Year Level News

Science Week Fun!

The BUZZ About Bees

This past week, our school buzzed with excitement as we celebrated National Science Week, which was themed Species Survival - More than just sustainability. Our focus was on bees and their critical role in our ecosystem. Each year level explored a different aspect of honeybees and the vital role they play in the sustainability of our environment.

Foundation: Anatomy of a Bee

Foundation students explored bee anatomy, creating detailed diagrams. The week was also filled with some fun bee crafts which are on display in the Foundation corridor.

Year 1: Bee Life Cycles

Year 1 students studied the 4 stages of a bee life cycle, making bee hive posters to showcase their information report writing.

Year 2: Insect Hotels

Year 2 focused on designing insect hotels to provide safe nesting sites for bees and other insects. At the end of the week they enjoyed watching The Bee Movie and seeing the possibilities of what life would be like without bees.

Year  3 & 4: Plants for Bees and pollination

Year 3 & 4 classes investigated bee-friendly plants and how bees pollinate flowers and other plants. They created some amazing flower beds and bee hives displays and enjoyed role playing as bees pollinating the happy flowers.

Year 5- & 6: Inside a Bee Hive

Students in Year 5 & 6 explored the inner workings of a bee hive, studying bee roles and hive structure.

On Friday afternoon the whole school did a gallery walk to share their learnings and to enhance their knowledge of the important role bees play in our eco system. Science Week was a buzzing success, inspiring our students to support our vital pollinators.

Foundation News

100 Days of School

On Friday the 2nd of August, our amazing foundation students celebrated their 100th day of school. We are incredibly proud of how much they have grown in such a short time. We remember those early days of planning short lessons to hold their attention and taking frequent walks to the bathroom. We recall the endless questions as they tried to learn the routines. And now, they remind us of the routines! We are truly proud of them.

In the morning, the students participated in a parade, showcasing the special capes they decorated with 100 items. We saw lots of stickers, drawings, pom poms, pipe cleaners, photos and even Pokémon! The creativity was astounding!

The students were all very brave walking in front of so many people. The excitement in the audience was felt and the vibes were amazing. Aden, Grace, Elliot and Nikita were especially brave and spoke in front of the huge crowd to share their favourite part of school.

Later in the day our students made posters, ate fairy bread, decorated 100 themed cookies and enjoyed a disco party in the usually quiet library space.

On the Wednesday prior, we were incredibly lucky to have traditionally published author Deborah Frenkel share her new book, ‘100 School Days,’ with our students. It was truly inspirational! After asking her many questions, our students went off to write about a particular highlight from their first 100 days in the style of the book. Deborah is a parent in our school community and we’re so grateful she volunteered her time for our students. You might want to purchase Deb’s book as a beautiful keepsake for your child to remember the momentous occasion.

Thank you to all the parents who helped the children decorate their capes, helping them look like the superheroes they truly are!

Thank you to Ineke for kindly making the beautiful capes. Ineke’s grandchildren once attended our school and we appreciate that she has continued being a valued member of our community. We are incredibly thankful for the beautiful capes you spent so much time making. You truly have a warm and generous heart!

We cannot wait to see what these amazing children will achieve in their next 100 days of school!

The Foundation Team

Diana, Mitch, Sophie, Erin, Ash and Emma

Year 4 News

Lume Excursion 

On the 13th August the Year 4 students went on an excursion to the Lume. 

The theme was the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. There were many of his paintings and historical artefacts, like the Mona Lisa replicas and his original portfolios. The portfolios are very fragile and are only in Australia for a few months. The exhibition is a very special event that includes some of his amazing inventions. We got to sketch on easels like Leonardo would have. After the exhibition we played and ate outside right beside the famous Polly Woodside. It was one of the best ever excursions!

By  4AD

Year 5/6 News

Early Harvest Finalists

Early Harvest is a fun way for students in Year 5 & 6 to write stories and to learn how to structure them. All students are assigned to create a story of their choice on a theme. This year's themes were survival & betrayal. Once they are all written and edited their class has a vote and chooses the top ten stories in the class. These stories are sent to the Early Harvest  judges and they choose the best of the best to be published in the book.

It is exciting to announce Emily K was the successful candidate for her story “Embers Fly”. This story will be published in the Early Harvest book. We also have some keen illustrators, who submitted a portfolio of drawings for the book. Archie H, Isla L, Nicholas L and Eva B were selected.

Congratulations to all of the fantastic writers in Year 5 and 6 who submitted Early Harvest stories.

By Isla & Addison

PE/Sport News

District Athletics Carnival

Last week on Tuesday, 6th August, sixty-four students from Year 3 – 6 went to the Newport Park Athletics Track to compete in the annual Districts Athletics Carnival.

Our students qualified for the event by performing really well at the school’s athletics carnival in late May. Last week they competed against students from seven other local schools from the Newport, Williamstown and Altona areas.

Many of our students performed remarkably well and have, as a result, qualified for the Division Athletics Carnival which is due to take place at the same venue on Tuesday, 10th September. There will be further information for the next carnival as we get closer to the event for the students who have qualified.

A big thank you to all the staff and parents of the Newport Lakes school community who came out and supported our future Olympians.

Auslan News

The students are having a fantastic week meeting author Kerrie Taylor and participating in a range of signing games and activities.  There has been a focus on storytelling with character development, as part of our book week activities.  The students had the opportunity to ask Kerrie questions about deaf culture and her experience as an author.  

We are so lucky to have Kerrie visit our school and share her knowledge with us!  You can check out Kerrie’s Auslan videos and book at the Auslan Hub.  https://auslanhub.com.au/