Junior School

Head of Junior School Update

Welcome to Our New Prep Teacher – Mr John Chandran

We are delighted to welcome Mr John Chandran to the King’s College team as our new Prep teacher, stepping in while Mrs Eden Romero is on leave.

John joins us from Geelong, where he has been teaching while completing his studies. He comes highly recommended for his enthusiasm, care, and faith-filled approach to education.

John is eager to meet families, so please say hello if you see him at drop-off.

Celebrating Student Success

At King’s, we love to celebrate with families in their children’s achievements, both in and out of school. The past few weeks have been filled with exciting success stories from some of our Junior School students!

• Arto – We are so proud of your amazing acting performance as the youngest cast member in Warrnambool Theatre Company’s My Brilliant Career at the Lighthouse Theatre!

• Zander, Alfie, and Benji – Congratulations on becoming Under 12s Soccer Grand Final Premiers!

   

• Benjamin N – A big well done on being part of the Timboon Demons Under 13s Grand Final Premiership Team!

• Maisie – Congratulations to you and your Wolves Football Club teammates for winning the South West Girls Under 14 Championship!

You can read more about these sport achievements and see photos here.

We love celebrating the successes of our students. If your child has achieved something special recently, please let us know as we’d love to share their story in our next newsletter.

Alex Burgess

Deputy Principal / Head of Junior School

Year 1

We have had a fantastic beginning to Term 4. The Year 1 students have returned full of energy and excitement, eager to share about their holiday adventures. It has been a joy hearing all about the fun and memorable moments they experienced with their families. 

We are also delighted to welcome a new class member and friend to our class - welcome Rupert! He has settled in beautifully, and we are so pleased to have him join our learning journey.

Looking ahead, there is much to be excited about. Our upcoming class excursion later this month is already generating a great deal of anticipation and is sure to be one of the highlights of the term. In the classroom this week, we've been sharpening our subtraction skills during maths lessons, focusing on quick recall and confident problem-solving - all while having lots of fun!

We also wanted to share a lovely moment from the final week of last term, when our Year 1 students had the opportunity to reconnect with their Year 7 buddies. Many of the children first met during Prep, and it was encouraging to see those friendships renewed. The students worked together in a fast-paced decision-making game that was quick thinking, with plenty of laughter. We’re looking forward to joining our buddies again later this term for a special shared activity.

Kerry Snook

Year 1 Teacher

Year 2

Year 2 is finding it hard to believe that we're already in Term 4! It has been wonderful to hear of everyone's adventures over the holidays and they have worked so hard this week on their holiday recounts. I am blown away by the writing that the Year 2s have been able to independently produce and some incredible artwork to go with it!

Here's a little recap of some activities that the class got up to in the last week of Term 3... 

Unfortunately, students had the chairs go on strike and were forced to stand or sit on the floor for the day while the chairs had quit! Luckily, the Year 2s wrote some very persuasive letters to the chairs, convincing them to come back... and they did!

To revise and practise their shape knowledge, students made funny and creative 2D shape face artwork by only using 2D shapes!

Alissa Griffin

Year 2 Teacher

Port Fairy Excursion

Term 4 started off with a bang as Year 2 Art students went on an excursion to Battery Hill, Port Fairy. Students were hunting for the perfect seaweed piece to begin their seaweed pressing process.

Students explored the perfectly secluded and very picturesque area of 'Little East Beach' where they found copious amounts of gorgeous seaweed specimens and saw many beautiful shells. There were so many colours, sizes, shapes and textures - my favourites were some of the bright pink and orange variations that were found. 

Students learned about the type of seaweed that would work well for pressing, dry vs wet seaweed, thick vs thin and that the process will take upwards of four weeks to complete.

Just a reminder to bring in an A4 sized photo frame or two for your child to frame their completed end product! 

There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number - living things both large and small. - Psalm 104:25 

Steph Kosh

Junior School Art Teacher

Year 3

I was such a proud teacher at the end of our Year 3 Camp! What an amazing bunch of children to take away for their very first school camp. The Year 3s had a wonderful time, with the highlight being an overnight stay inside the Melbourne Zoo – a truly unique and special experience to share together.

During our two days, we also explored the Melbourne Museum, visited the IMAX Theatre to watch a fascinating documentary about Antarctica, and had plenty of opportunities to navigate public transport in the city – including the very steep escalators at Parliament Station, which were a big adventure on their own!

Our night tour of the zoo was another highlight, finishing with a magical carousel ride lit up with beautiful colours. After a chilly but exciting night in our tents, and a very early start the next morning, the children enjoyed exploring the zoo in small groups before heading home tired, but very happy.

The Year 3s were absolutely amazing. For many, this was their first time away from home, and they showed resilience, enthusiasm, and care for one another. These are truly beautiful memories to treasure.

Here are reflections from the Year 3's on their camp experience (click to enlarge):

Ang Hales

Year 3 Teacher

Year 4

Melbourne Camp

What an adventure Year 4 had on their camp to Melbourne in the last week of Term 3. We started bright and early, catching the train into the city. For some students, it was their very first time on a train, which made the trip even more exciting.

