Primary School

Our Year Four classes did a tremendous job hosting our Term Three Chapel Service on Friday. With confidence, enthusiasm and thoughtfulness, the students shared the important message of servant leadership with their peers, exploring what it means to lead by serving others rather than seeking recognition for ourselves or ‘being bossy’. Through their acting, readings, reflections and prayers, they highlighted how Jesus is the ultimate example of a servant leader, demonstrating humility, kindness, compassion and a willingness to put the needs of others first. The students encouraged everyone to consider practical ways they can follow Jesus’ example in their daily lives, whether through helping a friend, showing kindness, including others or serving their community. Our Year Two students led us in singing Every Move I Make and Mr Irving on the piano led us in singing our school hymn The Servant King. Thank you, Year Four students, for sending us into the weekend with such joy.  

This week, we put the idea of servant leadership into action by participating in Australia’s biggest online anti-bullying lesson led by Kids Helpline. Students took away the important message of ‘Pause, Choose, Act’ and how to take the power away from the bully. GSG has a strong anti-bullying stance and we strongly encourage those experiencing bullying to let a trusted adult know or use the green button on MyGSG to report.  

Classroom News 

We hope you enjoy reading what our classes have been up to this week. 

Djinda  

Djinda is deep diving and looking at the world around us, specifically what makes us feel a sense of belonging at Great Southern Grammar. Children have shared that they love singing, climbing the tree − but not too high so they can still reach the ground, turning on our turbo legs to make it outside the gate and back in time to eat, being able to make roaring sounds when playing dinosaurs outside and simply as one student put it: making big mess. 

Kindergarten 

This week, our focus sound has been ‘d’, and we have had lots of fun decorating dolls, tasting delicious donuts, digging in the dirt and, of course, playing with dinosaurs! We have also been having lots of fun playing different dice games to develop our subitising skills. Subitising is the ability to quickly recognise how many dots are on the dice without needing to count them one by one. Developing this skill helps children build number sense and become more confident in recognising and understanding quantities. It has been another wonderful week of learning, laughter and fun together! 

Pre-Primary 

Students have been excited to begin their journey into interesting sentence writing. This week, they have been experimenting with a variety of story starters to help spark their imagination and make their writing more engaging. The children have also been exploring the use of interesting adjectives to add detail and bring their ideas to life. From describing a sparkling castle, a gigantic dragon, to very green grass, they have enjoyed choosing powerful words to make their stories more vivid and exciting. We are very proud of their enthusiasm, creativity and growing confidence as young writers, and we look forward to seeing their wonderful storytelling skills continue to develop!

Year One 

Our inquiry is well underway. This week, toys from the past and the present have been brought in, discussed and shared. Some of our inquiry questions have been answered already, as we can see the difference between a lot of the toys from the past and the present in terms of materials used and the use of technology. A mysterious magical box also arrived on Mrs Gouldthorp’s chair! When opened, three toys from the past tumbled out: a spinning top that whirled and hummed, a teddy with one button eye, and a shiny tin robot that clicked when it walked. Each toy seemed to whisper its own story from long ago. In fact, so much so that when we opened the rolled-up bundle beside the box, we found a brand-new text map entitled The Magic Toy Box and in the text were these same toys – wow, the magic that happens in Year One is simply amazing! 

Year Two 

On the beautiful sunny day last Friday, we sang our way down to the Wild Space for a Mathematics lesson, where we used natural materials to create representations of multiplication. Along the way, we spotted a very cool octopus, discovered some impressively large feathers, and thoroughly enjoyed digging in the clay! Back in the classroom, we explored a variety of subtraction strategies to strengthen our mental maths skills. We also began our shared writing project, creating an information report about planet Earth and learned about the names, sizes and locations of the world's oceans. We are very excited about Book Week and are looking forward to decorating our classroom door tomorrow! 

