Junior School
Junior School Update
As we come to the end of Term 2, I want to take a moment to thank you for your ongoing support of your children and our Junior School staff. It’s a privilege to partner with you on this wonderful journey of learning, growth and faith. We’ve had a fantastic term filled with great learning, joyful moments, and plenty of opportunities to celebrate our students’ achievements.
As we head into the winter break, I pray that it will be a time of rest, warmth, and special moments with your families.
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you." - Numbers 6:24–25
We’re already looking forward to Term 3, traditionally one of my favourite terms of the year! We’ll be kicking off with Grandparents and Special Friends Day on Monday 28 July, followed by swimming lessons, and of course, the much-loved Book Week celebrations.
Wishing you all a safe and refreshing break and we'll see your children back here on Wednesday 23rd July.
Alex Burgess
Deputy Principal / Head of Junior School
Prep
The Preps have had a wonderful Term 2! We have learnt so much and done so many exciting things. We especially loved going to see Pinocchio Jr at the Lighthouse Theatre on Friday. What a great day!
Eden Romero
Prep Teacher
Year 1
What a wonderful term of learning it has been in Year 1! Our students have shown great enthusiasm as they master new spelling patterns and apply them confidently in their reading and writing. In Maths, we’ve been working with buddies to practice counting by 2s and using hands-on materials to explore tens and ones. It’s been lovely to see students encouraging one another and working together, just as God calls us to build each other up in love (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
This week, our Year 1 students had a special opportunity to join with the Year 2 class for a video call to Uganda! It was so exciting to see Mrs Tucker and Mr Griffin and hear about some of their incredible adventures. The children were keen to ask questions and learn more about life in Uganda. In the lead-up to the call, we read books about Uganda and explored interesting facts about its people, culture, and wildlife. It was a wonderful experience that helped us better understand and appreciate another part of God’s world.
As we approach the holidays, we give thanks to God for His faithfulness throughout the term. We pray the break brings rest, fun, and family time for all our students.
Kerry Snook
Year 1 Teacher
Year 2
What a wonderful term it has been! Recently, the Year 2s enjoyed some buddy time with their Year 4 buddies. We supported and encouraged them as they practiced their biography presentations with us, and created 3D plasticine models of the imaginary animals that we'd created earlier in the week! Everyone produced such amazing creations (that were incredibly accurate to the Year 2s' drawings)! Thank you buddies, for your caring, generous and patient attitude toward your buddies!
There have been a lot of investigations and experiments taking place as we have wrapped up our Science unit on 'Sounds Around Us'. We've explored how sound changes when we use different methods for making the sound, different materials, and when more/less energy and tension is used. Students have investigated sounds made with rubber bands, different types of rulers, and they've made their own box guitars with different sized rubber bands to explore how tension can influence pitch!
In Maths, we have begun learning fractions and engaged in many hands-on learning tasks such as sharing 'lunch box foods' equally between two and four people, cutting play-doh circles into quarters and halves, and producing fraction art by cutting shapes into halves or quarters.
Finally, this week the Year 2s enjoyed their class reward (a disco party) for filling up our 'Happy Hippo Jar'! There are certainly some excellent and enthusiastic dancers amongst the class! Well done everyone on a wonderful term! We're looking forward to all of the fun and learning we will have together in Term 3!
Alissa Griffin
Year 2 Teacher
Year 3
Year 3 has had a busy final three weeks of term, wrapping up our learning about Australia and it’s neighbours by choosing a neighbouring country of Australia to research and create a slideshow about. We have worked super hard on these and did a self-assessment and peer assessment to reflect on the best presentations that we could muster. Here are some pages from our slideshows.
We are very blessed to have Mrs Gittins as our Learning Support in Year 3 and recently she had a big birthday to celebrate! To honor her and show her just how much we love her, we made special cards and had a birthday party and celebration for Mrs Gittins. She was very surprised and we were very excited to celebrate this big milestone with her and show her just how much we value her in our class!
In Maths, we have done an investigation and had to find twelve things to weigh to get as close to 1kg as we could. It was pretty challenging, but some of us got to spot on 1000 grams!
Finally this week, after finishing reading Charlotte’s Web, we celebrated and watched the movie (and a few tears were shed!). We then did a bit of a comparison of the book to the movie and some of us are undecided about which was better. Ethan was inspired to make a spider out of blu tack and also did an impressive drawing as well. We love what our creative souls bring to our room and they constantly blow us away with their amazing creations!
We finished the term with a “Morning of Fun” and had some interesting contests, such as Crab walk races and thumb wars!
Ang Hales
Year 3 Teacher
Year 4
Year 4 students recently finished a unit in Humanities looking at identity, family and how we learn from the past. As part of this, everyone researched and interviewed a special person in their family. Last week, the students in Year 4 stood up in front of Mums, Dads, Grandparents and their friends to present their projects. Well done to everyone for their wonderful presentations! It was a daunting task for many but everyone showed bravery, confidence and determination. A special thank you to all the supportive friends who came to watch - we loved having you all there.
