand uniform shop available to purchase from as well - contact the office for details. Sun Smart and Sunscreen- All students must wear a hat in the yard from September to the end of April and those not wearing a hat will directed to play in shaded areas. Parents are encouraged to apply sunscreen

before school in preparation for the first break. Students whose parents have supplied sunscreen are able to apply as needed throughout the day. Pick Up - All Prep students have designated dismissal areas, please check with your classroom teacher if you are unsure of yours. Please advise the teacher if there are any changes to your child’s regular ‘pick up’ arrangements. If there are any changes in pick up arrangements please notify the school. Team Kids - Please let your teacher know if your child is going to Team Kids after school - this way the teacher can help to ensure a smooth transition. Team Kids collects the Preps registered from the teacher at the end of the day. Bikes/Scooters - All bikes and scooters are to be stored in the bike sheds and helmets are compulsory. While in the school grounds, please walk your bikes and scooters. The bike sheds are locked at 9.00am in the morning, opened at 3.30pm and closed again by 3.45pm in the afternoon. Please ensure that you collect your child’s bike/scooter before this time. Class Agreements – These have been talked about in your child’s classroom and each class has come up with some expectations which help to keep our classrooms safe and happy. A copy of your child’s class agreements will be sent home for you to talk about with your child. Please support us in helping keep our classrooms safe and happy by discussing the agreement with your child to ensure they understand the expectations of being at school. Contacting Teachers – If you wish to contact your child’s class teacher with information you may do so by email or by sending in a note. A reminder that urgent messages should go to the school office as teachers often may not check their email during teaching hours. Library and I.C.T.

Welcome to the Elwood Primary Information Learning Hub! We have a number of exciting opportunities in store for your children this year. All classes will be visiting the Information Learning Hub for an hour a fortnight, which will consist of both library and I.C.T. focussed sessions. In the Library, we will be:

● Promoting the very best of children’s literature to your children; ● Working towards getting (or keeping!) your children ‘hooked on reading’ by recommending and

discussing specific books with each student when they are borrowing to make sure the books are ‘just right’ for them;

● Adding a number of the latest and most exciting new books for young readers to our library this year – picture books, novels, non-fiction books, graphic novels and more; and

● Having many special events planned, including author visits. Students are able to borrow up to 5 books at a time, and will be encouraged to borrow books they are already interested in as well as books that they may not have considered before (different genres, from different sections of the library etc). As well as each fortnightly class session (for an hour), the ILH will be also open for student borrowing at lunchtimes on Mondays and Thursdays. The ILH space will also be open before school from 8:45 – 9:00am – families are welcome to come and browse together! In I.C.T. we are implementing the new Digital Technologies curriculum. Students will:

● develop their knowledge and understanding of digital systems (in particular hardware, software and networks and their uses);

● develop their knowledge and understanding of how data is represented and structured; ● collect, manage and analyse data; and ● create digital solutions by defining, designing, implementing, evaluating, collaborating and managing.

Throughout all sessions, there will be a strong focus on being cybersmart.

If you would like to volunteer to help in the library or I.C.T. area, please come in and see us or send us an email...we would love to have you! We have a number of things that you can help with, from sharing computer knowledge or taking small group I.C.T. sessions to reshelving books, helping students locate a book or covering new books – what a fantastic way to get to know the new books in our collection! We really look forward to seeing you and we appreciate any assistance that you are able to offer. In addition, if you are able to cover books for us but are busy during the day and would prefer to do it at home, let us know as we would still love to have your help. Happy reading and computing. Sarah Galbraith and Jackie Hughes Debbie Packham Teachers Library Technician

Visual Arts In Prep, the focus of Visual Arts is to discover and explore a variety of materials and processes to create wonderful and original pieces of artworks. Materials we will use include watercolour and acrylic paint, soft pastels and oil pastels, textas, inks, fabric and recycled goods. When creating art, Preps will learn about the art elements including line, shape, space, colour and texture. Family, books, nature and animals will inspire artwork. When your child's artwork comes home, please note that it is not a carbon cut copy of a famous piece of artwork, but very much a reflection of your child’s ideas and effort. It is something to be celebrated and talked about. Students will be given opportunity to hear and use appropriate art language. We look forward to a very colourful and creative year with your children! Thanks, Rosie Cooke and Kimberley Scott

Music The Music program focuses on making music together by singing and playing musical games. Students will develop skills to sing in tune, keep a steady beat, play percussion instruments and explore expressive movement to music. The lessons encourage students’ musicality and confidence. Students have the opportunity to perform at the Family Picnic in November and in our bi-annual School Production.

