Primary School

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day

A heartfelt thank you to our teachers and families for making Grandparents’ Day so special. It was wonderful to welcome grandparents and special friends into our school.

The morning began with an assembly showcasing different aspects of learning at GSG, then moved to time spent in classrooms, and finished with a relaxed picnic morning tea. The day was filled with connection, laughter and shared moments, and finished just in time before the rain.

The morning was an opportunity to honour and celebrate the special role grandparents and special friends play, and we hope you enjoyed this time with your grandchildren as they shared a small glimpse into their school world with you.

After School Play and Carparks

We kindly ask families to be mindful that after-school activities on school grounds maintain appropriate language and volume and remain respectful of staff who may still be working. Students should not be entering buildings after school, to allow teachers and our cleaning staff the space to do their jobs. 

Our ECC carpark is a bustling place before and after school. Please use the paths to keep your children safe and out of the way of reversing cars. 

Year Six Anchor Programs

Our Year Six students are well on the way to completing their service-learning hours as part of our Anchor Leadership program. The program aims to empower Year Six students to develop empathy, responsibility and real-world skills by actively contributing to their community while deepening their understanding of meaningful impact. This week, Gracie Williamson has been raising awareness of bullying through the Do it for Dolly foundation. Groups of students have been running lunchtime clubs to build leadership and encourage confidence, and a sense of belonging by giving students the opportunity to share their interests and connect with others through soccer, crochet, technologies and competitive sports. 

Many students are giving back to the community outside of school, too. Taylah Gent appeared on Seven Regional News on Tuesday night with her efforts to collect for Soroptimist International. See below a photo of her haul so far! There is still time to drop off items in the collection tubs in the ECC and Primary School buildings and make a difference for those families in need.

During May and June, our school will be supporting the Albany Women’s Centre and local Soroptimists as they work together to assist women and children affected by family violence in the Albany regional area. This important initiative helps provide essential items that offer comfort, dignity, and a sense of care to those who need it most.

We are asking families to contribute by donating new items such as shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, toilet paper, tissues, deodorant and lots of other sanitary products. We are also collecting practical everyday items including pyjamas (for girls and boys), schoolbags, pencil cases, stationery, hairbrushes, underwear, socks, lunch boxes, and drink bottles. 

– Taylah Gent | Year Six student

Classroom News

Please see the classroom news below. Some fantastic experiences are happening in our classrooms; we hope you enjoy reading about them.

Djinda

Last week, we tested our legs and made it to the Wild Space. Hooray! This week, we are hoping to (weather permitting) head deeper into the Wild Space, with the aim of creating a collection of natural things. Colour bags were sent home last week, with each child bringing in a special piece of news to match their designated colour.

In small groups we will share our news with the focus on building confidence and using big sentences. We have also started borrowing from the library; the pure joy that books bring children has been heart-warming, a true reminder that a lovely story can excite wonder and curiosity and bring joy.

Kindergarten

It has been another fun-filled week in Kindergarten. The children are loving retelling the story of The Little Red Hen, especially using the big actions! The children have been busy learning the s, a, t, p, i, n letters. This week we focused on the letter ‘Aa’. It was fun to use red and green apples to print with and draw ‘ants on the apples, a, a, a.’ The sun was shining at the Wild Space this week, which meant it was a perfect time to practise writing our focus letters in the sand and decorating them using sticks and shells.

Pre-Primary 

We had a wonderful time with our grandparents visiting our classrooms last week. Our grandparents were treated to a fantastic performance of ‘Donkeys Don’t Like Carrots’ followed by some games and art in the room. We washed all this down with a lovely morning tea on the verandah. 

In our inquiry we have been exploring the features of places and how some places have similar features but are used for different purposes. We have visited the Wild Space to observe the features of our special place, along with the bridge and as part of Science Week we walked to the Fish Traps with some of our big kid buddies. The Fish Traps is a special place for the Menang people. It has man-made and natural features that are important to our community.

