How do I enrol my child for Prep 2021?

To maintain the safety of the community and our staff, if you are interested in enrolling your child for Prep 2021, please send an expression of interest email

to preptransitions@runcornss.eq.edu.auPlease clearly state your child’s FULL name, DOB, parent/caregivers FULL

name, address and a contact number. An enrolment pack will be posted to your home address.

Please note: catchment area zones will still apply and if needed, an out of catchment wait list has been created.

You can find more information on school catchment areas here: http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/maps/edmap/

How do I submit my child’s enrolment paper work for Prep 2021?

Once you have completed the paperwork that was posted, you are welcome to drop it into the school office on the days/times listed below or by appointment only by phoning the school in advance on 3323 8777. Unfortunately, no walk-ins will be

accepted.

•Wednesday 3rd June, 2020 9.00am-10.00am

•Wednesday 10th June, 2020 9.00am-10.00am

•Wednesday 17th June, 2020 9.00am-10.00am

•Wednesday 24th June, 2020 9.00am-10.00am

We will also accept the paperwork via post or email, keeping in mind that it is an Education Queensland requirement that we sight originals of Birth Certificates/Passports/Visa Documents/Proof of Residence (if living in catchment). These can be sighted

and copied on the day of your child’s Prep ‘Get to Know You’ appointment that will be confirmed later in the year.

Further information including the Parent Handbook, Prep Booklet, Tuckshop, Uniform Shop and other important information will be emailed to you in due course.

- Age Appropriate Pedagogies (AAP)- Visible thinking- Inquiry learning- Vocabulary and cohesion in reading and writing- Team work and collaboration- Real-world connections- Global citizens

Prep: At A Glance...• Prep is a specially designed educational program that replaced preschool

in 2007.

• National and international research highlights the importance of quality early education to aid children’s long term outcomes.

• Prep is the first year in the Early Phase of Learning which is from Prep to Year 3.

The CurriculumThe Australian Curriculum provides the foundation for explicit teaching to meet the needs of all Australian students. Runcorn State School teachers are committed to following the specific content that is expected to be taught across the key learning areas of:-

• English• Mathematics • Science• HASS (Humanities

and Social Sciences)• The Arts• Technology• Health and Physical Education

Your Child Will Learn Through...

What Will You See Your Child Doing In The Prep Year?

• Using language through reading, writing, speaking and listening activities

• Exploring numeracy concepts

• Making choices - planning with their teacher about the things they might do, then carrying out plans

• Designing and constructing

• Singing, dancing and painting

• Using iPads, computers and interactive whiteboards

• Indoor and outdoor play

• Climbing, balancing and jumping

• Planning and sharing

• Make-believe/ imaginative playing

• Taking part in everyday experiences like gardening, cooking and tidying up

• Carrying out scientific experiments

• Participating in specialist music, P.E. and swimming lessons

About Our Specialist Lessons...Health and Physical Education:-Health, physical fitness and sport play an important role in the life of a Runcorn State School student. We have a range of programs and activities organised both through the school and local providers that run throughout the year. Some of these include:

• Swimming Development/Life Saving Skill Lessons, during school hours delivered by qualified teachers and volunteer parents as part of our HPE program for year 1-6 students in both Term 1 and Term 4 (Preps swim in Term 4)

• Hot Shots Tennis Lessons, organised through Remar Tennis Academy• Interschool sports Gala Day for Years 5 and 6• Fun Runs/Lap-A-Thons, organised through our P & C Association • School Moves - a program that blends therapeutic practices of sensory processing, vision, behaviour and attention

techniques

About Our Specialist Lessons...Health and Physical Education:-Prep students receive 1 hour of physical education per week delivered by our HPE Specialist teacher Anna Wood. The focus for Prep students is:- Gross Motor Development- Learning about their bodies- Basic movement sequence development - Co-operating with others

In Term 4, Prep students take part in our Water Safety and Basic Swimming Skills program at our school pool.

About Our Specialist Lessons...

Health and Physical Education:-• Years 1-6 students receive a 30 minute lesson per week. Our Physical Activity

lessons run alongside our Health curriculum to deliver a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

• Students in Years 5 and 6 take part in Interschool Sport Gala Days, competing in team sports against other local schools.

• Runcorn State School has 3 main sporting carnivals throughout the year: Cross Country, Athletics Day and the Swimming Carnivals. Students aged 10 to 12 years may then progress on to compete at the Sunnybank District carnivals or even to the Met West Regional trials.

• Prep students take part in our Junior Athletics Carnival.

About Our Specialist Lessons...Music Education:-• Runcorn has a diverse and vibrant music program. Its purpose is to assist

students to reach their potential in Music. The carefully sequenced program develops knowledge and skills in singing, playing, appreciating, reading and writing music.

• Each class (Prep to Year 6) has a 30 minute lesson with Ms Mariel Hopper. As they progress, students are offered a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including choirs, lunchtime ensembles, and the band and strings programs.

• Watch for the ‘Music Matters’ section in the fortnightly school newsletters to stay up to date.

About Our Specialist Lessons...Choral Programs conducted by Ms Mariel Hopper

Junior ChoirAll students in Year 3 attend Junior Choir.

Senior ChoirSelected students in Years 4-6.

About Our Specialist Lessons...Instrumental Music Programs:-

Strings- violin, viola and celloMr Andrew Biedermann teaches selected students in Years 3-6.

Band – woodwind, brass and percussionMr Craig Millar teaches selected students in Years 4-6

About Our Specialist Lessons...Languages:

JAPANESE is the language other than English taught at Runcorn State School. Students in Years 4-6 participate in a weekly 60 minute lesson.