Private Instrumental Music Lessons at EPS Students interested in taking private music lessons can do so with one of our talented instructors on Brass, Woodwind, Guitar, Keyboard, Piano, Violin and Ukulele. Inquires at the office please or through sieger.kaz.k@edumail.vic.gov.au Thank you, Kaz Sieger and Paula Russell

Performing Arts The Performing Arts program integrates dance, drama, singing and circus. Students learn to express their

ideas through exploring dance elements and different dramatic themes. Students use this knowledge to

compose their own movement phrases or compositions. Students learn to appreciate and respond to their

own and peer performances. The program aims to encourage creativity, peer relationships and an

appreciation of the Performing Arts. In Term 3 2019, all students have the opportunity to extend their

Performing Arts skills through participation in the whole school production at The Palais Theatre.

Thank you, Paula Russell

Physical Education During semester 1, the preps will participate in a Perceptual Motor Program (PMP). The program aims to give the students experiences in seeing, hearing, touching, processing, making perceptual judgements and reacting though carefully sequenced activities. The students achieve this through physical activity such as running, hopping, skipping, jumping, balancing, crawling, climbing, throwing, catching, bowling, sliding, etc, using a variety of common and specially designed equipment. Furthermore, the prep students will develop their ability to play minor games in different boundaries and areas, using different equipment. Through these games, they will develop and expand upon their basic and more complex motor skills such as running, jumping, catching, throwing, kicking, twisting & turning. They will also be introduced to more complex skills such as dodging, overarm throwing, dribbling and striking balls. The students will begin to understand the link between physical activity and health, and learn that they need to participate in physical activity to be fit and healthy individuals. Further skills taught the will be the importance of playing safely with other students and using equipment properly. They will also learn how to work with others and be good sports, which is actively encouraged in all activities. Our main sport event for the Prep students this year will to be take part in a House Tabloid Sports, with a focus on fun and participation. All students will have the opportunity of representing their house and wearing their house colours. This year it will be held on our school oval on Thursday 24th October. For up to date information on all things PE and Sport, visit our PE website: www.elwoodpspe.com Thanks and we are looking forward to a great year in PE and Sport. Sam Casey PE Teacher and Sports Coordinator

Volunteers at Elwood Primary

Volunteering provides an opportunity for the school community to work together for the benefit of everyone at school. Our school values the contribution of all the parents, grandparents and other people in our community who generously give their time to assist and the children value having their families involved in school life. What can classroom volunteers do? We appreciate your assistance, especially in those areas where parents have skills, knowledge or expertise to offer the children or time to assist with the following types of activities:

● leading book discussions; ● supporting small group work following Guided Reading; ● helping during student writing time; ● supervising small drama groups; ● typing work written by students; ● photocopying or laminating material; ● making up class books and other projects; ● assisting with Maths groups; ● supervising small group mathematics work; ● supervising and helping children at classroom computers; ● running clinic groups in Investigations or just helping; and ● sharing skills in the Arts, Science and Technology programs just to name a few.

Classroom Volunteers: Whenever volunteers come to school to work in classrooms they need to sign into a specific classroom, using the book provided and wear the Volunteer lanyard. When leaving, sign out and return the lanyard.

Volunteers who work, specifically, outside the classroom i.e. in the Kitchen Garden, Kitchen, on excursions, at swimming or with sporting teams, must have an official ‘Working with Children’ identity card in addition to filling out the Volunteer Register form. Applications for a “Working with Children” Card are obtained online and lodged through a Post Office. There is no cost involved and the cards are valid for five years. A photocopy of the card is kept for school records.

Some important points for volunteers in classrooms:

● please remember to sign in and out using the book in the classroom you are working in and wear, then return the Volunteer lanyard;

● understand and use the ‘You Can Do It’ Program ethos and terminology; ● use discretion and observe the understanding of confidentiality; ● try to commit to set times so that teachers can plan to include you in programs; ● feel secure that you are working under the guidance, sight and Duty of Care of the teacher at

all times; ● encourage and support student risk taking in their learning; and ● be friendly and have fun!

We look forward to seeing and working with you.

