Primary Specialists

Prep Art

The past two weeks in Prep Art have been full of creativity and discovery! As part of our fourth Unit of Inquiry, "Understanding the Needs and Wants of Living Things," students explored the differences between living and non-living things through the lens of visual art. We took inspiration from Pop Art, focusing on how artists use lines, shapes, and colours to express bold ideas. The students had a fantastic time analysing these elements and experimenting with them in their own artworks.

They also learned about Brazilian Pop Artist Romero Britto, whose vibrant style inspired the creation of their own colourful Pop Art dogs. It’s been a joyful and imaginative journey, combining art-making with inquiry-based learning!

Year 1&2 Art 

Over the past three weeks, students have been diving into the fascinating world of visual art, exploring the striking contrast between Abstract Art, Impressionism, and Pointillism.

We began our journey with the bold and playful works of Pablo Picasso. 

At first, his abstract style seemed a bit strange and funny to many students, but it didn’t take long for them to embrace the freedom and creativity it offered. Students eagerly experimented with shapes, colours, and composition to produce some truly imaginative and expressive abstract artworks.

Next, we transitioned into the light-filled and nature-inspired world of Claude Monet. Students explored the beauty of natural scenes through soft brushstrokes and delicate colour palettes. Monet’s iconic water lilies were a clear favourite! Inspired by his famous Japanese Bridge, the Grade 1 and 2 students worked collaboratively to create a life-sized bridge installation, complete with 3D paper water lilies floating beneath — a truly delightful and visually captivating display.

More recently, students have been introduced to Georges Seurat and the technique of Pointillism, further deepening their appreciation for floral landscapes, particularly tulips and flower-filled fields. Responding to a strong interest in the theme, many students have continued to explore flowers through vibrant 3D paper creations, combining texture and colour with care and creativity.

This evolving unit continues to spark curiosity and artistic growth as students explore how different styles of art express emotion, movement, and perspective. We look forward to seeing where their creativity takes them next!

Year 3 & 4 Art 

During Weeks 3 and 4, students explored how Pop Artists use bright colours and bold lines to create eye-catching artworks. They applied these techniques in their own cake and donut sketch designs, completed in their Art journals and, in preparation for their upcoming 3D constructions.

Students also learned about a second food-inspired artist, Wayne Thiebaud—an American painter celebrated for his vibrant depictions of everyday objects such as cakes, pies, ice creams, lipsticks, and pastries, as well as landscapes and figures. His colourful style inspired students as they considered how to bring their own dessert-themed creations to life.

As part of the design process, students brainstormed materials and construction methods they could use to achieve their desired 3D effects.

In Week 4, students had the opportunity to work either independently or in pairs to begin constructing their cake and donut sculptures. They used a variety of materials including scrap paper, card, masking tape and foil to begin their constructions.  

Grade 5/6 Art

Over the past two weeks, Grade 5 and 6 students have been busy working on their printmaking projects. In Week 1, they prepared their foam printing plates, carefully transferring their sketched designs and adding details to create texture and interest. In Week 2, students brought their designs to life by printing them, experimenting with colour choices and print quality to produce a series of vibrant and unique artworks.

Physical Education

District athletics

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Saltwater College athletics team. We are proud to announce, we won the district athletics carnival for the 4th time in a row. The students who represented the school have been training for the past five weeks in preparation for this event, training before school as well as giving up their lunchtimes.

All students represented our college with enthusiasm and displayed excellent sportsmanship on and off the track.

We have 31 students progressing to the Hobson’s Bay Divisional finals on 11 September. I would like to wish them all the best.

So far in term 3

In our weekly PE sessions, we are  currently focusing on developing fundamental movement skills and soccer kicking.

• Prep to Grade 1 – Emphasis on catching and building fundamental motor skills.
• Grades 2 to 6 – Students are currently working on kicking and passing, with an aim to improve coordination and game-specific techniques.
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We're proud of the students' efforts both in competition and skill development. Stay active and keep up the great work!

MANDARIN

This year marks the exciting start of our new Mandarin program. Across all year levels, we are using the unique Accelerative Integrated Methodology (AIM) to help students explore traditional Chinese culture and language in an engaging and interactive way.

Prep

Our Prep students have been learning basic greeting words such as “Hello” (你好), “Thank you” (谢谢) and “You’re welcome” (不客气). To help them remember, we combine each phrase with fun hand gestures. Music and videos have been used to spark curiosity and enjoyment, while pinyin tracing sheets have helped students practise correct stroke order and form.

Year 1–2

Students in Years 1–2 have been learning how to express their feelings, such as saying “I’m good” (我很好) or “I’m not good” (我不好), and responding appropriately to others. Through interactive games and activities, they have built confidence in listening to and speaking Mandarin while having fun in the process.

