Learning Together

Off and running!

2012-02-21T19:55:00.000+11:00

We have had a very busy start to the year.
There is so much to learn and do when you start school. Prep K are doing a sensational job and are working hard to always do their best.
Today we made pancakes! We hope you enjoy our very first slide show for the year!

Tell us about your first days at school.

What are your favourite activities?

A new look!

2012-01-10T15:35:00.000+11:00

A new look for the New Year! In February a new group of Prep students will begin their learning journey in Prep K. We hope you visit and leave some comments as we share all our wonderful learning over the year.

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

2011-12-21T18:05:00.004+11:00

We have had such a wonderful year blogging and making new friends all over the world. We are now beginning our summer holidays and will be back in February 2012.
Prep K and Mrs Kennedy would love to thank all our families and friends who have supported our blog this year. Special thanks to our friends A3, Miss Mac, Miss Lepou and A4 at Papatoetoe East Primary in New Zealand for sharing with us this year. Also to our Quadblogging buddies Stoke Bishop Primary, Mrs England's Kindergarten and Kids with a View and Mrs Laburn for wonderful learning and sharing.
We wish you all a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year. See you in 2012!
Here is a special Christmas song sung by the Preps and the Junior students at St. Luke's. We hope you enjoy it!

Custom Glitter Text

Good bye Andy

2011-12-21T17:57:00.002+11:00

We were sad today as we said good bye to one of our Prep K friends, Andy. Andy is moving to another school and we would like to wish him lots of happiness and fun. We wanted to thank Andy and his wonderful family for being an important part of the St. Luke's community. Good luck Andy - we will miss you!

We made Andy a special 'memories' book

Prep K and Prep S with Andy

Custom Glitter Text

Community Helpers - Paramedics

2011-12-07T08:12:00.002+11:00

Yesterday we had a very special Community Helper visit us. Mrs Coffa's friend Jane told us all about being a Paramedic.

Jane the Paramedic

Paramedics use many different vehicles to help people

Here is some of the equipment Jane uses as a Paramedic

Thanks for sharing Jane - Paramedics are very important Community Helpers!

We discovered:
I didn't know that Paramedics could fly in a helicopter. Georgia

I learnt that Paramedics went in ambulances. Andy

I discovered that Paramedics ride a bike at the football to move through the crowds. Eva

I learnt that Paramedics are very important because they help everybody when they are hurt. Will H

I learnt that Paramedics help people when they are sick. Vivienne

I didn't know that Paramedics have to drive an ambulance before they can drive MICA car. Oscar

I learnt what a Paramedic because I didn't know what a Paramedic was. Kirra

I discovered that ambulances can cross the road when the lights are red because they might have someone really sick that they need to take to hospital. Molly

I learnt that the Paramedics take the hurt people to the hospital. Caoimhe

I learnt that Paramedics have badges that glow in the dark when a light shines on it. Matthew

Ring 000 if you need the Police Fire or Ambulance - but only if you really need them! If it's an emergency. Aerodyne

I learnt that Paramedics have lots of vehicles like bikes, ambulances, planes and helicopters. Will P

2011-12-03T17:31:00.000+11:00

Glitter Graphics, Christmas Glitter Graphics

Community Helpers!

2011-11-29T17:45:00.001+11:00

In our community we have:

POLICE
Jack's dad came to school to tell us about being a Policeman.

This is what we learnt:
I learnt that Police can ride horses. Andy
I learnt that the Police ride in helicopters. Eva
I didn't know that Police have handcuffs. Matthew
I didn't know that you are not allowed to talk on your phone when you are driving. Kirra
Steve told us that we have to wear our helmets when we are riding our bikes. Caoimhe
When you ring 000 you will find the Police but you only ring if there is an emergency. Aerodyne
I learnt that the Police go to the footy to make sure people stay safe. Georgia

DOCTORS
Noah's dad came to school to tell us about being a doctor.

We discovered:
Doctors help people who are sick or hurt. Molly
They give people check ups to make sure they are healthy. Will H
A doctor takes a blood test, listens to your heart and takes your temperature. Jake
Noah's Dad hit Noah's knee and his leg went straight up (reflex). Will P
Doctors need x-rays to see if your bones are healthy. Vivienne

Are you a Community helper?

Do you know any other Community Helpers that you could share with us?

Speed Stacking!

2011-11-15T19:16:00.004+11:00

Yesterday Prep K were very lucky to participate in Speed Stacking. Mrs Bellesini made this photopeach to show everyone the fun and excitement.

The Preps had a fantastic time! Thanks Mrs Bellesini.

Have you ever had a go at speed stacking?

What do you do to train your brain?

2011-11-11T14:56:00.000+11:00

On Monday Prep K and Prep S said the prayer at our weekly school assembly. We have been learning about families in Religion so we wrote a prayer about why we love our families. After assembly, we made a voicethread sharing our prayer.

Our Community.

2011-11-07T21:28:00.002+11:00

Our Inquiry topic this term is 'Our Community'. We went for a walk around our neighbourhood to see what is in our community. We took our cameras with us and took photos of what we discovered. Then we made a voicethread using our photos and sharing what we saw in our community.

We would like our quadblogging friends to share what your communities are like - so we can learn more about you and where you live. We also want to see where we are the same and different.

