2022
ALL SAINTS PREP
Information Evening 2022
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WELCOME TO PREP
WELCOME!
HOURS OF OPERATION Core Program:
8:25am - 3:00pm
Outside School Hours Care:
6:30am - 8:15am 3:00pm - 6:00pm OSHClub 0455 662 100 or 0455 662 007
CONTACT DETAILS Junior School Office:
5587 0365 juniorreception@asas.qld.edu.au
OUR TEACHERS Mrs Katie Heyer kheyer@asas.qld.edu.au
Mrs Kiley Zarew kzarew@asas.qld.edu.au
Mrs Dylan Griffth dgriffith@asas.qld.edu.au Mrs Helen Morgan hmorgan@asas.qld.edu.au
We are very much looking forward to working with you and your child and getting to know you both, throughout the year. Our door is always open and we look forward to your contribution and input toward our Prep classroom programs.
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CURRICULUM
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The themes that Prep will be studying: • • • •
Super Hero, Super Me! Make a Rhyme any Old Time! Our Living World From Here to There
We welcome any resources or expertise that your family may have on these topics. ENGLISH Generally, English will focus on the following skills: Reading We start slowly ensuring that core concepts are in place. This includes, exploring: • • • • •
Whole book awareness Phonological awareness Phonemic awareness Recognising sight words (From Term 2) Decodable readers (From Term 2). These books support the Letters and Sounds Phonics program taught daily in classrooms. Once teachers feel confident that students know their sounds, a book will go home that contains these sounds, so they are able to practise.
Writing/Handwriting • Left to right and top to bottom sequencing • Letter awareness – what shape is it?
Spelling • We encourage the children to spell simple CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words phonetically. • Semester Two the children are encouraged to spell CCVC and CVCC words independently. (consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant etc) SHARING TIME Children are given the opportunity to present to the class each term. This relates to our term themes and gives parents the opportunity to connect home life with our school. During this semester each child will have the opportunity to present: • • • •
Super Me Presentation Chatter Bags Show and Tell Superhero and Nursery Rhyme Day will also provide opportunities to present to the class.
MATHEMATICS The Mathematical skills explored in Prep include counting order, one to one correspondence, number formation and understanding the relationship of numbers to other numbers. Children will also explore basic measurement skills and language, investigate shapes, patterning and sorting. These investigations form the basis in Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability.
WELCOME TO PREP
A thematic approach is used in all year levels in the Junior School at All Saints. This integrated approach ensures that all areas of the curriculum are incorporated into the program in an interesting and relevant way.
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Fine Motor tasks/Letter formation Pre-Writing movements Body positioning for the best writing posture Spacing Visual discrimination and oculomotor tasks Simple sentence writing Focus on pencil grip and correct formation of letters using QLD beginners font
SCIENCE This term students will be learning about their healthy bodies, the 5 senses and weather. They will participate in a variety of activities and experiences which will encourage them to explore these concepts. HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES (HASS) The humanities and social sciences are the study of human behaviour and interaction in social, cultural, environmental, economic and political contexts. The humanities and social sciences have a historical and contemporary focus, from personal to global contexts, and consider challenges for the future. In the Australian Curriculum, the Humanities and Social Sciences learning area includes a study of history, geography, civics and citizenship and economics and business. Prior to this year History and Geography were presented as two separate learning areas. Therefore, in Prep the two areas of HASS being covered include: • •
Families Our Place, Our Space
HISTORY - FAMILIES This Semester, students will analyse aspects of family life to identify similarities and differences. A great deal of work is done to recognise and celebrate the uniqueness of each individual and their family. GEOGRAPHY - OUR PLACE, OUR SPACE This Semester, students will explore familiar places and discuss their homes, school community and greater community. Maps and globes are used to help us to recognise the places that are near, far and here and there. WELLBEING Throughout the Prep year, students explore their value as an individual, a team member and their role within the school community. They explore relationships, establishing
and building positive relationships, making responsible decisions, working effectively in teams, handling challenging situations constructively and developing leadership skills. SPECIALISTS Music Physical Education Christian Living Technology Art Drama Movement Library ESL Learning Support
Mrs Dylan Griffith Mr Ross Kingsley Mrs Georgia Liussi Mrs Tara Lister Mrs Milissa Gustafson Mr Simon Reed Mrs Bridget Allars Mrs Rosie Tucker Mrs Jane Venter Mrs Pam Reardon Mrs Bec Bruhn Mrs Cathy Rennie Mrs Sandra Bartlett Mrs Tanya Leigh Mrs Di Hatcher Mrs Belinda Geyer Mr Josh Hansen Miss Georgia Smith
ART Students will attend a one hour Art lesson, once a week. CHRISTIAN LIVING Mrs Milissa Gustafson will take the students once a week for a half hour Christian Living lesson. DRAMA AND DANCE Drama and Movement are integral components of the Junior School curriculum, both in their own right and as support to the other core curriculum subjects. Drama and Movement are paired together in half classes and alternate week to week. The Movement sessions are taught by Mrs Jane Venter, an experienced dance and movement teacher who also runs classes after school. Drama lessons are taught by Mrs Rosie Tucker who is a very experienced Drama teacher. LEARNING SUPPORT Following the SPAT screening and classroom observations, some children have been iden-
