Junior School

Congratulations! Well done to all our students and staff for completing another full term of onsite learning. Although this has been a shorter term, it has been coupled with the wintery weather with many families battling different ailments. The three-week, mid-year break is a welcomed relief for families to enjoy some time relaxing and recharging the batteries. 

It has been a short but busy term that has provided fabulous learning opportunities for our students and special events that hopefully created memories that will stay with the students for a long time to come. It has been wonderful to watch our students' growth and progress, both spiritually and academically. This was evident in my time reading through many student reports during the report writing period. Thank you to our students for working so hard to achieve the goals set and for giving their personal best. Thank you, parents, for your unwavering support of teaching and learning at Oxley. 

Reports

Students will be issued with an end-of-semester report on Friday, 24 June. Reports focus on what your child ‘can’ do and provide information about the next steps in their learning journey. Celebrating your child’s achievement is a positive act, leading to opportunities to set realistic goals for future learning. We trust you will enjoy this opportunity to applaud your child’s effort and growth as a learner. 

Semester 2 Parent Teacher Interviews 

Staff, including our specialist teachers, look forward to meeting with parents in Term 3 to discuss Semester 1 reports and ways to support student learning at school and home. Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Tuesday, 19 July (4.00pm - 8.30pm) and Thursday, 21 July (4.00pm - 6.00pm) in the Upper Primary Building. Please see the letter accompanying your child’s report for details on how to book interviews. Book early to avoid disappointment. 

Finishing BIG in Week 9

If you thought the final week would be spent winding down after all the assessments and reporting, think again. There has been a myriad of activities happening throughout the week. On Tuesday, 21 June, Year 4 students headed into the big smoke to visit Polly Woodside. The students scurried aboard an authentic 19th-century tall ship and into the lives of the sailors who lived and worked aboard. The program included facilitated sessions aboard the ship with a range of hands-on activities and engaging experiences from using the capstan to hauling sails to scrubbing decks and learning the fine arts of navigation - what a fabulous learning opportunity! 

The Junior Music Ensemble Evening on Wednesday, 22 June was a fantastic opportunity for many of our students to shine. Students involved in our Cherub and Seraphim Choirs, Vivace, Allegro, Allegretto, Allargando and Andante, performed for family and friends at this special event. We appreciate the amazing work of Mr Jeffrey Clark and his incredible team. Thank you to all our fabulous performers. It was an absolute delight and pleasure watching you perform. 

On Thursday, 23 June, students in Years 5 and 6 had the wonderful opportunity to put their learning on display at the Museums in Motion Expo. In preparation for this expo, students have investigated an influential Australian to discover the impact they have made on shaping our nation. At the expo, they were given the opportunity to dress up and take on the persona of their individual and share their learning with parents and students in our Junior School. 

Please take time over the term break to conduct a thorough check of your child’s school uniform, earrings, hair, the length of winter skirt hems (must be 5 - 10cm below the knee when standing upright), and any uniform items in need of repair. Refer to the guidelines for hair and uniform on pages 12 - 13 of the Student Diary. Staff undertake regular checks and parents will be advised in writing of anything requiring immediate attention. We pray that all students, families and staff will enjoy a safe and productive time of rest and relaxation during the upcoming break.

We look forward to returning for the commencement of Term 3 on Monday, 18 July.

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him. Psalm 62:1

Amy Liddle

Head of Junior School

What Did You Do at School Today?

Prep

We have been learning to write information reports. We have learnt to write sentences and draw a picture about a topic that we are expert in, such as chocolate and giraffes. In the final lessons of Integrated Studies for Term 2, we have shared our understanding of the changes in our life and shared our knowledge in a class book. Here is a sample of some of the changes we have noticed in our world.

Year 1

During IT lessons, we have been developing the skills to navigate iPads and computers independently. We can now use our password to login and keep our information safe. Our mouse skills are developing so that we can accurately click on icons in a program. We can now open a document in Word, insert an image and type text. It is exciting to change the font, colour and size of what we have typed. If you need some IT advice, feel free to ask us, as we are experts!

Year 2

Wow! What an exciting two weeks in Year 2! We loved exploring topics we are experts in and using our knowledge to write our information reports. In Mathematics, we have been learning about 2D shapes. Did you know that 2D shapes make up everything we see? We used this knowledge to investigate tangrams and create a new rug for Granny.

Year 3

We have had a phenomenal term. It has been amazing to spend so much time learning and growing at school. 

Our highlights include: 

1. Completing our first NAPLAN.
2. Exploring our Integrated Studies topic, Into the Unknown.
3. Making our very own Kahoot for Integrated Studies.
4. Writing Information Reports.
5. Finding out about our role in the Junior School Production. We are very excited!
6. Participating in Cross Country and seeing some of our peers make it all the way to regional. 
7. Devotions and studying our way through the book of Genesis. 
8. Discovering new features on our Surface Go device. 
9. Buddy Chapel… We loved the Buddy Block!
10. Learning about red and green thoughts during Health.
11. Showing our parents around the new buildings during Open Day.
12. Growing closer as a year level and participating in weekly class meetings.

