Art P-6

As of next term we are giving students from P-6 the chance to participate in the International Poster Making Contest 2026. This is an exciting global platform for students to express their creativity, imagination, and artistic skills through meaningful and impactful posters This year’s overarching theme is: “Young Minds, Better World.”

The competition encourages students to present their ideas, values, and vision for a better future through art. The contest is open to students across various age groups, with thoughtfully designed sub-themes:

• Prep students: Little Hands Can Help

•Grade 1–3: Be a Kind and Caring Citizen

• Grade 4–6: Protecting Our Planet Starts With Me.

Students will be required to complete a submission. Please read details below

Submission Guidelines: • Upload two images: a) The poster only b) The participant holding the poster • Complete the submission form at: https://linktr.ee/gemapostermakingcontest2026 • Pay the registration fee of US$10

A Brochure Link is also available: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wNKWtEdZV_WXvMfI4KPnP1rtnclUKOR8/view?usp=sharing

Any students interested should register, pay and upload their work by Sunday, 31st May 2026

Prep and Year 1 Art:

Our Prep and Year 1 students have had a productive and engaging final two weeks in Art. During this time, they explored key elements of art, including shape, line, and colour, building foundational skills through a range of creative activities.

In Week 9, students worked with watercolours, carefully observing and mixing colours to match their own features before painting half of their faces and shoulders as part of our self-portrait project. This activity encouraged both creativity and attention to detail.

To conclude the term, students completed any unfinished work, including their portraits, and enjoyed a fun, guided Easter drawing activity, celebrating their progress in a relaxed and creative way.

Well done to all Prep and Year 1 students for a fantastic term of learning, creativity, and growth. We look forward to continuing this journey in Term 2.

Year 2 & 3 Art

In the final two weeks of Term 1, our Year 2 and Year 3 students have been busy exploring their creativity through a range of engaging and meaningful visual art activities. To celebrate Harmony Day, students participated in open-ended art experiences that encouraged them to express ideas about kindness, inclusion, and peace within our school and across the world. It was wonderful to see such thoughtful and imaginative responses.

Students also enjoyed creating colourful Easte

r surprise artworks, bringing excitement and a sense of celebration into the art room. In the final week, they took the opportunity to complete unfinished pieces, showing dedication and pride in their work.

We would like to commend all students for their creativity, enthusiasm, and imaginative thinking throughout these activities. We look forward to seeing more wonderful artwork in Term 2!

Year 4 Art

In Weeks 9 and 10, students finished working on their colourful backgrounds. Some students also went back to complete their block letter names.

They used bright, bold markers and added fun patterns and polka dots to make their names really stand out. Once their name designs were finished, students also explored how to make them even more eye-catching by pasting them onto coloured paper. The results were bold and vibrant, and everyone’s work really popped!

Students also chose to reflect on the work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and decided to take a creative twist – instead of adding their name to their background, they created pumpkin designs inspired by Kusama’s famous patterns. These pumpkins were bright, patterned, and full of imagination!

It’s been exciting to see students experimenting with colour, pattern, and composition, and trying out new ways to make their artwork really stand out with various materials.

Visual Art Grade 5 & 6

Over the past two weeks, Grade 5 and 6 students have been finishing their Kusama-inspired paintings, refining their work with careful attention to detail. As they completed their acrylic paintings, students focused on strengthening colour contrast and ensuring their patterns were clear and visually engaging.

To enhance their final pieces, students have been using acrylic paint markers to add intricate details and layered patterns, bringing greater depth and complexity to their artworks. These finishing touches have allowed students to elevate their work and fully realise their creative ideas.

Science Prep-6

As we come to the end of Term 1, it has been wonderful to see the enthusiasm and curiosity students have shown towards Science across all year levels. Throughout the term, students have been actively engaged in hands-on learning experiences that have encouraged them to ask questions, explore ideas, and think like young scientists.

Our Prep students have thoroughly enjoyed learning about living and non-living things, confidently identifying their differences and understanding what living things need to survive.

