Classroom News 

🎶 Music Learning Overview 2026 🎶

What students are learning in Music this year

Our Music program builds skills progressively from Prep to Year 6, giving students opportunities to sing, move, play instruments, read music, compose, and perform together. Across all year levels, students develop confidence, creativity, and a strong understanding of musical concepts through hands-on, engaging experiences.

🎵 Prep Term 1

Prep students develop foundational music skills through singing, movement, and play. They learn to keep a steady beat, respond to musical contrasts (fast/slow, loud/soft), explore different vocal sounds, echo simple rhythms, and participate in structured circle games and movement activities. These experiences build confidence, listening skills, and a love of making music together.

🎵 Year 1 Term 1

In Year 1, students build the foundations of beat, rhythm, and pitch. They practise keeping a steady beat using their bodies, voices, and instruments, clap and read simple rhythm patterns, and explore high and low sounds. Through singing games, movement, and listening activities, students begin to show pitch using simple sol–mi patterns and develop confidence using their singing voices.

🎵 Year 2 Term 1

Year 2 students focus on strengthening beat, pitch, and ensemble skills. They keep a steady beat while singing, moving, and playing instruments, and learn to work together as part of a musical group. Students explore high and low pitch using their voices and movement, building accuracy and confidence through repetition, performance, and collaborative music-making.

🎵 Year 3 Term 1

In Year 3, students begin reading music and learning the recorder. They learn to read notes on the treble clef, identify note names, and recognise pitch patterns. On the recorder, students learn correct technique and play the notes B, A, and G, while reading and performing rhythms using crotchets and quavers. This year level connects written notation directly to instrumental performance.

🎵 Year 4 Term 1

Year 4 students are introduced to the ukulele. They learn correct handling and playing technique, identify the parts and strings of the instrument, and play their first chords (Am, F, and C). Assessment focuses on instrument knowledge, chord identification, and basic performance skills, laying the groundwork for ensemble playing.

🎵 Year 5 Term 1

Year 5 students develop stronger rhythmic reading and performance skills. They learn to read, interpret, and perform more complex rhythmic patterns and apply these skills in a creative Basketball Beats composition task, where students work in groups to create, rehearse, and perform a rhythmic routine.

🎵 Year 6 Term 1

In Year 6, students demonstrate growing instrumental confidence and ensemble skills. They follow charts with increasing independence, contribute to group performances, and begin rhythmic dictation tasks, developing deeper listening, reading, and performance skills as they prepare for secondary music learning.

STEM Learning Overview 2026

Prep Term 1

The Foundation students will have the opportunity to learn about Sammy Robots by following and creating simple sequences of commands to control a robot. They will explore how robots move and respond to instructions, and learn how to identify and fix mistakes when a robot does not behave as expected.

Year 1 Term 1

The Year one students will have the opportunity to develop sequential algorithms to move objects from one place to another using coding blocks. They will learn to use loops to more easily communicate instructions by looking at the repeated patterns.

Year 2 Term 1

The Year two students will have the opportunity to explore how to use Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google Classroom effectively for organising, creating, and managing their schoolwork. They will learn how to store, organise, share files and collaborate with their peers.

Year 3 Term 1

The Year three students will have the opportunity to practise their sequencing and debugging skills in maze puzzles. They will also get to practise reading and editing code to fix puzzles with simple algorithms, loops and nested loops.

Year 4 Term 1

The Year four students will have the opportunity to create and animate sprites (characters and objects) and make them interactive using events. They will write programs and learn about the two concepts at the heart of Sprite Lab: sprites and behaviours.

Year 5 Term 1

The Year five  students will have the opportunity to design, develop and optimise solutions using BricQ Motion Prime Lego. They will learn about the fundamentals of physics, motion, and forces. Students will explore Newton’s Laws of Motion and apply scientific reasoning to real-world scenarios. 

Year 6 Term 1

The Year six students will have the opportunity to learn about Google Sites by creating and organising simple web pages. They will learn how to add text and images, arrange content in a clear sequence, and make simple design decisions. Students will also learn how to review their work and make changes to improve their website.

🏃‍♀️ Physical Education Learning Overview 2026 🏃‍♀️

What students are learning in Physical Education this year

Our Physical Education program focuses on developing movement skills, teamwork, confidence, and respectful behaviour. Across all year levels, students learn to work safely with others, build physical skills, and demonstrate sportsmanship and teamwork while preparing for whole-school events such as Athletics Day.

🟢 Prep Term 1

Prep students learn the foundations of safe and respectful participation in PE. They practise following routines and instructions, responding to whistle cues, staying within boundaries, and listening carefully. Students will learn cooperative games and developing teamwork skills and sportsmanship. Through games and modified athletics activities, students develop basic running, jumping, and throwing skills while learning how to move safely and confidently in a group.

🟢 Year 1 Term 1

Year 1 students build movement skills and cooperative behaviours. They practise running with control, jumping safely, and throwing accurately, while learning to take turns and work with others. Through cooperative games and early athletics activities, students develop listening skills, follow group decisions, and begin showing positive sportsmanship as well as developing teamwork and respectful behaviours .

🟢 Year 2 Term 1

Year 2 students continue developing coordination, control, and teamwork. They refine running, jumping, and throwing techniques and learn how to communicate and cooperate effectively in group games. Students practise encouraging others, showing fairness, and supporting teammates while participating in athletics preparation and cooperative challenges. Students will build resilience and demonstrate good sportsmanship.

