Campus Stories

Care during Covid

In these uncertain days, some of the most impacted members of our community are the aged, who are finding isolation especially difficult. As a way to be an encouragement to others in our community, the Secondary Houses have been making cards and writing messages of greeting and care.

To quote the words within one card, 'Hello, I hope you are doing well in these uncertain times. Remember, it's okay to feel upset or scared. There are always people who love you and care for you. There is always someone thinking about you.' Cassidy, Year 7.

We can all take a leaf out of the student's book and reach out to a friend or neighbour who might need a moment of encouragement at this time. If you personally are struggling, please reach out to us and we can connect you with people who can help.

Mother's Day Makings

The Busselton PP class were very busy making their mums a special Mother’s Day gift.  Staff from Bunnings were booked to come and make trinket boxes with them however, with COVID-19 they were unable to attend. Bunnings kindly let the College collect what we needed to make the boxes, so Mrs Clark and Mrs Reid took to the tools and decided to make the items themselves. The children learning from home were also given boxes to make in isolation. Here are some photos of the building and decorating process! 

Waltzing Matilda

What happens when you get a Swiss born teacher with a range of students of varying nationalities, all engaged in rich learning activities within an Australian School? Well, Waltzing Matilda becomes more than just a poem or song, it becomes a cultural learning experience all on its own.

Whilst reading the book in class, Mrs Kuendig was telling the students about how the swagman would have mixed his tea in his billy by spinning the billy around. This led to a discussion on centrifugal force. She decided that experiencing this would be better than just hearing it, so the Year 1s were out on the oval giving it their best shot.

For the record, it was just cool water, and very few spills occurred.

Great work, Year 1s.

Lego Masters - Cornerstone Style

During the past month or two, Mrs Blennerhassett has run a Lego competition to help keep energetic bodies busy - and it was a huge success!

With around 100 families registering their interest, a challenge was issued each week with prizes allocated into a number of categories. The creativity was amazing - and we are so grateful for the engagement by so many families.

We must thank our Chaplain, Mrs Blennerhassett for enthusiastically championing this activity, and for the team of judges she managed to enlist.  The 'Cornerstone Corona Lego Challenge' competition has closed for now, but lots of wonderful memories came from families being able to take part together.

We had lots of very positive comments come through, such as 'Thank you everybody who has taken part in this LEGO competition. My kids and hubby have absolutely loved it! It has been a most welcome distraction each week. The themes for each week were really good and diverse.'

We can't share the hundreds of images taken, but here's a few to inspire you in case you want to have a try.

Well done, everyone.  Brilliant work!

News Shoes and Cubby Houses

The Year 3 class has had a big first week back. Firstly, the inaugural appearance of the winter formal uniform was on the cards  for this cohort - with a sea of brand new black leather shoes on display and crisp new uniforms. If that wasn't enough, then the big storm provided the tools to step back to playful endeavours, and cubby houses were built with the branches from fallen trees.  These wonderful moments were caught by Mrs Hemmings.

Hope you've enjoyed your week, Year 3s!

Mother's Day in Year 1

Year 1 students have been busy preparing Mother's Day gifts for the amazing mums in their lives.  Let's hear from Mrs Kuendig about what's happened.

'On Monday the children were getting dried lavender flower of the stems and filled them up in little lavender bags. As the aromas filled the room, we talked about how this makes them feel and we came to the point that lavender calms you down. So this will be for their mums to relax...

'On Tuesday we cut apples, soaked the pieces in lemon juice so they don't turn brown and then placed them into a dehydrator. For about six hours our classroom was filled with beautiful apple smell. This will be for their mums if they need some more energy. 

'Now we are writing books about what we love about our mums'.

We hope you enjoyed the gift, ladies!  Happy Mother's Day.

Floral Tributes

Traditionally, Mother's Day gifts are made by the youngest students in the school - but there's a chance some mums of highschoolers also got to see a gift this year.

During House period on Friday, the Secondary school had the opportunity to handcraft some cards and flowers.  The level of success was varied, but some really gorgeous tributes were created to bless the mums in our community.  Here's a few images of the early stages of production.  

Gold Rush Treasures

The Year 5 class have been studying the history of the Gold Rush, and to help embed their learning there has been a practical activity.  The students were asked to create a treasure chest, which could have belonged to someone from the Gold Rush Days.  Inside there were to be snapshots of their life and the things that mattered to them.  It gave the children a chance to consider the culture and priorities of the day, and the real life matters that were important to those that were part of this time in history.

Mrs Meyer was impressed by the creations so far - and we have more to come.

Well done, class!

Adaptations and Eyeballs

It's pretty handy when your Principal is a mad keen scientist (note that we added the keen part in there!)  The Year 5 class were able to take their science lesson into the school laboratory, and Mr Maynard delighted in dissecting an eyeball for the students to understand the workings of this amazing organ.  

Not to be outdone, our resident veterinarian/lab technician, Mrs Lucas, walked the Year 5s through a discussion on skulls of different animals and related that to their learning on eyes as well.

Mr Meyerink was absolutely thrilled to have these two guest presenters aiding in the teaching of his students. We are incredibly blessed as a College to have such a strong science team who really do make an enormous contribution to our education program at Cornerstone.