We can’t wait to see what we get up to in Term 3! 

Year 4

Semester 2 has finished! What a terrific time we have had this term. We want to give a special shout-out to our Year 4 Home Group and Enviro Captains, who have diligently and faithfully served in their roles. Our teachers are so grateful for your commitment and care, which has blessed our cohort. We had a whale-y good time during our end-of-term excursion to Polly Woodside, embracing a life-like experience of explorers out at sea! We pray for a safe and joyful school holiday, and we look forward to the adventures that lie ahead in Term 3. 

Year 5 and Year 6 Camp

It was an incredible experience to go to Sovereign Hill. We lived like a child from the 1980s, going to school and dressing from that era. Going to the Wesleyan Day School was full of fun and enjoyment. Our teacher was strict but really nice. She taught us how to write with an ink pen, learn the 12 and 16 tables, sing old-style songs, do sewing and play old fashioned games. My favourite part was going to the Wesleyan day school, hanging out with friends, and learning about the past.

Mia Frazer (5R)

Some of my favourite things about camp were the mine tours because it was really fun going in the minecarts and deep underground. I also enjoyed panning for gold because I found two pieces of gold. Eureka!

Ronav Nair (5R)

Camp was a memorable experience. We had a glimpse of how things have changed since the Gold Rush. We learnt about life on the gold fields and had an entertaining time there. The camp was an unforgettable experience that we’ll always look back on. We attended St Alpius. We had different jobs that we were assigned to, including dusting, door monitor, line monitors. If you were left-handed, you got in trouble and had to try to write with your right hand. It was really interesting because the girls and boys did different work. 

Jessica Sia and Hayley Corrigan (5M)

In the Ragged School we used slate pencils, learnt about gold panning and had the opportunity to do trades. The trades included leather work, candlemaking and carpentry. As the Ragged School was the poorest school, we had to bring lunch to everyone. We wore knickerbockers, neckerchiefs, jackets, shirts, apron and hats. We might have been the poorest school, but we think it was the most fun!

Jacob De Silva Thanapathy and Joe Powell (5M)

Year 6

Our Year 5/6 camp was so much fun! We loved dressing up in olden day costumes and writing with a real ink pen. We had to dip our pens in the ink pots when we wanted to write. Although the teachers at the schools were really strict, it was fun to pretend. The girls couldn’t be alone, so the boys had to escort them everywhere they went – even if they had to go to the rubbish bin, a boy had to come with them! We got to see behind-the-scenes at a confectionary shop and we learnt how raspberry drops are made. We even got to try one! We had the chance to go gold panning. It was actually harder than I thought, and it took me a while to get the hang of sifting through the rocks to find specks of gold. We also went deep underground on some mine tours. I thought it was very interesting to learn about the lives of the miners, but some people were scared because it was very dark to begin with. Our dorms were wonderful, and it was good to warm up with my sweet and kind roommates after a cold day exploring! On the last day of camp, we were able to spend our money. I bought some souvenirs from the candle shop for my family. I also bought some raspberry drops and sour grapes from the incredibly popular lolly shop. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I loved Sovereign Hill Camp so much and I would definitely like to go back for a visit sometime. 

Olivia Dyason (6H)

Our Year 5/6 Camp to Sovereign Hill was an amazing experience! We joined in an educational program where we dressed up as children from the 1850s and called our teacher ‘Ma’am.’ The girls learnt how to sew, and the boys learnt how to draw and how to turn string into stronger pieces of rope. During morning teatime, there were different games for girls and boys to play. Some girls played jump rope and the boys had different toys to play with such as bone bats and shuttlecocks. It is so different to what we experience now. We had monitors to complete different tasks, such as, ringing the school bell, opening the gate for people and sweeping the school floors. In our olden days school, we had to write in the Queen’s Cursive handwriting. The letters were so loopy, and fancy and they were difficult to write. The pen and nib that we were using took a while to get used to and the ink was very messy. In our class, we even had to memorise the 16 X tables! Aside from school, we went on some really interesting gold mine tours, and we saw how a block of gold is made by melting down the gold, purifying it and then letting it cool. Jude held the gold block which was worth a quarter of a million dollars!! Camp was an interesting experience, and I learnt a lot of new things while also having a lot of fun with my friends.

Bomi Akinloye (6H)

Sovereign Hill camp was loads of fun! Here’s our summary of our amazing journey.

The bus ride up there was over two hours long and before we reached camp, we arrived at the Eureka Exhibit and admired the original Eureka Flag! Did you know that people used to cut up the Eureka Flag so that they could keep bits of it?! We were amazed by its size and the significance of its history.

During camp we were able to dress up and act as children in the 1850s and go gold panning too! One lucky person from each school even held a 3kg 24k bar of gold! It was worth over a quarter of a million dollars – lucky there were staff guarding the doors! We went on two mine tours and rode down a huge trolley for 45 seconds in pitch black, just like the miners would have done. It was a great experience that will last a lifetime. 

Elijah Lambert and Diana Ford (6G)

Click to the next page for a collection of beautiful photos from camp.