Tell us about your community - does it look the same as ours? Do you have the same things we do?

Please add your ideas to our voicethread.

Italian Day is the Best!

2011-10-28T21:52:00.000+11:00

From the Preps ......
On Thursday we had Italian Day. We had lots of activities about Italy.
We dressed up in togas just like the Romans did. Some of us were dressed as slaves.
We watched a very funny play about two slaves who got a chance to be strong and brave gladiators.
Then we ran a marathon around the school. We were tired!
After the marathon we made laurel wreaths and Mrs Kennedy took photos of us.
Next we had a soccer clinic with Daniel and Steve. We learnt some soccer skills like kicking the ball with the inside of our foot and using your head to hit the ball, but not your hands.
Then we had margarita pizza and gelati for lunch! Yum! Yum!
After lunch we made busts of ourselves with salt clay. A bust is like a sculpture of your head and shoulders. We took them home to paint when they are dry.

I liked Italian Day because we got to have pizza. Oscar
We liked Italian Day because we had a marathon and I have never run in a marathon. Georgia
On Italian Day I had fun because we had a soccer clinic and I haven't played soccer before. Andy
Italian Day was my favourite special time of the year because we got to have gelati and pizza. Molly
On Italian day we watched a very funny show and it was about Italy. Will P
On Italian Day we made busts of our heads. A bust is a sculpture of your head. Kirra
Italian Day was the best day ever because we got to do lots of things like run a marathon and play soccer. Caoimhe
I learnt that in the middle of Italy is the city of Rome. Senora Senzo told us. Matthew
In the play Mario had to fight his friend because that was his challenge to prove that he was strong. Sienna
At school I liked the funny play because one of the actors put funny glasses on Riley. Will H
I liked Italian Day because I liked the funny show and they did funny acting. Eva
I loved the pizza because it was delicious! Vivienne
I liked Italian Day because we did running and soccer. Aerodyne

Italian Day on PhotoPeach

Italian Day is the best! on PhotoPeach

Thank you Signora Senzo for a fantastic day!

Do you celebrate Italian Day?

That's Entertainment!

2011-10-25T21:07:00.000+11:00

Last night we had our school concert - That's Entertainment! We were very excited about performing in front of our families and friends. The Preps danced to, and sang songs from Toy Story. We dressed up as toys and did a fantastic job dancing and singing.

Welcome back!

2011-10-21T16:42:00.002+11:00

We wanted to send a welcome back to school message to our friends in New Zealand - Room 3!
We would also like to wish the All Blacks good luck on Sunday!

Our Buddies teaching us about photography!

2011-10-20T10:39:00.004+11:00

Our buddies have learnt from a professional photographer how to take a 'considered image'. There is a lot to think about when taking a photo. Our buddies shared what they have learnt about photography with us today.

Worms eye view

Check your shot!

Hold the camera steady!

Here are some of the things we learnt:

Will P
My buddy told me what a good background is. A good background is plants like trees and bushes.

Caoimhe
My buddy taught me about birds eye view and I took a picture doing it. Birds eye view is when you look down at the camera.

Matthew
I learnt how to keep the camera still. You put your left foot forward and your right foot back. Then you push the button down hard and take the photo.

Jake
My buddies taught me how to take a photo by worms eye view and worms eye view means you get down on the ground and take a photo.

Georgia
I learnt from my buddy that when you take a photo you put your camera close up for a small object and when you take a big object you take steps back.

Kirra
I learnt what a snapshot is from my buddies. A snapshot is when you take a picture really quickly.

Molly
My buddies taught me not to have too much sunlight in the background because sometimes you can't see what the picture is.

Andy
I learnt that when you have a dark place and you are close it makes a fuzzy photo.

Sienna
I learnt that if you want to take a photo of something tall you can turn the camera around. (from Andy - landscape to portrait)

The All Blacks vs The Wallabies!

2011-10-16T16:04:00.001+11:00

Our Quadblogging friends in New Zealand Kids with a View have made an amazing video of the haka. They are very excited about their country hosting the Rugby World Cup. So to set the mood for tonight's game - here are Kids with a View performing the BEST haka ever! Good luck to both teams!

Our Reduce, Reuse and Recycle message goes global!

2011-10-13T17:52:00.005+11:00

Our video is on an educational website called BrainPOP UK. Check it out! Now the whole world will hear our message about using less paper.

Congratulations Prep S and Prep K!

BrainPOP UK

Mrs Splishy-sploshy!

2011-10-12T17:54:00.000+11:00

This week we have been reading all about 'Mrs Wishy-washy' written by one of our favourite authors Joy Cowley.
Together we have created a text innovation called Mrs Splishy-sploshy! We drew our pictures in Tux paint and then wrote our story. Everyone practised their part of the story and then we recorded it on Voicethread.
We tried very hard to use expression and speak smoothly (no bumps).
We hope you enjoy our story!

Do you think we have spoken smoothly and with expression?

Have you ever innovated a text? Tell us about it.

Wonderful Wicked Witches!

2011-10-05T21:45:00.000+11:00

Can you imagine Mrs Kennedy's surprise when she came to school and saw these wonderful, wild, witty, wacky witches whizzing wildly around the Prep room! Watch out!

