Semester 2, 2025
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Curriculum
The Victorian Curriculum F–10 sets out what every student at MPPS and all Victorian schools should learn during their first eleven years of schooling. The curriculum is the basis of all our MPPS planning documents and guides our teaching at MPPS, as well as forming a common set of knowledge and skills required by students for life-long learning, social development and active and informed citizenship. Further to this the Victorian Curriculum F–10 incorporates the Australian Curriculum and reflects Victorian priorities and standards.
Further information is available http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/
Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) is a comprehensive approach to the primary prevention of violence against women and children. As a school we are dedicated to promoting and modeling respect, positive attitudes and behaviours with the aim of teaching our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence. The whole school approach to RRRR goes beyond curriculum, recognising that to drive real change, classroom learning needs to be reinforced by what is modelled within the school community.
Further information is available http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/respectfulrelationships.aspx
Further information is available http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/
Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) is a comprehensive approach to the primary prevention of violence against women and children. As a school we are dedicated to promoting and modeling respect, positive attitudes and behaviours with the aim of teaching our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence. The whole school approach to RRRR goes beyond curriculum, recognising that to drive real change, classroom learning needs to be reinforced by what is modelled within the school community.
Further information is available http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/respectfulrelationships.aspx
Preparing for a Day at School
Each day at school your child will need a:
- MPPS school bag named, it also helps to have a familiar tag on the outside of the bag. This helps your child to identify his/her bag
- labelled lunch box (students will only require a snack and additional fresh fruit or vegetables to eat during ‘brain food’ time on this day)
- labelled water bottle
- labelled spare clothes (spare set of underwear, socks, MPPS pants/shorts and t-shirt to be left in school bag for an emergency such as toilet accident, slips or spills).
- labelled MPPS hat and jacket
- labelled MPPS blue reading bag
- pair of comfortable all black shoes
A Positive Start to School
Starting school is an exciting time for students and families. Some activities that you can do to help your child get ready for school are listed below.
Support and encourage your child to:
With this in mind we encourage families to use this reference as a source of information rather than as a prescriptive checklist to determine school readiness.
If you have questions /concerns about your child’s school readiness, speak to your child’s kindergarten teachers/educators. We work closely with kinder and child care settings.
Support and encourage your child to:
- cooperate with peers and make friendships in free play situations
- participate in group games and experiences, and ask to join in a game
- develop self-help and self-care skills (independent toileting, dressing, eating, cleaning up after themselves, hand washing, being responsible for and using own belongings)
- follow a routine (for example, eating lunch at a set time, read a story before playing, etc.)
- listen to stories regularly and use books as a pleasurable daily shared activity
- appropriately use tools such as use pencils, crayons, scissors and glue unassisted
- talk positively about starting school and enjoy your child’s excitement
- use equipment such as a climbing apparatus, sandpit toys and balls
- unpack their lunchbox, unwrap food and use a drink bottle
- open/close and carry their school bag
- express needs and wants appropriately and remind them to ‘use their words’
- separate from carers / primary caregivers
- take turns in a game / activity and share toys and equipment
- follow directions and understand some rules in a game
- cope with transitions between routines and experiences, for example packing up and starting a new routine/task
- use language (verbal or non-verbal) to ask questions and communicate their thoughts and ideas
- listen to others and wait their turn to speak by saying ‘excuse me’ or putting up their hand
- try different ways of doing things, solve problems and ask for help
- practise the things they will need to do to get ready for school (for example putting things in their bag, remembering to pack a hat and jacket)
- use and explore language often – ask your child questions, assist them to name and label items in different environments (for example the home, the park or the library)
- sit with a group and remain focused on an activity for an extended period of time
- self-regulate emotional responses when they need to do something they don’t like (for example, packing up)
- recognise and write their name
- develop their fine motor skills (such as play dough, Lego, threading beads, cutting paper, undoing buttons and zips, drawing with different tools and finger plays and rhymes)
- experience drawing, scribbling and making marks on paper
- notice signs, symbols, letters and words that they see in the environment
- join-in with familiar songs, rhymes and jingles
- tell stories about events in their lives
- talk about favourite stories and describe some of the characters or things that happen in books
- hold a book the right way up and trace their finger from top left to bottom right as they pretend to read
- talk about their age and recognise some numbers
- count a group of objects up to 5
- name common shapes and colours
- help adults with everyday maths experiences such as cooking and shopping
- describe the weather
With this in mind we encourage families to use this reference as a source of information rather than as a prescriptive checklist to determine school readiness.
