Junior School

House Swimming

Congratulations to all Prep to Year 6 swimmers who participated in last Friday’s House Swimming. It was a tremendous day in the pool, with Early Years students ably demonstrating skills they acquired in our Intensive Swimming program, and Upper Years students taking to the pool for 25 and 50 metre events. 

Learmonth House were worthy winners of the House Swimming Cup; their first victory in the pool since 2012! A big thank you to the Junior School staff and parent volunteers who contributed to the smooth running of the event. Mrs Louise Patterson did a marvellous job of coordinating a very successful House Swimming. 

Division Swimming is tomorrow in Warrnambool. The Junior School has 16 students who qualified in individual and relay events. We wish them all the very best.

Dare to Dream Auditions

Audition applications for the 2026 Junior School Musical, Disney’s Dare to Dream JR. are now open to students in Years 3–6. They will be held on the afternoon of Wednesday, 11 March, from 2.00pm through to 5.30pm. The audition panel will consist of Mrs. Angela Price, Mrs. Anne Kristin Christie, and Mrs. Bernadette Milich. This exciting production celebrates imagination, confidence, and creativity through well-known Disney songs and storytelling. All students are warmly encouraged to audition — no previous performance experience is required. Further details regarding audition requirements can be found inside the Audition Information Booklet via the provided link https://tha.ac/dare-to-dream. 

Families are asked to complete the audition application form first; the link is inside the audition information booklet.  Once submitted, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to book an audition time. Early bookings are encouraged to secure preferred timeslots.

Year 6 Leadership Assembly

Our Year 6 students were presented with the leadership and House Captain badges at a special Assembly on Monday. With the 2026 Winter Olympics front of mind, Year 6 students were introduced to Australian ice skater Stephen Bradbury, and his road to a gold medal in the 1000m Short Track Speed Skating event at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. ‘Do a Bradbury’ entered the Australian vernacular after Bradbury skated across the finish line in first place, as his competition fell to the ice on the final turn.  At face value, it all appeared to be merely a stroke of good luck, but Bradbury had been working hard on the world circuit for 14 years. Along the way, he suffered injuries including 111 stitches to his thigh after a competitor’s skate cut into his leg, and a broken neck after an accident in training. Post the medal ceremony, Bradbury said ‘I don’t think I will take the medal for the minute and a half of the race I won. I’ll take it as the last decade of the hard slog I put in.’ The key messaging for the Year 6 students, as they enter their year of leading the Junior School was…

• Preparation meets opportunity. Be prepared for opportunities that will come your way.

• Never give up. You never know what might happen.

• Be brave and trust in your tactics and approaches.

Hockey- Expressions of Interest

The 2026 Hockey Season will commence in early Term Two. Expression of Interest notes will come home with Years 2-6 students this week. Please have a chat over the dinner table and if intending to play, return the forms to Mrs. Povey in the Junior School Reception. 

Learmonth House Service

We will host our first House Service for the year next Monday, 2 March at 10.15am - Hamilton Uniting Church. Learmonth House will be presenting this Service, with ‘Determination’ as their theme. Junior School students are required to wear full summer uniform, including ties for boys, and blazers for all. All Junior School parents are warmly invited to attend.

Walk/Ride to School Day- Friday 6 March

Our first Walk/Ride to School Day is next Friday, 6 March. From 8.45am, students will meet on the Senior School hockey pitch. Teachers will complete Bus Lists, and we will start the 1.5 km walk at around 9.00am. ELC 4 students are welcome to join us but must be accompanied by their parent(s). As with previous years, there will be a ride option. Students need to be proficient bicycle riders (no scooters). We also require a couple of parent riders to join staff in escorting the student on the bicycle route.