5-8 Community News
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
While most of us were glad for a short week, it has been an incredibly busy stretch for our College Community with a variety of activities in full swing. From day trips and camps to College events, the term has already been packed with activities, with more to come as the weeks progress.
SOLE and TA
Although we’re already halfway through the term, we continue to ensure that our students are meeting expectations as we move forward. I’d like to express my appreciation to the students for consistently demonstrating SOLE values, they should be proud of their progress. As a reminder about how we interact with our peers we often revisit and reinforce key skills and behaviours, an important part of personal growth and learning any concept.
In our TA lessons, we’ve been focusing on cultures and working in harmony, building toward our upcoming Harmony Day. Through these structured lessons, students have explored various concepts, including learning about the cultural backgrounds of staff and gaining deeper insights into themselves and others in our community. For most students, this included exploring role models they admire, such as local footy stars, while for some teachers, it meant celebrating and reflecting on their own culture and heritage. Students are looking forward to witnessing the soccer games that will be played on Harmony Day.
In Week 6, students will engage in a selection of films that explore themes of culture, the refugee experience and the challenges of adapting to new environments. Additional themes, including relationships, friendships, empowerment, family and perseverance, will also be highlighted in some films. This learning sequence consistently offers valuable insights and is one that students enjoy, especially as they collaborate with peers from their community.
Here are some examples of the learning that’s taken place in recent weeks:
Year 8 Leadership 2025
We are currently in the process of selecting our leaders for 2025. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the applicants for their dedication and effort in preparing for their interviews and upcoming speeches, which they will deliver soon. We look forward to appointing the 2025 leaders of our College Community in the coming weeks and are excited about the contributions they will make. These will be announced in Week 7.
Year 4 to 5 Meet and Greet for existing families
The Year 4 to 5 Meet and Greet for existing families will take place next week. These provide an invaluable opportunity for parents and guardians to engage with our educational staff and discuss the important changes that come with moving into our Community.
These conversations are designed to address any questions or concerns families may have about the transition process, including curriculum expectations, social adjustments and support services available for students. By fostering open communication, we aim to ensure that families feel well informed and supported as their children embark on this significant educational milestone. These discussions not only help to ease the transition for students but also strengthen the partnership between home and school, paving the way for a successful transition.
Year 7 Transition 2025
In the coming weeks, we’ll welcome some of our new students as they begin their transition days at our College. We wish them the very best and are confident they’ll feel welcomed and supported by our students and College community. Our prospective student leadership team for 2025 will be leading these sessions over the next four weeks
Sun Safety Reminder
As we move into the warmer months, this is a friendly reminder to all students that hats are essential when outdoors. With the increase in temperature—especially this week—it's important for students to practise sun safety during recess, lunch breaks and PE classes. Please ensure your child brings their hat to school each day as part of our SunSmart policy.
Use of the Rec Reserve
With the warming weather, we typically see more students being active. Students are welcome to continue using the Rec Reserve at lunchtime, where they can engage in their favourite sports and activities. This is a great opportunity for students to stay active and enjoy the outdoors.
Anthony Poppa and Corey Carver
Years 5-8 Community Leaders
Years 5 and 6 Canberra Camp
Students in Years 5 and 6 recently went on an education tour of the national capital. They had the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.
The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist schools/families in meeting the cost of the excursion, the Australian Government is contributing $45 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate Program to our school. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.
Year 6 students Eden and Amy share their Canberra experience:
On Tuesday the 8th of October the 5/6s hopped on the bus to go to Canberra. We left at around 6:30am with yawning faces. Our first stop on the bus was in Shepparton, where we collected Miss Evans. Then we set off again. Soon we arrived in Wangaratta, for a snack and a toilet break. We played on the large playground for a short while. Afterwards, we were back on the road headed toward Canberra. We had two more stops.
