Prep | Kindergarten News
Welcome to Term 2!
What a fantastic start to the term we’ve had! Students in Kindergarten have settled in well to established routines and increasingly showing independence and self-confidence in their learning environment. The change from Summer Uniform to Winter Uniform has been met with much excitement as the boys learn to tackle blazers, buttons, slide clips and coat hangers. These are all important skills which help them to develop their self-management skills.
Last Friday we welcomed mothers into the Kindergarten environment to celebrate Mother’s Day. This was a great opportunity for boys to spoil mum and spend quality one-on-one time. This was truly a special experience for boys, mums and teachers. We thank you for making time to explore our Kindergarten environment with your son and make connections with the Kindergarten community.
We have launched our new unit, How the World Works, where the boys will investigate the properties of materials and how they determine a product’s purpose. As inquirers, we are predicting and testing materials that are waterproof, absorbent, flexible and sturdy to name a few. As we explore different materials, we are building our vocabulary.
We are looking for materials that can challenge the boys’ thinking. Does your workplace have offcuts of materials that we could explore? If so, please bring them in.
The boys have been enjoying designing, building and constructing in our REMIDA learning space. We are always looking for recyclable materials.
Help Needed!
We are fortunate to have received brand new Home Reading books to send home with boys this term. In an effort to protect their longevity, we are seeking volunteers who are willing to take a small pack of 5 – 10 books home to cover them in plastic contact (plastic contact provided). By assisting us with this, we will be able to send these books home with boys sooner.
Music
In Classroom Music the Kindergarten students are inquiring into the Stand-Alone Unit of Inquiry Music and Movement with a focus on the Key Concepts of Form, Function and Reflection. The choice of repertoire is supporting the teaching of phonics and this collaboration enables the students to enjoy learning new sounds set to music. They are also developing memorisation skills by adding actions and games to the songs. Music Notation skills are being extended by writing rhythms which include ta, titi and tika tika.
Christian Studies
Our world is full of wonders. Those we can see, touch, smell, feel and taste. One of the most amazing wonders are relationships – those with our family, friends and people we haven’t met yet. This term, we are starting at the beginning of Genesis and exploring what relationships looked like when our world began. We will be reflecting on our responsibilities in our world and what a relationship with God looks like. In Chapel, we will be continuing to think about Covenants and how they were fulfilled in the person of Jesus.
Mandarin
Boys have started the UOI unit “How the World Works” by exploring various material words in Mandarin, with the focus on the materials used frequently in Asia such as bamboo and stone.
To introduce the unit, boys re-watched the Chinese version of the cartoon “Three Little Pigs” and discussed the house materials chosen by them.
Boys have been practising the key material vocabulary in a wide range of activities, including word games, songs, stories, Chinese Pinyin/Hanzi tracing and copying.
Small groups have been incorporated into the lessons to allow student agency in more independent work and the teacher-student time targeting the language skills.
