PRIMARY SCHOOL
Tim Farmilo - Acting Head of Primary
It has been very strange to be back at St Andrews this term! Most of you would be aware that I retired at the end of 2021 and the last thing I expected was to be serving the St Andrews community during this year. However, I have been blessed to have been in a position to help out in a part-time acting capacity as Head of the Primary School.
I have enjoyed connecting with the students again and trying to remember their names! However, it is amazing how quickly names and routines come back to you.
This term has started off with many activities and it is so good to see some of the programs like inter-school sporting competitions, swimming lessons, excursions and many other events returning to the calendar after a long absence due to COVID lockdowns. I know the staff and the students have been looking forward to participating in these activities.
This week our Year 3 and Year 5 students have been involved in completing their NAPLAN tests. This year, for the first time, the tests have been conducted online. Whilst this has produced a few technical issues that have had to be solved, on the whole, the tests have gone very smoothly, and the students have coped well with the new format. My thanks go to each of the Year 3 and Year 5 teachers for their work in supervising the NAPLAN tests, but particular thanks goes to Katelyn Grant, our Primary School Administrator, for all the hours of work she has put in behind the scenes to ensure the NAPLAN tests have been able to run smoothly – thank you, Katelyn!
As we continue to enjoy all that Term 2 has to offer, may we never forget God’s love and goodness to us in so many different ways. I am reminded of the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 107:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Tim Farmilo
Acting Head of Primary
Prep P - Mother's Day Afternoon Tea
We enjoyed taking some time last week reflecting on all the wonderful things our mums do for us. We created some lovely cards. poems and letters expressing how much we appreciate them. On Friday we hosted our mums at a special afternoon tea where we made some slices for them to enjoy, sang some songs and prayed with them as we celebrated how blessed we are each day by our Mums.
Shellene Pillifeant
Prep P Teacher
Prep S - Our Grade 6 Buddies
We always enjoy it when our Year 6 Buddies visit. We are blessed to have the help of our Buddies as we read our readers and practise our word lists. We then enjoy reading other books from the classroom together. Often, we go outside for some PMP activities too!
Sonia Sires
Prep S Teacher
Year 1 - Healesville Sanctuary Excursion
The Year 1’s were blessed to go on their Healesville Sanctuary excursion. Although it was forecasted to be a bit rainy, God gave us a beautiful day with sunshine and not a drop of rain! It was still such a wonderful adventure to see and learn about lots of Australian animals. God sure is creative!
Can you spot when we got swooped by birds in the Bird Show?
Gaye Jones & Natalie Nheu
Year 1 Teachers
Year 2 - Creating Planes Using Natural Resources
2M and 2H have been busy in Science these last few weeks learning about natural resources. In groups, the students designed and created a plane using paper, cardboard and timber sticks. They needed to think about the best resources to use for their plane to fly. It was fantastic to see students working in teams and listening to each other's ideas and creative thoughts.
Did the planes fly you ask? Yes... and No. The students reflected on the resources they used and what they would change for a better result. Well Done Year 2!!
Mrs Hendricks, Mrs Steele, Mrs Tay and Mr Grant
Year 2 Teachers
Year 3's Sit Their First NAPLAN Tests
Last week the Year 3s sat their very first NAPLAN tests. Our students were amazing! They were calm and relaxed before each session and tackled the questions with great consideration and thought. We are incredibly proud of their resilience when things were challenging and their determination to do their best. Well done, Year 3s!
Anthea Albertus
Year 3 Teacher
Does Matter Matter?
This term in Science, the year 3 students are learning all about matter, including studying solids, liquids and gases.
So far, we have pretended to be atoms and discovered how they behave in the various states as well as finding out whether you can weigh all matter. Does air weigh anything? We found out that it does!
The children are enjoying hands on investigations and very interesting discussions all around the topic of Matter. It's going to be a fun term!
Rebecca Elliott
Year 3 Teacher
Year 4 Incursion - The History Box
The History Box incursion visited Year 4’s and shared the History of the First Fleet. The students were given the opportunity to dress up as a marine, governor, marine’s wife and a chimney sweep. They were involved in various activities, writing using a feather pen, grinding spices, carving messages on coins (love tokens) and playing a traditional Aboriginal game called Ngaka Ngaka. It was a fun morning exploring all we have learnt in class.
Mrs Cheung and Mrs van Heerden
Year 4C Teachers
Year 5 - NAPLAN & Potatoes!
Well done to all Grade 5 students for completing NAPLAN! It was extra challenging, being the 1st online NAPLAN completed ever, but these Grade 5’s took it in their stride. We thank God for His grace in providing a smooth and calm week and allowing the Grade 5s to be prepared and do their best.
Grade 5 students also received a strange request from their teachers; they had to bring in a potato for a Maths activity. A potato you say?
Over the next week, we will be investigating what our potato athlete can do under all sorts of conditions: High Jump, Track & Field, Gymnastics, and so much more! We will be recording their results and looking at the data to see which potato reigns supreme. By the end of the challenge, there will be no ‘Couch Potatoes’ in sight!
It won’t just be our potatoes working hard, the Grade 5s will have quite a few activities this Term. It will be jam packed and we just can’t wait to see it all unfold.
Miss Low & Mrs Su
Year 5 Teachers
Primary Art
We've had lots happening in the Primary Art room this semester!
Year 6 have used Modroc to create masks and painted images based on famous artworks. Can you identify which artist they have based their mask on?
The year 1 classes have been making multimedia 'insect' artworks. They have learnt how to sew, make stencils and paint fabric all in the one project.
Year 2 got super imaginative with ink splatters, blowing them around the page through a straw, before deciding what creature to turn their ink blots into. They learnt about watercolours and mixing colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel. They loved working with ink and using this new blowing technique to "draw".
Maria Wheelton
Primary Art Teacher
Digital Technologies News
We’ve had a great start to the year in the digital tech lab with all students flexing their creative muscles to make posters, animations and videos using green screens and editing software. When used correctly technology can break down many barriers that often stand in the way of student creativity. If you’d seen our prep students using their iPads to create Mother’s Day posters and animated birthday cards you would agree that technology has enabled them to do things that were unthinkable not that long ago. When we can capture ideas, collaborate, playfully experiment and combine things in fun ways, then technology has been used in the best way possible.
Gary Ong
Digital Technologies Teacher