Year Three  

This week we have started our new Mathematics unit: time. Students have been learning to identify and describe different units of time, including seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. We have begun exploring how to read and interpret clocks to the minute, sequence events throughout the day, and understand how time helps us organise our daily lives. Through hands-on activities and discussions, students are developing their understanding of the importance of time in everyday life. 

In Humanities, we investigated how different cultural groups contribute to our community. Students explored the diverse backgrounds, traditions, languages, foods, celebrations and perspectives that make our community unique. We discussed the importance of respecting and valuing diversity and recognised how people from different cultures help create a welcoming, inclusive and vibrant community for everyone. 

Our Technologies studies saw us dive into the ‘field to fashion’ process of wool production. We were fortunate to welcome Kade’s mum, Jonelle Mead, as our guest speaker. Jonelle brought along a range of interesting farming tools and equipment, shared authentic photographs from her family’s farm, and provided students with a firsthand insight into the wool industry. Her engaging presentation helped students understand the care, technology and time involved in raising sheep and producing wool. Having a familiar face share real-life experiences made the learning even more meaningful and gave students a greater appreciation of the journey. 

Year Four 

In Mathematics, students have been continuing to develop their understanding of number lines, decimals, and hundredths. Through a range of activities, they have been practising how to represent, compare, and order decimals while strengthening their place-value knowledge.

In Humanities and Design Technologies, students have been investigating how communities can support people with disabilities through programs, services, and accessible tools. As part of this learning, students have begun drafting their own designs for an environment, a service, and a product that meet the needs of a particular group within the community.

Year Five 

So many worms in Year Five!

Do not worry, the garden sessions with Mr Smith have not resulted in a mass invasion of real worms. We are referring to BOOK WORMS!

During our library sessions, students have been helping the wonderful Ms Couper with the exciting The Great GSG Book Swap by creating posters and book slips to provide a little more information about donated books.

To participate, simply bring along a book in good condition and exchange it for another book. Donations can be made to the Library or AB2 from now on. One book earns one swap token, two books earn two tokens, and so forth. A token will be issued for each contribution in preparation for The Great GSG Book Swap on Wednesday 26 August.

Year Six 

This week in Year Six, we wrapped up our Science investigation and reported our findings back to the class. Across all groups, the bread splashed with water and the normal bread had the highest levels of mould, due to damp and the room temperature being the perfect conditions for mould to grow. Next week we are moving on to our next investigation involving plant growth in different degrees of salination.  

We are concluding our work on narratives and will write a hot task next week and then will explore persuasive texts and advertisements.

ECC Briefing 

The following superstars have worked exceptionally well and received a Star Award for their outstanding efforts.  

Kindergarten A: Matthew Brown 

Kindergarten B: Gene Heaton 

Pre-Primary A: Tom Keeler 

Pre-Primary B: Kaiyi Wong  

Year One: Oscar Weatherill 

Year Two A: Ally Buxton  

Year Two B: Odin Stephenson 

Students have been focusing on the value of Courage this last week. Well done to the following students who stood out within their classrooms: 

Kindergarten A: Shantelle Mesina 

Kindergarten B: Thomas Glass 

Pre-Primary A: Beau Dixon 

Pre-Primary B: Llewyn Walls 

Year One: Alfie Owenell 

Year Two A: Kole Jensen 

Year Two B: Sophie Nelson 

Primary School Briefing 

Students have been focusing on the value of Courage this past week. Well done to the following students who stood out within their classrooms: 

Year Three: Athena Wong 

Year Four: Scarlett Harris and Callum Jeffery 

Year Five: Caleb Ward and Harriet Stan-Bishop 

Year Six: Maya Durant and Ava Rowe 

Brag Award for tidiest area outside the classroom. Congratulations to Year Five L-N 

Congratulations to Finn Rutter (Year Six) for making the 120 Club for August!  

Have a wonderful weekend.  

Ms Leah Field | Head of Primary and

Mrs Hayley Ranger | Head of Early Childhood