Happenings at the end of term 3!

Grandparents Day!

The sun was shining and it was the warmest part of the day when the Preps sang their Superhero Song, sounding like angels. The children then took their special guests on a tour of Prep Neighbourhood. The Neighbourhood was buzzing as the children showed their learning. It was lovely meeting the children's extended family.

Term 4: Week 1 Happenings!

Monday
Curriculum Day

Tuesday
Assembly and Coffee Cart (Year 5/6 hosting)

Wednesday
Italian (Yellow & Green)

Thursday
Excursions: Royal Botanical Gardens/Dreamworks
Incursions: Polyglot/Fizzics

Friday
Art & Sport (Yellow & Green)
Italian & Sport (Red & Blue)

Holiday Home Learning

Next term the Prep Neighbourhood will be creating Numberland. The Preps have measured the Maths space and created a floor plan of the current area. Over the holidays we would like the children to be researchers if they visit an exhibition, museum and/or gallery. We have three questions we would like the children to think about when there, to discuss with the Neighbourhood at the beginning of term 4:

1. What did you like/not like about the exhibition?

2. What could you do at the exhibition?

3. Do you want to go back? Why/why not?

We would also like the children to bring some photos or their own drawings of the exhibition to school in the first week to share with everyone.

The children will have the opportunity to draw pictures and/or create box constructions of the exhibitions they visited during Learning Agreement.

Excursions Next Term

To kick of term 4 the children will be taking part in 1 of 4 experiences that will allow them to investigate 'How do others change their world with their imagination?'
The children were told about the 4 experiences and given the opportunity to vote, ordering the experiences from 1 to 4 of what they would most like to take part in. All the children have been placed in their first or second preference. Due to the amount of children that can take part in each experience we could not accommodate everyone receiving their first choice.
Notes for the excursions went home yesterday. Please return these this term so they don't get lost over holidays.

Spring Planting

Last week during Learning Agreement, the courtyard was a buzz with enthusiastic gardeners! We are transforming the garden into a colourful spring display. The children prepared rectangular planter boxes with soil, chose seedlings and then planted them.

We had plants left over that didn't fit into the planter boxes, so we are planting them in the courtyard garden. During the week, some Preps have been working collaboratively to figure out exactly where the plants will go. A map was drawn up and they plotted any trees, logs or rocks onto it. Then they sorted the flowers and made patterns and arrangements for the planting this week.

Looking forward to watching it grow.

 

Oobleck

Ooobleck! The kids have been experimenting with Ooobleck!

What is Ooobleck?! Here are some describing words the children came up with!

• Funny
• Soft
• Liquid
• Gooey
• Squelchy
• Silly
• Sloppy
• Drippy
• Slimy
• Epic
• Weird
• Tough
• Disgusting
• Hard
• Soft

We have continued our exploration into solids, liquids and gases in Science Workshops this week. We watched a video about Oobleck, taking note of materials and method, then wrote up a procedural text to read during the experiment.

 

Ooobleck is an interesting substance! It is not quite a liquid and it is not quite a solid. Depending on what you do to it, it can be both!

 

How to Make: Oobleck

Steps

1. 
   1
   Place 1 cup (8 oz.) of cornstarch in a large bowl. You can spend a minute mixing it around with your hands to get comfortable with its texture.^[2]
    
2. 
   2
   Add 1-2 drops of food coloring to 1/2 cup of water (optional). Though you don't need to use food coloring to make Oobleck, many people like to use it to make the Oobleck a fun color, and even more exciting to play with than white putty. If you'd like to add food coloring to the Oobleck, drop it and stir it into the water first, before you add it to the cornstarch.^[3][4]
3. 
   3
   Stir 1/2 cup (4 oz.) of water into the cornstarch. You should always stir in half as much water as cornstarch, keeping them in the ratio of 2 cups of cornstarch for every 1 cup of water. You can stir in the water gradually, mixing it around with your hands, instead of all at once, to really combine the cornstarch and the water. If you want to make it a bit thinner, add more water, and if you want it thicker, add a bit more cornstarch.
4. 
   4
   Play with the Oobleck. At first, just take it out with your hands and have fun kneading it, hitting it, rolling it up into a little ball, letting it drip from your hands into the bowl, and molding it into a variety of shapes.
5. 
   5
   Experiment with the Oobleck. Once you're more comfortable with the substance, you should see what happens when you squeeze the goo hard, or when you let it sit for a minute before picking it up again. Here are some other Oobleck experiments to try:
   • Make a ball out of the Oobleck by rolling it around quickly in your palms. Then, stop applying pressure to the mixture and it will flow out of your hands.
   • Fill a pie plate with a thick layer of Oobleck and slap the surface with your open hand. You'll be surprised by how all of the liquid stays on the plate because of the force you applied.
   • Supersize the pie plate experiment by filling a large bucket or plastic bin with Oobleck and jumping up and down in it.
6. 
   6
   Clean up the Oobleck. You can use warm water to clean the Oobleck off your hands, clothes, and even off of your counter. You can rinse a bit of it out of your bowl, but make sure not to let too much of it get down the sink.
7. 
   7
   Store the Oobleck. Place the Oobleck into an airtight container or a zip-seal bag. Take it out again later and have fun playing with it. If you're done with the Oobleck for good, do not throw it down the sink, or it may clog your drain. Throw it in the trash instead.
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Week 10 Happenings!

