Specialist News 

TERM 4 Physical Education: 

Grade P-2 students have been improving their two hand side-arm strike and applying these skills in cricket-like and tball-like activities. This week they will be applying the two hand side-arm strike FMS whilst using a hockey and mini golf stick.  They have also worked hard at being a great teammate and will continue to be demonstrate sportspersonship in each PE lesson. 

Grade 3 - 6 students have practised their bowling and batting, showcasing their skills in cricket and their ability to read the space and run bases in Tball / Softball. There were HUGE hits and home runs and exciting 4's and 6's! 

Last week, our grade P-2 students started a tennis unit, working on our forehand strike and getting the ball over a net and graduate to rallying with a partner and trying to make a score. This unit will continue for 3 more weeks. 

This week, our grade 3 - 6 students will be engaging in the Bike Ed program for 4 weeks and will ride around our school grounds, Graham Myers Reserve and the reserve next to the school. We have extended this to encourage student to participate by using a piece of equipment they are comfortable so we are inviting students to bring trikes, rollerskates or scooters if that makes them more comfortable to participate. Students will need their bike etc to be onsite to use for the classes on the following dates:  

• Session 1: Wednesday, 11th November
• Session 2: Thursday, 19th November 
• Session 3: Wednesday, 25th November
• Session 4: Thursday - BIG RIDE event, 3rd December

On Wednesday the 2nd December, the RACV Safety Squad will be running a 45 minute incursion for the P-6 students to cover road safety and travelling safely around our community.

In the first session, the students will demonstrate basic bike skills, braking, accelerating, changing gears and conducting a safety check on their equipment before we begin riding. In session 2 and 3, students will learn about road rules, demonstrating their skills whilst navigating a roundabout and intersection as well as riding on different terrains and using their brakes safely. In the 4th session, the grade 5/6 students will be heading off site on a 'Big Ride', a group ride in the community. Please note, for students to attend the Big Ride, they will need to be able to ride a bike efficiently to keep up with the group.  A map and risk assessment will be available closer to the Big Ride in Week 9. 

What you can do to prepare for this unit. 

• ensure the bike is in good working conditions, tires with adequate tread, brakes that work, chain with minimal rust, re-apply a lubricant to the chain if need be. 
• check the helmet has a certification sticker or label showing compliance with an accepted manufacturing standard:  AS/NZS 2063:2008 or AS/NZS 2063:2020
• ensure it is a bike the students are confident to ride
• communicate road rules with your child 
• go on a family bike ride, so you can let me if there are any concerns prior to the unit commencing. 
• bring a bike  / equipment to each class listed in the dates above. The bikes will be stored in the multipurpose room if they need to remain at school for the duration of the program. Bikes will be unable to be used outside of their allocated PE time.  

If your child doesn't have a bike that they can bring on Wednesdays / Thursdays, we have a few ready to go, however we do not have any scooters or trikes. If you have a few scooters at home and you are happy for students to use them during these sessions, please bring them along too. 

TERM 4 Sporting update: 

One of our Grade 6 superstars, Maya progressed to the Southern Metro Athletics event on the 21st October. She did a fantastic job representing our school, district and division. Well done progressing to the Regional stage in Athletics! This is a HUGE achievement!

This term is a busy one! These are the events for Term 4: 

WEDNESDAY, 18th NOVEMBER: INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL.

We will be joining forces with Hastings PS and Tyabb Railway Station PS for our very first Interschool Swimming Carnival. This will be for our Years 3–6 students and will be held at Crib Point Pools.  All students will participate in the swimming events to earn house points and ribbons. The students will be divided into groups based on ages and gender and compete in these groups throughout the day. There will be winners from Bittern, Hastings and TRSPS for each event.  This will be a jam-packed day with races in the lap pool and activities in the toddler pool and on the grass areas. Check out the compass event for more information.

MONDAY, 23rd NOVEMBER: P - 6 SUPER CHAMPS DAY.

