PRIMARY SCHOOL
Acting Head Of Primary
It has been wonderful to welcome our Primary students and their families back for the last term of 2023! The term started with our Year 3 and Year 4 students heading to their camp during the first week. This was the first time these students had been able to attend a school camp due to the lockdowns of the previous years. I was able to spend a day with the Year 3 student at their ADANAC camp and we had so much fun together! These camps give the students an opportunity to enjoy God’s creation in a different setting and enjoy activities they would not normally be able to experience.
We have also had the opportunity to farewell Mrs Wansbrough as she concludes her time as Principal of the College. I was so proud of the Primary students who participated in playing in the orchestra and singing the songs. The music and singing sounded amazing and I know it brought a tear to the eyes of many who were present.
This term will continue to have many events which will keep us busy – Transition Days for 2023 classes; Year 6 Graduation; Presentation Morning; our ‘Follow the Star’ Christmas event, plus many other things. Please keep the evening of November 25 free for Follow the Star and the morning of December 5 free for our Presentation Morning. These will be major events for our Primary School and ones where parents can be involved. More information will be communicated about these events in the coming weeks.
Please continue to keep our College in your prayers. We are so fortunate that we can share our faith as we teach the students in our care and that God can be central in all we do.
Every blessing for the weeks ahead.
Tim Farmilo
Acting Head of Primary
Prep Excursion to Chesterfield Farm
What a wonderful day the Prep children had, visiting Chesterfield Farm! We “met” baby animals in the Animal Nursery, learned about farm animals, watched a sheep dog at work, fed four-legged animals, enjoyed a tractor ride, saw some cows being milked and so much more. We are thankful that God blessed us with a beautiful sunny day for this lovely conclusion to our learning about Farm Animals.
Shellene Pillifieant
Prep teacher
Stop Motion In Digital Technologies
Late in term 3 the year 5 and 6 students had their E3 week in which one of the electives was to create stop motion videos in the digital technologies' lab. I had been planning this for a few weeks and wasn’t sure if it would work, but I was keen to experiment and judging by the popularity of the elective the students were too.
There’s something about having creative freedom, time to experiment and a like-minded team that unleashes the imagination. Students worked in teams, using Lego and miniature green-screen studios to collaborate and create short videos using their iPads. Stop motion can be a tedious process, but it also gives you the most detailed control possible. Every second of the video is typically 12 individual photos and the green screen studio allows the background to be replaced. Throw in some editing, sound effects and music and you get a whole room of enthusiastic creators.
I was so pleased with the results that I quickly introduced it to the younger year levels that I teach (years 2 – 4) with similar results. Technology is an incredible gift and is best used to work together with others and imaginatively create.
Gary Ong
Digital Technologies Teacher
Year 3 Camp To ADANAC
On the slightly wet Wednesday morning of October 5th, the year 3 students and some brave St Andrews staff left the school for the annual year 3 camp to ADANAC.
After about an hour’s drive to Yarra Junction, the children had morning tea at a park near the camp before heading just down the road for what would be, for some, their first time ever sleeping away from the comforts of home, family and familiar surroundings.
Bronwyn, our camp guide introduced us to the camp and explained the camp rules, then we excitedly roamed the campsite, discovering the delights that awaited us. Flying fox, low ropes course, archery, volleyball, hut building, the campfire and of course, the famous water slide were all there, not to mention the giant trampolines and cage soccer for a taste of the fun to come!
After unpacking and having lunch, the activity rotations began and the children set off with excited squeals and laughs down the big hill.
Sometime later, tired, yet somehow still energetic children congregated in the dining hall for dinner, but not before an exhilarating (and somewhat chilly) ride down the water slide into the lake! Is it suspicious that Mr Farmilo and Miss Elliott were the quickest to volunteer to push… er, help the children down the slide? We may never know!
The evening’s other activities included a devotion from Mr Grant, cooking marshmallows by the campfire, capably built by Mr Ferguson and finally watching Shaun the sheep while eating popcorn.
After that, it was showers and finally bed time!
Day two – Thursday – started off quite gloomy with rain clouds threatening, however these decided they didn’t want to stay after all and raced off to torment some other people somewhere else. This left us with a clear and sunny day to enjoy a hearty breakfast, a beautiful worship time led by Miss Nheu, Mrs Ranger and Mr Ferguson and more activities including a giant game of Bombardment before packing and making the trek back to everyday life again.
A huge thank you to the staff – Mrs Albertus, Miss Elliott, Mr Farmilo, Mr Grant, Mr Ferguson, Miss Nheu, Mrs Lepilio, Mrs Hendricks and Mrs Ranger who came along and may or may not have had much sleep, as well as the wonderful staff at ADANAC for a fantastic camp. We are extremely grateful to have been able to go to camp after the restrictions of the past two years!
Rebecca Elliott & Anthea Albertus
Year 3 Teachers
Year 4 Camp To The Ranch
Year 4 Camp was very fun! We went to The Ranch at the Mornington Peninsula and stayed for 3 days and 2 nights, from 5th October to 7th October.
One of my highlights of camp was when I got to go on the flying fox. The flying fox there is 272 metres long, a fifth of a kilometre! I rode with Lauren. It was awesome to whizz through the air with such wonderful beauty of the landscape around us!
Zoe Almodiel
Year 4 Student
My highlight of camp was horse riding. I had never done this before, but I wasn’t too scared. I rode a horse called Pandora. She was dark brown, with a few white patches on her neck and had a white tail. She was very calm and a little slower than the other horses. I learned that the tighter you held the reins, the slower she went.
Lauren Maxwell
Year 4 Student
I liked the twilight hike the best. We did a small race up and down the hills and we all ate a plant which tasted like salty spinach. We learned about the other farms and places nearby, such as the avocado farm, the potato farm, the strawberry farm and the carrot farm. We also learned that The Ranch used to be a sheep farm!
Joyce Zhao
Year 4 Student
My highlight of camp was the cabins. The people in my cabin were Elijah, Noah, John, Jordan, Levi and Jett. It was really fun being in a cabin with my friends because whenever you woke, they’d greet you with a nice “good morning”. I also liked being in a cabin with my friends because it’s like having a sleepover for 3 days.
Thierry Wisurya
Year 4 Student
Year 4 camp was awesome because we got to spend time with friends, do great activities like the giant swing and eat delicious food!
Jordan Nah
Year 4 Student
A huge thank you to Mrs Su, Mr Farmer, Mr Baird, Mr Haines and Mr Grant for helping out at the Year 4 camp!
From the Year 4 teachers and students!
Year 5 Mission Service Morning Tea
Last Term, Year 5 had read a story 'One Hen' by Katie Smith Milway and the trickle effect of one small loan, making a difference to a family and community.
Inspired by this story, Year 5's decided to host a morning tea for the Primary School last Tuesday 18th October. Well, we were absolutely blown away by the amount of people and students who turned up ready to support our cause. Each group were baking and making, advertising, and selling. Our most popular stall by far was the bubble tea, with a line ending at the playground.
We want to acknowledge the parents and families for their support, St Andrews staff for their help and encouragement, but most of all, the students who came to support the cause!
The money raised will be donated to Compassion Australia and our Year 5s will decide on what they want to purchase to help communities in need. One seemingly tiny resource will greatly benefit a family and in turn, help their community.
From all of us in Year 5, THANK YOU!
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3: 23-24
Natalie Low
Year 5 Teacher