Term 4 

We cannot go through a year like 2020 and not change the way we think about and perceive the world around us. Whilst it has been extremely challenging, it has proved to be a great learning experience for us all. Teachers had to rethink the way learning opportunities and experiences were developed and designed for students in the online environment. Parents became teachers overnight and over time found out a lot about the preferred learning styles of their children, students tried a range of new learning approaches, ways of interacting in the digital environment and in the home classroom. Resilience is the word that comes to mind. We tried things, changed things that did not work, and realised that no way was perfect. However, we kept preserving, challenging ourselves and moving forward. So, it is a time to reflect, knowing that each of you made an impact, tried something new and helped others along the way. "To be the Best I can be" describes you all. 

The transition back to the onsite learning was welcomed by all. Students resumed their class programs and most importantly reconnected with classmates and teachers. Our aim was to ensure that our students felt happy, socially connected and engaged so that they could cope with the challenges that this return presented. To this end, we concentrated on strengthening our students’ capacity to maintain positive relationships and to refocus on learning. The continual reinforcement of our school values and expectations along with regular social skills instruction and support were an integral part of the successful transition back to onsite learning.

Once back on site, students had many opportunities to explore the integrated unit MAKING IT. Basic science concepts were introduced through a range of fun hands on activities. It was encouraging to see students reconnect with their learning by exploring, using and describing changes that they made to materials such as water, wood, plastic and seeds.  Experiments and activities which focussed on these changes in materials included turning water to ice and snow, combining materials together to make volcanoes, watching as seeds sprouted and resulted in hairy caterpillars, using wood to make tool boxes and billy carts, glass to make sensory bottles, just to mention a few. Students had fun learning by handling and exploring objects and watching the results of their experimentation. 

Along with everything this year, we had to redesign special events, the camping program, Farewell Assembly and Christmas celebrations.

We celebrated International Day of Persons with a Disability on Thursday December 3rd. The students of Lower Primary were treated to a fun morning of sports and activities with a group of Victoria Police PSC. The students were also given a tour of the police car which included sounding the siren. Thank you to ‘Law Enforcement Torch Run, Secretary’, Nicole who organised the morning and the 11 members of the Victoria Police who joined in the fun.

CAMPING PROGRAM

This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, LPD, LPE and LPF’s Big Day Out became a Big Day IN! The day formed part of the Concord camping program which is designed to build skills, have fun, develop independence and personal growth. The day kicked off with the incredible team from Kaboom Kids presenting a tabloid sports spectacular. This was an all dancing, all singing, active session that brought out the smiles and laughter in our students. Highlights included the giant velcro dart board, the fruit bouncing on the parachute and the soft frisbees that hit the angry birds targets! So much colour, activity and fun crammed in before recess! After a snack we split into two groups – one group headed to the farm to help farmer Kathleen look after her animals. We got to feed and pat baby chickens, guinea pigs, sheep dog, a turtle, duck and ducklings. The other group glammed it up for our crazy photo booth and made beautiful frames for the photos we took. Some students said that the lunch was their highlight – which was party pies, sausage rolls, hot dogs and fruit, while others were pretty impressed with the icy pole and games after lunch. We chilled out in the afternoon by playing outside and watching a movie.

LPG, LPH and LPI enjoyed their animal themed Special Day In! We gathered for our zoo incursion where we listened to the zoo teacher’s talk about some cool Australian and endangered animals. We watched videos of these animals and played with the puppets. We also learnt that explorers look up, down and all around. After snack time we put on our explorer hats and went on scavenger hunt on the oval and in the garden. We looked up, down and around and found lots of things including bees, birds, herbs, and sticks. After that, we put our cutting and pasting skills to good use when making a giraffe craft. We shared a delicious special lunch of nuggets and chips on the deck together. We ended our busy day watching Rio while we ate icy poles. We were also lucky enough to join in the Kaboom Tabloid Sports morning. All students had a blast!

All students from LPA, LPB and LPC participated in and had a wonderful time over the two days of Day Camp. Activities included party games, a virtual trip to Disneyland, Christmas craft and a science experiment. Some of the highlights included the treasure hunt, the “floor is lava” obstacle course and a definite camp favourite was the McDonald’s lunch. All students demonstrated the Concord Values of Respect, Cooperation, Happiness, Personal Best and Honesty. Fun was had by all. 

CHRISTMAS

We celebrated the end of the year with a Christmas Activity Day this Tuesday.  We had day full of exciting Christmas themed activities starting with our “Christmas Concert" where each class performed a Christmas dance. Students were involved in the choreography for their item as part of the Performing Arts Program. They were thrilled to perform for their friends and teachers and the smiles on each student’s face showed how much they enjoyed performing. 

You can watch this performance on the attached video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLFqW0bXIbE&feature=youtu.be

It is posted on Concord’s Facebook page as well.

Thank you to Alix our Performing Arts teacher for creating the dances with the students and coordinating the  event.

Another highlight of the day was a visit from Santa who must have checked his list twice and worked out who had been naughty and who had been nice……. We must have ALL been very nice! The children were SO excited. Santa didn’t stay too long because he had lots to do!  A happy and fun day was had by all.

The Farewell Assembly was a very special occasion. We recognised and celebrated the achievements of those moving to Upper Primary. These students have worked extremely hard during their time in Lower Primary and are now ready to meet the challenges that the Upper Primary has to offer. 

The Personal Best Award and Citizenship Award were also presented at this assembly. These awards are usually presented at the end of year whole school assembly in recognition of the contribution students have made to Concord. As this assembly did not occur, they were presented at our Farwell Assembly. Genevieve received the Personal Best Award and Jye received the Citizenship Award. Genevieve and Jye are worthy recipients of these awards and have contributed much to Lower Primary during their time with us. Congratulations to Genevieve and Jye.

We are extremely proud of Ashika, Dalia, Emilia, Gabes, Genevieve, Jacob, Kaliah, Mohammed, Shivani, Amaya, Charli, Elijah, Jasleen, Joshua, Luke, Elwood, Adam, Cooper, Cristiano, James, Jye and Kristie. We congratulate these students and wish them success in 2021 and beyond!

As the 2020 school year comes to an end I wherever it was delivered,  parents for the integral role they played in assisting their children with learning and staff for providing a creative and supportive teaching and learning environment both on and off site.

Kath Moore

Campus Principal