Bittern PS will be hosting our annual champions event on the oval and basketball within the school grounds. In true Mrs Berthet fashion, it is going to look a little bit differently this year, stepping away from the athletics events and adding in sports themed rotations, including cricket, netball and frisbee. Each event will be scored and at the end of the day we will present the championship medals to the boy and girl winner in each age group. Students will be invited to wear their house colours to gain house points and family and friends are welcomed to come and support on the day. 

Timetable: 

9:00am - 10:45am: Prep, 1 and 2. 

11:30am - 1:15pm: Grade 3 and 6.

2:30pm: CHAMPIONSHIP MEDAL PRESENTATION in the Banksia building. 

THURSDAY, 26th NOVEMBER: DISTRICT TRIATHLON CARNIVAL. 

Our Grade 4, 5 and 6 students are invited to participate in the Triathlon event at Crib Point pool and oval. We can enter 2 teams in the boys and girls events, with teams made up of 3 students, one student to ride, one to swim and one to run. There are also Individual events for 2 year six girls and 2 year six boys where they will complete the ride, swim and run individually.  

TIMELINE for the day. 

10:00am: Grade 6 Boys

10:30am: Grade 6 Girls

11:00am: Grade 5 Boys

11:30am: Grade 5 Girls

12:00pm: Grade 4 Boys

12:30pm: Grade 4 Girls

1:00pm: Individual (if it's a warm day we will run ind. first up!)

Events:

The order of events is listed below.

• Year 6: Run 2 laps (1km), Swim 4 laps (100m), Ride 4 laps (2km)
• Year 5: Run 2 laps (1km), Swim 3 laps (75m), Ride 4 laps (2km)
• Year 4: Run 1 ¾  laps (850m), Swim 2 laps (50m), Ride 3 laps (1.5km)
• Individual Ride 3 laps (1.5km), Swim 3 laps (75m), Run 2 laps (1km)

If your child would like to be apart of the day and can successfully be competitive in the events, please tick off the list in the front office. If there are multiple students, we will hold try-outs for the run and the ride and the swim will be based off winners from our interschool event on the 18th November. 

WEDNESDAY, 9TH DECEMBER: 'MRS B RUNS THE SCHOOL' DAY -  CHRISTMAS THEMED.  

Our last 'Mrs B runs the school' day will be Christmas themed, where students are invited to dress in christmas attire; can be a t'shirt or a costume. We will be playing Christmas games and going on a Christmas scavenger hunt so please ensure they are wearing runners too.

It's going to be a busy one! 

Mrs Berthet

Auslan (Australian Sign Language)

In Auslan our Foundation and Grade 1 students have been busy expanding their Auslan vocabulary! This term, students have been learning signs for different parts of the body, including their arms, legs, face, eyebrows, hair, hands and feet. They have enjoyed practising these signs through interactive games and activities, helping them build their confidence and signing skills. Students have also been learning how to sign different family members, including mum, dad, brother, sister, grandma and grandpa. It has been wonderful to see students enthusiastically practising their new signs and beginning to combine them to communicate more information about themselves and their families.

In the Grade 2 class students have been learning how to ask for help and communicate their needs using Auslan. They have been practising important signs and phrases such as ‘Help me, please’, ‘My friend needs help’, ‘I’ve hurt myself’ and ‘I’m sick’. Through interactive activities, role-playing and everyday scenarios, students have been developing their confidence in using Auslan to communicate when they or someone else may need assistance. This has been a valuable learning experience, helping students understand the importance of clear communication, recognising when others need support and showing care for those around them.

Our Grade 3–6 students have recently begun exploring Auslan in a new and exciting way by watching videos featuring a member of the Deaf community answering everyday questions about his life and experiences. These videos have provided students with a wonderful opportunity to develop their receptive signing skills as they carefully observe his hand movements, facial expressions and body language to interpret what he is communicating. Students have been challenged to use their existing Auslan knowledge, along with contextual clues, to work out the answers to a range of interesting questions.

