Around the Junior School

Year 6 Science Learning in Action

Year 6 students have been fully immersed in science activities focused on living things, exploring how various organisms and their environments contribute to sustainability and the natural world.

Recently, in the science labs with Mrs Gibson, students conducted a lanolin experiment to determine which breed of sheep produces the most lanolin, a natural wax found in wool. This experiment provided valuable insight into how lanolin protects wool and how different sheep breeds vary in this respect.

In addition, students have explored wool spinning with Ms Chandler, learning how raw wool is transformed into yarn. Through this process, they gained a deeper understanding of how wool can be used in products, connecting the science of fibre to real-world applications.

Throughout Term 1, Year 6 have also looked at how modern farms are adopting eco-friendly practices to improve sustainability. They’ve learned how these practices benefit both the environment and animals.

As a result of these hands-on activities, Year 6 students have gained a richer understanding of living things and their role in sustainability. They are excited to wrap up this unit with an upcoming field trip to Glenwood Farm next week!

An interest in sheep and wool has been a long tradition at Kinross Wolaroi, with records showing students studying this area since the 1920s.

Gordon House Supports Eat Up Australia in Service-Learning Project

On Thursday, 20 March 2025, Gordon House students in the Junior School took part in their service learning project, supporting Eat Up Australia, a vital organisation dedicated to providing free lunches to children who would otherwise go without.

Eat Up Australia works to combat food insecurity by preparing and delivering lunches to schools across the country, ensuring that no child goes hungry during the school day.

Over 40 Gordon House students selflessly gave up their lunchtimes to prepare more than 150 sandwiches for children in need. Their teamwork, empathy, and commitment to service were truly inspiring. A huge thank you to all the students who participated in this meaningful initiative. Gordon House is incredibly proud of their generosity.

In Pre-Kinder, we are building friendships through shared play and teamwork. These early friendships create a sense of belonging and teach children how to navigate relationships, setting the foundation for positive connections throughout their lives. By learning to be good friends, the children are also learning to be caring, confident and respectful individuals.

Pre-Kinder

Hungry Caterpillar Morning Tea

Kindergarten has been immersing itself in the wonderful world of Eric Carle, the beloved children’s author, continuing the journey sparked by our visit to Orange Theatre earlier this term. Our Literary Morning began with Year 12 students visiting the Kindergarten classrooms to read a selection of Eric Carle stories to a very eager audience. This was followed by a delightful Eric Carle-themed morning tea, featuring tasty treats inspired by the caterpillar’s transformation into a beautiful butterfly, along with some refreshing “caterpillar tea.” We are excited to watch our Kindergarten students spread their reading wings and grow through our vibrant Literacy program!

Year 2 Excursion to Duntryleague Homestead

Year 2 students visited Duntryleague Homestead for a special tour led by Reg Kidd, former Mayor of Orange. He shared fascinating stories about the homestead’s history and its importance to the community.

Students learned about James Dalton, who built Duntryleague and played a key role in shaping Orange. They discovered how he helped develop the town through business, agriculture, and community contributions. While exploring the homestead, students enjoyed walking up the stairs to the top of the building, marveling at the beautiful stained glass windows, and learning about Dalton’s family and life.

The visit helped students understand how the past has influenced the present and the development of Orange. It was an engaging and valuable learning experience for all.

Year 1 Excursion - Orange Regional Museum

On Wednesday 19 March, Year 1 students spent time visiting visiting the Orange Regional Museum as part of their learning in History, supporting the unit ‘Families Over Time’.

This visit provided an opportunity for students to dive into present and past family life within the context of their own world. Students learned about similarities and differences in family life by comparing the present with the past. Students interacted with real objects that were used by families in their everyday life. This helped our young learners understand the way life was in the past and how technology has helped make changes and life easier.

The Orange Regional Museum is a fantastic resource for students to explore and use historical sources.

Thank you to Sally who showed us around the Museum and helped us to discover what information historical sources can teach us about the past and to Rev. Sally for coming along to help supervise and share our learning.

Year 5 Geography

This term in Geography, Year 5 have been learning about how humans can influence a natural environment. We have been looking at the positive and negative impacts on built and natural environments and more specifically, looking at how a natural disaster, such as floods can impact a place. Students were lucky enough to have Mrs Kate Strahorn come in to present on the 2022 Molong Flood Disaster. Students learned how the natural disaster happened and explored how the community responded to the event. Our students were fascinated to see how the infrastructure, natural environment and people of the town were impacted and couldn’t believe the work and cost involved to repair Molong.

Students have been inspired by the Molong 2022 floods to complete their own case study on a past flood event in Australia. Mrs Basha has been guiding students to gain effective research skills, how to create graphs online and have been testing their knowledge through interactive Kahoots!