Just look at this!

2011-09-30T13:09:00.002+10:00

Our Quadblogging friends from Point View School in New Zealand made a video of their school - all by themselves! They explain below how they did it.

Room 3 decided to make a video for our Quadblogging friends.
It is a wonderful tour around our school.
We used the ipods to video each other.

We had to make sure we didn't put our finger over the view finder and
we had to make sure we kept the ipod as still as we could and
we had to make sure when we filmed moving around that we didn't
move the ipod too fast.
We also had to think carefully about what we would say to make it interesting
for others to listen to.

What do you think about our first video made by us?

Amazing! Fantastic work Room 3.

Our Action - Reuse and Reduce!

2011-09-29T09:35:00.000+10:00

This term our Inquiry Learning has been about reusing products and recycling to reduce landfill. Prep S and Prep K discovered a problem at our school - we use too much paper. So we worked through a Problem Solving Strategy to decide what we could do to change the way we use paper at St. Luke's. After much discussion and considering the pros and cons of all ideas, the Preps decided to make a video about how we can stop using too much paper. Together we wrote a script - practised our lines and made props to make our video.
We want all our classes to put this video on their blogs to share this very important message.

Taking Action that Matters!

What will you do today to stop using so much paper?

Crazy Hair Day! Taking Action that Matters.

2011-09-27T10:48:00.004+10:00

Last Thursday we had a 'Crazy Hair' Day to raise money for drought stricken Africa.

Here are the Preps explaining our action led by our Student Social Justice team.

Crazy Hair Day (mp3)

This free digital scrapbook customized with Smilebox

Welcome to Prep!

2011-09-25T18:08:00.001+10:00

This week Prep S and Prep K are the focus blogs in our Quadblogging adventure. We welcome all our friends from Stoke Bishop Primary School Bristol UK, Mrs England's Kindergarten, Kentucky USA and Point View School, Auckland New Zealand. We are so excited to have visitors from around the world. We have already shared and learnt so much from each other.
We have made this slideshow to show you our school and just some of the activities we do in Prep.

It's Holidays!

2011-09-24T12:55:00.002+10:00

Here in Melbourne, Australia we have just begun a two week holiday. Last night I started my holiday break by going to the footy. In Australia we follow the AFL (Australian Football League) and the finals have begun. My team Collingwood played at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) against Hawthorn. It was a very exciting game and Collingwood won! (by 3 points). Next Saturday they will play in the Grandfinal against either Geelong or West Coast Eagles (depending on who wins today). The crowd was amazing! What a great way to start the holidays!

My nieces after the game - the whole family barracks for Collingwood.

What are you doing in the holidays?

Share with us here!

Keep visiting our blog during the holidays because we are continuing our Quadblogging adventure and will be adding posts over the week.

Skyping our blogging friends in New Zealand

2011-09-23T12:32:00.020+10:00

We were so lucky to meet our Quadblogging buddies from Point View School in New Zealand on Wednesday. Listen to our audiboo to hear what we learnt.

Room 3 Point View School

Go Wallabies!

Go All Blacks!

Room 3 doing the haka!

Skyping with our New Zealand Friends! (mp3)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

2011-09-22T20:53:00.000+10:00

Our mat made from plastic bags is now finished! Read about how and why we made this mat here

Letterland Day!

2011-09-21T13:07:00.002+10:00

Today we dressed up as our favourite Letterland characters. We also skyped our friends at Point View school in New Zealand and told them all about Letterland Day!

What is a blog?

2011-09-19T12:27:00.007+10:00

Our friends at Point View school in New Zealand asked 'What is a blog?'

Prep S and Prep K made a Tagxedo with all the words we could think of to describe what a blog is.

Do you notice anything about the shape of our Tagxedo?

A voicethread from our friends at Stoke Bishop in the UK.

2011-09-18T17:49:00.000+10:00

The children at Stoke Bishop Primary school have made a voicethread to tell us about themselves and answer some questions asked by Point View school. These children have only been at school for a couple of weeks! We love their voicethread.

Testa, Spalle, Ginocchi, Pedi! Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes!

2011-09-15T16:33:00.008+10:00

We have been inspired by our quadblogging buddies in New Zealand. They sent us a video of their Maori body parts song (see below).

At St. Luke's we learn Italian, so today our Italian teacher, Signora Senzo, helped Prep S and Prep K sing 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' in italian!

Here are the words:

Testa, spalle, ginocchi piedi, ginocchi piedi.

Ho due occhi, un naso, la bocca, e due orecchi.

Testa, spalle, ginocchi piedi, ginocchi piedi.

Ho due occhi, un naso, la bocca, e due orecchi.

Testa, spalle, ginocchi piedi, ginocchi piedi.

Can you work out what the words mean by following the actions of the song?

From our friends in New Zealand!

2011-09-14T21:24:00.000+10:00

Our friends from New Zealand have sent us this wonderful video about body parts.

Maori Body Parts Song

Mahunga, pakihiwi, puku, hope, waewae

Taringa, whetu, ihu, waha

Head, shoulders, tummy, hips, legs/feet

Ears, eyes, nose, mouth

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

2011-09-10T14:04:00.000+10:00

Our Inquiry this term has been Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. After watching a youtube video titled 'The Journey of the Plastic Bag' we were wondering how we could reduce the amount of bags going to landfill. We decided to make a mat out of plastic bags. We haven't finished our mat yet - so stayed tuned!
Here is how we did it.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! on PhotoPeach

What do you do to reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill?

