PRIMARY (F-6)

School Leaders Report - Kara

Winter has struck this week! Last newsletter we had celebrated some rain, we can cross our fingers that it hits us a little more this weekend.

We’ve always got something happening in the primary section, and this fortnight was no different…we’ve all been a part of something exciting whether it be the Cultural Celebration Day, Water Week incursion, a visit from some Carlton FC AFLW players, or Clancy the Bee Man. Our visitors all shared their passions and talents, and taught us skills, information and techniques to take into our everyday lives. Our children continue to demonstrate the college expectations and are engaged, inquisitive and enthusiastic learners. We love having visitors share with us.

General News:

The Primary students gathered this morning for an assembly, which was very professionally ran by the Year 6 students.

Students received an update about what the Cultural Inclusion Team have been up to from team leader Charlotte. Those students who participated in the recently held FIRE Carrier commissioning ceremony were presented with certificates.

The school value highlighted at this assembly was ‘Always Be Our Best’ and a video was played showing students speaking about how they practice this value.

Students in Amy’s Year 3/4 class shared their highlights from the past week which included their police visit, National Simultaneous Storytime and making Fairy Bread. 

Colourful displays of student work filled the Turtle Shell on Wednesday afternoon when the Year 1/2 students hosted their Learning Expo. Students shared their work from their recent inquiry unit, How the World Works. 

Students have taken part in hands-on workshops exploring materials like plastic, cotton, rubber, and clay. They’ve investigated where each material comes from, how it’s used in everyday life, and what makes it special. 

Students proudly shared what they have learned with family, friends, fellow students and staff at St Anne’s College.

It was all about the three p’s – pee, poo and toilet paper. These are the things that are acceptable to flush down our toilets! And the students at St Anne’s College know all about it thanks to Goulburn Valley Water and their Big Flush educational program.

Students in Years 1-5 took part in the sessions on Friday last week, where they got to participate in engaging activities to help them learn what can and can’t be flushed down the toilet.

GV Water also told the students about an exciting opportunity to take part in their Water Week competition which involves designing a new wrap for the toilet paper rolls they give out. We are looking forward to seeing what the students come up with!

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻!

What a special experience it was for the Grade 5 & 6's yesterday, when three Carlton Football Club AFLW players dropped in to visit. 

Local legend Keeley Skepper, joined by new teammates Maddy and Poppy hosted a lively Q&A session with an eager crowd of students who couldn’t wait to learn everything they could about life as an AFLW player.

"How do you celebrate when you score a goal?"

"What age did you start playing footy?"

"What inspired you to play AFL?"

"What do you love most about footy?"

"What do you eat before a game?"

"What sports did you play as a kid?"

"How do you stay motivated during a game?"

"What does a typical training week look like?"

"Do you follow aspecial diet?"

"What challenges did you face being drafted?"

The players answered each question with enthusiasm and honesty, inspiring the students with their stories and insights.

After the Q&A, it was time to hit the oval for a fun kicking and skills session. The energy was high, the smiles were wide, and the sense of connection between the students and the athletes made it an unforgettable afternoon.

Year 5 and 6 students participated in 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝘆 sessions yesterday. Three classes were split across three labs, each engaging in exciting practical activities focused on the changes in the state of liquids. Partnered up and dressed in lab coats, students eagerly got to work.

𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘖𝘯𝘦 - 𝘐𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

Students mixed two colourless solutions to observe whether the mixture would change colour, then added another chemical to see if it could be turned back to colourless.

𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘸𝘰 - 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴

By heating and freezing substances like ice and milk, students investigated whether these changes were reversible or irreversible.

𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 - 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘬

Students added food colouring to milk, then introduced dishwashing liquid to observe the fascinating reaction.

In preparation for the experiments, students learned how to structure scientific predictions, made their own predictions, discussed them, geared up in safety equipment, conducted investigations, and finally summarised their results to compare with their initial hypotheses.

The smiles and excitement on every face were proof that Science is cool!

