Head of Preparatory School
2024 Book Week is Next Week!
Have You Got Your Hat Ready?
Book Week is nearly here, and we are excited about the 2024 theme, Reading is Magic.
The purpose of Book Week is to foster a love of reading in children and to celebrate children’s literature. For that reason, we will celebrate in the Preparatory School by looking at two Australian picture books, The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham and an oldie, but goodie, The Magic Hat by Mem Fox.
There will be many activities happening in prep that week with the highlight being the Prep School Magic Hat Day on Tuesday 20 August.
Your child can come to school wearing a magic hat! They may wear just a hat, or the hat may be part of a whole outfit. Please talk to your child about who wears hats. It might be a book character. For example, a wizard or a goblin, but it might also be part of a person’s work clothes outfit. For example, a chef, fireman, magician, cowboy etc. Talk about the magic that their hat might possess. What can it do?
At our Prep assembly on this day, children will showcase their hats and talk about their magical properties, or they could even talk about what their hat symbolises or what its purpose is.
Book Week is also a good reminder to parents, that no child is too old to be read to. Talk to your children about what they like reading, what you like reading and what you could read together, then come to the library and borrow a serial for Book Week or a book for each night before bed.
The Reading Is Magic theme for 2024 brings with it an air of wonderment, highlighting fantastical stories, spellbinding narratives, and the wizardry of words that can whisk us away from our daily realities to worlds unknown.
Please drop in to the Lucy Hill Library if you would like more information or to have a chat with Mrs Roberts about the events of the week. It is sure to be a lot of fun.
Prep Wellbeing News – You Can Do It!
A message from Mrs Clinton, Dean of Students P-6
In Term 3, our Prep students will continue to benefit from the ‘You Can Do It’ program, designed to help them develop essential life skills. For our Kindy students, this term will introduce them to new ways of thinking and learning to build confidence and persistence. Meanwhile, our Year 1 and Year 2 students will engage in role-playing and circle time activities. Our students will meet the You Can Do It characters called ‘Connie Confidence’, ‘Pete Persistence’ and ‘Ricky Resilience’.
At home, you can support this growth by providing specific and positive feedback. For instance, you might say, “You tried extra hard with your reading tonight and you kept going even when it was tough. That’s a great example of persistence!” It’s important to recognise and praise these moments of effort and determination right when they happen. By doing so, you’ll help reinforce the values of confidence, persistence, organisation and resilience, aligning perfectly with what we’re fostering here at Redlands.
This term, we’re excited to continue embedding core social and emotional learning competencies across our K-2 learning programs. Our focus will be on nurturing essential skills such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision-making, and enhancing relationship skills. By integrating these competencies into our daily activities, we’re helping students build a strong foundation for emotional intelligence and positive interactions. This approach not only supports their personal growth but also enhances a compassionate and supportive classroom environment. We invite you to reinforce these skills at home and celebrate the progress your child makes in these areas. Working together we can help our Prep students thrive both socially and emotionally.
National Science Week Adventures in Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2
This week, our young scientists in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 have been busy exploring the wonders of the world through engaging and hands-on investigations.
Kindergarten students embarked on an exciting journey into investigating movement through the world of coding with Beebots. Students followed the scientific approach in setting up their experiments. They started by acting as “computers,” guiding classmates with carefully crafted instructions to navigate the classroom. Then, they got hands-on to test their hypothesis with Beebots, coding these little robots to complete challenges like moving objects from one place to another. Ask your child how they directed their Beebot, what they noticed or wondered about in the way Beebot moved objects or if they had to solve any tricky problems along the way.
Year 1 students have been diving into the fascinating science of sound. Through experiments, they’ve been exploring how sound travels through different mediums like air, water and solids, and how our ears help us hear. At home, try asking them: what sound waves are or how animals use sound to communicate, or even to consider if all living things use sound in the same way. You might be surprised by their observations and questions.
Year 2 students took on the challenge of protecting an egg from a high drop! They’ve been learning about how the materials we use every day are chosen for their specific properties. This knowledge was put to the test as they designed contraptions using recycled materials to safely cushion an egg’s fall. Ask them which materials they chose and why, whether their egg survived the drop, and maybe brainstorm what they would do differently next time.
These activities have sparked curiosity and creativity in all our students, making Science Week a truly memorable learning experience.
Save the Date
Father’s Day Breakfast
We are excited to invite you to join us in celebrating Father’s Day on Monday 2 September from 7.45 am at the Junior Campus Piazza. Please note that bookings will close on Wednesday 28 August, reservations are necessary for catering purposes.
In the event of rain, the celebration will continue as planned, with arrangements made to accommodate refreshments undercover.
Giving Day
Support the Expansion of High Country Campus on Wednesday 21 August!
https://www.charidy.com/redlands
We are excited to be holding our inaugural Giving Day on Wednesday 21 August to raise much-needed funds to expand our High Country Campus. We have 24 hours only to reach our goal of $400,000 on Giving Day!
On this day, every dollar you donate to the Redlands Foundation will be TRIPLED by generous supporters who have already pledged to match your contributions. So if you give $100, the School will receive $300. No matter the amount, your support on 21 August will help us bring transformative opportunities to life for every Redlands student.
Learn More here: https://www.charidy.com/redlands
Mosman Schools’ Pedestrian Safety
Mrs Ainslie Breckenridge
Head of Preparatory School
abreckenridge@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848