In Grade 1, students have developed a strong awareness of weather patterns and how they impact our daily lives.

Grade 2 students have explored the properties of materials, investigating how different materials can change and why certain materials are suited for specific purposes.

Grade 3 students explored forces, including friction and gravity and discovered how different surfaces can affect movement.

Grade 4 students explored the layers of the Earth and investigated how weathering and erosion continually shape our planet. They demonstrated their understanding by creating informative posters to showcase their learning.

Grade 5 students enjoyed experimenting with light, shadows, and reflection, refraction and developing an understanding of how light travels and interacts with different surfaces such as mirrors.

In Grade 6, students engaged deeply with their electricity unit, successfully building simple circuits and exploring how batteries, conductors, and insulators work together to allow electrical energy to flow.

It has been fantastic to see students growing in confidence, collaboration, and scientific thinking. We look forward to another exciting term of discovery and learning in Science!

Spanish

¡Adiós Term 1! 👋

Dear families,

What a fantastic start to the year we have had in Spanish!

Across all year levels, students have been actively learning and practicing their Spanish through songs, games, conversations, and creative activities.

Our Prep to Grade 2 students have been building their confidence with basic vocabulary such as greetings (hola, adiós), feelings (¿cómo estás?), colours, and numbers. They have loved singing songs and using actions to support their learning.

Students in Grades 3 and 4 have continued developing their conversational skills, learning how to ask and answer simple questions, talk about themselves, and explore aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures.

In Grades 5 and 6, students have been extending their language skills by creating short conversations, asking for information, and using more complex vocabulary. They have also shown great interest in cultural topics and real-life language use.

It has been wonderful to see students engaging, participating, and having fun while learning a new language.

As we wrap up Term 1, we say:¡Adiós Term 1 y gracias!

We look forward to continuing our Spanish learning journey in Term 2.

Kind regards,The Spanish team.

MEDIA - with Mr. Brendan Howarth

With the conclusion of Term One, we wrap up a successful Media unit for many of our classes!

Preps have made connections to narrative structures and devices through watching familiar TV shows like Bluey.

Year One students wrapped up their study of cultural stories and legends with a viewing of Hercules.

Year Two students have represented many of the IB attributes through their photography, wrapping up with "caring".

Year Three students, having represented different parts of our school in slideshow presentations have created pieces focusing on topics of their choice.

In Year Four, we completed our analysis of the TV show Thalu and its connections to Aboriginal history.

Year Five students finished their exploration how media has evolved over time with a look at photography and cameras.

Year Six successfully built a character from the ground up. They designed 3D models of character and created character profiles complete with backstories that made allusions to their visual design choices.

中文（普通话）Mandarin🇨🇳

Miss Qiao

Miss Xiong

Thank you all for your continued trust and support. It truly means a lot to have your encouragement in our Mandarin learning journey. Over the past two weeks, our students have been actively engaged in learning and practising a range of important language skills, and it has been wonderful to see their progress.

In Prep, students have been focusing on numbers from one to ten in Chinese. They have been learning to recognise, read, and write these numbers, as well as practising through repetition activities such as songs, classroom games, and simple conversations with the teacher and peers. We also introduced polite expressions like “thank you 谢谢你” and “you’re welcome, 不客气” and students are beginning to use them in class.

In Years 1 and 2, students continued to learn and revise numbers 数字 from one to ten. They are encouraged to use numbers in everyday situations, such as counting forwards and backwards when needed. We also introduced the concepts of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Students are developing their skills in listening, recognising, and writing, which will support their future sentence building.

In Years 3 and 4, students learned and revised numbers from one to one hundred. They are now able to count more confidently and use numbers in context. Students also began learning how to talk about time, for example saying sentences like “Yesterday was Wednesday, today is Thursday, and tomorrow will be Friday. 昨天是星期三，今天是星期四，明天是星期五”

In Years 5 and 6, students also focused on numbers from one to one hundred. They are able to count independently and demonstrate understanding through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students have started using numbers to express dates, such as saying “Today is 27 March 2026. 今天是二零二六年三月二十七日。” They are also beginning to understand the differences between Chinese and English grammar when expressing dates.

