Prep

The prep students have had a busy and exciting couple of weeks in the classroom!

We let our butterflies go last week! The students loved watching them grow over the week we had them, and it was very exciting letting them fly away into their new environment. They enjoyed learning about the butterfly lifecycle, as they go from an egg, to a catterpillar, then a chrysalis, and finally a beautiful butterfly!

In Reading, we have been revising our Level 1 and Level 2 letter sounds and sight words. It has been wonderful to see the students becoming more confident as they practise and apply their learning during our daily reading activities. The letters we have learnt so far are: s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, g, o, c, k, e, u, r, and the digraph 'ck'.

In Writing, we have been creating our very own class books inspired by the story Dear Zoo. The students have loved thinking of different ideas to include in our books and have worked hard on their drawings and writing. We will finish them this week and display them proudly in our classroom libraries.

In Maths, we have been learning some new addition strategies using hands-on materials. The students have enjoyed using counters, Unifix blocks and other resources to help them solve addition problems and explain their thinking.

We also had a lovely buddies session where we collected autumn leaves from outside and used them to create artwork together. The finished pieces turned out beautifully and the students were very proud of what they made.

We took part in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday the 27th of May. The students really enjoyed the story and had lots of fun designing and creating their own jerseys for Luna Roo. Luna Roo is a heartwarming story about how courage and determination are a winning combination! If you would like to enjoy it at home with your child(ren), follow the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVrhbOhtTx0

To celebrate our wonderful ES staff, we shared a special morning tea together last week. The students also decorated autumn leaf templates and wrote something they appreciate about our ES staff, which were then turned into beautiful plant displays to share at the morning tea. It was a lovely way to thank them for all the care and support they give our students each day.

Friendly reminders:

Your child's portfolio was sent home in week 6 for you to enjoy and celebrate together. Please ensure this is returned before the end of term.
We will be having a School Nurse visiting the preps in week 8, 9 and 10. Participation in the program is not mandatory, however parent/carer consent is required for the Primary School Nurse to see your child. Please return your forms prior to week 8 if you wish for your child to participate.

Kind regards,

The Prep Team

Laina Brebner, Kayla Hartrick and Emma Wright

Grade 1

What a wonderful two weeks we’ve had in Grade 1!

In Reading, we completed our Level 5 sounds, including ie, igh, oa, ow, ew and ue. We have continued practising our reading with our Fluency Friends and are becoming experts at giving thoughtful feedback to one another.

In Writing, we wrapped up our unit on procedural writing. Students thoroughly enjoyed creating their own “How To…” pieces, with topics ranging from riding a bike and catching a fish, to baking a cake. It was wonderful to see their creativity, sequencing skills, and ability to write clear, detailed instructions come to life. To celebrate the end of the unit, we followed a recipe together and made delicious teacup biscuits.

In Maths, we have been building our addition skills through a range of fun and engaging activities. We explored different ways to make ten, practised our tens facts and used bears on bikes to help strengthen our understanding of number combinations.

In Wellbeing, we continued our learning in Friendology. We explored the 4 Friendship Facts and learnt that:

No friendship is perfect
Every friendship is different
Trust and respect are the two most important qualities of a friendship
Friendships change, and that’s okay

Investigations has been a blast! Students have loved exploring the different spaces and enthusiastically taking on their roles as focus person, reporter and photographer. Through these experiences, they have been learning about the many ways sound can be created and reflecting on how music can influence our emotions and feelings.

The highlight of our fortnight was definitely our Buddies session! It was wonderful to reconnect with our big buddies again. Students had so much fun collecting natural materials and working together to create imaginative leaf creatures.

Congratulations to our Shining Stars for weeks 4 and 5 – Jake, Isla, Evelyn, Everly, Sotheary and Jordan!

The Grade 1 Team

Mel Layton, Sally Newton, Tim Huntington and Rowena Blake

Grade 2

In Literacy, the students have been exploring different types of poetry writing, including couplets, limericks and haikus. They have enjoyed learning about the unique structure and rhythm of each style and have been experimenting with their own creative ideas and word choices to write engaging poems.

During Reading sessions, we have been focusing on building fluency and accuracy using Decodable Readers Australia. Students are practising sounding out words, reading smoothly and developing confidence when reading aloud. This supports their understanding of phonics patterns and helps strengthen comprehension skills.