If you have questions /concerns about your child’s school readiness, speak to your child’s kindergarten teachers/educators. We work closely with kinder and child care settings.
Dropping Off Children
At school we are learning to be independent.
We can:
- carry our own school bags;
- put our belongings away;
- put our lunch orders in the tub;
wave a cheerful goodbye; and
- walk into our Learning Community by ourselves.
We kindly ask for your support in helping your children settle quickly into their daily routine.
We can:
- carry our own school bags;
- put our belongings away;
- put our lunch orders in the tub;
wave a cheerful goodbye; and
- walk into our Learning Community by ourselves.
We kindly ask for your support in helping your children settle quickly into their daily routine.
Labelling your Child's Belongings
Please label all lunchboxes, containers, drink bottles and school uniform items so they are easily identifiable.
Brain Food
Students eat brain food twice a day. Brain food consists of fresh fruit or vegetables, but no processed foods. Students are encouraged to eat brain-healthy foods that help maintain energy for learning and higher level brain function.
Healthy brain-food options can include:
- vegetable sticks (carrots, celery, capsicum, snow peas, beans)
- sliced or whole fruit (bananas, apples, pears, oranges, berries, melon, grapes)
- corn on the cob
- cherry tomatoes
- freshly mashed avocado dip
- peas
Healthy brain-food options can include:
- vegetable sticks (carrots, celery, capsicum, snow peas, beans)
- sliced or whole fruit (bananas, apples, pears, oranges, berries, melon, grapes)
- corn on the cob
- cherry tomatoes
- freshly mashed avocado dip
- peas
HOME LEARNING
Supporting your Child at Home
At MPPS we recognise the integral role that parents/ guardians play as partners in their child’s education. Together, we have the shared goal of maximising learning and wellbeing outcomes for students.
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Reading
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We encourage parents/guardians to read to their child every day. This only has to be for 15 minutes a day with the aim of assisting your child to recognise familiar letters or frequently used words learnt in class.
Please refer to pages 2-4 of your child’s Home Reading Journal which provides you with useful information on how to use the journal with your child.
When reading with your child you may like to follow these steps in supporting them:
- Never cover the pictures up. Using the pictures as clues is an important strategy for children to learn.
- Some words can’t be read by sounding them out, so do not focus too much on this with your child.
- Talk with your child about the difference between words, pictures and letters.
- Don’t focus on the mistakes... celebrate the successes!
Reading with your child should be an enjoyable and stress free experience. If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to your child’s teachers about how to better support your child at home.
Please refer to pages 2-4 of your child’s Home Reading Journal which provides you with useful information on how to use the journal with your child.
When reading with your child you may like to follow these steps in supporting them:
- Look through the book and create a story together which matches the pictures
- Read the story to your child
- Help your child to point to each word as it is read aloud by an adult
- Ask your child to identify letters/words they know
- Discuss the story with your child. What was their favourite part? What happened 1st, 2nd, etc. What do you think might happen next?
- Never cover the pictures up. Using the pictures as clues is an important strategy for children to learn.
- Some words can’t be read by sounding them out, so do not focus too much on this with your child.
- Talk with your child about the difference between words, pictures and letters.
- Don’t focus on the mistakes... celebrate the successes!
Reading with your child should be an enjoyable and stress free experience. If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to your child’s teachers about how to better support your child at home.
