Primary

                                                                   Mrs Leanne Schulz

Assistant Principal (Primary)

Fairview House Athletics Morning 

Fairview students enjoyed a fun morning participating in a range of sporting activities on Wednesday 24 May. A huge thank you to Mrs Mariner, Mrs McNamara, Mrs Neilson and Mrs Pocervina for organising the House event and to all the teachers for supporting the games. Everyone had so much fun running and participating in field events. There were smiles beaming everywhere and lots of House colours!

Mia P and Akshaj M - Year 6 School Captains’ Speech at Cumberland Assembly 

A huge thank you to Mia and Akshaj for creating and delivering a message to the Cumberland students on ‘Honesty’, one of our College Values. They also chose a short clip about 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' to illustrate the importance of honesty and building trust. 

Akshaj

Good morning Cumberland students, teachers, staff and families. 

Throughout the term we have been focusing on our College Values which comprise of Compassion, Excellence, Honesty, Kindness and Respect.   

Last week we spoke about Excellence. In brief, Excellence is defined by your actions and intelligence. It is when you create high standards for yourself and you are willing to focus and work hard to achieve them. Excellence means to become your best self. 

Today we will be talking to you about the meaning of ‘Honesty’. 

Mia  

What is Honesty? To be Honest means that you are truthful and faithful in what you say and do, rather than lying, stealing, cheating or being jealous. Knowing that you have been truthful, faithful and honest will make you feel better about yourself. Having high self-esteem and self-respect will ensure you have a guilt-free life. 

Honesty is also the base of a trusting relationship. If you don’t have honesty in a relationship, then you are not being true to yourself or the other person. Therefore, when you are honest people can rely on you because you have integrity. Integrity and loyalty are very important to have in our lives.  

Benjamin Franklin, a well-known inventor once said, “Honesty is the best policy.” The meaning is simple and self-explanatory. It means telling the truth is better than lying, even when it is hard to do. 

Honesty is one of the most important character traits to have. We all know being Honest simply makes you happier, it makes you feel content and it makes you feel untroubled. 

Akshaj 

What is Honesty? 

Honesty means to have the quality of always telling the truth, being pure from the heart. Somebody who is honest refuses to lie, steal or deceive in any way. Honesty also means following your commitment even behind people’s backs. Being honest means, we do as we say, we keep our promises. 

How do you show “Honesty” at school? 

Our school values teach us to be honest in everything we do or say. For example, if your teacher asked you to do homework without using a calculator and you did not use any calculator, this means you have been showing honesty even behind your teacher's back. No stealing, telling the truth about what happened if you are involved in an incident, coming back to class on time, not spreading any rumours about anyone, these are all examples of an Honest Student. 

John Lennon from The Beatles said that “ Being Honest may not get you a lot of friends but it will get you the right ones”. 

Why is honesty important in life? 

Honesty helps us to develop good qualities like: 

Kindness 

Truthfulness 

Discipline 

Courage 

Trustworthiness 

Sincerity  

Loyalty

According to William Faulkner, “Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…. would do this, it would change the Earth.” 

Mrs Natasha Radley (Head of Year Prep)

On Friday 19 May, the Prep students enjoyed a visit to the Aitken Farm. They had the opportunity to walk through the wildlife corridor along Brodies Creek. They enjoyed listening to the wildlife and seeing the creek. At the farm, the students saw the shy sheep, amazing alpacas and cheeky chickens. 

We hope you enjoyed the Preps performing at Assembly on Monday. It was a great way to celebrate all the learning that has taken place so far this term. 

The Fairview Sports on Wednesday 24 May was a huge hit. The Prep students eagerly encouraged their teammates, cheering and clapping. They had so much fun!  

We are proud of their wonderful learning and can't wait for what else is to come.

Mr Jevon Scandrett (Head of Year 1 & 2)

It is hard to believe that we are over halfway through Term 2! Staff and students have been working hard together on many exciting learning opportunities.

Melbourne Museum/IMAX Excursion

Year 2 students took part in an excursion to the Melbourne Museum and IMAX on Friday 26 May. The students watched an informative film on the enormous IMAX screen. They also toured the Melbourne Museum, including a visit to the First People’s gallery and other exciting exhibits. The excursion supports the learning in Integrated Studies for Term 2, as students are learning all about the geography of Australia as well as indigenous perspectives of Australia. I would like to once again thank the amazing parent helpers who came along and were such wonderful support on the day. I would also like to thank the staff for their hard work in organising the excursion for the students. Please check the Year 2 blog next week for some exciting photo updates!

Fairview Athletics Carnival

On Wednesday 24 May, Year 1 and Year 2 students were lucky to participate in the Fairview Athletics Carnival. It was wonderful to see the house spirit and the enjoyment on the students’ faces as they completed the various activities. An enormous thank you to Mrs Jamie Mariner and PE staff for organising such an engaging and exciting morning for the students. 