In Mathematics, our focus has been on addition strategies. Students have been developing their understanding of 10’s facts, doubles and near doubles to solve addition problems efficiently. Through hands-on activities, games and problem-solving tasks, students are building confidence in selecting strategies that work best for them.

Our Inquiry unit is centred around the journey of food from Farm to Table. Students have begun researching a chosen food item and are learning about where it comes from, how it is produced and the processes involved before it reaches consumers. We look forward to seeing their research develop over the coming weeks.

In Wellbeing, students have been focusing on self-regulation and learning how to work effectively as part of a team. Through discussions, collaborative activities and classroom routines, students are developing strategies to manage emotions, communicate respectfully and support one another in group situations.

The students also enjoyed participating in National Simultaneous Story Time and taking part in the whole school 40th Birthday photo celebration.

Haiku Poems

Blooming dark Setting,

The Darkness of the moonlight,

Scary Orange Flame (by Poppy 2BV)

Calm refreshing waves,

Salty water smells good,

Water is reflecting (by Stevie 2BV)

Limerick Poems

Today is May,

But there was a delay,

It is raining,

It is calming,

So I want to do some Art today (by Neave 2BV)

Dogs are cute and want to play,

They do it all day,

It jumps like a kangaroo,

Like the ones in the zoo,

Its name is May, it likes to lay (by Piper 2BV)

The Grade 2 Team

Allie Harrison, Sarah Margetts and Brendan Van Haaster

Grade 3 & 4

Our text study on the book "Strangers on Country" has continued to engage students with events being described from both Aboriginal and castaway perspectives. Students compared how their views were different/similar as they explored the main theme of belonging. It has been timely for students to be learning about Australia's early history as we observed Sorry Day this week. Students have been exploring new vocabulary and the teachers have been pleased to see students applying new words in their writing pieces.

In Maths, students have been developing confidence with the "jump back" strategy for subtraction. Models with blocks and number lines have assisted students to show their working out and problem solving skills.

Group Inquiry projects are taking shape with students designing their fictional islands and beginning to turn these into a brochure.

In Wellbeing, students have been looking at how respect can be shown in everyday moments. Recognising and celebrating personal strengths and seeing that each person holds a unique set of assets has helped to build a positive community in each classroom.

Students are looking forward to bringing home their portfolios to show off their learning pieces from this term.

Kind regards,

The 3/4 Team

Damien Smith, Daena Hailey, Brent Smith, Claire Cripps and Nick Pagliaro

Grades 5 & 6

Over the past two weeks, the Grade 5/6 students have been busy engaging in a variety of meaningful learning experiences and whole-school events.

As part of National Simultaneous Storytime, students enjoyed Luna Roo - the Kangaroo Baller by Adam Jackson and Adrian Lloyd. They especially loved participating in a guided “how to draw” session led by the illustrator of the book, Jake A Minton, with some fabulous attempts at drawing Luna Roo.

Students also took part in our National Sorry Day gathering, where they respectfully reflected on the importance of reconciliation, understanding, and acknowledging Australia’s history and First Nations peoples.

In Wellbeing, classes have been focusing on managing tricky friendship situations and learning how to be kind on purpose. Students have participated in thoughtful discussions and activities designed to build empathy, resilience, and positive relationships.

In Literacy, students have continued their text study of Blueback by Tim Winton, exploring themes, character development, and important messages within the novel.

In Mathematics, students have been strengthening their understanding of subtraction strategies, using a variety of methods to solve problems efficiently and explain their thinking.

We proudly celebrated the incredible Education Support (ES) staff at our school, recognising the valuable contributions they make to our classrooms and school community each and every day.

Students also did a fabulous job following instructions and showing excellent teamwork and organisation during the whole-school aerial photo session. We were very proud of how respectfully and responsibly they represented our school.

The 5/6 Team

Llinos Poole, Erin Rennick, Hayley Peirce, Mykaela Oakley & Kylie Morrissey

Rolling Hills Primary School Newsletter

Rolling Hills Primary School NewsletterResponsibility | Honesty | Pride | Support

Issue 8 · 29 May 2026

In this issue

Rolling Hills Primary School Newsletter
Responsibility | Honesty | Pride | Support