Primary School
Over the weekend, we enjoyed a nice break to stop, pause and reflect on ANZAC Day. During our Term Two Welcome Back Assembly, I was able to reflect on what ANZAC Day meant to me. It was lovely to spend some time on the weekend remembering our ANZACs and for me, my Grandad - it was an honour to wear replicas of some of his medals to the March. I hope over the long weekend you had some special time with your families and were able to reflect on what the day means for you. Below is what I shared with students on the first day back.
ANZAC Day has always been special to me, a day that we pause to remember those who served our country and the values they stood for: courage, service and sacrifice.
My grandad served in the Navy during the Second World War and took part in the D‑Day landings on Juno Beach. After surviving the first wave, it was his job as a signalman to clear the beach of the casualties and safely direct the next lot of craft where best to land. He was only 18 at the time. For this, Grandad received France's highest military honour, the Legion of Honour medal. He rarely spoke about it and never sought recognition. He called it ‘The day I don’t talk about.’
What shaped me most wasn’t what he went through, but how he chose to live then and afterwards.
He was the kindest person I’ve ever met. He lived simply, without expectations from others. He was grateful, generous and devoted to his family. He would go without, so that others could have. It was an honour to take him shopping every week and hear of all his adventures which will forever humble me. Those quiet values shaped who I am today.
ANZAC Day reminds us that the legacy of service isn’t only found in history; it lives on in how we treat others and how we approach our responsibilities.
As students starting a new term, this means showing courage in everyday ways, like trying your best, being respectful, supporting one another, and doing the right thing even when it isn’t easy or noticed.
By living with kindness, gratitude, and effort, we honour those who came before us or fought for us, or like Mr Symonds and my grandad, have shaped who we are in some way. - Ms Leah Field
Mokare Day
Boarding Week – Walk to school Day (Boots ‘n’ Hats)
In Week Four, we celebrate National Boarding Week and we encourage everyone to walk to school with our boarding community on Wednesday, 13 May. Due to the busyness of the calendar, Primary School students are encouraged to wear their boots or/and farm hat with their uniform. Gold coin donation and all funds raised will go to The Darcy Effect.
Classroom News
Please see the classroom news below. Some fantastic experiences are happening in our classrooms; we hope you enjoy reading about them.
Djinda
Djinda has deep dived into the world of colour. We have been exploring colour through mixing paint, sorting our toys by colour and pulling items from our mystery basket to share with our circle of friends. We have continued with a focus on messy play, bathing the dinosaurs in shaving cream, with a Djinda friend declaring, ‘Make sure you clean behind the ears.’
Kindergarten
Both classes have been enjoying coming together for shared literacy time. We have started learning the story of The Little Red Hen, and the students are already doing a wonderful job retelling the parts we have explored. Using actions and expressive voices for each character, they are bringing the story to life with growing confidence.
This week, we have also focused on the letter t. The children have explored the sound in a variety of fun ways and created some fantastic craft: tigers on tiptoes! We are so proud of their enthusiasm and engagement in their learning.
Pre-Primary
In our numeracy learning, we are focusing on numbers 0–20 and developing strong one-to-one correspondence. This means children are learning to match one number to one object as they count, which is an essential foundation for early Mathematics. Through hands-on activities, we have been counting shells, blocks and other objects and matching numbers written in numeral form. You may hear your child counting as they play or carefully touching each object as they say a number aloud; this is their understanding growing!
How you can help at home:
- Count everyday objects together (toys, snacks, steps)
- Encourage your child to point to each item as they count
In Pre-Primary B we have been diving into an exciting new inquiry: Under the Water. The children have shared wonderful ideas about what an ocean is, describing it as deep, blue, full of animals, and even a place for treasure and adventure! They are also asking thoughtful questions about sea creatures, plants, and what lies beneath the waves, guiding our investigations in meaningful ways.
Year One
The Year One students were very interested in learning about the stories around ANZAC Day. First, they looked at the symbols of ANZAC Day, including poppies (creating beautiful poppy wreaths), rosemary for remembrance, ANZAC biscuits and the slouch hat. Then, they were fascinated to discover the story of the school children in the French town of Villers-Bretonneux who, with the help of Australian children and their fundraising, were able to rebuild their school, which was destroyed in the First World War. The children were thrilled to learn that the sign ‘DO NOT FORGET AUSTRALIA’, is still there today! This prompted many personal recounts from the children about their own family war heroes and heroines.
Year Two
This week we enjoyed learning about the meaning of the word significant and loved drawing our houses and determining what significant things we do in them that make them special to us. We also read Roly the Anzac Donkey and learnt about the symbols that are used to represent and honour the ANZACs. We loved making our stained-glass poppies. In Mathematics we have learnt about how fractions can be shown as a whole, a group and on a line, and enjoyed using hands-on materials such as leaves and strings to show this.
Year Three
We have successfully completed our story map for the Talk for Writing model text The Storm Unicorn. Students have shown high levels of engagement and enthusiasm as they explored an overview of the structure and language features of the text. They have embraced every opportunity to rehearse the story orally, developing confidence and fluency in preparation for writing. Students will be developing their understanding of financial Mathematics through practical, real‑world problem‑solving activities. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm for learning across all areas.
