Specialists

Performing Arts

This fortnight, students have been making fantastic progress across their instrumental learning, with plenty of exciting milestones along the way!

Grade Prep students have been working through their keyboard unit, learning to identify C, D and E using a variety of fun and hands-on resources. They have now taken the next step and are beginning to play a simple song using these notes, which has been an exciting and rewarding achievement for our youngest musicians.

Grade 1/2 students are nearing the end of their keyboard unit and have built strong foundations in reading simple sheet music. They have enjoyed call-and-response activities using keyboard cards before heading into the keyboard room to bring their learning to life. Grade 1 students learned 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', while Grade 2 students learned 'Rain, Rain, Go Away'.

Grade 3–5 students have successfully completed their keyboard unit and should be very proud of their efforts. Grade 3 students learned 'This Old Man', Grade 4 students learned 'It’s Raining, It’s Pouring', and Grade 5 students learned 'The Ants Go Marching'. Students have now moved on to new and exciting instruments, with Grade 3 and 5 beginning ukulele lessons, and Grade 4 starting their recorder journey.

Grade 6 students have launched into their choice units, selecting from keyboard, ukulele or guitar, as well as choosing a level of challenge that suits them. Students have begun by organising and labelling their music before diving into independent instrumental practice sessions, showing great maturity and ownership over their learning.

It has been wonderful to see students across all year levels building confidence, developing new skills and enjoying their musical journeys!

Physical Education

Students have been learning about the different athletic events that are held in the olympics. Depending on the weather we have had students participate in long jump, 400m sprint, shot put or high jump. The students have also been doing the beep test this week working on thier fitness, which is really important when it comes to athletics.

The 5/6 students have been participating in interschool sport every Friday morning. The mornings have been a fun successful time where the students have been playing against other schools in the district.

A reminder that the 4-6 Athletics day is on Thursday June 18th being held at Keilor Athletics Park. We are still looking for parent volunteers so if you can help out please send me an email at dane.barun@education.vic.gov.au

🏉 Term 2 AFL Auskick & Superkick at Sunshine Heights PS — Registrations Open!

We’re excited to bring the fun of footy back to Sunshine Heights Primary School for Term 2 with our Auskick & Superkick Centre!

These programs are a fantastic way for kids to get active, learn new skills and build confidence through fun, game-based footy sessions held right at school.

Auskick (Ages 4–7)

A fun introduction to footy focused on play, movement and basic skills.

👉 Register here: https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/78d950

Superkick (Ages 7–12)

Perfect for kids who want to build skills and play more game-style footy with friends.

👉 Register here: https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/860651

🎁 All participants receive an official Auskick or Superkick pack full of great AFL footy goodies.

All skill levels welcome — come along, have fun and give footy a go! 🏉

Contact the office if you have any questions.

Spanish

Preps have continued learning new vocabulary through song in our unit "Las Partes del Cuerpo" (The Parts of the Body), learning the parts of the face and how to label them in Spanish. Preps have continued having fun trying not to get tricked by the teacher while we leave some parts out when singing the song. They have also joined in with the teacher's instructions using vocabulary: "Ahora, no cantamos _______ y no cantamos ________."

Amazing!

Students also made their own books of the parts of the face including: ojos, orejas, boca and nariz, to take home and teach their families. 

Years 1 and 2 have continued learning new vocabulary through our unit: "El Tiempo y La Ropa". Students have started making sentences using the work created so far this term in their cuaderno de español: 

"Cuando hace____ me pongo______" (When it is _____ I put on ______).

Students also moved on to practise a sentence to introduce using an umbrella using the weather song learned in Term 1. 

"Cuando está lloviendo, uso paraguas." (When it is raining, I use an umbrella.)

Then it started lloviendo in the Spanish Casita! 

Years 3 and 4 have continued learning new vocabulary through our "tema" (unit): "El Calendario". Students practised making sentences using the months of the year and the seasons. They worked in pairs practising conversations using the question prompt: "Cuando es _____" to ask when a season is, and answering using the correct names of the months in Spanish. Students this week started making a class calendar. In pairs, students worked together to work on a month, finding out which "día de la semana" (day of the week) the first of their month landed on.

Students worked on labelling the calendario with the season in Spanish and adding the dates to the correct days. 

They will look beautiful in the classrooms when they are finished!

