I'm writing this from the beautiful surroundings of Cave Hill Creek, the location of our Year 6 camp. The camp sits in a valley in north west Victoria, about 2.5 hours from school and features cozy bedrooms, open play spaces and a serene lake all in a secluded spot. It was hot, but we managed to miss the thunder storms on Wednesday and could keep dry the entire week. 

Over the four days, the Year 6 students have enjoyed canoeing, bushwalking, archery, low ropes, Ultimate Frisbee, Map Reading, Possum Gliding, Bush Art and Hut Building in small groups It so many instances we could see students who were outside of their comfort zones - be it going up high in the harness, pushing through on a long walk, or just being away from home. Camps are such a wonderful opportunity for students to experience real growth. 

For some of the more adventurous activities such as canoeing and Possum Gliding, we had camp staff members guiding us through to keep us safe. For the others, our own staff lead the groups. I must say how proud I am of our wonderful staff at times like these. Camps are long and difficult for the adults too, and I cannot commend and thank Kristen, Chloe, Brooke, Dean, Deb and Geoff for making the camp such a success. 

We are all looking forward to returning to our own beds this Friday, but we do so knowing so many of the students are taking life long memories of their time. 

Year 2 are loving new experiences and challenges in learning this week!

• Our phoneme of the week is /i/.
• How authors use sound effects to help tell their stories and evoke emotions in their audience.
• Looking at structural details of procedural texts.
• Making pancakes and silly sandwiches to encourage more detailed writing in procedural texts - eg. verbs, adverbs, punctuation.
• How sounds are made to tell a story - ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’.
• Looking at different  addition facts - tens, doubles, near doubles.

'ADHD Unfiltered' -  The Parental Support Toolbox for our ADHD Young People

Understanding the effects of ADHD on the behaviour of young people and exploring different ways to support them- Presented by Tony Vallance from Building Better Brains who specialises in direct and emotional engagement with his audiences.

Tuesday 1st April                       7pm - 8.30pm                 FREE Event
 

• Hear first hand accounts of the struggles and successes faced by individuals with ADHD, revealing the true impact of neurodivergence on daily life
• Gain valuable knowledge from leading professionals about the latest research, coping strategies and support systems for managing ADHD

• Learn how to advocate for yourself and your ADHD’ers, harnessing the unique strengths and perspectives that come with ADHD, this includes how to work with educators to support your young person in the classroom

  Bookings essential- register your interest today:
  Visit: https://bit.ly/4019IYg
   

  

  Rachel Roberts

  Assistant Principal

• 

The Year 4s have settled in nicely and are excited for the year ahead! 

We have:

• been Super Sleuths at our healthy eating incursion 
• begun working in groups on an a creative activity that is designed to encourage  healthy lifestyle and healthy eating 
• been using our comprehension skills to respond to literal, inferential and evaluative questions 
• published our procedural writing pieces
• eagerly started researching a topic of our choice to write an information report on 
• developed our understanding of the multiplicative structure of place value 
• started exploring additive thinking 
• enjoyed participating in an AFL workshop with Hawthorn’s AFLW, Jas Fleming

Coming up we are:

• developing our additive thinking strategies to solve problems 
• exploring 2D shapes, 3D objects and their properties 
• continuing our research into our chosen topics to write an information report 
• using our comprehension skills to paraphrase information and summarise a text 
• developing our creative activity that is designed to encourage  healthy lifestyle and healthy eating 

This week the Prep students have begun learning about two-part repeating patterns in their Maths sessions. They started the week by making two-part movement patterns using their bodies and identifying what part of the sequence was the part that repeats. In subsequent sessions, they have moved onto copying, continuing and making two-part patterns using Unifix blocks and other classroom manipulatives. 

Ask your child if they can point out patterns in the environment at home or when you are out and about. The Preps will continue and deepen their pattern knowledge again in Term Two. 

Exciting news! On Monday, 24th March, our school will be hosting a BIG COLOUR FUN RUN – and we want everyone to be part of it!

By now, most students would have received a wristband. If you haven’t signed up yet, wear your wristband home and show it to an adult so they can register you.

Win $500 Credit!
From now until the next assembly, students who have signed up can enter the draw to win $500 credit from the Colour Run team! Simply add the unique QR code from your wristband into your profile to be in the running. The lucky winner will be announced at our next assembly!

Why Are We Doing This?
Not only is this event a chance to have an amazing time and earn rewards, but it’s also a major fundraiser to help us fix our school oval. We need everyone’s support to reach our goal!

Fun Competitions Along the Way!
We’re also running some exciting competitions. This week, the class with the most student profiles by today wins an icy pole for everyone! And the winner is… Class 3C! 🎉

Class 3C, enjoy your icy poles at lunchtime on Tuesday!

Let’s make this the best Colour Fun Run ever! If you haven’t signed up yet, do it today and join in on the fun.

Our Harmony Day will be on Friday 21st with staff and students invited to wear their traditional cultural dress or colours. Or, for those who do not have a cultural dress or want another option, to wear orange as a symbol of harmony.

Harmony Week

Harmony Week is a time to celebrate that Australia is one of the most successful multicultural societies in the world. It is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

Our cultural diversity

Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. It makes Australia a great place to live.

Building on over 65,000 years of First Nations cultures, Australia has become home to migrants from nearly 300 different ancestries. Australia’s immigration history has helped build our modern nation.

An integrated multicultural Australia is an integral part of our national identity. All people who migrate to Australia bring with them some of their own cultural and religious traditions. They also take on many new traditions. Collectively, these traditions have enriched our nation.

Facts and figures

There are some fascinating statistics about Australia's diversity that can be good conversation-starters:

• More than half (51.5 per cent) of Australian residents were born overseas or have at least one parent who was.
• Since 1945, more than 7.6 million people have migrated to Australia.
• Nearly every single country from around the world was represented in Australia's population in 2020.
• More than 150 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages are spoken in Australia
• Apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Punjabi.
• We identify with over 300 ancestries.