🟢 Year 3 Term 1

Year 3 students focus on improving technique and teamwork. Students will be introduced to athletics and will be encouraged to participate in all actitivies. They develop running skills for short and middle distances, practise long jump and high jump techniques, and learn the fundamentals of discus throwing. Through cooperative games, students build communication skills, ensure everyone is included, and demonstrate respectful behaviour during group challenges. 

🟢 Year 4 Term 1

Year 4 students refine athletics skills and leadership behaviours. They continue developing running endurance and pacing, improve jumping techniques, and learn shot put fundamentals. Students are encouraged to show leadership, celebrate others’ achievements, and demonstrate sportsmanship during both cooperative games and athletics activities. Students will show respect, build resilience and show a positive mindset.

🟢 Year 5 Term 1

Year 5 students apply teamwork and leadership skills in more complex physical challenges. They refine sprinting, hurdling, jumping, and throwing techniques while working collaboratively to solve problems. Students reflect on group strategies, contribute ideas, and build confidence as leaders and supportive teammates.

🟢 Year 6 Term 1

Year 6 students demonstrate advanced leadership, collaboration, and athletic skill development. They refine techniques for sprints, hurdles, jumps, and discus, while taking responsibility within group activities. Students evaluate team performance, suggest improvements, and model positive sportsmanship as they prepare for secondary school physical education.

Library Learning Overview 2026

Library - Term 1 2026

Prep - Year 3

Mr McEntee had a passion for helping our students become readers, opening up a world of learning! He loved our library space and wanted it to be an exciting, calm, & comfortable place to read and learn. We are fortunate to have our library the way it is because Mr McEntee knew how important books and reading are. Let’s keep Mr McEntee’s appreciation of books growing at OLPS!

To create opportunities for our students to borrow and read books, our school library is open before and after school. Families can come along and share this time with their children. Mrs Ryan and Mrs Watt look forward to seeing you in the library throughout the term!!!

Library Opening Hours:

Before school: 8:30 - 8:45 am

After school: 3:20 - 3:45 pm

A variety of literature will be shared with students to encourage engagement with reading. Prep & Year 1 focus will be to borrow books of interest, and Year 2 & 3 just right and books of interest. They must bring their library bag to every session to borrow a book. All will have the chance to borrow books of their choice from the school library during this time. 

Students will have the opportunity to read independently and to share books with their peers. The borrowed library books will provide an opportunity for you to share them with your child at home. The aim is to develop a love for literature and to read not only for learning but very importantly for pleasure!

All classes will have a weekly session. Their library sessions will be on two different library days over a fortnight as the school has a Week A & Week B timetable. Please refer to the classroom learning overview compass notification for your child’s library days. Please assist your child with returning their books so they are ready to borrow every library session!!

Library bags are available for purchase from the school office for $15

Library Program

Learning Focus

Prep - Year 2: Explore the Junior Library.

Prep: Learning library routines and listening to and engaging with stories and books

Year 1: Making connections from stories to their own experiences

Year 2: Learning to discuss why they chose a particular book

Year 3: Explore the Senior Library.

Year 3: Exploring the features of different genres.

Book Club

Art Learning Overview 2026

In Art, the students are given the opportunity to learn new drawing techniques that will enhance their ability to create unique Artworks. The students are encouraged to use their imagination and senses to express themselves through different mediums.

In Term 1,  the junior students will be introduced to different drawing and colouring techniques then they will be given the opportunity to practise and experiment with these techniques by creating a variety of drawings. Our little artists will explore different topics such as landscape and Easter through class discussion, images and videos.

In Term 1, the senior students will be introduced to Australian landscape artists such as  Russel Drysdale and the aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira. As a class we will explore the lives and paintings of these artists by reading about them and having a class discussion about their artwork. The students will be encouraged to create landscape drawings inspired by these talented classic Australian artists.

Later on in Term 1, our 4 - 6 artists will explore the theme of Easter through a discussion around a painting of the resurrection of Jesus. We will discuss the different features, symbols and characters of the painting. Afterwards the students will put together their own unique Easter artworks which we will showcase on the Artwall in the corridor.  

Japanese Learning Overview 2026

Years 4, 5 & 6

In Japanese, students build confidence using spoken and written language through songs, games, roleplays and cultural learning. Term 1 focuses on establishing classroom routines, developing listening and speaking skills, and strengthening understanding of Japanese language structures and culture.

🟢 Year 4 – Hello Japan 

In Term 1, Year 4 students are introduced to the Japanese language and classroom routines. They learn how to greet others, follow simple classroom instructions, and show respect using Japanese manners such as bowing. Students practise counting from 1–10, join in songs and games, and begin recognising familiar Hiragana characters through visual and listening activities. Cultural learning includes exploring daily life in Japan and comparing it with their own experiences. The focus is on listening, joining in, and building confidence using simple spoken Japanese. 

🟢 Year 5 – Building Confidence in Communication

Year 5 students build on prior knowledge by using Japanese more independently in class. In Term 1, they practise greetings and introductions, follow classroom language, and begin using numbers in spoken activities and simple exchanges. Students strengthen their listening skills, read familiar Hiragana, and use modelled sentences to participate in short conversations. Cultural learning focuses on respectful communication, Japanese school routines, and making connections between Japanese and Australian daily life.

🟢 Year 6 – Extending Language & Expression

In Term 1, Year 6 students consolidate and extend their Japanese skills by building longer and more detailed responses. They revise familiar language, then learn to expand sentences, link ideas using conjunctions, and begin using early past tense structures. Students read and write confidently using Hiragana, with supported exposure to Katakana and Kanji. Through discussions and cultural learning, they explore Japanese communication styles and deepen their understanding of how language reflects culture. The emphasis is on confident participation, extended speaking, and meaningful communication.