Our prep students begin school full of excitement and enthusiasm, and with the firm belief that they will be reading chapter books and counting to one million by the end of their first day. While it may take a little longer to reach these goals, our child-centred curriculum provides a learning environment that is creative, stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable, while at the same time being flexible enough to meet the learning needs and interests of each child. We understand that our students begin school with different abilities and approaches to learning, and that they will progress at different rates throughout the year. Our teaching programs are designed to ensure that all children feel encouraged and supported, and are confident and secure about trying their best and 'having a go'. 

All curriculum areas are introduced in the prep year, however our focus is on teaching the foundations of literacy and numeracy. Literacy is taught in a two-hour block every morning, with mathematics being taught for one hour each day. The English program shows students how to recognise and match letters, words and sounds.  We teach how sounds are represented alphabetically and how words can be understood as a way of representing collections of sounds. Through our classroom and home reading programs, students become familiar with high-frequency words and develop strategies for working out unfamiliar words. In writing, they learn to construct short stories and recounts about familiar topics, as well as to use simple punctuation, including capital letters and full stops. We also focus on developing their handwriting, so that they write with the correct grip and can form, size and space letters properly. Oral language and communication is also important. Each class ends with "share time" where children report to others about their learning. Show-and-tell and classroom discussions are also used to develop children's confidence and skills when speaking in front of others.

Writing a diary entry (recount) - November

Counting with pegs (left) and exploring shapes (above).

In mathematics, students manipulate and group physical objects and drawings to develop a basic understanding of the concept of numbers.  Later, they are introduced to adding and taking away, and grouping and dividing collections of objects. They create and explore number patterns using counters or other objects. They also learn about shapes and positions, and to interpret and present information in various ways using maths "Think Boards". We also introduce children to time, including clocks, seasons and calendars. Children learn how to write their numbers correctly and how to use maths symbols make simple sums. They also learn about the order of numbers, and how to read and write two and three digit numbers.

In addition to literacy and numeracy, our preps begin learning about science and the humanities.  Our topics are based on the children's personal experiences and interests, and are structured to use their existing knowledge as a base to move on to new learning. A Physical Education session is conducted every day, to develop children's physical skills and to take advantage of their limitless energy! Our preps also attend specialist classes in music, art and Italian once a week.

The prep year is also about social learning. We recognise the importance of developing the children's confidence and sense of security, and their feeling of belonging to the class and the school. We guide our children in forming friendships and relating to others, and in developing strategies for resolving conflicts and other difficulties between friends. Our "Buddy Program" between the preps and the Grade 5-6 children is a key element of our social education strategy, and has proved to be a wonderful way of supporting our preps through their first year of school.