Do you reuse or recycle old products to make new products?

Sooo exciting! Father's Day Breakfast, Footy Day and .....

2011-09-02T10:26:00.002+10:00

Today we had a lovely breakfast for our Dads and we came dressed in our footy team colours (AFL - Australian Football League). We also had a visit from the 2010 Prepmiership Cup won by Mrs Kennedy's and Mrs Swann's favourite team - Collingwood!
We had photos with the cup - here they are:

The AFL Premiership Cup - Collingwood

Go Collingwood!

Here are some more photos of a great day!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-09-01T16:06:00.003+10:00

The Preps drew pictures of their Dads in Tux paint and then we put them into a voicethread. We hope all our Dads have a wonderful Father's Day on Sunday.

I love my Dad because ........

It's Book Week! One World Many Stories.

2011-08-24T14:57:00.001+10:00

Today we had a dress up day for Book Week. We came dressed as our favourite book characters. Here we are.....

Our Wonderful World

2011-08-24T10:39:00.004+10:00

We are talking about how to look after the environment by recycling, reusing and reducing the amount of rubbish we make. Today the Preps were thinking about our wonderful world that God has created for us. We took photos of some of the gifts of creation around our school.
We were also practising our photography skills - remembering to hold the camera still, squeezing the button slowly, zooming in and out and taking a birdseye view.
We hope you enjoy our voicethread.

Quilting - a great way to reuse material.

2011-08-18T22:43:00.003+10:00

We were very lucky to have a very special guest speaker come into the classroom last Wednesday to share with Prep S and Prep K. Will and Molly's mum came to show us a skill she learnt from her Grandmother. Genevieve showed us how to quilt and how quilting is a fantastic way to reuse old material to make a beautiful piece of family history.

It's PJ Day!

2011-08-12T11:59:00.003+10:00

Today was PJ Day. We wore our pyjamas to school and brought a gold coin donation to help the homeless people in Melbourne.
We had toast with butter, honey, jam and vegemite. The toast was yummy, delicious and scrumptious! We also brought our favourite bedtime buddies. We introduced our buddies to our Prep friends.
Here is our first Wallwisher telling you about PJ Day.
We are taking action that matters!

Here we are enjoying PJ Day.

REUSING! OLD INTO NEW!

2011-08-11T16:30:00.001+10:00

We have been trying to think of ways to reuse everyday items to reduce the amount of rubbish we create. We want to look after our environment.
We took some old jars and created new and useful things to use at home.

We are also remembering to speak clearly and smoothly. Have a listen to see if you think we have done a good job!

What do you reuse to reduce rubbish?

Please share your ideas with us!

Taking Action That Matters - We helped the RSPCA!

2011-08-04T21:46:00.004+10:00

Prep S and Prep K have collected old blankets, towels, sheets and soft toys to help the RSPCA look after sick, injured and abandoned animals. Thank you to our school and parish community for your generous donations.

We can make a difference!

Read about it here and here

We followed a PROCEDURE to make .......

2011-08-04T21:05:00.001+10:00

Perfect Penguins!

Lego Land!

2011-07-27T14:24:00.001+10:00

This term our Inquiry unit is Recycle, Reuse and Reduce. We will be looking at how we can reuse objects to create new products. We will be thinking about design and techniques we can use to make new things.
We will also think about how when we reuse materials we are helping to reduce the amount of rubbish we make. We want to help look after our environment.

To start the term we visited the Lego Education Centre at the Docklands to think about design. First we had to design a chair strong enough to hold Papa Bear (Mrs Kennedy) from the story of Golidlocks and the Three Bears. We learnt that we had to overlap the lego bricks to make the chair strong.

Then we had to build a chair for Baby Bear (one that wouldn't break!). We had to work in teams to make one chair per group.

Here are some photos of our chairs.

Baby Bear's Chair on PhotoPeach

We also talked about what we discovered!

Do you reuse materials to reduce rubbish?

What do you reuse and how?

Share your ideas with us!

Popping Popcorn!

2011-07-20T21:52:00.002+10:00

On Tuesday we made popcorn using a Crazy Popper popcorn machine.
We learnt about following a procedure to make popcorn.

Step 1: Pour the corn kernels into the cup

Step 2: Add the kernels to the Crazy Popper

Step 3: Turn on the Crazy Popper

Step 4: Put the bowl under the Crazy Popper to catch the popcorn

Step 5: Watching, waiting - we could feel the heat coming from the Crazy Popper

Step 6: Perfectly popped popcorn!!

Look what happens to the kernel - how does this happen?

This is what we had to say about making popcorn.
Sometimes we forgot what we wanted to say so we had to stop and think and have another go!

Popping Popcorn! (mp3)

Here we are enjoying our popcorn!

We love popcorn! - making a free slideshow

A VERY Busy Term!

2011-07-01T21:58:00.010+10:00

What a great term! Here are just some of the highlights.

Have a great holiday everyone!

Photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

Next term will be just as busy and exciting starting off with a trip to the Lego Education Centre to learn about design.

What have you enjoyed this term?

Our Announcements - Smooth talking!

2011-06-30T10:57:00.000+10:00

We have been practising our announcements to help the RSPCA. Now we are trying to be smmmoooth talkers! Listen to our audiboos below.

RSPCA announcement Group 2 (mp3)

RSPCA announcement Group 3 (mp3)

Taking Action that Matters - Helping the RSPCA

2011-06-24T13:26:00.002+10:00

We have been telling our school community about our action to help the RSPCA. Yesterday we presented our first announcement over the PA. Today our friends in Junior M (via skype) gave us some feedback to help us with our announcements and some ideas on how we could improve. Here is some of their feedback and some screen shots of our skyping session.

The announcements were good.
You didn't make any mistakes when you were talking.
I think you were very clear on the microphone (Jacob)
Travis thought we could speak up a bit louder.
Will thought we should make sure we don't have big gaps in our announcements.

Thanks Junior M for your wonderful feedback! Now we can improve our announcements.

RSPCA announcement (mp3)

Listen to our first group making their announcement on Audioboo!

Our action - Helping the RSPCA!

2011-06-19T21:06:00.001+10:00

This term we have been learning about what animals need to grow and change. As a part of this unit we visited the RSPCA Victoria (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and discovered the wonderful work they do. When we went back to school we decided that we needed to help the RSPCA. We considered a few ideas about how we could do this - we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of each and voted on an action. We chose to have an old blanket, towels, sheets and soft toy drive. We have asked the school community to help us collect lots of old blankets, towels, sheets and old soft toys to help the RSPCA care for unwanted, sick and injured animals. We will be collecting donations for the rest of this term. The Preps will be making announcements over the PA to remind our community and we have made posters to put up in classrooms and around the school. Our Grade 6 Buddies and Principal have helped us to think of ways to advertise our action. Ms Egan put a letter in the school newsletter and suggested that we use our blog to tell everyone about our action. The Buddies thought we should make posters and make classroom visits to let everyone know that we need to do to help the RSPCA.
Taking Action That Matters!

Sienna and Matthew bring their donations from home!
Thank you!

Goodbye Wally!

2011-06-18T20:27:00.000+10:00

We have been so lucky to Wally the Giraffe visit us from New Zealand. He is A3 and A4's class mascot. Wally has been so busy helping us with all our activties and learning. He helped us look after our chickens and baby rabbits and he was always there when we needed an extra partner. We were able to skype with A3 and A4 and share adventures. We will miss him. He is now off on a new journey (hopefully first class) home to New Zealand.Thanks A3 and A4 for sharing Wally with us. He really is a very clever giraffe!

Goodbye!

2011-06-11T22:00:00.001+10:00

The kittens are only five days old!

Here they are - 4 weeks old! Having a feed.

We have learnt so much from watching our baby kittens grow and change. They have now gone back to their farm and we will miss them.

Put your thinking caps on!

2011-06-07T20:11:00.003+10:00

Can you guess what this is a photo of???

Take a guess and let us know!

Wally and the Kittens - fun and adventure!

2011-06-05T19:51:00.001+10:00

Meet our baby kittens (rabbits)!

2011-06-01T21:17:00.000+10:00

We have decided to call our seven gorgeous rabbits after the seven dwarves. We watched them closely and tried to match the names to their personalities. It was a bit tricky!

The Seven Rabbits! on PhotoPeach

Our discoveries - Hands on learning!

2011-05-28T20:30:00.001+10:00

Look at all the discoveries we have made by watching our baby rabbits and sharing what we haved learned.

I discovered that the baby rabbits don't look like rabbits because their ears are flopped and they don't look like their mother. Georgia
I discovered that the little baby rabbits have grown. Their fur has grown and their ears are bigger. Kirra
I discovered that the baby rabbits can't see or hear. Jake
I discovered that the rabbits are changing colours because their fur is growing. Will P
I learnt that Blue Bell puts fur on the nest to keep the babies warm. Andy
I discovered that the mother rabbit is called a doe and the baby rabbits are called kittens. Eva
I discovered that the baby rabbits have grown and they are starting to see. Oscar
I discovered that when the babies are born their eyes are closed and they can't see or hear. Caoimhe
I noticed that the kittens are growing more fur. They are growing because they are keeping warm and having milk from their mum. Matthew
I discovered that the babies fur has gone darker and longer. Aerodyne
I discovered that the baby kittens are starting to open their eyes. Molly
I noticed that the kittens are trying to get out of the nest. Vivienne
I discovered that the rabbits can't see and they can't hear. Sienna
I discovered that the kittens are growing they are getting bigger and bigger. They can hear properly and they can see. Will H

Our rabbits are growing!

2011-05-26T22:14:00.004+10:00

Watch this video of our kittens (baby rabbits) and their mum Blue Bell. They are growing and changing so fast. We love watching them!

Blue Bell and her kittens! from Learning Together on Vimeo.

Wally visits the RSPCA!

2011-05-26T21:01:00.000+10:00

On Monday Wally and the Preps were very lucky to visit the RSPCA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). The RSPCA do amazing work caring for abandoned, injured and lost animals. They also provide a free education service for students.

