Junior School Report
Year 7 Highlights
Camp was certainly the highlight of the term.
Since returning from camp, it’s been wonderful to see friendships blossoming across different homegroups, with students sharing interests and experiences.
One of the highlights of walking through the Junior School Courtyard is hearing the students laughing and engaging with each other in such a positive way. In the classrooms, it's equally rewarding to witness students actively participating in their lessons, whether they’re collaborating with their peers or working independently.
There’s often an exciting buzz in the air, while at other times, students are focused, wearing their "game faces" as they tackle challenges with determination.
Last week, all students had the exciting opportunity to attend KIOSK, where they were introduced to the fascinating world of robotics.
It was incredible to see how quickly the students mastered the skills needed to manipulate their robots and make them perform a variety of movements. I was truly amazed by the creativity and problem-solving on display.
During my time with them, I observed students fully engaged, with their focus sharp and productive. Some of the Lego models they built for specific purposes were nothing short of mind-blowing!
A couple of weeks ago, our students participated in a session led by Elevate Education, where they were introduced to practical strategies for reading materials more effectively. The focus was on teaching students how to break down large chunks of text into smaller, more manageable pieces, identifying key sub-headings and trigger words along the way.
This technique not only helps prevent students from simply copying text (and potentially engaging in plagiarism), but also encourages a deeper understanding of the material. You might be able to practice this at home with your child by providing them with an article and asking them to summarise it, or by having them listen to a news report and share the key points with you.
The biggest takeaway for me this term is seeing how happy, friendly, and caring our students are. They've seamlessly integrated into secondary school life, adapting with ease—just like a duck to water.
All those initial fears—whether it was struggling with the timetable, getting lost, using lockers and locks, making new friends, or navigating Compass—have been put to rest. They’ve done it!
Congratulations to Jack Rantall and Delilah Murphy, who were elected by their peers to represent our cohort in 2025. Both Jack and Delilah took the brave (HUGE) step of speaking in front of a couple of hundred people on Open Night—a daunting task, but they did an outstanding job.
A big thank you also goes out to all of our Year 7 students (too many to list) who assisted during Open Night. The students who worked alongside me were not only fantastic helpers but also great company.
A heartfelt thank you to all the parents for your ongoing support of both your child and our college community. Together, as a team, we are growing beautifully.
Have a great couple of weeks – I look forward to seeing all of our students back ready for a consolidating term on Tuesday 22 April and I look forward to seeing you at our Parent-Teacher-Student Learning Conferences on Thursday 1 May.
Mrs Ruth Smith
Year 7 Coordinator
Food Studies
What’s happening in Food Studies?
Our Year 7 students are blazing along at present. In the last couple of weeks, they have been learning the difference between a cake and a muffin in preparation for their Design Folio, where they will be investigating food allergies and intolerances and then designing an afternoon tea for friends that requires them to make a muffin.
In class we made Chocolate Chip Muffins, where everything just went into the bowl and then compared it to making a cake that involved using the electric beaters and creaming butter and sugar.
Year 8’s are currently focusing on the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and getting ready for their Design Folio. Students made Cinnamon Scrolls a couple of weeks ago and were then given the opportunity to design their own – using flour and yoghurt as the base of their scrolls – lemon, blueberry, Nutella, pizza - delicious, the aromas when cooking in the oven were amazing.
Year 9 students have just completed the Egg White Challenge – I am so glad they all listened to how to beat the egg whites! From creating the egg white foam students made Meringue Kisses and in the last week of term will be making Victoria Sponge Cakes. The properties of food is our current focus – in this case eggs.
A great effort by all students undertaking food classes.
Mrs Ruth Smith
Food Studies