Year Four
Students have been diving into the grim realities of life in 18th-century Britain, where overcrowding was the norm, jobs were scarce, and supplies were even scarcer. It was also a time when the law was… let’s say enthusiastic. Pickpocketing? Jail. Stealing a sheep? Jail. Breaking a window after 5.00pm? Believe it or not − also jail. Basically, it was very easy to end up behind bars.
All of this learning will help guide students on their journey from late 18th-century Britain right through to the (somewhat involuntary) trip to Botany Bay with the First Fleet.
Year Five
Have you ever looked at two different soft drinks and wondered, how do I compare them? One is a big bottle, the other small. One tastes of chocolate, the other of lemon. One says ‘should only be consumed by truckers and teenagers during exam periods’ … wait no, how did that get in there? Well, in Year Five this week, we have been looking at the common language of percentages. Per cent means out of one hundred, so by measuring the sugar content of our drinks per 100 millilitres, we were able to come to the conclusion that lemonade had the most sugar.
In literary news we have begun our deep dive into the world of Avatar: the Last Airbender. The students have undergone rigorous quizzing to reveal their own personality traits. The result is we are all now members of one of the four nations. We will be building on this knowledge as we look at geography, animal adaptations to climate and ultimately create a nation of our own throughout the term.
Year Six
It has been another busy week. We are continuing our work on fractions in Mathematics and enjoying Mrs MacKenzie's hands-on lessons. In literacy, we have begun to explore biographies and have linked this with our Humanities unit, where we are researching First Nation war veterans. Tomorrow, a group of students is taking part in the Interschool Orienteering, and everyone is looking forward to the Foundation Day activities.
Art
Year Two students added the seaweed to finish off their fantastic leafy sea dragon paintings, which we started last term. We began by finding out more about the leafy sea dragon which lives around the coast of Albany and the Great Southern. We then drew leafy sea dragons with good old pencil, then oil pastel and water colour paint and finally we used pipits and ink. Drawing with pipits and ink was a little tricky, but the results were fantastic. The students chose their favourite sea dragon to be cut out and pasted on a canvas.
We then learnt about mixing white or black with blue paint to create tints and tones, and painted our watery background. Students finished off the canvas paintings by pasting the leafy sea dragon to the background and adding some fabric seaweed for the sea dragons to hide in. Our leafy sea dragon paintings will be on display at the Whole School Arts Exhibition in Term Three.
Languages
All students have been busy learning new French vocabulary! Pre-Primary to Year Two focused on pets; Years Three and Four explored school stationery; and Years Five and Six learned words for clothing. To help make these new words stick (and to get some movement into lessons), students took part in a word treasure hunt. Fair to say this activity may become a classroom favourite! Remember to check out the whiteboard in front of the Language office to refresh your memory on these words between sessions.
ECC Briefing
The following superstars have worked exceptionally well and received a Star Award for their outstanding efforts.
Kindergarten A: Shantelle Mesina
Kindergarten B: Aiden Wu
Pre-Primary A: Beau Dixon
Pre-Primary B: Addison Jordan
Year One: Roy Donaldson
Year Two A: Kole Jensen
Year Two B: Pavleen Grewal
The following students have stood out for their ability to show respect.
Kindergarten A: Mya Parkes
Kindergarten B: Gabriel Chen
Pre-Primary A: Margo Hodge
Pre-Primary B: Isobel Henry
Year One: Connor Robson
Year Two A: Adrian Forgus
Year Two B: Soraya Leslie
Upcoming Events
Week Two
- Friday 1 May, Year Five and Year Six (selected students) Orienteering Carnival, North Road Ovals, 9.00am to 11.30am
- Friday 1 May, Foundation Day Assembly, 1.45pm to 2.30pm and then Running of the Flags at 2.45pm. Presentation uniform for Year Three to Six, House shirts for Pre-Primary to Year Two
- Saturday 2 May to Sunday 3 May, Annual P&F Dads & Kids Camp Out, Vineyard/Grassy Knoll, Saturday 4.30pm to Sunday 10.00am
Week Three
- Tuesday 5 May, ECC Mother’s Day Morning, ECC, 8.45am to 11.00am
- Wednesday 6 May, Mokare Day, wear an outfit from a decade of your choice OR come in your best green Mokare clothes. A gold coin required for dressing up and for the cake stall at recess
- Friday 8 May, Years Five and Six (selected students), Great Southern Netball Competition, ALAC, 9.00am to 2.45pm
- Sunday 10 May, Mother’s Day
Week Four
- Wednesday 13 May, Walk to School Day with Boarders, leave from Coraki Park at 8.00am. Primary School students are encouraged to wear their boots or/and farm hat with their uniform. Gold coin donation and all funds raised will go to The Darcy Effect.
- Friday 15 May, Tour Afternoon, 2.00pm to 4.00pm
- Friday 15 May, Grandparents’ Day, ECC and Primary School
Have a wonderful weekend
Ms Leah Field | Head of Primary and
Mrs Hayley Ranger | Head of Early Childhood