LIBRARY Please encourage your child to bring their Library Bag on library day as this is an important reading activity. Children can borrow books before school, as well as during class Library time. Please refer to the letter sent home by the Teacher Librarian. MUSIC The children will attend two half hour lessons per week with Mrs Dylan Griffith. PHYSICAL EDUCATION Prep will have PE twice a week. During Terms One, Two and Three students will participate in a variety of skill development activities. During Term Four, students will participate in swimming. For swimming, children will need to bring the following: • • • • • •
swimming bag cap bathers towel goggles sun shirt (compulsory)
Swimming times are listed on the class timetable. TECHNOLOGY In Prep – Year 2, students begin to learn about common digital systems and patterns that exist within data they collect. Students organise, manipulate and present this data, including numerical, text, image, audio and video data, in creative ways to create meaning. Students begin to develop their design skills by conceptualising algorithms as a sequence of steps for carrying out instructions, such as identifying steps in a process or controlling robotic devices. Students explore and investigate technologies. They use materials,
tools and equipment to design and evaluate solutions using questions such as ‘How does it work?’, ‘Who will use it?’, or ‘How can it be improved? They reflect on their participation in a design process. They plan (with teacher support) simple steps and follow directions to complete their own or group design ideas or projects and manage their own role within team projects. HOMEWORK At the beginning of the year, a weekly newsletter will inform parents of the requirements for the week. The main component of our homework are sounds, high frequency words and reading. HOME READING From Term Two onwards, children will bring home simple decodeable readers each night. SPEAKING AND LITERACY FOCUS The first sounds and then words uttered by babies and toddlers are practised and reinforced by proud and doting parents. From these early days your child’s vocabulary, sentence length and ability to express themselves have expanded rapidly. At school your child is required to acquire and understand the language needed for literacy and learning. During literacy tasks children need to focus on the requirements of the task or question. They may need to follow a series of instructions. They will be required to answer questions appropriately. Look through this list. These are questions that a 4 year old should be able to answer according to Blanks level of questioning • • • • • •
What size/colour/shape is it? What does it taste/feel/smell like? What is this used for? Where do you get it from? Where do you keep it? What do you use it for?
Many parents will be nodding knowing that their child can follow 2 or 3 step instructions,
WELCOME TO PREP
tified as needing further assistance with their learning in specific areas. These students will work with educational support staff either individually or in a small group session, based on their needs.
understand instructions which contain the words ‘first’, ‘after’ or ‘last’, recognising that their child understands concepts (tall/small), position ( behind/under) and opposites (hot/ cold) as well as answering ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘why’ questions. Most 4 year olds speak intelligibly with a few speech immaturities, use basic grammar, can retell a story accurately, can explain why something happened and participate in detailed conversations with a range of people. Students from the age of 5 ½ to 7 ½ years have an explosion in language and their oral language skills are critical to social interactions, class discussions, teacher interactions and have a significant impact on literacy skills. Listening for longer periods, focussing during discussions, following a series of instructions independently and listening to a story without a visual aid, are goals for older students. As a 6 year old, correct articulation of letter sounds should be achieved and spoken language should be grammatically correct. Retelling a story without prompting, providing details when answering questions and independently generating ideas and sentences are expectations of a 6 year old. COMMUNICATION The diary is used for notes and parent/teacher communication. Please view and sign it EVERY night. PARENT HELP Unfortunately due to Covid-19, we are not in a position to accept parent help. We will advise you when we are able to invite parent volunteers back into the All Saints community. For your information, the process for acting as a volunteer in the Junior School is outlined below: •
Our Volunteers include parents/guardians and grandparents, past students, past parents and members of the wider School Community, the majority of which are involved in the Junior School.
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In accordance with the School’s Visitor Management Policy, all Volunteers are directed to complete an Engagement form. This Engagement Form is located on the Volunteering at All Saints page of the School website and the completion of which addresses 2 key areas of the Policy: • registration of the volunteer’s details and details of their engagement (dates, times, frequency etc) which becomes a central database; • a platform to obtain electronic copies of relevant documentation such as blue cards (non-parent volunteers) and photo identification etc; Junior School Volunteers must complete an induction and annual refresher training session delivered by an Assistant Head or the Head of Junior School. A comprehensive Volunteer Handbook is provided at this induction for volunteers to refer to regarding school procedures. To book into a course please contact the Junior School Office.