Years 5 and 6 have begun working towards making their Term 2 "proyecto" project. Students randomly selected a Spanish-speaking country and begun finding information about their allocated country, preparing vocabulary that will be used to create their assessment task for Semester 1.

Vocabulary included:

País

Capital

Continente

Bandera

Población

Comidas tipicas

STEM

My name is Olivia - the students know me as Miss P - and I’ll be covering the STEM program while Mr Elliott is away. He has planned a very exciting chemistry curriculum for this term which the students are going to love.I’m originally from the UK and have been teaching in Melbourne over the past several months as a CRT. Having come to Sunshine Heights lots before, I know many of the students well already and I’m looking forward to being part of the school community this term!

In STEM this term, students are enjoying a chemical science unit focused on materials and matter. The Prep and Grade 1 classes are learning about the properties of the materials around them; Grade 2 are focusing on how materials can be tested for their properties and uses; Grades 3 and 4 are moving to consider how matter is affected by heat and cooling, and Grades 5 and 6 are learning about particles in solids, liquids and gases.

Visual Arts

Wow I can not believe it is already week 4 down, there has been so much great, bright and vibrant art work happening in the art room. All students across the school have been working extra hard on some amazing pieces. 

Preps: 

Chinese Vases 

Our Prep students have been exploring the beauty of traditional Chinese ceramics through their own blue and white vase artworks. Students designed and decorated their vases using a variety of patterns, lines and shapes while carefully working with only shades of blue, inspired by classic Chinese porcelain.

The students showed wonderful creativity and concentration as they experimented with repeating patterns and decorative details to make each vase unique.

Students added delicate branches and cherry blossoms to complete their beautiful Chinese-inspired pieces. 

Grade 1/2: 

South American Llamas & Textiles

Our Grade 1/2 students explored the colourful culture of South America through a fun llama and textile art project inspired by traditional Peruvian weaving and patterns.

Students learnt about llamas and alpacas from the Andes Mountains and discovered how bright colours, lines, shapes, and repeated patterns are used in South American textiles and rugs. They experimented with pattern-making techniques using markers, drawing materials, and collage to create vibrant woven-style backgrounds.

Students then designed and illustrated their own unique llama portraits, showing wonderful creativity, individuality, and attention to detail. To complete the artworks, students added woven threads and decorative elements inspired by traditional textile crafts.

We are so proud of the creativity, effort, and colourful designs our young artists produced!

Grade 3/4: 

Cherry Blossom from Asia 

Grade 3 and 4 have been exploring creative painting techniques inspired by the beauty of cherry blossom trees. Using a fun and engaging method, students experimented with blowing paint through straws to create natural, branching lines, mimicking the organic shapes found in nature.

Students began by creating soft, colourful backgrounds using watercolour washes, carefully blending colours to represent skies and seasonal changes. They then used the straw-blowing technique to form tree branches, learning how to control the direction and movement of paint. To complete their artworks, students added delicate blossoms using dabbing techniques, building texture and depth.

Throughout this learning experience, students developed their understanding of key art elements such as colour, line, texture, and space, while also building confidence in experimenting with new materials and processes. They were encouraged to make creative choices and reflect on their work, resulting in a collection of vibrant and expressive artworks.

We are incredibly proud of the students’ creativity, focus, and willingness to try new techniques.

Grade 5/6: 

Silhouette Night Sky Art 

This week in Visual Arts, students explored colour, contrast, and cultural symbolism through the creation of vibrant night sky artworks. Using watercolours, students blended beautiful gradient backgrounds to represent evening skies, before adding bold black silhouettes of moons, stars, and skyline forms or anything relating to themselves. 

Our learning was inspired by imagery connected to Ramadan, a significant time in Islamic culture. Students discussed how symbols such as the crescent moon and stars are used to represent time, reflection, and community. We focused on the importance of understanding and respectfully representing cultural ideas through art.

Throughout the lesson, students developed their skills in colour blending, composition, and silhouette techniques. They also considered how artists use contrast (light and dark) to create strong visual impact and communicate mood.

We encourage you to ask your child about the symbols they chose and what meaning or feeling they were trying to express in their artwork.

Do you want to come in and be a classroom helper?

Are you able to do some framing of work for the art show? 

If it’s a yes please come and have a chat with me at school pick up, I am always out on yard duty at this time. 

Also I am looking for artists, performers and musicians within the school community please, please reach out if you are one as I really want to involve you in this year's artshow. 

Thank you very much 

Lauren Jamieson

Visual Arts Teacher