You Can Do It! at EPS

The You Can Do It (YCDI) Program’s main purpose is to support our community, school and home in a collective effort to optimise the social, emotional and academic outcomes of all young people. Its’ unique contribution is in identifying the social and emotional capabilities that all young people need to acquire in order to be successful in school, experience wellbeing and have positive relationships including making contributions to others and the community (good citizenship). YCDI’s focus is on building social, emotional and motivational capacity of young people. It encourages prevention, promotion and intervention efforts in order to build the social and emotional strengths of young people. YCDI also seeks to build the capabilities of adults (community, school, home) associated with positive outcomes in young people, including positive, caring relationships with young people, providing for their safety, high expectations for achievement and behaviour. It is vital that school, home and communities work together so that the responsibility for supporting and educating, including quality social and emotional learning experiences and caring relationships, is shared throughout the community. Each fortnight we shall focus on one of the five social-emotional strengths of YCDI; Getting Along, Organisation, Persistence, Confidence and Resilience through the newsletter, during classroom discussions, activities and assemblies

You Can Do It Yearly Overview

Term 1 focus:

GETTING ALONG

Weeks 1 & 2:

YCDI:Smile

Manners: Hello

Weeks 3 & 4:

YDCI: Playing fairly

Manners: Please &

thank you

Weeks 5 & 6:

YCDI: Playing

together

Manners: May I.......

Weeks 7 & 8:

YCDI: Taking turns

Manners: You’re

welcome

Week 9:

YCDI: Using a

Friendly voice

Manners: I’m sorry

Term 2 focus:

ORGANISATION

Weeks 1, 2 & 3:

YCDI: Punctuality

Manners: Give Way

Weeks 4 & 5:

YCDI: Making decisions

in a group

Manners: Excuse me

Weeks 6 & 7:

YCDI: Consequences

and Rights

Manners: Negotiation

Weeks 8 & 9:

YCDI: Setting Goals

Manners: Including

Others

Week 10 & 11:

YCDI: Planning my time

Manners: Sharing

Term 3 focus:

PERSISTENCE

Weeks 1 & 2:

YCDI: Listening

Manners: Respecting

Differences

Weeks 3 & 4:

YCDI: Teamwork

Manners: Respecting

Adults

Weeks 5 & 6:

YCDI: I can do it!

Manners: Respecting

the opposite gender

Weeks 7 & 8:

YCDI: Seeing it through

Manners: Respecting

Property – Yours, mine

and ours

Week 9 & 10:

YCDI: Giving effort

Manners: Respecting

our environment

Term 4 focus:

CONFIDENCE

Weeks 1 & 2:

YCDI: Good winners

and losers

Manners: Taking turns

Weeks 3 & 4:

YCDI: Body language &

Being Assertive

Manners: Appropriate

language

Weeks 5 & 6:

YCDI: Respecting the

opinion of others

Manners: Listening

Weeks 7 & 8:

YCDI: Leadership

Manners: Please and

Thank you

Week 9 & 10:

YDCI: Being positive

Manners: Smile

RESILIENCE underpinning values each term.

Lunches & Allergy Awareness We have a number of students with food allergies and it is our policy at school to minimise the risk of allergic reactions at school by: ● Asking that you avoid sending your child to school with food which might in some way, through

accidental contact, cause such an allergic reaction ● Ensuring that children do not share food at any time and that they wash their hands after eating ● Ensuring that children always eat in a supervised environment ● Regularly cleaning spaces where children eat ● Promoting an awareness of anaphylaxis, allergens, reactions and what they can do to help should the

need arise. ● All staff up to date in their knowledge and administration of epipens in case of an anaphylactic episode. We also encourage: ● fresh food lunches ● as little packaging/wrappers as possible

Monitoring Student Progress Your child’s teacher is your first point of contact about any matter affecting your child’s happiness, self-confidence, development and progress in all areas. Student Progress A positive relationship and effective communication between home and school is vital in helping us gather the information and feedback we need to ensure your child’s learning is successful and that they feel secure and engaged at school. If you have a question or concern, about your child’s learning or wellbeing you should – 1. Work with the teacher and make an appointment to discuss your concerns. You may also: 2. Organise to meet with Rosie Grosso, Assistant Principal or Nicole Richards Principal. As a part of our open communication between home and school, you will be provided with a written report on your child’s progress in Terms 2 & 4 and will be offered parent teacher meetings in Terms 1 & 3.

We are excited about working with you in providing a

well-rounded education for your child at Elwood

Primary School.