Junior School NAIDOC Week Celebrations

As NAIDOC Week officially falls in our school holidays, the Junior School celebrated from 4–8 August with a wonderful program of activities recognising and honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures, and histories. This year’s theme, “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy”, guided our celebrations.

We began the week with a Smoking Ceremony, Welcome to Country and Didgeridoo performance by local Dja Dja Wurrung community members Jason and Sharni. This powerful and moving start set the tone for the week.

Students enjoyed an Aboriginal Weaving Incursion with Aunty Trina Oogjes-Dalton, who shared her knowledge and skills in a hands-on cultural experience. Our lunchtime activities were full of colour and creativity, including friendship bracelet making in the colours of the Aboriginal flag, NAIDOC Week bookmark making and mindful colouring using Aboriginal artwork.

To close the week, we welcomed Ron Murray for an engaging and insightful incursion, which brought stories, music, and cultural understanding to life.

Throughout the week, classrooms and specialist lessons incorporated a range of NAIDOC-inspired activities, allowing students to explore and deepen their knowledge in different learning areas.

A special thank you goes to our parent helpers who assisted with the weaving incursion, and to all staff and students for their enthusiastic participation in making NAIDOC Week such a meaningful and memorable celebration.

Mrs Catherine Stagg

(Junior School Teacher)

Year 2 Camp: Camp Kookaburra

Year 2 students will participate in a two-day camp at Camp Kookaburra, an accredited facility registered with the Australian Camps Association. Located just outside Rochester, Camp Kookaburra focuses on nature, adventure and learning, coming together with excellent facilities and a variety of outdoor experiences for students.

Some of the activities students will be participating in include Ga Ga Ball, Low Ropes Course, Low Bouldering (small indoor rock wall), Flying Fox, Initiatives Tasks, Orienteering (map reading) and Bushwalking.

We look forward to providing a fun, enriching and memorable experience for our Year 2 students.

Kinder visitors to Girton

In the second week of Term 3, our Girton Junior School was buzzing with excitement as we welcomed a very special group of visitors: kinder students from Bendigo Pre-School, who joined us for a session of storytelling, imagination, and emotional discovery.

To start the session, it was time to get moving! In a drama-based activity led by our Junior School Drama Teacher, Ms Natasha Rowe, students used movement and role-play to explore a world of animals and emotions. From roaring like a proud lion to tiptoeing like a quiet kitten, the kinder children embodied different feelings through creative expression, building both emotional awareness and confidence. Following that, the kinder students drew faces to match feelings.

When that activity was completed, the children gathered to listen to a story about feeling happy. As they listened, our young visitors were invited to reflect on what brings them joy, whether it’s a cuddle from mum or dad, playing outside, or their favourite teddy. This gentle introduction helped our little learners connect with their feelings in a safe and supportive way.

Our teachers guided the children through activities designed to help them recognise, express and understand different emotions, the key foundations for wellbeing!

The visit ended with big smiles, lots of laughter, and a few animal sound effects still echoing down the hallways.

We enjoyed having our kinder friends on campus and watching them shine in such a playful and purposeful way. We can’t wait to welcome them back for more adventures as they continue their learning journey.

Year 3M Haiku Poems

Year 3M have been learning about writing Haiku poems. They are a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Haiku poems are composed of three lines.

The first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7, and the third has 5. Many Haiku poems are written about nature. These are poems written by some of the Year 3M students.

The Australian Bush

In trees, galahs rest

we spot star constellations

red dust blows above

Ida Morgan (3 Millward)

Wild World

Oceans surround land

fire warms us all with heat

snow, white and freezing

Aarib Ahmed (3 Riley)

Night-time in the bush

In the cool, dark night

koala clings to a branch

soon, it falls asleep

Coen Tuang (3 Aherne)

Penguin

The penguin slowly departs

it’s small and safe shell

it can start its life

Astin Fleming (3 Aherne)

Snakes

Snakes sleeping at night

Snakes hunting for food all day

Snakes resting on rocks

Liliana Rutyna-Jackson (3 Aherne)

The Outback

Watch the shining stars

when it is pitch black at night

till you fall asleep

Anandita Alexander (3 Jones)

Year 5 & 6 AFL Tournament

On Wednesday August 7th, our Year 5 and 6 students headed to Kennington Primary School to compete in the Sandhurst Divisional AFL Tournament. Both teams showed incredible spirit, teamwork, and resilience throughout the day.

Boys' Football

The boys kicked off their day with a tough match against St Therese’s, followed by another close game against St Killian’s. Despite the early losses, the team remained positive and focused. Their determination paid off in their third match against St Monica’s to record a convincing win.

The boys carried their energy into the next game against Golden Square. Although they lost by five goals, we played together as a team. The highlight of the day came in the match against Strathfieldsaye, which we won comfortably. The final game was against St Francis, a challenging match that ended in defeat. Despite the ups and downs, the boys showed great sportsmanship and start to develop their team skills.

Thank you to Mr Leske and Mr Epps for coaching and Eamon and Lewis from Senior School for their help throughout the day.

Report by Conor Elliott (6 Jenkin) and Mitchell Hawker (6 Frew)

Girls' Football

Meanwhile, the Year 5 and 6 girls took to the field with enthusiasm and determination. Led by their nominated captain Abi, the team began their campaign with a strong win over Marist, 7.2 to 1.2. After a well-earned rest, we faced Strathfieldsaye in a tough match but powered through to win 3.3 to 1.0. Our third game against White Hills tested our tackling skills, but we pushed through and won 3.4 to 1.0.

After lunch and a short break, we then faced St Francis. Despite our best efforts and a motivating halftime pep talk from Mr Turner, we narrowly lost. After hot chocolate and marshmallows our final match against Holy Rosary was another close contest. We tried our best but just fell short by one goal.

Throughout the day, everyone had a fantastic time learning new skills. A special thank you to Mr Turner, Mrs Milner, Kyah and Chloe (Year 10), and all the parents and staff who supported the teams.

Report by Manha Basher (6 Jenkin) and Polly Barber (6 Millward)

Junior School Performance Choir

On Monday 4 August, the Performance Choir travelled to Melbourne to compete in the Victorian School Music Festival.

The choir performed exceptionally well, and were awarded with gold for their outstanding efforts.

Congratulations to all Junior School students in the Performance Choir, to conductor extraordinaire Mrs Laura Dusseljee and to accompanist Mrs Belinda Moon. Thank you also to those who assisted logistics, planning and on-the-day support, including Mrs Jess Potter, Mrs Vickie Holland, Mrs Noelle Leader, Miss Amy Bilkey and Mrs Cally Bartlett.

The Performance Choir will perform at the upcoming Junior School Ensembles Evening, 6.00pm, Wednesday 20 August.

After School Care Newsletter

This week at OSHC we are celebrating National Science week! Having fun with experiments, STEM challenges and teamwork in between fun outside games and card games.

The children have enjoyed utilising their critical thinking, problem solving and creativity to face challenges each day, from making up our own game of Among Us, Building the tallest tower, or even how to make LEGO boats that float in water!

Join us next week for some book week fun!

Read the full newsletter here:

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