Wally and the Preps at the RSPCA

Wally made so many new discoveries!

Wally looking at the guinea pigs.

Wally gently pats SPG the Guinea pig.

Wally and the Preps learnt so much about the wonderful work the RSPCA do and also how important it is to care for our pets.

Where's Wally?

2011-05-19T20:36:00.000+10:00

We made giraffes to show to A3 and A4 (our friends in New Zealand) when we skyped on Wednesday. We hid Wally amongst all our giraffes and asked - WHERE'S WALLY?

Where's Wally?

Can you spot Wally?

Racing Rabbit!

2011-05-19T18:14:00.000+10:00

We now have some new visitors in the Prep classrooms. Meet Blue Bell the rabbit doe and her beautiful kittens - all seven of them!

After school when it was nice and quiet we let Blue Bell out for some exercise. She loved exploring the classrooms - it only took us a little while to catch her and put her back into the hutch.

Here are some photos the Preps have taken of Blue Bell and her baby kittens.

Blue Bell needs food and water. Photo by Will P

Wally is watching the kittens. Photo by Kirra

Blue Bell loved stretching out on the floor.

Our Discoveries - Chicken talk!

2011-05-17T20:55:00.003+10:00

Our chickens are now living happily in the country. We were so lucky to watch and observe how they grew and changed over two weeks. We learnt so much about how to care for our chicks too!
Here are our discoveries.

Chicken Talk on PhotoPeach

Skyping with our friends in New Zealand.

2011-05-16T21:39:00.001+10:00

Last week we talked to our friends A3 and A4 in New Zealand via skype. They sang a beautiful song for us and we sang a song for them - G'day! We shared stories about our mascots Wattle and Wally the twin wombats and their mascot Wally the giraffe.
We learnt that 'kia ora' means hello! We taught our friends that g'day means hello too!

Our chicks were on skype too!

A3 and A4 loved seeing our baby chicks and we were able to share some of our discoveries with them.
What a great way to share our learning and make new friends!

A3 and A4

Wally's visit to Australia!

2011-05-10T19:38:00.002+10:00

Happy Mothers' Day!

2011-05-05T21:36:00.016+10:00

Here are the beautiful pictures that the Preps and their families drew of their mums. Enjoy your Mothers' Day!

Happy Mothers Day from Prep K

View more presentations from marieck.

Chickens!

2011-05-02T19:04:00.002+10:00

Today our chickens arrived. We have three chickens who are one day old and ten eggs in the incubator. They should start hatching tomorrow! We are very egg-cited!!

At home in the playpen.

Ten eggs in the incubator. The thermometer tells us if the temperature is ok.

Our chicks are only one day old.

Wally was very excited about our new visitors!

We need to keep the light on to make sure our chickens stay warm and cosy.

Wally has arrived!

2011-04-30T16:13:00.003+10:00

Prep S and Prep K are so excited that Wally, A3 and A4's mascot has arrived for his first visit to Australia. We have lots of exciting things planned to share with Wally. On his first day he seemed pretty tired after his long journey so Maggie and Daisy (our Magpies) helped him to settle in and showed him around. Just look what they got up to!

Wattle and Wally are on their way!

2011-04-22T12:05:00.006+10:00

Our Prep mascots Wattle and Wally are on their way to our friends A3 and A4 in New Zealand - we can't wait for their mascot Wally to arrive in Australia!

Wattle and Wally on PhotoPeach

Congratulations Preps!

2011-04-09T18:23:00.004+10:00

We are very proud of our Preps and all they have achieved this term. They have settled into school and are kind and caring classmates. At our last assembly for the term Ms Egan presented each Prep with a special certificate.

Thank you also to the Grade Six buddies who do so much to help their Prep friends feel happy and safe at school.

Hairy Harry's

2011-04-09T17:41:00.007+10:00

We have learnt so much from growing our Hairy Harry's. Here are the last photos of our experiment - we took the Hairy Harry's out of the cupboard and added water and sunlight to see what would happen.

The Harry in the cupboard with water is now turning green. The Harry with no water or light is now growing and the Harry with no soil is still growing lots of hairy hair!

The Preps were very excited about taking their Hairy Harry's home to continue observing what happens.

Our Friends in New Zealand!

2011-04-07T19:12:00.012+10:00

Today we skyped with our friends from New Zealand All Things Great and Small and Good Things Come in Small Packages. We were very excited to meet them at last. Prep S and Prep K will be sending their wombats Wattle and Wally over to New Zealand to visit A3 and A4. They are sending their giraffe Wally to us. This will be Wally's first visit to Australia so we are very excited and will share lots of wonderful experiences with him.

Wattle and Wally, our twins, are having their first trip away - we will miss them but we know they will have a FANTASTIC time and share lots of stories with us when they come home.

Thank you to A3 and A4 for skyping with us today!

Interesting Insects - take a look!

2011-04-02T18:59:00.006+11:00

Slideshow design personalized with Smilebox

Hairy Harry Haircuts!

2011-03-30T18:07:00.011+11:00

Before and after .....

Before and after ....

Today we gave our Hairy Harry's hair cuts.

I wonder what will happen now?

Hairy Harry Haircut! - slide show

Open Day .....

