School News
Prep
What an exciting fortnight it has been in prep!
The highlights of our last two weeks have been our spectacular Christmas carol performance and our assembly hosting. We’ve also had a fabulous time at Rainbow Town and participating in Kelly Sport and our amazing incursions this week.
For writing we have been spending time creating letters to thank our buddies for their help during our first year of school. The students have done wonderful at creating these letters and publishing them beautifully.
For reading we have begun to enjoy some fabulous Christmas stories. Students have also worked on their fluency and comprehension skills along the way.
Within maths we’ve been revising a number of skills that we practised throughout the year including number formation, addition and subtraction.
We are looking forward to winding down for our final week and simply enjoying this time with our classes. Thank you to all of our Prep families for your support during these last few crazy weeks! We appreciate all of the extra effort you have gone to in order to ensure that your children have had these special experiences.
Kindest regards,
The Prep Team
Laina Brebner, Kayla Hartrick and Emma Wright
Grade 1
As we wrap up a wonderful year of learning, we wanted to share a snapshot of what your children have been exploring in Weeks 9 and 10. It has been a joy teaching them, and we’re so proud of the growth, confidence and independence they’ve shown.
In Reading, students continued learning how to infer by using clues from the text and illustrations. Using stories such as Pig the Fibber, they practised identifying how characters might be feeling at different points in a story and used evidence to explain their thinking. They also explored how settings can give us hints about what might happen next.
Our Multi‑Genre Study continued with two key focuses:
- Alphabet Poems: Students created A–Z lists of words connected to Christmas or a topic of their choice.
Persuasive Writing: Students selected a topic, brainstormed reasons, chose their strongest arguments and wrote a short persuasive piece using a clear opinion, reasons and an ending with impact.
In Maths, students explored mass and capacity through hands‑on investigations. They:
- Used hefting to compare the mass of classroom objects
- Used balance scales to check their estimates
- Ordered objects from lightest to heaviest
- Estimated and measured the capacity of containers using uniform informal units
These activities helped students use mathematical language confidently and apply their understanding in practical ways.
Transition Day gave students the chance to spend the morning with their 2026 Grade 2 teacher and classmates. They visited their new classroom, completed simple activities and became familiar with the space and routines they’ll experience next year. This visit helps make the start of the new school year feel more comfortable and predictable and had rave reviews of the Grade 2 teachers.
In the transition afternoon, students participated in specialist‑led sessions, where our specialist teachers ran a range of structured activities to keep the day engaging and enjoyable after a big morning of transitions.
In our fun week, students built robots, disassembled trains, did tricky coordination activities and built geometric shape tracks!
The students had a blast experiencing fairy tales in fun exciting new ways, including lot's of audience participation and costumes.
The kids also had a ball trying out fun sports and games.
Students visited Rainbow Town, a large indoor play centre featuring:
- The biggest ball pit many of them had ever seen
- Dodge‑em cars
- Trampolines
- A foam pit
- A huge, multi‑level playground with giant slides
- Rock climbing areas
It was an energetic and exciting experience, and the students had an absolute blast exploring everything the centre had to offer.
Thank you for your support throughout the year, from reading at home to helping your child arrive ready to learn each day. It has been a privilege to teach your children and to watch them grow academically, socially and emotionally.
We wish all our Grade 1 families a safe, happy and restful break, and a wonderful year ahead.
Kind regards,
The Grade 1 Team
Mel Layton, Sally Newton and Ashleigh Wilson and Tim Huntington
Grade 2
What an amazing end to our Grade 2 year! The past few weeks have been filled with excitement, celebration and smiles as we wrap up 2025 together.
One of our favourite events was the School Christmas Carols. Our Grade 2 students shone brightly on stage—dancing, singing and performing with pride. We hope they enjoyed dressing up in their festive outfits as much as we enjoyed watching them. It was a joy to see their confidence and Christmas spirit shine.
Another wonderful moment was our ‘Meet the Teacher’ transition session. We were incredibly impressed by how positively students approached the experience. Their maturity, curiosity and excitement were evident as they met their new teacher and classmates. We know they are more than ready to take on the adventure of Grade 3 next year!
We also had an action-packed Incursion Day filled with hands-on learning and fun. Students rotated through three engaging sessions:
🎭 Flying Bookworm Theatre Show
🧪 TaskWorkz STEM Workshop
🏃♂️ Kelly Sports Games
It was fantastic to see every student participating with enthusiasm and demonstrating our school values throughout the day.
We also enjoyed a wonderful excursion to Rainbow Town, where students spent the day sliding, bouncing, climbing and exploring. It was the perfect combination of play, teamwork and laughter — and a fantastic celebration to end the year together.
As we reach the end of our Grade 2 journey, we would like to thank all families for your ongoing support, encouragement and partnership throughout the year. It has been a pleasure teaching such kind, curious and motivated students.
We wish all our Grade 2 families a Merry Christmas and a safe, happy holiday break. We hope you enjoy time with loved ones, create special memories and return refreshed and ready for a fantastic year in Grade 3.
Happy holidays 🌟
The Grade 2 Team
Allie Harrison, Sarah Jones and Brendan Van Haaster
Grade 3 & 4
What a busy but fun time it has been! We are thoroughly enjoying celebrating the year together, sharing funny memories and creating new ones too.
In Literacy, we have been developing our vocabulary, using our mentor text, ‘Mallee Sky’, to assist us in creating multi-genre texts. We have seen a range of amazing narratives, diagrams, quizzes and more! The students have all shown pride and enthusiasm in creating texts about topics that they are passionate about. What a long way they have all come!
Last week, we learnt about time, with a focus on half and quarter turns, extending to time by the minute and finishing with solving time-related worded problems. We had a lot of fun manipulating clocks and incorporating digital technology in our learning. The confidence in telling the time has grown immensely across the level and we have had a lot less “What time is it?” questions from the students!
Fun week started off strong with our excursion to Luna Park. So many students….AND teachers stepped out of their comfort zone and went on some wild rides! I have no doubt that the students came home raving about the great day they had together. The incursions have been very popular with the students as they continue to strengthen their friendships and even make some new ones in preparation for next year!
We hope you all have a safe and happy holidays!
Kind regards,
The 3/4 Team
Damien Smith, Daena Hailey, Brent Smith, Claire Cripps and Nick Pagliaro
Grade 5 & 6
What an exciting week it has been in 5/6 as our end-of-year Fun Week kicked off to celebrate the end of the 2025 school year!
Monday saw our students enjoy an exhilarating day at Luna Park in St Kilda. There was laughter and smiles all around as students overcame fears and explored the theme park with their friends. Some of the teachers were even spotted getting into the swing of things too!
On Tuesday, our Grade 5 students had the opportunity to meet their new teachers and classmates for 2026. Meanwhile, our Grade 6s were off on their transition day, visiting their new high schools. Students took part in a range of games and ice-breaker activities designed to help them get to know one another and our soon-to-be Grade 6s participated in a special session focussed on leadership, helping set the tone for their important role next year.
On Thursday, students had a blast during the Kelly Sports incursion. With activities including basketball, soccer, tug-of-war and fast-paced tag games, everyone enjoyed rotating through the stations and playing alongside their friends.
It’s been a week full of laughter, learning and shared experiences and we can’t wait for the fun to continue next week with Christmas activities, Graduation, class KKs and end-of-year parties.
Kind regards,
The 5/6 Team
Alarna Creed, Kylie Morrissey, Hayley Peirce, Llinos Poole and Erin Rennick.