As Term 1 comes to an end, we are very proud of the effort and progress all students have made. In Term 2, we will continue our Mandarin learning journey and build on these foundations. We warmly encourage families to continue supporting and engaging with your child’s Mandarin learning. Your involvement makes a big difference.

Thank you again for your ongoing support.

WELLBEING

Over the next two weeks, students are learning about seeking help, staying safe, and building strong support networks, while also celebrating Harmony Week by recognising diversity, inclusion, and belonging in our community.

Foundation

Students are learning to identify people and actions that help keep them safe and healthy. As part of Harmony Week, they celebrated what makes each person special and practised kindness and inclusion through sharing and class discussions.

Year 1

Students are exploring different family relationships and how families provide love, care, and support. During Harmony Week, they recognised that all families are unique and celebrated diversity within their classroom community.

Year 2

Students are practising strategies to seek help at school and home. Through Harmony Week, they explored ways to include others, show kindness, and respect differences.

Year 3

Students are learning to recognise when they feel unsafe or uncomfortable and how to respond. As part of Harmony Week, they discussed the importance of respect, belonging, and supporting others in their community.

Year 4

Students are developing persistence and adaptability when facing challenges. During Harmony Week, they reflected on how understanding and respecting differences can help build stronger, more supportive relationships.

Year 5

Students are investigating community resources that support health, safety, and wellbeing. Through Harmony Week, they explored diversity in the wider community and the importance of inclusion and respect for all. Students as well took time to think of next term goals.

Year 6

Students are building confidence in seeking help by exploring trust and courage. As part of Harmony Week, they discussed leadership, inclusion, and how they can contribute to a respectful and supportive school community.

DANCE

The year 4’s have been very creative over the last two weeks with the tasks set out in Dance. Our first task was a team building routine where the I had started off with a few steps and combinations for the students to learn, and then opened it up for the students to put forward their creative ideas and add on to what was started. Some students were a little hesitant at first to contribute, but once they saw others throwing in their amazing ideas, they all started to drop their guards, open up their minds and eagerly join in creating their own steps and choreography. This task worked on various elements such as being open minded, creative, a risk taker and not worrying about what others thought, as well as exercising and expanding their memories also.

This also helped lead into their second task in the next class where students were grouped with fellow classmates they don’t always associate with on a regular basis. Through this each group had to work together to create a routine of 4x8 counts within a certain timeframe. This highlighted the importance of teamwork and communication, listening to and validating each others ideas and concepts. Time management was an important factor, as was learning to compromise with others and their ideas to help achieve the goals set out. Some groups found this challenging but still never gave up, while others minimised the complexities of the steps and choreography to make the goals more achievable in the short time set out. Clever concepts and ideas saw groups excel through this task based on the approach they took and the obstacles they worked together to overcome. There were some very creative minds within each group, and it was great to hear the feedback from students upon reflection of the tasks at the end. Well done to all!

Wakakirri.....(Dance)

Our Wakakirri rehearsals have been going so well, and we have almost finished the finale of this years routine as we come to the end of thew term. Students have been rehearsing well together and it’s been great to see certain students emerge as leaders within the group who have been helping those around them. Yet again we have a great team of students in this years show, and we have seen some great examples of teamwork already. Term 2 looks to be a jam packed with extra rehearsals to help complete the routine in time for or Term 3 performance!

VSSS.....(Dance)

Our VSSS dancers have been working extra hard to help master the complex dance routines set out with all the tricky little steps in between. The genre of songs and choreography to match them has opened up the students minds to the various sounds and songs of the past and the dance styles that went with them. This years team has a great vibe and energy about them and has been positioned right in front of the audience by VSSS to help showcase this and help lead other surrounding schools with the choreography in the show. We so are proud of them all and look forward to more rehearsals to come!

