Junior School

SCHOOL MUSICALS

I attended the excellent Senior Campus production of ‘High School Musical’ last Friday evening. It was wonderful seeing so many ex-Junior School students up on the stage.  Whilst enjoying the performance, it was hard not to have the Junior School’s upcoming performance of ‘Frozen Jnr’ in front of my mind. There are many benefits to involvement in a shared musical project.

• It can help students build a sense of pride in their school, helping them to feel more connected to their school, their teachers, and their classmates.  This will, in turn, help students to feel happier at school, positively impacting all areas of their learning, as well as their social and emotional development.  This sense of connection can extend to the wider community, as parents and families come and watch a performance.
• A musical brings together the discrete learning areas within the creative and performing arts, blending elements from each discipline.  This can allow for teacher collaboration and co-teaching across subject areas. 
• The educational benefits of theatre productions extend beyond honing a student’s performance skills. The performing arts can help develop a range of skills that will benefit multiple subject areas, including improved communication skills, giving and receiving feedback, working in a team and collaborating, and effective time management. 
• The unpredictable nature of live performance helps students develop the ability to think quickly, improvise when things do not go according to plan, and stay calm in difficult situations.

Tickets now on sale

https://events.humanitix.com/disney-frozen-jr

CONTINUOUS REPORTING AND PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Junior School Continuous Reporting continues this term, with classroom teachers reporting to parents on Literacy, Numeracy and Inquiry units.  Specialist staff will report to Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 parents.  These can be accessed via PAM (Parental Access Module) in SIMON.  Teachers will notify parents via email or Class Dojo when Continuous Reporting items have been uploaded into SIMON.  In a change from previous years, we have scheduled our second round of parent/teacher interviews for Week 9 of Term Three.  These will take place on Monday, 9 September and Tuesday, 10 September. 

ASSEMBLY

The following students received ‘Star Student’ awards at this week’s Assembly.

• Piccino - Amelia Parfrey for her continuous assistance in packing up the outdoor environment and ensuring the safety of everyone around her.
• Piccino - Evie McVeigh for her outstanding leadership skills, sharing her knowledge with her peers, and guiding play and learning experiences.
• Year 1 – Emily McVeigh for approaching her learning with a positive attitude and always giving class tasks 100% effort and focus. 
• Year 4 - Omar Diab for his constant respect shown to his peers and learning space. Omar ensures the classroom is clean and is always prepared for the next lesson without seeking praise. Keep up the great work, Omar!
• Year 5 – Lachlan Sweeney for remaining focused during the explicit instruction and offering valuable insights during Math time.
• Year 5 – Henry Bufton for excellent backstage contributions to the Senior Campus production of ‘High School Musical’. 

HOCKEY

Western Region Hockey Finals

The College Hockey 7s Boys’ and Girls’ teams were victorious in their respective Greater Western Region Finals on Tuesday, to progress to the Victorian State Finals in Melbourne on 12 September.  Both teams played consistent hockey and, improved as the tournament progressed. Many thanks to our College Parents' and Friends' Association for providing food and drinks during the day.  Thank you to coaches Doug Cameron, Heath Templeton and manager Julie Templeton for their guidance and leadership of our students.  Thank you also to Louise Patterson for coordinating the event.  We look forward to the State Finals. 

Girls’ Team - Evie Templeton, Imogen Johns, Ada O’Brien, Poppy Edgar, Livvy Bell, Maggie Wallis, Anika Nelson, Hazel Johns, Sammie Price and Harriet Small.

Boys’ Team - Kirav Patel, Max Cameron, Finn Hawthorne, Archie Aitkin, Hugo Cameron, Ed Whinney, Theo Horne, Tommy Brown and Lachlan Pickford.

Division 5

The Panthers started off a bit rusty after their bye last week, but once they remembered to spread out and give each other space, there were some great sequences of play. Panthers came away with a 2 - 0 win against Demons Red.  Well done to Evie Pickford for some great stick work, Rosie Bell for her first goal of the season, and Ted Bufton, who was like a wall of steel in defence. 

A reminder that tickets are now available for the College Hockey Dinner on Saturday, 7 September. The dinner will follow the Grand Finals, which will be played at Pedrina Park throughout the day.  Tickets to this event tend to be scooped up quickly, so get in early to secure your sea.

Myrniong Sport Update

The Year 5/6 Students had a wonderful day at the HDSA AFL 9s competition held at Pedrina Park today, 15 August. This is a terrific day for all students to be involved in the 9v9 AFL format. Special thank you to Mr Lachie Brown, Mr Matt Bourchier, Mr Todd O’Sullivan and Mr Toby Hawthorne for coaching our teams today.

We look forward to welcoming staff and players from the Melbourne Renegades cricket team to meet with Year 4 to 6 students next Wednesday. This is going to be a great experience for our children and will hopefully help them to get excited about the upcoming ‘24/’25 cricket season.

A reminder that the Junior and Senior Hooptime events are on Tuesday 3 and Friday 6 September respectively.  I am seeking team coaches and scorers for these days. If you are willing and able, would you please let me know and I will be in touch. Information about this event will be on Operoo shortly.

Saturday Netball is back!

Students in Years 3/4 and Years 5/6 are invited to join a College netball team to participate in the Term 4 Saturday morning netball competition.   

To submit your child's name for a team, please email jsreception@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au