Around the Junior School

Year 5 meet a Walking, Talking, Breathing, Encyclopaedia on Space

Year 5 were treated to a living, breathing, talking encyclopaedia on anything to do with space on the last day of April during their Library time. Mr Rod Sommerville ignited the interest of the students as he showed them incredible pictures and videos of comets, planets and stars and answered their many questions. He informed them of groundbreaking news, in fact it was just last weekend, that the discovery of a planet in a polar orbit around two stars was made. Students learnt about some of the 88 universal constellations. Students compared photos of Mars and Earth and discovered the only visible difference was the sky in Earth’s pictures. Year 5 were left questioning if there are any aliens out there.

Mr Rod Sommerville has just written a science fiction book called Species 8746 and he kindly donated a copy to our Library.

Da Vinci Decathlon

Huge congratulations to our Year 5 and Year 6 students who placed first in their divisions at the da Vinci Decathlon at the end of Term 1. 

The da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of students. The Decathlon competition places a particular emphasis on higher order thinking skills, problem solving and creativity.

Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy.

Snagging Votes and Sausages: Year 6 Brings Democracy to Life!

On Thursday 3 April 2025, Year 6 students brought their history studies to life with their Voting in Action event at the Junior School Glasshouse. As part of their exploration of democracy, students participated in a mock election while enjoying the great Aussie tradition of a sausage sizzle.

During the mock election, students cast their votes to decide on their favourite fruit to pack for the Year 6 excursion. After a closely contested campaign and a recount vote, the humble apple emerged victorious!

A huge thank you goes to Mr Bettle and Year 12 leaders Nick Tancred, Harry Dymock and Jimmy Hutchings, who generously gave their time to support the day. From firing up the BBQ to sharing their experiences of living in Canberra during election seasons, these volunteers helped create a rich and memorable experience, making the democratic process both relatable and real for our Year 6 students as they prepare for their upcoming Canberra excursion.

Pre-Kinder ride a bus to Hillside Harvest Orchard

As a class we have had many discussions about ‘always’ and ‘sometimes’ food and feeding our Belly Buddies to keep them healthy and happy. To extend our leaning of healthy eating we decided it would be fun to go to an orchard and see where apples come from. 

The children met Paula and Alan who own the farm were able to explore the cold stores and apple packing sheds. We learnt about apples and others fruit they grow and when the farmers know they are ready for picking. After all our learning the children were able to wander up the row of trees and pick apples to bring home.

When we got back to school we made some yummy apple crumble and ate it with ice cream. Delicious!

National Simultaneous Storytime

Save the Date - 21 May 2025

Junior School Students are invited to bring in a flannel shirt, trucker cap (appropriately branded), cat mask or cat toy with them to the DPA for the 12pm reading of, ‘The Truck Cat’ by Deborah Frenkel and Danny Snell. This is an optional accessory please do not feel pressured to purchase anything.

Winners of the Central West Heat for the Kids' Lit Quiz

Sixteen students from Year 6 to Year 8 represented our School at the Central West Heat for the Kids’ Lit Quiz at James Sheahan Catholic High School on Tuesday May 6. 

Kids Lit is an annual literature quiz for students aged 10-13 years. Quizzes are held in many countries around the world. Students were faced with 10 categories (Pirates, Plants, Pot Luck, Prisons and Prisoners, Queens, Questions in Title, Roald Dahl, Round and Round, Sea Animals and Science) with 10 questions in each category. There were four students in each team and students could choose one category as their double points round. Many teams chose the Roald Dahl category as their double points round but were then faced with some curly questions eg What does RSPCC stand for in the Witches (Answer: Royal Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) but other questions were widely known as the relationship between Miss Trunchbull and Miss Honey in Matilda. (Answer: Miss Trunchbull is Miss Honey’s Aunt).

If a team won a round, they were all able to choose a book prize. Every student from KWS went home with a book! At the end of each round, there would be an individual competition and Brooke Howard was lucky enough to win the first $5 for her knowledge of the author, Nancy Springer.

One of our teams, comprising Claire Gordon, Olive McLaurin, Nick Strahorn and Joshua Westcott won the Central West Heat and are now headed to Sydney to compete in the National Final on Monday June 2.

Another of our teams placed second, and each received a $25 voucher to spend at Collins Bookstore: Melanie Davies, Daniel Hayward, Brooke Howard and Amelia Wood. 

Congratulations to all our students who represented KWS at the Central West Heat for the Kids’ Lit Quiz

• Evie Butchard 
• Mikhaela Coutts 
• Melanie Davies
• Claire Gordon
• Lizzie Harris
• Grace Harvey
• Daniel Hayward
• Brooke Howard
• Sophia Martin
• Olive McLaurin
• Milly McLennan
• Finlay Simpson
• Nick Strahorn
• Leopold Wade
• Joshua Westcott
• Amelia Wood