Persuasive Writing

Year 1 students have been working on persuasive writing. They have been creating some engaging pieces using compelling reasons to support their opinions. Here are some examples of some student writing from across Year 1: 

Arin K - 1D: I strongly believe that dogs are the best pets. I’m going to tell you why! Dogs can be helpful. This means you don’t need to do much work in the house. They can help blind people cross the road. As you can see, dogs are the best pets. 

Liam S - 1D: I believe that fish are the best pets. I’m going to tell you why! Fish only need a little boit of food so you can save your money. Fish do not take up much space in their fishbowl. I’m sure you would agree that fish are the best pets. 

Skye B - 1R: I strongly believe that nighttime is better than daytime. I’m going to tell you why! At nighttime you can have a movie night with your family. You can also see stars in the night. As you can see, nighttime is better.  

Zaine R - 1R: In my opinion, dogs are the best pets. I believe this because you can play fetch with them and cuddle them. As you can see, dogs are the best pets. 

Ryan A - 1B: I would rather be a dragon than a mermaid. I’m going to tell you why! Dragons can breathe fire. Dragons can also do tricks in the air. As you can see, dragons are better than mermaids. 

Bisman G - 1B: I would rather be a mermaid than a dragon. I’m going to tell you why! Mermaids can breathe underwater, and they can see underwater creatures that are very colourful. That’s why I would want to be a mermaid instead of a dragon. 

Should you have any questions or concerns, your first point of call should always be your child’s homeroom teacher followed by myself as the Head of Years 1 and 2. 

Mrs Anne Adams (Head of Year 3 & 4)

This has been a jam-packed term filled with great learning experiences. Year 3 students are currently learning about Melbourne and who lives in this wonderful city. They celebrated their cultural roots by dressing or bringing in a photo, song or dance to show the peers.  

Year 4 students have been learning about plastics and how they have shaped the way we live and use these products. They are also looking at the impact of plastic.  

Many events have taken place such as STEM week and guest authors who have shared their ideas about how to come up with a great story and simple drawing techniques to help them illustrate their story book for the Cumberland Story Book competition. Please read the comments below: 

Lachlan T - 3A 

We made houses in STEM week. We worked in a group of five people. We made our house out of sticks, pencils and paper. We had to build a double storey house and it had to survive an earthquake. Our house stayed together when the earthquake happened. We added a roof to it as well.  

Gursharandeep S -  3A 

Mrs Crisara came to talk to us. She talked about when the school was built, the team names like Brodie, Cameron, Miller and Clarke came from the names of the people on the farms that lived around Aitken College before it was built. She talked about the communities and the different people that came to live in Australia. She showed us some pictures of the new school and the old school. We saw how the wetlands were made and how the school grew bigger.  

Joshua T -  3T 

Mrs Crisara came to talk to us about communities and how they change. She said that the first the Indigenous Australians came, then the British came, then the Europeans came and then everyone else followed after that. When people moved to Greenvale first, it was just farming. Now there are about 60,000 people living here. We saw pictures about how Aitken College has changed too.  

Kendrick T - 3T 

In STEM week, we had to make a house out of popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, paper and sticky tape. There were two challenges: it had to be the tallest and it had to withstand a mini earthquake. To make the earthquake, the teacher had a plate which, when it turned on, it shook. We had to bluetac our house to the plate. Our house came second. It survived for four seconds. 

Andreas Y - 3W 

We had guest author to tell us how we can write books. Andrew McDonald drew pigeons and wrote a book called Real Pigeons. He taught us how to think of an ordinary idea and make it crazy.

Harit S - 3W 

We had a culture day. I shared my necklace. My dad got it from India and it represents my culture. We celebrate Divali. During Divali we have fireworks and we eat a sweets called Ladoo.  

Ajay S - 4M 

Sue deGennaro taught us how to draw a hippo that was the chef from her book ‘We’re Stuck.’ It was tricky.  

Azaan S - 4M 

Sue deGennaro taught us how to make faces move up and down when you draw them. Then you add the eyes. On the horizontal line is where you make your eyes. In the cross with the vertical and horizontal lines you make the nose, and the mouth goes over the right and left side of the vertical line. She also taught us how to add emotion to our illustrations. When she did it step by step, I found the drawing easy. 

Lisara B - 3T 

We share our cultures. Mine is Sri Lankan. I dressed up in a half sari. It is a traditional dress that a woman wears. I wear it to Sri Lankan national day where we dance and eat traditional foods like rice, chicken and sometimes we have sweets as well. 

Roy J - 3T 

I dressed up in the Korean traditional clothes. I wear my traditional clothes when I go to a wedding or a special occasion. A traditional food from Korea is Kim Chi. I eat it only sometimes because it’s too hot.  