Class Reports:

Foundation

FOUNDATION STUDENTS MEAN BEES-NESS!

The Foundation students have continued their inquiry into farmers and the processes products go through before we can buy or consume them. Students enjoyed learning about bees and how important they are to our farmers.

Have you ever heard of a Native Bee Hotel? Clancy the Bee Man is helping to spread the word, and teach people how to create these essential habitats for native bees that we can leave in our gardens providing biodiverse safe havens for a range of crucial insects.

The Foundation students were visited by the Bee Man today and he taught them how to create their very own Bee Hotels to take home, using pipe stuffed with bamboo shoots and wrapped in bark.

The students were very engaged and loved bringing their Bee Hotels to life. Our native pollinator population is better off thanks to the Bee Man and our Foundation students! 

Year 1

It’s been a busy and exciting fortnight in Year 1! We recognised Reconciliation Week with meaningful class discussions and activities that helped us reflect on First Nations culture, history and our shared journey forward.

Our Cultural Day was a wonderful celebration of diversity, and a special highlight was watching Amitoj share his incredible dance moves with the school! His confident and joyful performance earned him the Principal’s Award. Congratulations Amitoj!

Last week, we welcomed families and friends to our Inquiry Expo, where students showcased their learning from our unit How the World Works. It was fantastic to see so many visitors engaging with the students’ displays and celebrating the effort and curiosity shown throughout the term.

We also took part in a Water Week incursion, learning about the water cycle and how we can look after our waterways. The students were surprised to discover what should (and definitely shouldn't!) be flushed down the toilet, an important message shared in a fun and engaging way.

Year 2

Literacy

In Literacy, students have been learning phonemes and their corresponding graphemes for the sounds /ir/ (as in bird), /ow/ (as in cow), and <ch> making the /k/ sound (as in school). We have also been learning our third and fourth comprehension strategies - visualising and asking questions before, during, and after we read.

Maths

This week we wrapped up our first addition and subtraction unit. Students have been busy learning the importance of knowing basic number facts and how we can use this knowledge to solve two-digit problems. We have also been learning to partition two-digit numbers into tens and ones, and how to add and subtract without regrouping.

Inquiry

Last week we celebrated the end of our Inquiry unit by hosting a Learning Expo. Year 1 and 2 students were able to share their hard work with their family and the wider school community. Thank you to those who could make it - the students loved it and they should be commended for their efforts on the day.

This week, we began our next Inquiry unit - How We Express Ourselves. We discussed how artists use colour and line to express emotions and tell a story, then went on a mini art tour around the campus. Students were then given the opportunity to create their own artwork using crayon, pencil, text, and watercolour to share a story about themselves.

Religious Education 

In RE students finished learning about Pentecost. This week we began our new unit of work - Baptism. Next Wednesday, Year 1 and 2 students will be going on an excursion to St Mel’s Church to hear more about baptism with Fr Ruel.

Year 3/4

Students took part in activities last Friday where they engaged in activities and learnt about what should and should not be flushed down the toilet. Students also have the opportunity to take part in the Water Week competition where they can design a new wrap for the toilet rolls they give out

"We found out the different things that can be flushed down the toilet and what can’t be. Also what happens to the pipes if the wrong things go down. For example a mobile phone.” Catherine

Mathematics

Year 3/4 have been using metre rulers and trundle wheels to measure distances. We have been estimating distances and then checking our estimates.

On Wednesday we used trundle wheels to measure distances outside the college. We discovered that our estimates were quite different to the actual measurements.

Year 5

Maths - Decimals

We’ve worked hard on decimals in maths the last couple of weeks. Identifying tenths and hundredths, drawing, labelling, comparing and ordering. Students have grasped the concept and shown moments of ‘ohhh’ ‘I get it now’. Students have connected decimals to our learning with fractions. And looked at real life examples such as money and units of time.