Year One

The highlight of last week was definitely having our grandparents join us for the morning on Friday. We had so much fun playing games (like roll a Grandma or Grandpa!), making badges, doing word searches, filling in fact files on one another and letting them share in some of our daily class activities. We really enjoyed making and presenting our presents to our grandparents and special friends and then we shared our morning tea together, in between lots of hugs! It has been an exciting few weeks with our mums visiting us and then our grandparents. Could there be any more excitement? Well, possibly, as we welcome more visitors as we enter our annual Primary School Science Week!

Year Two

Our Magical Mystery History Tour was the highlight of the week, and we thoroughly enjoyed learning all the new and exciting ways these places were important and how they taught us about the past. Our first stop was the Light Horse Memorial. We then toured the Town Hall and were the first ones to ‘perform’ on the brand new stage! We visited the Museum of the Great Southern and saw many pictures of Albany in the past. We waved to Mokare on the way to Binalup/Middleton Beach and had quite a warm and brisk walk along the boardwalk all the way to the old lighthouse. As part of our Science Week activities on Wednesday, we were fortunate to visit our final significant site: the Fish Traps. This important Indigenous site became the focus of our class Science Week inquiry. At the Wild Space, we also explored how First Nations people used natural materials to create instruments and produce sound, deepening our understanding of their knowledge and connection to the environment. What a busy week!

Year Three 

In Year Three, the highlight of our week was celebrating Grandparents’ Day. Students thoroughly enjoyed interviewing their grandparents, asking thoughtful questions about their favourite places in Australia, as well as the country’s climate and native animals. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to connect learning with personal experiences. We also enjoyed sharing some of our favourite class games together and spending time over a special morning tea, which made the day even more memorable for everyone involved.

We have now begun another exciting week as we celebrate Science Week. The Year Three students have created a range of impressive projects that demonstrate their understanding and appreciation of Indigenous science. It has been fantastic to see such creativity and engagement in their work.

Year Four

The Year Four students thoroughly enjoyed welcoming their grandparents on Friday. It was wonderful to see them drawing on their grandparents’ knowledge and life experiences to imagine how they might contribute to a convict colony. The activity sparked rich conversations and thoughtful ideas across both classes.

Our Year Four students are now preparing to showcase their suspenseful narrative writing. They have been developing key writing techniques such as show, don’t tell, letting the threat get closer, and hiding the threat to build tension and engage their readers. We look forward to seeing their creativity and skills come to life in their final pieces.

Year Five

Have you ever wondered why pelicans do not just use that enormous beak to scoop up worms for the sake of variety, or why a duck cannot turn itself into a honky nut munching machine? Well, we pondered these questions this week in the battle of the beaks. Students carried out science experiments with model beaks and snap up representative foods, finding out the answers to similar questions to our opener. The most versatile beaks were able to pick up not just seeds, but worms and aquatic plants, too. In due course, we learnt that specialisation through adaptation allows animals to thrive until dietary variety is required.

Year Six

In Science over the past few weeks, students have been learning about Changing States of Matter. As part of Science Week at GSG, we are building on this learning through a First Nations Materials Science focus. The Year Six classes will explore how First Nations peoples apply scientific knowledge of materials, including understanding reversible and irreversible changes. One of our practical investigations this week involves observing beeswax as it melts from a solid to a liquid and then re-solidifies. This provides a clear, real-life example of changes in state. To further connect learning to real-world applications, they made a small pot of lip balm. The ingredients include beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, vitamin E and vanilla bean.

Languages

In ECC, we are learning French words alongside their AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language) signs! Exploring language in both spoken and visual ways helps children build stronger connections with new vocabulary and makes learning more engaging and memorable.

Using both French and AUSLAN also gives students more ways to express themselves, supporting confidence in communication. It is a lovely way to build awareness, inclusion, and respect for different forms of language, all while having fun learning something new.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Ms Leah Field | Head of Primary and

Mrs Hayley Ranger | Head of Early Childhood