Year 3–4

Our Year 3–4 students have been working on how to ask and answer basic personal questions, such as “What is your name?” and “How are you?”, in a polite and appropriate way. They have completed a variety of writing and spelling tasks to strengthen their reading and writing abilities in Mandarin.

Year 5–6

The focus for our Year 5–6 students has been on learning greetings for different times of the day, including “Good morning” (早上好), “Good afternoon” (下午好), and “Good evening” (晚上好). Students have also been practising their handwriting by tracing and copying Chinese characters, building both accuracy and fluency.

Across all classes, we also adapt learning to suit the different language levels within the same group. First language learners focus more on writing Chinese characters, while second language learners work more on speaking skills and pinyin.

Wellbeing

Years 1 & 2

Years 1 and 2 have been working towards identifying emotions. Specifically, students have been identifying facial changes and body changes that may occur when feeling different emotions. They have also been reflecting on their own emotions and techniques to cope with challenging emotions. 

Years 3 - 6

Years 3 to 6 were to complete a Student Resilient Survey. This survey works to empower and support  schools so we can confidently build student resilience and wellbeing. As a wellbeing team we aim for all students from grade 3-6 to complete this survey twice a year. Following on from the survey students from grade 3 - 6 have also been focusing on 'what is stress' and 'what creates stress in our lives'. Individually they then use 'the circle of control' to identify factors that they are 'in control of' and things that are 'out of their control'. This is aimed to help reduce student stressors

¡Español!  

Over the last two weeks, our students have been learning and practising Spanish vocabulary and expressions — from introducing themselves to talking about emotions and greetings.

Prep

Our prep students have been practising how to introduce themselves and share personal information:

• ¿Cómo te llamas? – Me llamo… (My name is…)

• ¿Cuántos años tienes? – Tengo 5 años. (I’m 5 years old.)

They also explored the concepts of rápido (fast) and lento (slow) through the story “La liebre y el conejo” (The Hare and the Rabbit). After watching the story, they coloured a sheet with the words rápido and lento to reinforce the vocabulary.

Year 1 and 2

These students focused on greetings and farewells, and had fun playing a lively game of bingo to practise these expressions in a playful way.

Year 3 and 4

The main topic for these classes was feelings. They learnt to ask and answer:

• ¿Cómo te sientes hoy? – Me siento feliz (I feel happy)

• Me siento un poco cansado (I feel a little tired)

• Me siento algo preocupada (I feel somewhat worried)

They also enjoyed playing Blooket to review feelings as well as greetings and farewells.

Year 5 and 6

Our older students have been working on greetings, farewells, and emotions — but also on how to ask for and give formal personal information:

• ¿Cuál es su nombre? (What is your name?)

• ¿Qué edad tiene? (How old are you?)

• ¿Dónde vive? (Where do you live?)

They practised these questions and answers through dialogues and speaking activities.

We are very proud of our students’ progress in Spanish!

Every group has shown enthusiasm, curiosity, and active participation. We look forward to continuing to explore this beautiful language together.

DANCE

Dance has seen the Year 5 classes join the program for this term with great energy and enthusiasm. We have started our first round of classes focussing on spacial awareness, facing various directions, adapting to change with last minute added instructions, and taking ownership of their actions and applying themselves completely. Students embraced the challenges set out and achieved great results in doing so.

Wakakirri...(Dance)

Our dance extension students have had a short break since their great start to the term, performing and being the opening act for this years Australian Wakakirri competition. We have just recently begun rehearsals and getting back into the swing of things, going through and cleaning up all the different sections to our routine. Although we can not change or add anything to the initial routine, we can still clean, refine and polish up any finer details that may need attention. The students are still at a great level of performance from where we left off, which will help make this process easier along the way. 

The Wakakirri State Awards performance will be held on Friday 12th September. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday 20th August, and are limited to 4 tickets per family.We hope to see you there! :)

VSSS...(Dance)

Our VSSS dancers previously had their fourth and final combined schools Hub rehearsals last week, which was held at Keilor Basketball Stadium. Being the 4th rehearsal, VSSS hold it in a bigger venue to accommodate for a full sized layout of the stage and dance area. This is to help prepare students for what it will be like for the full 3 days at John Cain Arena. Schools participating in this rehearsal were also presented with all costumes needed for the big show, followed by a full dress rehearsal throughout the day. 

Our Saltwater students represented our school and community to the highest standard and in a principled and professional manner. They now have a more in-depth insight to what’s expected heading into September for tech rehearsals and the show. We hope you got your tickets and look forward to seeing you there soon!