Mehreen S - 3T 

I dressed in a suit which looks like long dress with pants. It is a Punjabi way of dressing that women wear in India. A traditional food we eat is Roti which is made in a fire. We eat it with curry.  

Alia N - 3T 

I dressed in Kurta and Dungreas. It is a Tamil way of dressing. It is from Southern India. We eat dosa and an Indian type of Maggi noodles.  

Sanjh S - 3T 

My culture is Indian. I was wearing a suit. It had Chuni which you wear on your head and a Salver which are the pants. In a celebration we eat ladoos, dosa (my favourite) and rasgulla. 

Mr Nigel Keegan (Head of Year 5 & 6)

Our Interschool sport teams are enjoying the Winter competition, with many excellent results going Aitken’s way. Congratulations to students who have received MVP awards, which recognise outstanding contribution to the team. Well done also to the students involved in our Friday morning school-based sport program for your positive participation so far.   

Our new Year 5 unit, ‘Out of this World!’, is proving to be a real hit! Students have been investigating the planets in our solar system and the possibility of colonising another planet and carrying out related science experiments. In Pathway to Federation, Year 6 students have been following the journey of Australian history from early colonies through to a united Australia. The Peer Support program is going strong, and our Year 5 & Year 1 Buddies are enjoying catching up over shared activities. 

Term 2 assessment tasks have also commenced, which provide opportunities for students to demonstrate progress with their learning. 

It’s National eSmart Week

Year 5 Reflections 

Aalia T - 5J

In Life Skills we have been learning about cyber bullying.  Cyber bullying is a terrible thing, and it can include police officers.  If we ever see someone doing this over and over again, we need to tell someone.  If you ever experience getting bullied, tell a teacher or a trusted adult because it can be very hard dealing with this.  We need to find away to try and stop this. 

Bailey R - 5M

In Life Skills this term, we have been learning how to be e-smart , and what cyberbullying is.  We have learnt that you should never share personal information online, such as full name, age, address, location or anything with passcodes.  I personally think that being smart online is really important, because if you aren’t it can jeopardise your safety and the safety of others.  We have also been learning about cyber bullying, and how it can happen.  A few forms of cyber bullying can include: someone (known or anonymous) sending you mean and/or threatening messages, someone targeting you in a game and someone being rude online.  The main thing we have learnt so far is to be careful online! 

Araina C - 5A

In Life Skills this term, 5A has been learning about staying anonymous online.  eSmart helps teachers and students best manage bullying, cyber bullying and risks of talking to strangers online. If you ever experience bullying always remember to tell and trusted adult.   If you see anybody being bullied online, be an upstander not a bystander by asking them if they need help or if everything is okay. 

Assembly Roster

Our Preps delivered a wonderful performance at the Fairview Assembly last week and delighted the audience with their Pevan and Sarah good morning song and the dinosaur dance. The videos of them speaking and sharing their learning demonstrated the wonderful growth they have shown throughout the year. 

Likewise, our Year 4 students spoke confidently at the Cumberland Assembly and shared a variety of learning experiences. They informed us about sustainability and the environmental risks associated with plastics. The Year 4 students also shared their skills at using descriptive language and devices in their writing. 

Important Dates

Cumberland Dance Party

Invitation to attend a presentation by David Collins, Clinical Psychologist  

The Aitken Wellbeing Committee are very excited to invite you to an evening with Psychologist David Collins on Thursday 1 June at 7:30pm. David Collins presented a highly attended and well-reviewed session last year to the Aitken community. His presentation next week will be face-to-face and free of charge in the Chapel and Performing Arts Centre but will also be live streamed (link will be sent to those who book).

David is a clinical psychologist and pioneer of the Braingrow Program. He will be presenting on the following:

• Brain development  
• Mental health & contributing factors for developing mental health difficulties 
• What is anxiety and how does it manifest?  
• Positive stress 
• Cycle of avoidance & common traps parents fall into that may increase related anxiety
• Distinction between parental support vs being overly protective 
• Coping skills for anxiety 
• Developing tolerance for child/adolescent distress when anxious 
• Hints and tips on communication/statements/what to say to your child when they are anxious. 

Here is a short clip to give you an idea of David’s work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70lFvxinViI

Click here to book:  https://www.trybooking.com/CHZER

(The livestream link will be sent to all those who book a place on trybooking)

Announcement from Harper G and Uvinyaa W, Year 6 Community Service Captains 

We will be coming around to Primary classrooms in the next two weeks to raise money for WWF (World Wildlife Fund). The competition is to guess how many lollipops are in the jar! It is $1 per guess. We hope that you can support our fundraiser. The winner will receive the jar of lollipops!! 

We will aim to visit classrooms on the following days: 

Monday- Prep, Year 1s and Year 2s 

Wednesday - Year 5s and Year 6s  

Friday - Year 3s and Year 4s 

Thank you!