Stop Motion

Every few weeks we spend some time with the Year 1 students. This week we worked with 1LH on Stop Motion. Students were given a demonstration by Kara, and set the goal of ‘show an event taking place’. We used resources from around the space. Some examples were, trains driving in a circle, textas falling out of the tin, animals moving across the land.

We were so busy I forgot to take photos, but students worked collaboratively in pairs to share ideas and skills. For the first time, the Stop Motion movies were excellent. 

Hopefully we can continue this another day.

Year 6

Year 6 Religious Education 

In Year 6 we have been learning about the Catholic Church Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. 

For our assessment task, we had to choose one sacrament to research and present. I chose Baptism because I understood Baptism the most. Everyone got to choose how they presented their own work and I designed a poster. We included History of the sacrament, signs/symbols, rituals and the relevance today. Some people used photos from the internet to show how the sacrament is performed. 

These sacraments have a deep meaning to the Catholic Church. They are a way for Catholics to experience God’s love and encounter him throughout life and Year 6 did a great job at showcasing it.

By Ana Cocomazzo

Ecological Stewardship Team

This term we have been working towards starting up the Eco Warriors again. In each rubbish pick up session there will be two Year 6 leaders from the Ecological Stewardship Team helping younger Eco Warriors clean up our school. The Ecological Stewardship Leaders are all about keeping the environment clean and helping to make a change in the school community. If you see some rubbish on the oval, please pick it up!

Thank you,

Matilda Kirby 

Cultural Inclusion Team

Next term the Cultural Inclusion Team will run three lunchtime sessions to teach students about Aboriginal, Indian, and Italian cultures. We will teach you about their native foods, traditions, animals and lots more. The sessions will be held at the stage in the Year 6 area. We have been a part of many different events like the Cultural Celebration Day, the Harmony Day organisation and the FIRE Carrier ceremony.

By Karamveer and Hassan

Sport Support Team

The Year 6 Sport Support Team are organising a soccer clinic for the Foundation to Year 2 students. There will be multiple drills every week, and different activities for students to participate in and enjoy. Some drills may include:

Drill 1: Rondo (1 person in the middle of the circle. The person in the middle has to try and get the ball of the people on the outside. 

Drill 2: Keeping’s off with 2 teams, basically like a normal soccer game but without the goals. The aim of the game is to not let the other team get the ball off your team. Same with the other team too. 

Drill 3: The last drill is passing. It is pretty simple. All you need to do is pass with a partner back and forth. If it is easy go further away from each other.

The Sports Support Team has also organised some sports bins so primary students have access to sports equipment during break times. 

Sport bin 1: Foundation - Grade 2 near the foundation classroom.

Sport bin 2: Years 3-4 in Creative 003

Sport bin 3: Years 5-6 is outside Study 07

Equipment: All the sport bins include:

- 3 Skipping ropes      

- Tennis Balls

- 1 Netball 

- 1 AFL football

- 1 Basketball

- 1 Frisbee 

By Gianluca and Lucas

Specialist

Yr 3/4 STEAM

Children in Year 3/4 have been busy diving into the world of racing cars as part of their recent STEAM learning. Each student had the exciting challenge of creating their own racing team, complete with a unique team name and logo.

From there, the children moved on to designing and constructing their very own race cars. As part of the process, they explored key mechanical concepts such as wheels, axles, and chassis — the foundation of any vehicle. It was a fantastic hands-on experience that combined creativity with engineering principles. The energy and enthusiasm in the learning space was high as children tested and refined their designs.

“We are making axles and wheels. We use circles of wood, metal and plastic lids and glue with a hot glue gun to a long piece of wood. Then we tested them out to see if they worked.” - Noah H & Tylan

Reminders:

We remind all that the college opens at 8:30am. This enables educators time to prepare for their day ahead. We appreciate your support in helping our educators be successful. Yard duty staff begin at 8:30am to monitor play spaces before the school day begins at 8:55am.

Upcoming Dates

Please refer to the calendar on PAM for upcoming dates for activities and events.