Music

Across all year levels, students have been introduced to the musical elements of rhythm, melody, pitch, tempo, harmony, dynamics and form through engaging, practical activities.

Prep – Year 2

Prep - 2 have focused on developing fundamental musical skills through movement, singing, and dance. Students have explored steady beat and rhythm, building their ability to stay in time while learning ‘Soda Pop’, ‘Hot Cross Buns’ melody and ‘Octopus’ Garden’ interlude on the xylophone. These activities support co-ordination, listening skills, and a strong rhythmic foundation.

Years 3 – 4

Students in Years 3 and 4 have developed their instrumental skills, with a focus on learning C and F chords on the ukulele. They have also explored xylophone and a range of percussion instruments, strengthening their understanding of pitch, rhythm, and ensemble playing by learning the ‘Interstellar’ movie theme in 3 parts. Emphasis has been placed on accuracy, technique, and keeping a steady beat.

Years 5 – 6

Senior students have been working collaboratively to create and perform in small ensembles. They have learned to play ukulele chords C, F, A minor, and G on the ukulele, alongside developing simple piano melodies. Through these experiences, students have explored harmony, structure, and group performance skills learning ‘Viva La Vida’ and ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ in an ensemble setting.

The arrival of new musical instrumentation provides all students with the opportunity to learn guitar, keyboard, ukulele and djembe drums in Term 2.

Victorian State Schools Spectacular – Mass Choir

Twenty lucky students from Grades 5 and 6 have jumped at the opportunity of a lifetime. To perform at John Cain Arena this August as part of the Victorian State Schools Spectacular Mass Choir.

Students have been making fantastic progress learning their varied and exciting vocal repertoire attending bi-weekly rehearsals. This is an incredible experience for students to be part of a large-scale, professional production, showing dedication, enthusiasm, and commitment. We look forward to seeing them shine on stage.

Music Equipment Donations Needed

Our school music program is continuing to grow with so many students engaging enthusiastically in their musical learning. To support this burgeoning program, we’re currently seeking donations of unused musical equipment from our school community.

We are in urgent need of drum kit components, specifically a snare drum and kick drum pedal. These items would make a significant difference in allowing more students to participate in practical, hands-on music-making experiences.

If your family has any unused equipment, you would be willing to donate, we would be incredibly grateful for your support.

Please contact the school if you can assist. Thank you for supporting our music program.

Physical Education

What a fantastic term it has been in Physical Education! Our students in Years 3–6 have been working incredibly hard as they prepare for our upcoming Athletics Carnival in May. The excitement has been building each week, and it has been wonderful to see students challenging themselves, supporting their peers, and giving every session their best effort.

We also recently held our Saltwater P–9 Cross Country event at Brookdale Reserve, and it was a huge success. We were thrilled with the amazing turnout on the day. A big congratulations to all students who participated, whether you made the team or simply gave it a go, you should be very proud of your efforts. Best of luck to the runners who qualified for the District Cross Country, which will be held at Saltwater Reserve on April 30, where they will compete against other schools across the district. Parents and carers are more than welcome to attend and cheer on our students.

Saltwater students proudly represented our school at the Regional Swimming Championships held in Geelong, delivering outstanding performances across the day. Our swimmers demonstrated exceptional determination, sportsmanship, and skill, resulting in some amazing outcomes.

We are thrilled to celebrate that two students have qualified for the State Swimming Championships later this month, a fantastic achievement and a testament to their hard work and commitment.

A special mention must go to Mila Lei, who had an outstanding day, placing first in both freestyle and backstroke events. In an incredible performance, Mila also broke the Western Metropolitan record for 9–10-year-old girls, an extraordinary accomplishment and a moment of great pride for our whole school community.

Congratulations to all students who competed and represented Saltwater, such an amazing effort!

As we head into the holidays, we wish all our families a wonderful break and encourage students to stay active, have fun, and keep safe.

Kind regards,

The P.E. Team

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