Once we got to Canberra we dropped our bags at Alivio Tourist Caravan Park, our accommodation. Then we were back on the road headed to the Australian Institute of Sport, AIS. We had a quick tour of the facilities. First, we went to the swimming pool, where we saw a swimming camp doing some training. Next was the volleyball court, which was split by a large net to separate men and women. Then we got to see the fitness gym. When we were there we learnt about some of the records set there. After that, we saw the Gymnastics Gym and no one was there. As we were exiting the gym we got to touch the top of a support structure, where there was lots of chalk that the gymnasts used. Right after that, we got to have some fun. We got to try many sport-related activities in a section of the main building.
Once we were done at the AIS we headed back to the accommodation for dinner. For dinner, we had chicken schnitzel with veggies. For a delicious dessert, we had small ice cream cups. Then we had some free time until lights out. We could get ready for bed, go for walks around the area of our cabins or go to the courts, tennis, basketball half court or volleyball and don’t forget one of the two playgrounds, but to do the playground or courts we needed teacher supervision.
Once we were up and dressed we got to go and have breakfast. For breakfast we got to have toast, bacon, scrambled egg, baked beans and hash browns. That morning we found out we couldn’t go to Questacon because of a fire the previous day. We got to go to MOAD the Museum Of Australian Democracy, also known as Old Parliament. Before we went in we had a talk and put on white gloves. After we were done having our talk we got split into two groups. Once we left the room we talked and we got to do an interactive game. We split ourselves into groups of three. Once we were done we got to go to see the House of Representatives. Then we went to the courtyard to have a quick snack and decided what movies we wanted to see, we chose the Transformers movie and Runt.
Next, we went to Mount Ainslie lookout where the Grade 6’s got stuck and were late to the War Memorial. We learnt a lot of things on our tour, Mr Busch’s group got to learn about a medical ship that was brought down by a Japanese submarine. It was a War crime to bring down or attack a medical ship but there was one hero that saved many people’s life that day. We got to see a row boat that had 14 gunshots in it. Near the end of our tour, we got to see the lost soldier, who was unidentifiable. After we went to the war memorial we went to the trampoline park called Flip Out. We got our socks and played in the 3 accessible facilities, the trampolines, the rock walls and slide and the ninja warrior course. After, we headed to a movie theatre for the movies we had chosen to watch. Once the movies were done we raced the clock back to camp to be on time for dinner, hamburgers and chocolate cake for dessert.
After breakfast we headed to the Royal Australian Mint where they make all of the coins. We had a nice tour with a funny tour guide, during our trip we got to see some old coins and lots of collector coins. Once we finished our tour we got to see the gift shop. Some of us bought some nice coins that were special to us in some way.
After, we got to have a quick snack and headed to the current Parliament House. We had three different tours. The first one was just a general tour of the building where we saw both parts of parliament in session. Next, we got to go and reenact the House of Representatives. Next, we had a hospitality session where we got FroYo and got to talk to our representative, Sam Birrell. Once we ended the hospitality we got to go to the rooftop where we could see the War Memorial and Old Parliament as they are all in a nice line to see, from the top of Parliament.
Once we were done there we got to go to the Questacon gift shop as they didn’t want us to miss out on spending the rest of our money. Once we were back at the caravan park we had some free time before dinner of nachos and more ice cream.
The next day was the long drive back. We had the same breakfast but we could otherwise have pancakes. On the long drive back lots of people had little naps as we were all exhausted from the long camp. We stopped in Tarcutta and Wangaratta. We got home at around 4:20 in the afternoon. That was the extent of our Canberra trip.
Partnerships
On Thursday 31st October the Partnerships students visited the Melbourne Science Fiction Exhibition, where they explored a fascinating range of exhibits. The students were exposed to diverse mythological themes, artefacts and stories from different cultures, sparking curiosity and a deeper appreciation for mythology’s role in science fiction. This immersive experience broadened their understanding and connected classroom learning with real world exhibits.
The Partnerships students continue to build relationships with members from the Kyabram community. Led wonderfully by Charlie Boswood, Helen, Murray, Rob and Gary, our students are enjoying the opportunity to practise new lawn bowls skills whilst interacting with community members.
