Welcome to Prep and Grade 1 for 2025. We have 23 students (14 Preps and 9 Grade 1s).

As SELF-MANAGERS our Preps are learning new routines and expectations such as:

• Finding our bag box and putting our bag away.
• Bringing their lunchbox, drink bottle and communication pouch into the classroom.
• Listening to the morning meeting to see what is happening for the day.
• Putting their workbooks into their school tub.
• Lining up after recess and lunch.
• Packing up their own bags

As SELF-MANAGERS our Grade 1s are learning new routines and expectations such as:

• Changing their own take home reading books each morning
• Working independently on a set task that is different from the Prep work
• Getting used to higher expectations for class task
• Looking after their own belongings (including a pencil case)
• Being leaders and modelling great classroom behaviours and reminding the Preps of new routines in a kind way.

Prep/Grade 1 Inquiry.

Our inquiry question for term 1 is:

How do our emotions, values and rules help us to understand what it means to belong to a community.

Our focus learner assets for term 1 are:

COLLABORATOR and SELF-MANAGER. Collaborators work together with kindness and respect. Self-Managers take responsibility for their behaviour and actions. They can talk about their emotions, challenge themselves to learn, make good choices, and have a positive mindset.

We are at the TUNING IN phase of our inquiry. We have discussed the things that we, as learners, like to have in a classroom. These will be our rules (or the things that we value) for the classroom and we will probably add new things if we think of any.

We have also begun discussing the meaning of some words that give us a deeper understanding of our inquiry question. We will also probably add new words as they arise.

Prep/Grade 1 Investigation time.

We will try to do investigation time 3 times each week. Our first investigation areas are aimed at building computer skills for the preps by using QR codes and taking photos. The Grade 1s will also build on their skills and will be trying to log in independently. Investigation time is a mixture of learning and building on classroom routines. There’s lots of creativity, problem solving, working alone or with someone, researching and building. We are working on creating the routines of choosing one activity for the whole time, using the Ipads appropriately and sharing our learning with our peers.

Prep/Grade 1 mornings using phonics

Each morning the Preps and Grade 1s will work separately for a phonics program (UFLI).

The preps will work with Ms Calder and the grade 1s will join with the grade 1 from the classroom next door, and go into the library with Mrs Cusick. It is a 30 minute focus on phonics that will support each grade. After this we will work on fluency. It will be a year long focus where we read books that are a bit easy, so that we can read smoothly and with expression. Next students will have a short piece of writing that comes from our fluency reading.