Reading Eggs
Reading Eggs makes learning to read motivating and engaging for students, with interactive games, songs and activities. To further support your child’s reading, students will be provided with their own username and password to explore the online program at home. Students will receive individual log in details during Term 1. For more information, visit https://readingeggs.com.au/
Google Classroom
To further support students’ learning at school, she/he will have access to home learning activities via Google Classroom, to practise with you. Your child/ren will be working on these important Literacy and Mathematics skills throughout the year. Activities will be added throughout the year as required.
Please note that these tasks are not compulsory but we still require an adult to read a book with students every day.
For additional information, please download and read the document below, 'Google Classroom PLC Home Learning Notice'. (Coming soon).
Please note that these tasks are not compulsory but we still require an adult to read a book with students every day.
For additional information, please download and read the document below, 'Google Classroom PLC Home Learning Notice'. (Coming soon).
Developing Hand and Finger Strength and a Pencil Grip
Hand and finger strength is important as it is required for many everyday activities such as holding a pencil, drawing and writing.
To further support your child's learning at school, download the documents below for activity ideas and helpful strategies to develop your child's hand and finger strength and pencil grip.
To further support your child's learning at school, download the documents below for activity ideas and helpful strategies to develop your child's hand and finger strength and pencil grip.
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Class Dojo
To help us create a positive culture in our Learning Community, we use Class Dojo to acknowledge positive behaviours that display our CARE values. Teachers can encourage students to display skills or values using Class-Dojo as an incentive — whether it's working hard, being kind, helping others. This is done by awarding points that are displayed electronically in the Learning Community or Specialist class. Using Class Dojo can help student’s emotional literacy grow as they have the opportunity to receive immediate, regular and positive feedback in a fun visual way.
Term 3 Timetable 2025
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
PLC 2 (pink group) Japanese |
PLC 1 (green group) Japanese PLC 2 (pink group) Physical Education PLC 3 (orange group) Performing Arts |
PLC 1 (green group) Visual Arts PLC 3 (orange group) Visual Arts |
PLC 1 (green group) Physical Education PLC 2 (pink group) Performing Arts PLC 3 (orange group) Japanese |
PLC 1 (green group) Performing Arts PLC 2 (pink group) Visual Arts PLC 3 (orange group) Physical Education Buddy |
Prep Curriculum Snapshot: Semester 2
English
Students will be supported to:
- explore vocabulary used in familiar contexts and how language changes in different contexts
- engage with a range of different types of texts, including decodable and authentic texts, using developing phonic knowledge
- recognise a range of literary texts and identify features including events, characters, and beginnings and endings
- respond to stories and share feelings and thoughts about the events and characters depicted
blend, segment and manipulate phonemes in one-syllable words, and use knowledge of letters and sounds to read consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words
- read some high-frequency words and identify boundary punctuation
- demonstrate understanding of texts, students identify and make connections between characters, settings and events and their own feelings and thoughts
- understand that texts can take many forms, such as signs, books and digital texts
- use words, phrases and punctuation, including capital letters and full stops, from familiar contexts and texts
- form letters and spell most consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word
Students are taking part in various language experiences in order to develop their vocabulary and their speaking and listening skills.
- explore vocabulary used in familiar contexts and how language changes in different contexts
- engage with a range of different types of texts, including decodable and authentic texts, using developing phonic knowledge
- recognise a range of literary texts and identify features including events, characters, and beginnings and endings
- respond to stories and share feelings and thoughts about the events and characters depicted
blend, segment and manipulate phonemes in one-syllable words, and use knowledge of letters and sounds to read consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words
- read some high-frequency words and identify boundary punctuation
- demonstrate understanding of texts, students identify and make connections between characters, settings and events and their own feelings and thoughts
- understand that texts can take many forms, such as signs, books and digital texts
- use words, phrases and punctuation, including capital letters and full stops, from familiar contexts and texts
- form letters and spell most consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word
Students are taking part in various language experiences in order to develop their vocabulary and their speaking and listening skills.