2011-03-29T17:15:00.004+11:00

Today was Open Day at our school. We had fun showing our friends all the great things we do at school.

I Wonder .....

2011-03-28T14:50:00.012+11:00

I wonder what you can make or do with paper? on PhotoPeach

You can make a paper chain of people. (Aerodyne)

You can make a paper areoplane. (Caoimhe)

You can make a paper chain. (Will H)

I can write words on paper. (Kirra)

You can draw a picture on paper. (Jake)

You fold the paper to make a fan. (Georgia)

I can make a flower with paper. (Sienna)

I can paint on paper. (Eva)

You can cut paper. (Matthew)

We can write our names on a paper aeroplane and then cut them out. (Andy)

I can write letters on paper. (Oscar)

You can make a clock wih paper. (Molly)

You can cut paper to make a shape. (Vivienne)

You can cut drawings out. (Will P)

I Wonder .....

2011-03-25T15:52:00.002+11:00

Our Prep mascot

2011-03-18T19:25:00.007+11:00

Wattle the wombat.

Wattle and her twin brother Wally.

Introducing our new Prep K mascot Wattle the wombat. Wattle has a twin brother Wally who is PrepS's mascot.

We hope Wattle and Wally don't eat our Hairy Harry's over the weekend!

Stay tuned for more adventures from our wombat twins.

We discovered.....

2011-03-18T08:16:00.015+11:00

Our Hairy Harry with seeds, soil, water and light. Our Hairy Harry with seeds, soil, water and NO light.

Our Hairy Harry with seeds, soil, NO water and NO light.

Our Hairy Harry with seeds, water, light and NO soil.

Science is AMAZING!

I think that the Hairy Harrys grow overnight. Molly

I noticed that the Hairy Harry in the meat tray had no soil but it grew and grew and grew. Andy

I noticed the Hairy Harrys grew more than yesterday. Kirra

I noticed that one had yellow hair - the one in the cupboard. It didn't have any sunlight. Georgia

I've noticed that my Hairy Harry has grown more hair and the water is going down. Will H

I've noticed that the roots are getting longer because they are sucking the water. Jake

My Hairy Harry didn't have much hair. Aerodyne

I noticed that my Hairy Harry has grown more hair than yesterday. Matthew

The Hairy Harry in the cupboard with no water grew one hair. Sienna

I noticed that the Hairy Harry in the cupboard with water has grown yellow hair because it didn't have sunlight. Caoimhe

I learnt that the Hairy Harry can grow yellow hair because it didn't have any sun. It's important that the Hairy Harry has sun. Oscar

I noticed that the one in the meat tray that has no soil has grown underneath its eyes. Will P

The Hairy Harry has yellow hair because it didn't have any sun and then it would grow green hair and not yellow hair. Eva

The Hairy Harry was growing yellow hair because it didn't have sunlight. Vivienne

Better Buddies!

2011-03-14T20:19:00.004+11:00

Our Preps are very lucky to have the best buddies in the school - our Grade six students.

Our Grade sixes have helped the new Preps to settle into school and feel happy and safe.

THANK YOU to our Grade six students.

Look what happened!

2011-03-10T20:29:00.008+11:00

Take a close look at our photos.

What do you notice?

One of these Hairy Harrys has been in the cupboard with water. One has been in the cupboard with no water. One has no soil - but has water and sunlight.

ALL our Hairy Harrys are growing!

2011-03-09T20:51:00.009+11:00

Some of our Hairy Harrys have more hair than the others!

We have been drawing what we see (observe) into our Hairy Harry diaries.

Then we label our pictures with words just like real scientists!

EXCITING NEWS!

2011-03-08T16:45:00.003+11:00

Our Hairy Harry's have started to grow!

Not all our Harry's are sprouting - I wonder why?

HAIRY HARRYS!

2011-03-01T16:53:00.005+11:00

Today we were wondering how seeds grow and what they need to grow.

We made 'Hairy Harrys' (We put grass seeds into a stocking and then put some soil in. We tied a knot in the stocking and glued on eyes. We put water in a jar and sat Hairy on top. See the slideshow below)

I wonder what will happen if we put one Hairy Harry in a cupboard?
I wonder what will happen if we put one Hairy Harry in a cupboard without water?

Some Preps thought that the Hairy Harry would grow in the cupboard and some Preps thought that it would not grow without sunlight.

Some Preps thought that the Hairy Harry in the cupboard without water might grow, but probably not because seeds need water and sunlight to grow.

Like all good scientists we will watch and observe our Hairy Harrys and record what happens!

Prep Charter

2011-02-21T14:47:00.003+11:00

Today we talked about what we need to do to have a happy year in Prep.

Here is our charter.

Pat the Fat Cat!

2011-02-18T22:28:00.005+11:00

We tried to write one sentence using as many 'at' words as we could.

How many 'at' words can you put into a sentence?

We love rhymes!

What a busy week in Prep.

2011-02-18T20:46:00.008+11:00

Take a look at our busy week!

The Preps are settling into school and enjoying making new friends.

Here are just some of our activities!

Busy Preps - free slideshow maker with music

Happy Birthday!

2011-02-11T20:14:00.007+11:00

A new year has begun and a new group of Preps are settling into school life. We made these fantastic frogs on logs for our birthday wall. We hope you enjoy our art work!