Merit Awards - Term 1 Weeks 2 & 6

K Nemo

Sophie Pilkington – For Listening carefully and following instructions
Josephine Gibson – For Listening carefully and following instructions
Cruz Taylor – For excellent word work – recognising rhyming words and counting syllables carefully
Odette Morley – For being a kind and thoughtful friend to others

K Bees

Gertie Thomson– For showing wonderful readiness for school and being a great help to others. Encouraging your peers and making our classroom a positive place
Jack Ward – For a fantastic first week of Kindergarten! You’ve shown great understanding of the classroom rules, always giving things a go and demonstrating lovely manners.
Dustin Timbrell – For being a kind and thoughtful friend, listening carefully and following instructions
Ivy Purvis – For being a kind and thoughtful friend, listening carefully and following instructions

1 Eco-Octonauts

Jack Sanderson - Great work in guided reading group activities
Lily Jackson - Sharing learning with the class
Ollie Byrnes - Showing addition and subtraction in more than one way
Charlie Kerdic - Effort in improving fluent reading.

2 Tashi

Luca Vardanega - For demonstrating excellent focus and dedication, concentrating hard on tasks and completing his work thoughtfully and carefully.
Nicholas Church - For making a great start to Year 2, settling in smoothly, and showing enthusiasm for learning.
Charlotte Elder – For her wonderful contributions to classroom discussions
Rhys Morley – For his outstanding effort in all subjects

2 Wall-E

Ted Weekes - His enthusiastic start to Year 2 and showing a keen interest across all areas of the curriculum.
Cate Dellar - Her excellent transition to Kinross Wolaroi School and her eagerness to learn.
Flynn Savage - For always being polite and respectful and setting a great example for others to follow.
Georgia Flynn - For working hard during daily Mathematics review to quickly recall answers to number questions.

3 Wandi

Henry Volkofsky – For a positive start to Year 3 and for applying himself to give his best in writing tasks.
Gideon Laffey – For consistently applying himself to learning tasks and for positive contribution to classroom discussion.
Claudia Cooke – For displaying all the Kinross Wolaroi School values and for approaching all learning tasks with enthusiasm
Thomas Williams – For his strong work ethic and for approaching all classroom activities with a growth mindset

3 Kimmi

Harry Chang - A wonderful start to the year and his fabulous contributions to our learning about adverbial phrases.
Rigby Delbridge – For His creative thinking when rewriting scenes from the text Fantastic Mr Fox.
Lucy Wood - A wonderful and settled start to Kinross Junior School and for bringing a smile to the classroom every day.
Hulita Delaney - A beautiful start to Kinross Junior School and for her quiet enthusiasm in all areas of her learning.

4 Mumble

Charlie Marriott – For a fabulous effort in the classroom and quickly settling into Kinross Wolaroi School.
Sofia Buckley – For focus and commitment to her learning.
Zoe Mortimer – For consistently trying her hardest and showing dedication to her learning. Zoe has embraced 4M’s class motto, “If you think you can, you will.”
Tom Haydon - for being a mindful and responsible learner and consistently showing dedication and attention to everything he does.

5 Lin

Robbie Fatai – For his settled start to Year 5 and for showing kindness to his peers and teachers. Keep it up!
Eve MacMahon – For her wonderful start to Year 5 and for taking courageous risks in when completing creative
Edward Lai - For his high level of interest and participation in all learning tasks. Keep up your hard work!
Addie Delbridge – For using figurative language, dialogue and imagery when writing her narratives. Well done.

5 Seed

Ruby Harris - Ruby has settled seamlessly into the KWS community, demonstrating a kind and caring nature that has fostered strong connections with her peers. Her compassionate approach and willingness to support others have made her a valued member of the school.
Michael Gurr - Michael has consistently demonstrated kindness and patience in his interactions with friends, creating a supportive and inclusive environment
Mezen Jalal – For showing great commitment and effort in his learning, always working hard and striving to do his best in the classroom.
Sophie Kerdic – For demonstrating a strong work ethic, a dedication to excellence, and great care in presenting exceptionally neat and well-organised bookwork.

6 Kiernan

Lachlan Church - Showing bravery in lessons by asking questions, specifically in math and English, resulting in improved results and motivation.
Winona Wade - Demonstrating an improved level of confidence when participating in class discussions and a commitment to overall learning in all subjects.

6 The Cool Down

Davey Elliott – For consistently completing all academic and creative tasks to an exceptional standard, demonstrating dedication and excellence from the very start of the year.
Milly McLennan – For consistently applying herself to all learning tasks with a quiet confidence and a strong desire for continual growth and improvement.
Bella Zhang - Demonstrating an improved level of confidence when participating in class discussions and a commitment to overall learning in all subjects.
Helika Senanayake - For being an active and engaged learner, demonstrating curiosity, enthusiasm, and a commitment to deepening their understanding.

6 Oz Harvest

Amelia Wood – For her excellent transition to the Kinross Wolaroi Junior School. Her eagerness to learn and thoughtful contributions to class discussions about Storm Boy have been fantastic. Well done Amelia.
Addy Cooper - For her excellent transition to the Kinross Wolaroi Junior School. Her energy for learning and inclusive nature have contributed to developing a positive classroom atmosphere in 6 Oz Harvest.
Marlon Zielinski – For his enthusiastic engagement in writing the Sequel to Storm Boy. His detailed planning and application to composing his narrative has been fantastic. Keep up the great work!
Clara Whittle – For her excellent engagement in mathematics lessons. Her organised working out and positive response to feedback has enabled her to track her progress and achieve success. Keep up the great work!