School News
Prep
What an exciting week for our Prep students with our swimming program taking place! Our preps have all done exceptionally well taking care of their belongings, listening to teachers and working hard both in the pool and at school. We are very proud of them and incredibly grateful to all of our wonderful parents – you clearly took the time to prepare them well and it has helped to make this a very positive experience.
For reading this week we are working on making text-to-self connections and had fun reading a story called ‘Clem Always Could’. Students made some great connections about feeling nervous when we try new things and we were all able to relate this to our swimming lessons.
In spelling we have learned the word ‘tray’ as well as a new sentence of the week. We have also introduced the digraph ‘sh’ in preparation for next week. Students are becoming experts at recognising the digraphs we’ve learnt, which is great to see.
Within our writing sessions we have completed a recount and also continued writing about our opinions, with our focus being that of providing reasons for how we feel about things. We are also using this as an opportunity to explore how having different opinions to those around us is okay and by using reasons to explain our feelings we can help others to understand our point of view.
For maths, we have revisited patterns and will also be looking at how to work out the ‘difference’ between two numbers using subtraction. Students are really enjoying using all of the different subtraction strategies they have learnt.
Wellbeing has seen us take a focus on being helpful as well as looking at our classroom routines. We have talked about how routines and rules can be one way that we help ourselves be the best possible learners.
Happy Fathers Day!
We would like to give a special mention to all of the fathers, grandfathers, uncles and father figures of Rolling Hills Primary. We hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day on Sunday and love having you as part of our community! Thank you for everything you do for your children.
We look forward to another wonderful week next week!
Kindest regards,
The Prep Team
Laina Brebner, Kayla Hartrick and Emma Wright
Grade 1
What a big two weeks it has been! The highlight was definitely swimming week—it was a huge effort for everyone involved. A massive thank you to our parents for all your organisation, an extra appreciative thank you to the wonderful parents who volunteered to help, and a huge well done to the students for their bravery and energy. It was a big week, and they all did an incredible job!
In Maths, we've been revisiting our addition and subtraction strategies. The students have been refreshing their skills and practising different ways to solve problems to make sure they're confident and quick with their number facts.
In Reading, we've been focusing on synthesising. This is a big word for a big skill! We’ve been learning how our ideas and understanding of a text can change and grow as we read more of it, combining new information with what we already know.
For Writing, our focus has been on information reports. The students are becoming amazing researchers! They're adding new facts to their reports about animals and learning how to organise their work with subheadings, to make it easy for readers to find information.
In Inquiry, we've continued our journey around the world by looking at traditional clothing and dances from different countries. It has been a fun way to learn about the rich and diverse cultures that make up our community.
Finally in Wellbeing, we've been thinking about what it means to cooperate and collaborate. We discussed how working together helps us achieve goals and how important it is to share ideas and listen to others.
Happy Father's Day for all the special people who particularly deserve it this Sunday. Thank you for being there and for everything you do for your little people.
Kind regards,
The Grade 1 Team
Tim Huntington, Mel Layton, Sally Newton and Ashleigh Wilson
Grade 2
Over the past fortnight, our Grade 2 students have been engaging in a range of exciting learning experiences and activities. We hope you are enjoying their Portfolios that have come home and seeing the wonderful progress they’ve made. Below are some highlights from the past two weeks:
In Reading, students have been exploring Non-fiction text features. Students have also explored the difference between facts and opinions about a variety of topics. This week, students have started their research for their own Information Report about a country. It has been fantastic to see how much they have already learnt about their country!
In Writing, our Grade 2’s had the opportunity to share their published picture storybooks with the Preps. This was a fantastic afternoon to celebrate their hard work over the past few weeks. This week, our students have started to draft their Country Information Report using sizzling starts and fun facts to make their writing engaging.
In Mathematics, our students have completed a unit learning about location and directions. The students had the opportunity to create their own Rose Compass, use a school map to write directions, make mazes and play Battleships to apply their skills.
Through our Wellbeing lessons, the Grade 2’s have looked at their personal strengths and recognising the differences that make them unique. Students have also explored help-seeking, and what it means to ask for help. We also discussed who students can ask for help and when they can ask for help in different aspects of their life such as at home, school and at their sporting clubs.
The Grade 2 Team
Allie Harrison, Sarah Jones and Brendan Van Haaster
Grade 3 & 4
We would like to congratulate the 3/4 students on their efforts in their learning tasks and in presenting their portfolios at their student led conferences. It has been lovely to see their pride as they show their families their progress.