Grandparents Day on Wednesday!
Please return School Nurse Forms by Monday

Monday
Art (Red & Blue)

Tuesday
Assembly and Coffee Cart (Choirs performing)

Wednesday
9 - 10:30 Grandparents Day! - Begins at the stage on the mini oval

Thursday
Italian (Yellow & Green)

Friday
Sport and Italian (Red & Blue)
Sport and Art (Yellow & Green)
Last day of term 3 - school finishes at 2:30

Grandparents Day!

When: Wednesday 17th September 
Time: 9 - 10:30 approx
Where: Beginning at the stage on the mini oval, moving into the Prep Neighbourhood and finishing in the foyer of the gym for a morning tea. 

Morning Tea: We ask that families please bring a small plate of food to share. The morning tea will take place in the foyer of the gym. Please take plates of food up to the gym at the beginning of the day where tables will be set up.  

School Nursing Program

Parents and/or caregivers are reminded to PLEASE bring back students' School Nursing Program forms by tomorrow.  These will allow your student to be assessed by a school nurse next week.

Maths: Creating a Numberland

Our new maths inquiry is strongly linked to our big question 'How can we change our world with our imagination?' as the Preps will be creating a Numberland. The children will be turning Room 13 into a Numberland using their imagination and number knowledge. This week the children brainstormed their initial ideas about what Numberland could look like. The Preps have begun measuring the space. In groups the children measured the distance from the front to the back of the room. When counting the uni-fix blocks the children broke the blocks up into groups of 10. The children discovered that 10 groups of 10 equaled 100 and this assisted us to count the uni-fix blocks more efficiently.

In the Art Studio

In Visual Art with Hannah the children have created puppets using wooden pegs and fabric as part of the visual art inquiry, Textiles: The Fabric of our Lives. In the Neighbourhood the Preps have been learning how to write narratives. An important part of telling a narrative involves creating a setting (place) for the characters to be in. The children have been invited to create settings individually or in small groups for our puppets so we can write and perform short puppet plays. This week during Learning Agreement, the art studio has been buzzing as children have been completing storyboards for the puppet shows, finishing backdrops (settings) and performing the puppet shows for each other to view.  

Week 9 Happenings!

Grandparent's Day is next Wednesday!

Monday
Art (Red and Blue)

Tuesday
Assembly and Coffee Cart

Wednesday
Italian (Yellow and Green)

Friday
Italian & Sport (Red and Blue)
Art & Sport (Yellow and Green)

THE GREAT BOOK SWAP ON WEDS SEPTEMBER 17

To help raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation to buy books for remote indigenous communities who don’t have access to books we’re holding a Great Big Book Swap. It also means we all get to have a new book!!!

There are schools involved across Australia and the target is $100,000 to buy 10,000 books.

If every child can please bring a book to school on Weds Sept 17 that they love but no longer want and a gold coin donation, then they can be part of the book swap. By donating a gold coin, they can then swap their book for a new book that someone else has donated.

They just need to bring their books to the gym before school starts on Weds Sept. 17 and the gym will turn into a huge book swapping bookshop at lunch time. 

Hopefully everyone will be involved so we can all raise money for a very important cause and have a terrific new book to take home. Check out the website for more information: www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au

PMP has finished

This week was the last PMP for the year. The Prep Neighbourhood would like to say a big thank you to all the mums, dads and grandparents who have helped us during PMP this year. The children have throughly enjoyed PMP and it would not be possible without the help of parents/grandparents.

 

Action Required: School Nursing Program

Today the children will be bringing home an envelope containing a questionnaire about your child's health for the School Nursing Program. Information about the program is enclosed. We ask that the questionnaire be filled out and returned to school sealed in the envelope by Friday 12th September. Thank you!

Father's Day Stall

It's Father's Day this Sunday! On Friday the Father's Day stall will be held in the gym. If children would like to purchase a gift for their father/grandfather/special career they are asked to bring money and plastic bag for the purchases. The money raised from the stall goes to the school. Happy Shopping Preps!

Princes Hill Bazaar: Talent Quest

The talent quest is a fun tradition at the school bazaar and is a chance for the children of Princes Hill to show of their many talents. This Thursday at lunch time the children who would like to be involved are being asked to go to the gym and sign up. No costumes, music or act is required at the this stage. The Prep teachers will remind the children about signing up, but we ask that parents speak with their children about what they could perform if they are interested in taking part. Group and individual performances are welcome. 

Week 8 Happenings!

Monday
Art (Red & Blue)

Tuesday
Assembly & Coffee Cart

Wednesday
Italian (Yellow & Green)

Thursday
PMP - parent helpers needed (sign up in the courtyard)

Friday
Art & Sport (Yellow & Green)
Italian & Sport (Red & Blue)