Dear Parents and Carers,

The last two weeks have been jam packed with many extra curricular activities aligned to our Health and Physical Education program, inquiry investigation ‘I’m an Archaeologist’ and student wellbeing.

In Health and Physical Education, 43 of our Year 3 and 4 students participated in Hoop Time, showcasing their basketball skills and team spirit, competing against 3 other schools. The students did an amazing job displaying our school values, especially respect and resilience.

Last Friday, our Year 3-6 students competed in their annual House Athletics. With the sun shining and spirits high, the students displayed their skills in a range of track and field events. Every student participated in at least three events with focus and determination, showcasing their best in sprinting, leaping, and throwing. Camaraderie was high, with spectators cheering their house colours, songs and chants! Well done to Green House, our House Athletics Champions for 2025! We wish the students competing in the upcoming district athletics all the best. Thanks to all the parents, staff and Mitch for making this a memorable day.

Diving deeper into our ‘I’m an Archaeologist’ inquiry, our Foundation students stepped back in time, exploring Grandma’s Toybox at the Melbourne Museum. Students learnt how toys can teach us about how people lived in the past.

Our Year 1s travelled to Bundoora Park, exploring the history of the area, the progression in technology and the life of a child living on a farm in the early 20th century. Students engaged in a simulated classroom experience in an early 20th century rural school and participated in pioneer games.

Our Year 6 students travelled to Melbourne’s CBD to participate in a guided tour around parts of Melbourne that have had archaeological digs and looked at heritage listed buildings and sites. The students visited the site of Melbourne archaeological surveys to discuss the history of the sites, the purpose of the digs and the learnings gained about early Melbourne places, people and lifestyle.

Lastly, our Year 4s engaged in an incursion, understanding the concept of Deep Time, connecting these insights to our understanding of Australia’s archaeological record. Through their own excavation of a simulated site, students gained firsthand experience of how archaeologists interpret artefacts and environmental clues to reconstruct past landscapes and people.

We thank all the staff, parent volunteers and students for making these experiences engaging and enriching.

To continue to develop our Stand Up Project, our Year 5 and 6 students explored how to manage changing friendships through a workshop presented by URStrong. Students investigated Friendship Fires and how to manage changing friendships through the lens of Healthy vs Unhealthy friendships and the Four Friendship Facts.

The Four Friendship Facts are:

1) No friendship is perfect

2) Every friendship is different

3) Trust and respect are the two most important qualities of a friendship

4) Friendships change...and that's ok

Tyson, the presenter, shared some helpful strategies students can use to maintain friendships and to navigate friendship challenges. Students engaged in role plays and explored the differences between negative and positive reactions to friendship fires. Students were supported to understand that timing is important and that all those involved in the friendship fire need to be ready to put out the fire!

This week is Bullying No Way: National Week of Action. Bullying - 'No Way' Week is Australia's key bullying prevention initiative for schools. It provides an opportunity for schools to create a shared understanding of bullying behaviours and share their bullying prevention policies and strategies. The theme for 2025 is 'Be bold. Be kind. Speak up.’ It takes courage to spark change, and bullying is everyone's responsibility. At Burwood East Primary School we encourage our students, staff and community to be brave and use the SUP’s 4Ds to address behaviours of friendship fires, mean on purpose and bullying. To share our support, students were invited to wear a ' Pop of Purple'.

National Science Week commenced on August 9th. The school theme for National Science Week in 2025 is Decoding the Universe – Exploring the unknown with nature’s hidden language. This theme invites students and teachers across Australia to delve into the mysteries of the Universe by exploring the fundamental languages of nature, including mathematics and the groundbreaking field of quantum science. Students in F-6 have had a blast exploring the universe and everything science. Many thanks to Luke for sharing resources and prompting Science across the school.

& wait, there is more… We are looking forward to the upcoming events at school with great anticipation: swimming, Book Week, Year 5&6 Hoop Time, Year 4 & 5 camp, and District Athletics. These occasions provide valuable opportunities for students to engage, showcase their talents, and strengthen our school community.

Take care,

Teri and Edwina

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