Our first stop was the Melbourne Zoo, which linked perfectly to the animal research projects we had completed in Term 3. Students loved seeing some of their chosen animals up close. A highlight was having butterflies land on us in the Butterfly House, seeing Noodle the new giraffe and watching the cheeky monkeys playing right at the window!

That evening, we had the rare opportunity to sleep at the zoo. After a special night tour and a ride on the historic carousel, we drifted off to sleep listening to the sounds of animals around us. An experience we will never forget.

On day two, we headed to the Melbourne Museum, where we took part in a climate and weather workshop, building on our Humanities learning from last term. Exploring the dinosaur skeletons, fascinating exhibitions, and art displays was a real highlight as well as watching a 3D movie about Antarctica at IMAX.

Thank you to Mrs Hunter, Mr Leach, Mr Craig, Mrs Ward, Mr Tuisuva and Mrs Newton for making camp a memorable experience for Year 4.

Humanities

It has been wonderful welcoming back the Year 4 class after their holiday break. The classroom was buzzing with exciting stories, hugs and lots of chatter as we caught up on all their holiday news. 

In Term 4, students are starting a new unit in Humanities called 'How things have changed over time'. They started the lesson brainstorming as many things they could think of that have changed, such as technology, communication, transport, roads, schools, music, food, farming etc. Then when asked what has stayed exactally the same, we couldn't come up with anything! Except for God!

Students read in Hebrews 13:8 that "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever". What a comforting and wonderful fact we can rely on! They then spent the afternoon making timelines of their own lives, looking at how their own life has changed in different ways.

Christie Stephen & Emily Hunter

Year 4 Teachers

Year 4/5

Year 4/5 have had a great start to Term 4. We did some great maths outside on Tuesday learning place value. The Year 5s are currently on camp at Sovereign Hill. We are having an amazing time gold panning (Mrs Robertson is particularly determined to strike it rich), going into mines, and dressing up reenacting the Gold Rush era. Everyone has represented Kings beautifully and we are all enjoying the experiences.

A big congratulations goes out to Yana for being one of the winners in the Warrnambool Young Portrait Prize. This was entered into by many of the local schools as part of the Art curriculum. As a result she has had her portrait turned into a sticker that is available for sale at the Art Gallery. We look forward to many more exciting adventures and achievements to come in Term 4.

Naomi O'Brien

Year 4/5 Teacher

Year 6

Year 6 have really enjoyed their first week back at school after the holidays. It was wonderful to hear about what everyone got up to and to see the smiles as they greeted each other. We were all amazed at how quickly we slipped back into the routine of school. The regular subjects of Maths and English, with our spelling words and fractions, were soon rolling around in our brains, replacing the memories of trips to other places,  sleepovers with friends and fun times with our families.

Term 4 for Year 6 is a really busy one. We have many topics to explore. Circuits and Switches in Science this term is one of the really fun scientific topics that we get to explore. This week we got to take apart a torch to learn about all its components and how it works. Then we had to put them back together! And make them actually work again! And we all succeeded, eventually! Then we drew a cutaway diagram in our books. Later this term we will go to Scienceworks to watch the electricity show they have and to explore everything Science that they have there.

In Humanities, our new topic is Migration. We watched a really unique clip that was made by filming the pages of a book to music. It was of a man immigrating to another country.  Through the creative images it portrayed what the man experienced and how he felt. It suggested that an immigrant felt like his new country was an alien world. After we watched, we had a very in depth discussion about what the man experienced and how he felt. We all agreed that migrating was a very difficult thing to do and that we hadn't understood how difficult it could be.

It is with great excitement that many of us went to the Year 7 Transition Information Night here at King's College. Most of the class, and their parents, have chosen to continue their Secondary education here at King's. It was very exciting to hear about what we can expect in Year 7 and to meet some new classmates who will be joining us.

We have also started learning our item for Junior School Presentation Night. This is top secret, kept from parents, other classes and teachers, so that it is a surprise on the night. We are really looking forward to entertaining everyone, and maybe bringing a few tears to our parents eyes, with the song we have chosen, that has a very special meaning for us.  And next week we will start planning our Graduation party!

We have a lot to look forward to this term in Year 6.

Coral Robertson

Year 6 Teacher

Food Tech

This week in Food Tech, our Year 6 students baked delicious savoury muffins! We discussed how versatile this recipe is, perfect for using up ingredients you already have in the fridge and pantry. From leftover veggies and cheese to bits of ham or herbs, savoury muffins are a great way to reduce food waste while creating a tasty snack or lunchbox addition. The students did a fantastic job experimenting with flavours and learning how to make the most of what’s on hand!

Ally Robinson

Teacher

Junior Gideon Program

The Junior Gideon students went fishing at the Stanley Street Bridge area in the last week of Term 3. Although no fish were caught, a few nibbles were felt amongst the snags of the challenging bank area. 

I am really impressed with all of the students who have visibly improved their casting and reeling skills from the beginning of the year. As always the Fishcare facilitator who was leading us was seriously impressed with not only the skills of our students, but their willingness and engagement throughout the session. Go King’s!

On the 14th of November, students will be going to the Breakwater for our final sea fishing experience. Can’t wait!

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,”‭‭ - Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬

Steph Kosh

Junior Gideon Program Teacher