We are so grateful to our All Saints community for any volunteer time offered.
STATIONERY PACK All books and materials are shared and distributed as needed. MEDICAL We need to be informed of any allergies or serious medical concerns which may limit or affect your child’s day and their involvement in our Prep program. Should your child require medication throughout the day, the school nurse is to be informed of the procedure. No peanut products or eggs in lunches. (Please check museli bars). MY DIARY This is our primary source of communication. The diary should be initialled daily by parents. Please record any information that may be relevant to your child for a particular week. If you need clarification on rules or routines or have any concerns, please feel free to ask questions via the diary system. Please advise of OSH Club needs via the diary. Weekly newsletters will be included in the diary each Monday. If your child goes to OSH Club everyday, please feel free to tick everyday in advance. You can simply write NO over the top of the tick for those occasional times you do not need this service. Sometimes parents forget to turn the page and tick Monday and we are required to send your child to the carpark and not immediately to OSH Club.
shop where students, teachers and parents can access all information related to the School. Students can log in and find updates about assignments, classes and extra-curricular activities. Parents can access a wide range of news and information about the School and their child’s education at All Saints. It includes the school calendar, timetables, assessment planners, term dates, subject information much more. It will also allow families to keep in touch with what is happening across the whole school via news and notifications. To access FIDO, download the All Saints Anglican School app or go to fido.asas.qld. edu.au. Parent Lounge Parent Lounge is the School’s student management system. Parent Lounge will allow parents to pay their school fees, download their child’s academic reports, update contact details, access change of circumstance forms, update health and medical information. This portal will also allow you to view the School’s parent directory, book parent teacher interviews and provide approvals for excursions. Parent Lounge can be accessed via: tass.asas.qld.edu.au/parentlounge FIDO can be accessed via: fido.asas.qld.edu.au.
SAINTS ALIVE This newsletter is a vital source of communication between School and parents. Please access this newsletter through the school portal each week. You will be delighted by the insightful reflections about learning, community and life recorded by Mr Wallas.
Shortcuts to both platforms are also available from our school app and on the homepage of our school website asas.qld.edu.au. The All Saints app also allows you to receive news and notifications posted on FIDO directly to your app.
FIDO FIDO, which stands for Finding Information Directly Online, is All Saints’ learning management system. FIDO is a one-stop
To log in - your username and password for both Parent Lounge and FIDO are one and the same. Families will have been provided their username and password by the School.
WELCOME TO PREP
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Your username will be in email format (e.g. P012345A@asas.qld.edu.au) and your password will be the new password you set as part of the activation process. PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEW/REPORTS Term 1 Parent/Teacher interviews and Portfolio review Term 2 Reports on Parent Lounge and Portfolio review Term 3 Parent/Teacher interview (only if required) and Portfolio review Term 4 Reports on Parent Lounge and the Portfolio sent home with students PARTNERSHIPS WITH PARENTS Keeping parents very much engaged in Junior School learning processes remains a significant goal this year and our “Partnerships with Parents” workshops will continue to offer parents opportunities to further understand the how and why things happen at school. Each workshop is designed to share valuable information with parents giving an insight into the teaching and learning practices that take place in our Junior School classrooms. In developing this shared understanding we hope to further strengthen the partnerships that exist between teachers and parents and provide parents with additional tools to support their child’s learning. COMMUNITY CODE OF CONDUCT All Saints Anglican School believes that all of our community members play a valuable role in the life of the School and all students, parents, teachers, support staff and volunteers have the right to be safe and feel safe in our school community. Our Community Code of Conduct is a commitment to encouraging students, parents, care givers and staff to work collaboratively and to resolve all issues respectfully and proactively.
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desirable and appropriate behaviour to ensure that all interaction with students and adults is respectful, honest, courteous and considerate. assists in promoting the values that are in keeping with our School’s Vision, Mission and Pledge; and specifies the consequences for any member of the School Community who chooses not to comply with these standards of behaviour.
SMART WATCHES An increasing number of students are wearing ‘smart’ watches to school which enable them to send messages and emails, play games, make calculations, make phone calls, and even take photos. As you can imagine this presents significant safety and privacy risks for schools. Even though most can be adjusted to a ‘school’ mode we would prefer that watches with the capacity to message, phone or take photos not be worn to school. We understand that these devices can be incredibly useful out of the school context and so rather than ban them, as many other schools have done, we are asking for parents to assist us in keeping everyone safe. Smart watches brought to school, like mobile phones, will be collected by class teachers at the start of the day and returned at the end of the day. Any communication between home and school during the day can be done via the Junior School office and we have time pieces in every classroom and placed around the campus for students to watch the time. I thank you in advance for your support in keeping our children safe.