Little Learners Love Literacy
Our school is committed to providing an outstanding teaching and learning program that sets our students up for success. We're excited to announce the implementation of the Little Learners Love Literacy (LLLL) program for students in Prep to Grade 2. This comprehensive, evidence-based approach focuses on developing essential literacy skills in a fun and engaging way.
LLLL helps children build a strong foundation in reading by systematically teaching key concepts like phonics (the relationship between sounds and letters), phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in spoken words), comprehension and high-frequency words. Through interactive activities, games, music and puppets students learn to decode words, improve their reading fluency, develop spelling and handwriting skills and foster a love for reading.
All components of the Literacy Big 6 are integrated and embedded into our comprehensive Literacy program. Our structured literacy approach engages students in each of these essential aspects of literacy on a daily basis.
Literacy Big 6:
Here is a snapshot of what students in Prep to Grade 2 can typically cover within the LLLL framework:
LLLL helps children build a strong foundation in reading by systematically teaching key concepts like phonics (the relationship between sounds and letters), phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in spoken words), comprehension and high-frequency words. Through interactive activities, games, music and puppets students learn to decode words, improve their reading fluency, develop spelling and handwriting skills and foster a love for reading.
All components of the Literacy Big 6 are integrated and embedded into our comprehensive Literacy program. Our structured literacy approach engages students in each of these essential aspects of literacy on a daily basis.
Literacy Big 6:
- Oral Language - knowing and using spoken words to express knowledge, ideas and emotions
- Phonological Awareness - which is the knowledge of sounds (phonemes)
- Phonics - knowing the sound (phoneme) and letter (grapheme) relationships
- Vocabulary - understanding words in isolation and in context
- Fluency - reading accurately and at an appropriate rate with expression
- Comprehension - making meaning from text which includes developing knowledge of grammar.
Here is a snapshot of what students in Prep to Grade 2 can typically cover within the LLLL framework:
- Prep (Foundation Year): In Prep, the focus is on pre-reading skills and building a strong foundation for literacy. Students are introduced to:
- Phonemic Awareness: Developing the ability to hear, identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. This includes activities like rhyming, segmenting and blending sounds.
- Phonics: Connecting sounds to letters and learning to read simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. They'll begin to understand the alphabetic principle – the understanding that letters represent sounds.
- Oral Language: Expanding vocabulary, practicing listening skills and developing the ability to express themselves verbally.
Cued Articulation
In PLC we use a combination of hand movements and songs/jingles as a way of teaching individual sounds. This strategy is known as Cued Articulation. Cued Articulation is a set of hand cues for teaching the individual sounds in a word. The hand movements are logical – each hand movement represents one sound and the cue gives clues as to how and where the sound is produced. It is not a sign language where the whole word is signed.
Cued articulation is integrated into our Little Learners Love Literacy Program which encourages children to note individual sounds in words, linking those sounds with the letters that spell them, and provides a consistent approach to spelling across the whole school. It acknowledges that individual sounds can be represented more than one way in written form.
For example:
Mm
Chant: Milo Monkey /m/, /m/, /m/
Cued articulation is integrated into our Little Learners Love Literacy Program which encourages children to note individual sounds in words, linking those sounds with the letters that spell them, and provides a consistent approach to spelling across the whole school. It acknowledges that individual sounds can be represented more than one way in written form.