Happy Birthday! on PhotoPeach

Happy Birthday! on PhotoPeach

Welcome!

2011-01-23T16:41:00.002+11:00

Custom Glitter Text

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2010-12-14T21:43:00.025+11:00

Thank you to all our new friends who have visited our blog. We are now at the end of our school year and look forward to a long Summer break. We wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year.

We look forward to sharing all our new learning and discoveries in 2011!

Our Action.

2010-12-07T19:11:00.030+11:00

Today was a very special day for Prep S and Prep K at St. Luke's. In term two we made a calendar to raise money for the homeless people in our Melbourne community. Thanks to the generosity of our families and friends at St. Luke's we raised $900.00! Netty Horton from St. Vincent de Pauls came to our school today and told us a bit about her job at St. Vinnies and how our money will be used. The money we raised will go towards feeding about 400 people on Christmas day. We are so proud of our Preps and their wonderful contribution to our local community.

Our Term 2 learning that lead to this action is detailed here

Toothpick Shapes! We explored shapes using toothpicks and playdough. Some of us made three dimensional shapes. We are learning together.

2010-11-26T21:16:00.010+11:00

Our Friends!

2010-11-19T14:39:00.008+11:00

We have been writing about our friends and why we like to be with them. We are also practising 'smooth' reading, using a clear voice and speaking so everyone can hear. Enjoy our stories.

More Smarty Pants!

2010-11-10T21:04:00.007+11:00

Today we explored Maths Smart, Word Smart and Art Smart.
We worked together and rotated around the activities.
Look at us at work.
What Smart are you? Let us know!

Music Smart - Classical Mandalas

2010-10-29T21:22:00.003+11:00

Created by Prep K.

Smarty Pants - Our Reflections!

2010-10-29T20:26:00.010+11:00

This voicethread is a work in progress. As we complete each Smart the children reflect on how they feel about the activities.

Maths Smart - Tangrams.

2010-10-25T20:27:00.010+11:00

Today we were Maths Smart. We explored tangrams. First we played and made different pictures. Then we tried to make a square shape using our seven pieces. This was hard - but we did not give up. Mrs Kennedy gave us one to look at and copy.

Zac was the first Prep to make his square.

Maths Smart - Tangrams! - slideshow dvd

Smarty Pants!

2010-10-21T20:41:00.010+11:00

Our term four Inquiry is Have A Go - Smarty Pants. We are discovering that we all learn in different ways and have talents in many areas. Are you Art Smart? Maths Smart? Body Smart? Music Smart? Nature Smart or Word Smart? This week we looked at Nature Smart. We each chose an animal and then had to draw its habitat.
Here are our pictures.

What do you think? Which Smarty Pants are you?

Free photo slideshow made with Smilebox

Our Action - Reaching Out

2010-10-18T22:00:00.009+11:00

As part of our Inquiry learning in term two, we discovered that all living things need food, water, shelter and protection to survive. We decided that our final action for this unit would be to raise money for the homeless, those people who do not have shelter and protection and a place to sleep at night. To raise this money we created a calendar to sell to our school community. The theme of our calendar was 'Responsible Pet Care'. We chose our favourite pets and wrote pet care rules for each pet. We used line and pattern to make each picture. We are very proud of our calendar and our school community who have supported us.

Click and hold on the photos to enlarge.

What can you do if you find something difficult?

2010-10-08T12:11:00.007+11:00

Here are our ideas!

Working Together.

2010-10-05T21:51:00.009+11:00

Today we worked with a partner and 'shared the pencil'. We were writing to our school families to tell them about a special project we are working on. Together we talked about what we would write and then we remembered all the things we have to do when writing. We helped each other to spell words, keep our writing on the lines, put spaces between words and reread our writing to check that it made sense. We love writing!

Here we are in action!

Why is it good to have a go?

2010-09-28T17:49:00.005+10:00

Prep K is on holidays at the moment. We are looking forward to an exciting term four. Our big question for next term is Why is it good to have a go? Why is it important to try new things and not give up if we find tasks difficult?

Share your ideas with us.

Why is it important to try new things and not give up?

We hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. See you soon!

Reflecting on our learning and an action plan!

2010-09-15T21:20:00.014+10:00

I am very proud of how much the Preps have learnt about caring for the environment. I asked them to reflect on what they had learnt and what they could do (action) - right now - everyday - to care for our world. Here are their responses. The environment is in good hands! Fantastic Preps.

What do you think?
What will you do everyday to care for the environment?

Personalize your own digital slideshow

Prep News!

2010-09-10T22:30:00.005+10:00

We have had a very busy time in Prep. See our photos below (hint - to enlarge the photos hover the mouse over a photo and you will see a magnifying glass. Just click and the photo will become larger).
Footy Day, Our Art Show, Italian Day.

Personalize a photo album

2010-09-04T14:10:00.002+10:00

Digital greeting created with Smilebox

What can we do to care for our school environment?

2010-09-03T10:31:00.001+10:00

We made posters to spread our messages to everyone in the school so that we can all be responsible for caring for the environment! At playtime and lunchtime the Preps make annoucements over the PA to remind everyone of our important messages.