PREP ROUTINES TIMETABLE You will find this on the front page of the student diary and on FIDO.
Our Community Code of Conduct: ARRIVAL TIME • provides members of our School Students should arrive between 8:00am and Community with guidelines which promote
8:20am. Staff supervise the playground from 7:45am when the gate is unlocked. The children are required to place their diary bags, drink bottles and fruit break in the correct boxes. The children are encouraged to interact with the other children in the playground prior to the start of the school day. Outdoor play is encouraged prior to formal class time. EATING For Term 1, we have Fruit break around 9:00am. At 10:45 am children are asked to eat their sandwiches/sushi/salad/yoghurt. At 1:30pm the children are encouraged to eat any unfinished sandwiches and fruit they have left before choosing something else from the lunchbox. Please be aware that at 9:00am, the emphasis is on a fresh fruit or vegetable snack – one only please. TUCKSHOP There will be NO tuckshop for Preps. END OF THE DAY Children leave the classroom with the teacher and are to be collected from the undercover Junior carpark at 3:00pm. You are most welcome to drive through and collect your child from the moving vehicle drive through lane. Please ensure you inform your child’s teacher via the diary if you require another parent/person to collect your child after school. OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS CARE All Saints is partnered with a fully-accredited outside school hours care (OSHC) provider OSH Club. Hours of care available from 6.30am to 8.15am and from 3.00pm to 6.00pm. Vacation care hours will be from 7.00am to 6.00pm. Junior School students arriving before 8.00am and leaving after 3.30pm must attend outside school hours care. All students need to be enrolled in case emergencies care is required on any occasions. Further information and enrolment forms can be accessed from
Sherpa HQ, the Junior School Office or the Sherpa Kids website http://www.sherpakids.com.au. BIRTHDAY BOOKS The donation and inscription of a special book along with an Assembly presentation has become a birthday celebration tradition at All Saints. In the week prior to your child’s birthday a parent can choose a book from a pre-selected set in the library and on parental purchase, the book is presented to your child at Assembly. The book is then kept in the library and every person borrowing it can acknowledge your child’s selection. BIRTHDAYS Due to COVID-19 we ask that only pre packaged store bought items are sent to school, i.e. ice blocks or packaged cup cakes. TOYS The bringing of toys to school is not permitted in Prep. STAFF MEETING Class teachers attend a Junior School staff meeting each Tuesday morning - 7:45am - 8:15am. Rooms will be closed until staff return. STUDENT PORTFOLIOS The Student Portfolio is intended to provide an insight into some of the teaching and learning experiences in English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences in which your child has been involved each term. Each year level will determine the nature and amount of work samples.
SOCIAL MEDIA All Saints has developed a Social Media Policy to formally document the School’s expectations and to outline appropriate guidelines and procedures regarding Social Media. Where a breach of this policy occurs, disciplinary action will be taken at the sole discretion of the School and may include expulsion or termination from the School. The full policy can be reviewed on FIDO and an overview is in the Student Diary.
UNIFORM
We hope you and your child have a terrific experience in Prep and wish you a wonderful 2022. Dylan, Katie and Kiley
WELCOME TO PREP
Girls Sports Uniform Navy blue shorts ASAS sports shirt Navy blue sun hat Navy blue school jacket School sports socks Sand shoes (white or blue) School tracksuit School bathers School wet shirt In today’s society parents utilise social media Navy or pale blue ribbons for school based reasons. We ask that parents or navy scrunchies also use social media responsibly. Therefore, if Earrings for girls to be plain parents have a concern or question regarding gold/silver studs or sleepers school, the first port of call is always the Girls House Uniform class teacher. Before placing inappropriate Navy blue shorts information, comments or statements pertaining to school staff or other students or House shirt – coloured t-shirt families please use the acronym ‘Think Before Boys Sports Uniform you Post’ below: Navy blue shorts T– is it true? ASAS sports shirt H– is it hurtful? Navy blue sun hat I– is it illegal? Navy blue school pullover N– is it necessary? School sports socks K– is it kind? Sand shoes (white or blue) School tracksuit School bathers School wet shirt Boys House Uniform Navy blue shorts House shirt – coloured t-shirt
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Highfield Drive, Merrimac Queensland 4226 07 5530 2855 | enquiries@asas.qld.edu.au | www.asas.qld.edu.au