Emily Hunter
Year 4 Teacher
Year 4/5
Year 4/5 have finished off the term extraordinarily well. They have all worked very hard and completed all the units of study with diligence and care. The students also tied in their studies with a fun excursion to Budj Bim National Park and Education Centre. They all enjoyed learning about our local wildlife and topography. They discovered how the local Indigenous community trapped and traded Eels and other Fish, and learned all about the lifecycle of Eels. Lots was learnt and fun was had discovering caves, lakes and many other things.
Naomi O'Brien
Year 4/5 Teacher
Year 6
As we finish up the term in Year 6 we have done some wonderful and fun activities. In Science, during our studies on Natural Disasters we constructed Volcanoes and watched them explode. We REALLY enjoyed doing this. We got sand from the sandpit which we moulded around a bottle, placed on an aluminium tray. Next we decorated our tray with houses, people and animals so we could see if our lava would reach them. We then put bicarb soda in the bottle and poured in red coloured vinegar. IT THEN EXPLODED! and we watched the devastation of a volcano and what it can do to its surrounding environment. It was loads of fun.
The other really fun thing we did to end the term was called a Big Write. We were given a few days notice of our special topic which was "What would you like to do for your last day of Year 6?" We discussed at home what we thought we might write about. We were given a few guidelines about our topic such as it had to be reasonable and achievable. We had to write it in the form of a persuasive text as a letter to Mrs Robertson. On the day our table formations had changed in the room. We were allowed to bring in a cushion for our chair and Mrs Robertson had put a collection of soft toys around the room. The other thing that made it special was we have coloured and patterned paper to write on with gel pens. It all just made the writing quite special. We hope you enjoy the photos of both these events.
There were some really inventive and imaginative proposals as to what Year 6 could do on their last day of Junior School. Some were very feasible like a trip to Cudgee Wildlife Park or the Treetop Walk, wearing costumes, playing Kahoot, having pizza, McDonalds or Grill'd for lunch, going to a water park, chilling with the Year 12s, building Lego, playing Xbox or online games, watching movies, doing escape rooms, going to Lake Pertobe Playground and sleepovers with our Prep Buddies. Others were very way out there like flying Donald Trump or Ronaldo in to visit us, building ziplines or having a Slip and Slide from one end of the school to the other, driving around in limousines or playing soccer against very famous soccer teams who come to King's. If only dreams could come true!
Coral Robertson
Year 6 Teacher
Food Tech
Our Year 6 students had a deliciously fun time in the kitchen recently, as they made Crêpes with sweet toppings – think strawberries, banana, maple syrup and a sprinkle of sugar! While taste-testing their creations was definitely a highlight, the learning didn’t stop there.
We also explored the French tradition of savoury crêpes, often filled with ingredients like cheese, ham, mushrooms, or eggs. Students learned how crêpes are typically rolled or folded, and we talked about how different cultures enjoy the same food in unique ways. There was plenty of curiosity and creativity, and hopefully a few crêpes might even appear in family kitchens at home!
Last week, they also made fried rice – a simple, tasty dish that’s perfect for using up leftovers or whipping up something nutritious in a hurry. We talked about how fried rice is a great way to reduce food waste, making the most of vegetables, rice, or protein left over from previous meals. We also explored how frozen vegetables from the freezer can be a handy and healthy addition, helping us cook quickly without compromising on flavour or nutrition. The students worked really well in their kitchen teams. It was wonderful to see them experimenting with flavours and learning how versatile this classic dish can be.
It’s such a blessing to engage in cross-curricular learning – combining food technology, language, geography, and cultural understanding all in one joyful experience. As we explore other cultures, we are reminded that God has made a rich and diverse world, full of different people, places, and traditions to appreciate and learn from.
In Romans 12:10, we are encouraged to "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour." As we learn about other ways of life, we are practicing empathy, understanding, and respect - honouring others as children of God. Bon appétit, Year 6!
Ally Robinson
Teacher
LOTE
In LOTE Chinese classes we have been learning about common animals and pets. The Prep students have been enjoying making the characters with play dough and pin boards. They have also enjoyed playing the game 'Duck Duck Goose' in Chinese.
Anna Chen
Junior School LOTE Teacher
Gideon Program
Last week the Junior Gideon class fished the banks of the Hopkins River! We had Fishcare facilitating us, along with Mr Wakim, Mr Raven, Mr Bond and many parents sharing their fishing skills. Thank you to all! Jemima stole the show and landed a 30cm Bream! It was a perfect blue sky morning with no wind. After a wet and wild start to the week, God gave us the best day to be out fishing.
..be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 5:18-20
Steph Kosh
Junior Gideon Program Teacher