For example:
Mm
Chant: Milo Monkey /m/, /m/, /m/
Mathematics
- develop an understanding of numbers from 0 - 20 and beyond by using a variety of models and materials
- quantify and compare collections to at least 20 using counting and explain or demonstrate reasoning
- develop efficient counting strategies in order to count small collections, make comparisons between sets and match numbers to sets
- learn to write and order numbers and collections from smallest to largest
- represent practical situations, including simple financial situations, involving subtraction and quantification with physical and virtual materials and use counting or subitising strategies
- represent practical situations that involve equal sharing and grouping with physical and virtual materials and use counting or subitising strategies
- sequence days of the week and times of the day, including morning, lunchtime, afternoon and night-time, and connect them to familiar events and actions
- compare common objects in mass using language such as heavier and lighter;
- compare common objects in capacity using language such as holds more, holds less
- identify and compare attributes of objects and events, including capacity, mass and duration, use direct comparisons and communicate reasoning
- quantify and compare collections to at least 20 using counting and explain or demonstrate reasoning
- develop efficient counting strategies in order to count small collections, make comparisons between sets and match numbers to sets
- learn to write and order numbers and collections from smallest to largest
- represent practical situations, including simple financial situations, involving subtraction and quantification with physical and virtual materials and use counting or subitising strategies
- represent practical situations that involve equal sharing and grouping with physical and virtual materials and use counting or subitising strategies
- sequence days of the week and times of the day, including morning, lunchtime, afternoon and night-time, and connect them to familiar events and actions
- compare common objects in mass using language such as heavier and lighter;
- compare common objects in capacity using language such as holds more, holds less
- identify and compare attributes of objects and events, including capacity, mass and duration, use direct comparisons and communicate reasoning
Integrated Studies (MAPPEN)
Term 4
MAPPEN Unit: Celebrating Differences: Social Justice
Overview
In this unit, students will explore multiculturalism in Australia by learning to recognise and appreciate both the similarities and differences among people. They will reflect on family structures, and cultural backgrounds, and compare these with those around them. Through engaging activities, students will also discover a variety of cultural traditions, foods, and celebrations from around the world.
Essential Questions
How are we the same and different to others?
How can we celebrate differences?
How can we show kindness and fairness to everyone?
Future Action
We aim that students will:
- develop an appreciation of multicultural Australia
- embrace and celebrate different cultures
- show respect, fairness and kindness to everyone and consider ways to make people feel welcome
MAPPEN Unit: Celebrating Differences: Social Justice
Overview
In this unit, students will explore multiculturalism in Australia by learning to recognise and appreciate both the similarities and differences among people. They will reflect on family structures, and cultural backgrounds, and compare these with those around them. Through engaging activities, students will also discover a variety of cultural traditions, foods, and celebrations from around the world.
Essential Questions
How are we the same and different to others?
How can we celebrate differences?
How can we show kindness and fairness to everyone?
Future Action
We aim that students will:
- develop an appreciation of multicultural Australia
- embrace and celebrate different cultures
- show respect, fairness and kindness to everyone and consider ways to make people feel welcome
Personal and Social Capability -
Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships
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In Foundation, this curriculum focuses on supporting students to interact and play constructively with others and to establish friendships with peers.
Students will be supported to:
Students will be supported to:
- develop a vocabulary to describe the emotions they experience when interacting with others
- develop an understanding that individuals are unique but also have characteristics in common
- establish and name the skills required to work in groups
- recognise and identify their own emotions
- describe situations that may evoke these emotions
- identify and describe personal strengths
- identify to ways to care for others
- discuss ways in which they can take responsibility for their actions
- practise techniques to cope with feelings of fear and anger
- listen to others ideas and recognise that others may see things differently
- recognise there are many ways to solve conflict
- identify situations that feel safe and unsafe
- practise seeking help from adults and peers
- develop a appreciation of difference
Buddy Program
Our Buddies Program will continue in Term 3. The Buddy Program is held once a fortnight and involves students in Year 6 and Prep.
Each prep child is paired with a grade 6 child and they participate in a range of activities such as sport activities, outdoor games, craft activities and using technology.
The aims of the Buddies Program are to:
Each prep child is paired with a grade 6 child and they participate in a range of activities such as sport activities, outdoor games, craft activities and using technology.
The aims of the Buddies Program are to:
- Ease the transition into primary school for the prep children by providing them with a safe, reliable and positive buddy
- Develop leadership skills amongst the Year 6 students
- Foster a strong sense of school spirit across the school
- Enhance the school culture of looking after and caring for others around us