This has been a fascinating learning experience, encouraging students to think critically, make predictions and work collaboratively to interpret the information being shared. It has also provided valuable insight into the everyday experiences of a Deaf person, helping students develop a greater understanding and appreciation of Deaf culture and communication. We will continue with these clips for then next few weeks as the students have really been enjoying the challenge.

Miss Bacon

Digi Tech

It has been another exciting and productive few weeks in Digital Technologies, with students across all year levels continuing to develop their confidence, creativity and problem-solving skills through a range of engaging learning experiences. From developing essential computer skills in the junior years to exploring increasingly sophisticated programming concepts through robotics in the middle and senior years, students have been building their understanding of how digital technologies work and how they can be used to solve problems.

Prep/Year 1 – Building Fundamental Computer Skills

Our Prep and Year 1 students have continued developing their fundamental computer skills, with a particular focus on becoming increasingly confident and independent when using our school laptops.

Students have been practising essential skills such as logging onto the school computer network, navigating the Windows operating system and becoming familiar with the different features of a computer. They have also been developing their ability to use a mouse and keyboard effectively, including moving the cursor, clicking and selecting items, opening applications and entering text.

An important focus of these lessons has been encouraging students to follow instructions carefully, navigate digital environments independently and develop appropriate habits when using technology. Students are also learning the importance of looking after digital devices, using equipment responsibly and seeking assistance when required.

These foundational skills are essential for supporting students as they progress through their schooling, enabling them to access a wider range of digital learning tools and become increasingly capable and confident users of technology.

Year 2 – Introducing LEGO Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

Our Year 2 students have recently commenced an exciting new unit of work using our LEGO Education robotics kits, introducing them to the fascinating world of robotics, coding and artificial intelligence.

Throughout this unit, students are beginning to explore how robots can be constructed, programmed and controlled to complete specific tasks. They are developing an understanding of how digital instructions, known as algorithms, determine the actions and behaviours of robotic devices.

Students are being introduced to the basic principles of block-based programming, learning how to arrange instructions into logical sequences that allow their robots to perform particular movements and actions. They are also beginning to investigate how motors and sensors can interact with computer programs to influence the behaviour of a robot.

An important component of this learning involves experimentation, problem-solving and debugging. Students are encouraged to test their programs, observe how their robots respond and make adjustments when their instructions do not produce the intended result.

Working collaboratively, students are also developing their communication, teamwork and creative thinking skills as they investigate different ways of solving challenges.

This unit provides an engaging introduction to robotics and computational thinking, while establishing important foundations for more advanced programming concepts in future years.

Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 – Exploring Loops and Conditional Programming

Our Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 students have continued extending their programming knowledge through increasingly challenging activities using our LEGO robotics kits.

The recent focus has been on understanding and applying two important programming concepts: loops and conditionals.

Students have been investigating how loops allow a computer program to repeat a particular sequence of instructions without needing to write the same code multiple times. Through practical robotics challenges, they have explored how repetition can make programs more efficient, organised and easier to modify.

For example, students have been learning how to program robots to perform repeated movements or actions, experimenting with different loop structures to achieve specific outcomes.

We have also been exploring conditional programming, which allows a robot to make decisions based on particular conditions or information received from its sensors. Students are learning how if/then instructions can be used to control a robot's behaviour, enabling it to respond differently depending on what it detects in its environment.

This has included investigating how sensors can trigger particular actions, such as changing direction, stopping a motor or activating a sound when a specific condition is met.

These concepts represent an important progression in students' understanding of programming, moving beyond simple sequences of instructions towards developing programs that are more flexible, responsive and sophisticated.

Throughout these activities, students have been encouraged to think logically, predict the outcomes of their code and systematically identify and correct errors. This process, known as debugging, is an essential aspect of computer programming and helps students develop persistence, resilience and critical thinking skills.

Our older students have also been challenged to consider how loops and conditionals can be combined within a single program to create more complex robotic behaviours. By applying these concepts to practical challenges, students are gaining a deeper appreciation of how automated systems operate and how programming is used in real-world technologies.

Mr Durrington