What Have Our Students Been Up To?
Students across the school have been busy engaging in rich learning experiences this term - from Year 5 debating and the Year 9 bike ride, to Year 1’s visit to the Melbourne Museum and Year 3’s Conservation learning. These opportunities help students build confidence, curiosity and real world connections.
Year 1 Excursion to the Melbourne Museum
On Thursday 20th of November, our Year 1 students enjoyed a wonderful day out at the Melbourne Museum, and what an adventure it was! The children were full of excitement from the moment we stepped off the bus, eager to explore, discover, and learn.
During our visit the students experienced many different exhibits such as the Dinosaur Walk, where the students were amazed by the enormous skeletons towering above them. There were lots of wide eyes and “wow!” moments as they spotted their favourite dinosaurs and asked fantastic questions about fossils.
Next, we explored the Bugs Alive! exhibit. The children loved observing the different insects up close—especially the stick insects, beetles, and butterflies. Many were surprised to see how much activity happens in the miniature world of bugs!
A highlight for many was the Forest Gallery, where we walked through a living ecosystem right inside the museum. Students listened for bird sounds, discovered native plants, and enjoyed the calming atmosphere after all the excitement.
Our Year 1s represented our school beautifully- showing curiosity, kindness, and wonderful manners throughout the day. A big thank you to our parent helpers for their support, and to all the school staff for making our visit so memorable.
Fiona Allan
Year 1 Teacher
Year 3 Conservation Campaign Day – Inspiring Change Through Persuasion!
Over the past few weeks, our Year 3 students have been busy becoming environmental champions! As part of their English unit, Year 3 have been learning the art of persuasion by crafting compelling messages, using persuasive language features, and discovering how their words can influence positive change. Alongside this, their Geography learning has deepened their understanding of the environment, what it provides for us, and the many ways we can care for it.
This learning journey led to a very special event: Year 3’s Conservation Campaign Day, where our Year 3 students proudly invited the Year 2 classes to experience their campaigns.
Each Year 3 class selected topics they felt passionate about—from recycling and protecting habitats to reducing plastic waste and saving water. They worked incredibly hard to produce a range of persuasive and creative resources, including eye-catching posters, brochures, badges, colouring sheets, word searches, videos, and more.
During the campaign sessions, Year 3 students confidently presented their messages to the visiting Year 2 groups. After the presentations, the younger students rotated through activities designed by the Year 3 campaigners-colouring pages, word searches, badge-making and other hands-on, engaging tasks that helped reinforce the campaign messages.
It was truly inspiring to watch our Year 3 students step into leadership roles with such enthusiasm. Their teamwork, confidence, and communication skills shone through as they collaborated to educate and motivate the Year 2 students.
Well done, Year 3! Your passion for caring for our environment—and your ability to persuade others to do the same—made this campaign day a wonderful success. We are so proud of your hard work, creativity, and dedication to making a difference!
Students Voice: Year 2
“I learnt that our seals are dying because we are littering. We must stop littering!” – Imran
“Our Koalas are endangered because we are cutting down the trees which is their home.” – Zakariyah
Silsila Amini
Year 3 PLC Leader
3-6 Literacy Leader
Year 5 Shine in Persuasive Debating unit!
This term, Year 5 students completed an engaging and comprehensive Debating Unit as part of their English learning. We began the unit by teaching students how to write a persuasive essay, focusing on the TEEL paragraph structure and the use of formal language. This foundation helped our learners build clear, logical arguments that supported their viewpoints.
Through this work, students also learned about the three persuasive appeals -Pathos, Ethos, and Logos. They identified how these appeals relate to persuasive techniques and applied them across a range of multimedia texts.
With new knowledge and skills, our students then participated in three exciting rounds of debates:
Class Debating Rounds:
Each class held debating rounds with two topics and four teams of 5–6 students. Learners worked collaboratively to research their topics, craft persuasive speeches, and support their arguments with evidence.
Semi-Final Showdowns: The two winning teams from each class went head-to-head on a new topic, demonstrating strong teamwork, persuasive reasoning, and effective delivery.
Year 5 Grand Final: The final winning teams then represented their classes in an inter-class debate. They showed thrilling showcase of confidence, respect, and well-developed debating skills.
Well done to our all Grand Finals Debating Winners!
Student Voice:
In my class, we have been discovering the respectful art of debating. This was such a wonderful unit of our learning. During this unit, we learnt how to disagree respectfully and share our own opinions. The process of debating was really interesting to learn about. This entire process was very fun and educational.
— By Mansika and Kaavna (5J)
We are so proud of every student who took part. Their hard work, resilience, and growth in research, writing, speaking, and teamwork have made this unit a huge success. A special congratulations to our semi-final and final teams for their exceptional performances!
We look forward to seeing how these confident communicators continue to grow throughout the years.
Jenny Pei
Year 5 Classroom Teacher
Year 9 Outdoor Education – 40km Bike Education Ride
Our Year 9 Outdoor Education students took on an incredible challenge by completing a 40km Bike Education ride from Truganina P–9 College to Altona Pier and back. Eleven students participated in the full journey, showcasing not only their cycling skills but also their personal character.
Throughout the day, students demonstrated excellent safety awareness, confidently applying road rules, signalling techniques, and group-riding protocols as they navigated shared paths, local roads, and busier areas closer to the coast. Their commitment to safe and responsible riding was a credit to the preparation they’ve done throughout the term.
The ride tested students physically and mentally, with challenging hill climbs and windy conditions along the foreshore providing real opportunities to practise resilience. Despite the difficulty, students supported one another, maintained a positive attitude, and worked together to ensure every rider reached each checkpoint successfully.
Reaching Altona Pier was a fantastic milestone and a moment of pride for the group. The return journey saw students push through fatigue and continue to show strong teamwork, perseverance, and determination.
Completing a 40km ride is a significant achievement, and it highlights the growth in confidence, fitness, and outdoor skills they’ve developed throughout the term.
A huge thank you to HAPE teachers Charlie Kuhn and Marcus Boom for assisting in our Bike Ed excursions.
Stefan Bilanovic
Secondary Teacher
Year 9 English & Outdoor Education