Students are taught the Japanese alphabets and about Traditional Festivals. Students also learn about greetings, self-introduction, animals, body parts,

transport, time, food, daily routine & culture. A Japanese speaking competition is held annually with other state schools.

Our Japanese teacher is Mrs Junko Nagashima. The children call her ‘sensei’ which means teacher in Japanese.

You Can Do It Program

Runcorn State School is a ‘You Can Do It’ school.

‘You Can Do It’ is a program with the goal of fostering the social and emotional development of children, assisting them to develop to their full potential. Within a common theme of developing RESILIENCE, the program focusses on the five

key foundations of confidence, persistence, organisation, getting along and emotional resilience.

You Can Do It Program

To be successful it is vital that students are able to:• Be confident in beginning new work or continuing when a task gets hard• Persist when tasks are frustrating or difficult • Be organised in their management of assigned classwork and homework• Get along and work cooperatively with others, by managing conflict and

anger and following important school rules• Demonstrate emotional resilience by controlling emotions, inhibiting impulses

when upset and bouncing back from adversity

What Are The Learning Benefits Of All These Experiences?

The Prep Year experiences will help your child to...• Develop early literacy and numeracy skills;

• Take on responsibilities;

• Co-operate with and respect others;

• Make sensible choices about their health and safety;

• Learn how to be thinkers and problem solvers;

• Develop physical skills;

• Use their imagination and creativity;

• Develop their oral language and listening skills;

• Become confident in taking risks in their learning;

• Take part in specialist lessons

and most importantly...• Your child will develop a positive approach to learning!

How Will Your Child’s Learning Be Monitored and Reported On?

Evidence of your child’s learning will be collected throughout the year.

This evidence will come from:

• Observations

• Play based learning experiences

• Talking with your child

• Collecting samples of your child’s work

• Assessment tasks

Three-way child/parent/teacher meetings are held twice per year in Terms 1 and 3. Students also receive a digital report card at the end of Term 2 and Term 4.

When Can My Child Attend Prep?Children will need to be five years old by 30th June in

the year they enrol in Prep.

Children born between 1st July 2015 and 30th June 2016 are automatically eligible to attend Prep in 2020.

Readiness for PrepPhysical ReadinessPlease consider the following:-

• Hearing and vision tests as well as a check on the general physical health and development of your child.• Immunisation + Boosters• Dental check• Establish good sleeping and eating habits• Establish good health habits: encourage your child to be responsible for their own dressing, grooming, toileting, washing and general cleanliness. Make your child aware of the importance of hygiene.

• In addition to these physical aspects of readiness, the following will outline 10 ways to support your child to be school ready!

1. ConfidenceIt is important that children feel confident inside and outside of the classroom. It is important that they are confident in themselves, their ability and the situations they may face.2. ResilienceAt some point in their lives, children will face disappointment. We must help our children to recover quickly from situations and not allow a small moment ruin their day.

Readiness for Prep

3. Self-regulationThis one is tricky to navigate, but we need to help our children to regulate their thoughts, emotions and behaviours to have success in the classroom.4. Social SkillsThis tends to go hand in hand with confidence. Support your child to ask another child if they can play, help guide your child to introduce themselves to other children, discuss the importance of interacting with a variety of children and most of all teach them to be accepting of others and their differences.

Readiness for Prep

5. Self-help SkillsMake these achievable based on your child’s ability. When children get to school they are suddenly expected to look after a myriad of items. Therefore it’s important to encourage children to take responsibility for their belongings and to be able to do things like opening a zip, opening their lunch wrap or lunch box, being able to dress themselves, or to toilet independently.6. ConcentrationYou can help your child to develop in this area by using games and puzzles that require your child to focus for a period of time.

Readiness for Prep

7. Creative artsMany children express themselves and process their world through the creative arts. Whether it is dancing, drawing, painting, making, singing, imagining, or dressing up, embrace it! Allow these aspects to be a part of their world, listen to their thoughts, allow them to make decisions with you and sometimes just be silly!

8. Set children up for success Give your children achievable tasks. Expect children to follow at least two consecutive instructions. Try to avoid repeating instructions in order to encourage listening the first time instructions are given.

Readiness for Prep

9. Literacy ReadinessRead! Read! Read! Books are a wonderful resource that open up many conversationsabout language, text types, words, letters, sentences, punctuation, authors andillustrators. Talk about the construction of a book, the plot, the characters, what theythink will happen, point out the letters in their name, encourage them to look at thepictures in order to develop an understanding that the pictures give you clues aboutstories. Let children practice writing if and when they are ready and also experimentwith scissors and different types of pencils and paper. Encourage the use of correctEnglish. Baby talk is a drawback to a child who is learning to read and write.

Readiness for Prep

10. Numeracy ReadinessUse real world resources because maths is all around you! Talk about the time (morning, midday, afternoon, night time); share money through play and real life; talk about mathematical language like over, under, on top, inside, outside; look at collections of items and practice things like sorting or collecting; look for numbers in your home, on walks and in the car (you’ll be surprised at just how many numbers you find!), yesterday, today and tomorrow; ensure your child has a good understanding of 1:1 correspondence (eg, that 1 block is 1 or 2 blocks is 2)

Readiness for Prep

Summer Uniform.

Left- polo shirt and shorts.Right –polo shirt and skorts. (not pictured: girls shorts)

Our School Uniforms

Winter Uniform.

Left – Unisex jacket, polo shirt and shorts.Right – Unisex jacket, polo shirt and skorts.

Our School Uniforms

Formal Uniform.

Left- Dress.Right – Formal blouse and skorts.(Not pictured: Girls shorts)

Our School Uniforms

Formal Uniform- blouse and shorts.

Our School Uniforms

mailto:preptransitions@runcornss.eq.edu.au