Classroom News

Year 2 Echidnas and Platypuses

Our Year 2 students have been busy developing their speaking and listening skills through a fun and interactive activity. Each child selected a favourite board or card game and prepared an explanation of how to play. They then presented their instructions to the rest of the class, focusing on clear communication and confidence in speaking.

After listening carefully, their classmates had the opportunity to ask thoughtful questions to clarify rules and gather more details. This encouraged active listening and respectful turn-taking, while also building confidence in asking and answering questions.

The activity was a wonderful way to combine oral language skills with creativity and teamwork. It was fantastic to see students engaged, sharing their interests, and learning from one another. Well done, Year 2!

Year 6 Brolgas and Emus

Term 4 has been a truly memorable one for our Year 6 students as we celebrated the final chapter of our primary school journey. We are incredibly proud of our achievements and the way we have grown as student leaders throughout the year.

Our leadership growth has been especially evident this term. Many Year 6 students played an important role in Socktober, led our final school assemblies, and are eagerly preparing to present the Christmas Concert. These experiences have shown how far we’ve come in taking initiative, encouraging others, and working together as a team.

In the classroom, Term 4 has been filled with exciting learning opportunities. In HASS, we explored economics and learned how to create simple budgets. In Writing, we crafted engaging narratives, and in Mathematics, we investigated chance experiments through hands-on activities.

As we look ahead to new adventures in high school, we carry with us the friendships, memories, and lessons that have shaped us at St Helena’s.

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau

Music

Our Year One students have been diving deeper into rhythm and notation! We began by revisiting rhythm patterns using crotchets and quaver pairs. To make learning visual and accessible to all, students used rhythm clocks—a graphic notation system that helps them understand the structure of beats in a clear and engaging way.

With these graphics as a guide, the class performed rhythms on a variety of classroom percussion instruments, including triangles, woodblocks, and tambourines. Once they mastered these patterns, we explored how graphic notation connects to traditional music notation. This step gave students the confidence to start reading simple rhythms using standard notation.

To add an extra layer of excitement, tuned percussion instruments such as xylophones were introduced. This allowed students to combine rhythm and melody, creating a complete piece of music where everyone contributed at their own level. The result was a joyful and collaborative experience that showcased creativity and teamwork.

It’s been wonderful to see the enthusiasm and progress in Year One music classes. Well done Year One!

Italian

In the junior years, students have continued to learn Italian with enthusiasm, engaging in fun and interactive activities that build their early language skills. Pre-Primary classes have especially enjoyed learning about Pinocchio, the famous Italian wooden character, through songs, stories, movement and craft. They have also learnt Italian vocabulary for body parts. Year 1 and Year 2 students have been listening to a variety of bilingual stories and responding through drawing, writing, role-play, and games. These activities have helped them develop foundational vocabulary and understand simple Italian phrases in meaningful contexts.

In the middle primary classes, students have continued to expand their Italian vocabulary and confidence. Year 3 students have explored a range of emotions in Italian, creating illustrated emotion charts, acting out feelings, and using Italian phrases to describe different scenarios. Their responses have been creative and expressive. Year 4 classes “travelled” to Rome through virtual tours, videos and map activities. They learnt about iconic landmarks such as the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, discovering what makes Rome an extraordinary and historic city.

Students in the upper primary years have shown strong engagement with more complex language topics. Year 5 students have become experts in Italian weather vocabulary and expressions, practising how to read weather maps and preparing to present their own Italian weather reports to the class. Year 6 students have enjoyed learning about I cibi (Italian food), exploring traditional dishes and practising how to order food in Italian. To celebrate their final year of learning Italian in primary school, they will soon enjoy a special Italian dessert. What a delicious way to conclude their Primary School Italian journey.

Sport

As we move towards the end of the school year, all classes have been wrapping things up with a focus on striking and fielding games. Students have been honing their catching, throwing, and striking skills, showing solid improvement in both technique and teamwork.

It’s been a fun, high-energy way to close out the term while reinforcing key movement concepts. On December 3rd and 4th, we were fortunate to have coaches from the WACA visit the school to deliver specialised cricket sessions. Students experienced high-quality coaching, learned new skills, and got a taste of what cricket development looks like from the professionals. 

Their enthusiasm and engagement were top-tier — even the kids who usually avoid anything that involves a fast-moving ball found themselves swinging a bat with confidence.

It’s been a strong finish to the year, and the students should be proud of the skills and effort they’ve shown.