Reading – Students have been reading explanation texts and exploring how these explain a phenomenon or how something works. This has linked to our Inquiry topic as we explore the text ‘Discover Magnets’. Students have shown their understanding by describing how diagrams give topic information and answering literal and inferential questions, backed up with evidence from the text.
Writing – Students have honed their skills in writing a range of procedural texts, including recipes and ‘how to’ instructions of how to make or build something, or play a game. They have included the use of rhetorical questions and an interesting fact to include a sizzling start as well as listing materials and sequential steps to follow.
Maths – We have been learning division strategies including sharing into equal groups and halving. Seating guests at a dinner party provided an authentic prompt to explore divisibility rules and then we applied our knowledge of multiplication to link division through fact families.
Inquiry – We finalised the building of our balloon powered cars and have been testing these to see the distance they travel, before reflecting and suggesting modifications.
Wellbeing – Friendology sessions have been focusing on the four friendship facts:
1. No friendship is perfect
2. Every friendship is different
3. Trust and Respect are the two most important qualities of a friendship
4. Friendships change, and that’s okay.
Students discussed how they have different friends from different sources and the commonalities and differences in these relationships.
Homework – Just a reminder that spelling words and the reading logs are checked each Monday. We are happy for your child to fill in their own reading log and have you sign it, and reading the same book is okay! Don’t forget Squizya tasks are available if not already completed.
3/4P hosted this week's assembly and we look forward to 3/4 H presenting the final assembly for the term in week 9. Have a great weekend!
Kind regards,
The 3/4 Team
Damien Smith, Daena Hailey, Brent Smith, Claire Cripps and Nick Pagliaro
Grade 5 & 6
The last two weeks have been packed with engaging lessons and memorable experiences for our Grade 5 and 6 students.
Literacy Focus: Procedural texts
Over the last two weeks in Literacy, students have been learning how to create and evaluate procedural texts. They have explored who procedures are written for, why they are written, and how to make them clear and engaging.
Students have been practising how to label and explain the key parts of a procedure, spotting action verbs, time words, and clear commands, and talking about what makes a text helpful and interesting. They also explored how words, images, and layout work together to make instructions easier to follow.
To put their learning into action, students planned their own "how-to" video procedure about a healthy lifestyle, using their knowledge of structure, purpose, and audience to make it both clear and creative.
Numeracy Focus: Division
In the classroom, our focus in mathematics has been on division. Students have been exploring factor bonds and applying their knowledge through hands-on problem solving, including challenges such as seating guests equally around tables at a restaurant.
We have also been practicing a range of division strategies, including halving for dividing by 2, and half/half or half/half/half for dividing by 4 or 8. Students have created a strategy record book to document their methods and reflect on the strategies that work best for them.
Swimming
Last week’s swimming program saw students dive in with enthusiasm, building their water confidence and developing vital safety skills. It was fantastic to witness their effort and positive attitudes throughout the sessions.
Connect Groups
Students recently participated in their second Connect Group session for the term. The feedback for these sessions has been really positive with students saying:
“They’re fun and it’s a good way to talk to people from other classes” – Sienna L
“They’re actually really fun because every term there’s a different teacher and a different activity that can help you with your fine motor skills or patience” – Lilly T
“It’s a fun thing to do other than classwork, by trying new things you get to learn how to do new stuff” – Spencer H
Grade 6 Commemorative garments update
We are excited to be partnering with PSW this year to provide Grade 6 2026 commemorative uniform items. Students were asked to vote for their preference between bomber jackets and a newly designed hoodie. The hoodie was the overwhelming preference. We will also be offering polo shirts with the commemorative design included on the back. Designs will also feature the student’s name on the front of the garment.
If you are unsure of sizing, we now have uniform samples in the admin area for students to try on. Please note the artwork is from other schools. These samples will only be available for try-ons until Wednesday 17th September.
All orders must be placed online – no cash can be accepted. School Saving Bonus can not be used for these garments. Please let admin know if you are unable to access the online store as we may be able to assist.
We anticipate that the online store will be live in the next two weeks and will let you know as soon as we have been notified. The store will only be open for orders for 2 weeks. Garments will be delivered to school before the end of 2025.
It has been a fantastic few weeks of growth, fun and achievement and we are proud of the effort and enthusiasm the grade 5 and 6 students have displayed across all areas of their learning.
Kind regards,
The 5/6 Team
Llinos Poole, Erin Rennick, Hayley Peirce, Kylie Morrissey and Alarna Creed