Specialists

LOTE

Prep students are feeling more confident with colours and numbers and had fun learning about the Plate Dance (Tari Piring), a traditional dance from West Sumatra.

Year 1 and 2 students explored the fascinating Komodo Dragon, while also improving their number skills. Year 1 students are recognising numbers up to 10 out of sequence and counting to 20, while Year 2 students are recognising numbers up to 20 and counting beyond!

Year 3 and 4 students have been learning how to talk about the day, date, month, and year in Indonesian—great skills for discussing birthdays and events.

Year 5 and 6 students have been exploring profiles of Indonesian students and practising different translation strategies to understand new words and phrases.

Across Years 3-6, we also learned about Ramadan and how it shapes daily life in different parts of Indonesia. Students gained insight into traditions like fasting, community meals, and celebrations.

Sampai jumpa! (See you next time!)

Performing Arts

Over the past fortnight, our students have been actively developing their musical skills across different year levels, with a strong focus on rhythm, pitch, and instrumental exploration.

Preps have been exploring rhythm, using movement, clapping, and percussion instruments to recognize and repeat different rhythmic patterns. Their sense of timing is improving with every beat!

Year 1 students have been focusing on pitch, learning to identify and match different notes through singing and listening activities. They’ve been having fun experimenting with their vocal range and understanding how pitch changes a song’s mood.

Year 2 students have been discovering their instrumental range, experimenting with different classroom percussion instruments and learning how each one contributes to the overall sound of a piece of music.

Years 3 and 4 students have been developing their understanding of pitch, practicing singing and playing instruments to explore how different notes work together in melodies and harmonies.

Years 5 and 6 students have been diving into songwriting techniques, with a particular focus on hooks—the catchy part of a song that sticks in your head! They have been analysing how different artists use hooks effectively and experimenting with their own song ideas.

Choir Update

Our students are showing great dedication and enthusiasm in rehearsals! We have been working on vocal techniques and performance confidence as we prepare for upcoming opportunities to showcase our talents.

Choir practice is held every Monday at recess, and all interested students are welcome to join! We encourage any students who love to sing to come along and be part of this exciting musical opportunity!

Upcoming performances at assembly will be communicated through Compass, so please keep an eye out for updates on when students will be showcasing their musical talents.

I look forward to seeing our students continue to develop their musical skills and confidence. Keep an ear out at home—you might hear them practicing their new skills!

Physical Education

During last week’s sessions, the Prep students practiced some hand-eye coordination through activities with balloons, and continued to develop their aim with underarm throwing activities. This week, activities will be focussed on gross motor, and throwing and catching skills, using bounce passes. 

Over the last week our focus has been on refining our rolling skills for the Year 1 students. We practised rolling a variety of different sized balls under, through, and in between a variety of different targets. We also applied strategy when applying the skill of rolling to a variety of different games.

Year 2 students always warm up with a game focussing on locomotor skills and the strategies of evading and defending. This week’s game tied in with the Year 2 theme of dinosaurs. The object of the game was to steal one anothers dinosaur tails. I was very impressed with the variety of evasion techniques our students could apply. We also continued to work on the fundamental motor skills of rolling. We used  a variety of different balls, targets, and games to practise directionality and force. Our students showed some great bowling skills during the modified six pin bowling games. 

During last week’s sessions, the Year 3 and 4 students began work on striking skills, starting with a forearm strike using tennis rackets. This week they will be consolidating their learning from last week, while also learning how to use a baseball bat correctly, using a t-ball stand to practice. During the sessions, we also end with a game, which utilises their new skills and gives them an opportunity to work as a team and develop leadership and good sportsmanship skills. 

Last week the Year 5 and 6 students continued developing our cricket skills with batting technique being the main focus. We finished the cricket unit with a variety of modified games and with students endeavouring to provide constructive feedback to assist one another’s performances.

Melbourne Victory Visit

This week our students were also fortunate to have Eden, a training partner from Melbourne Victory, come out and share her soccer knowledge with our senior students. The first week’s focus was on foot-eye coordination, dribbling, and trapping skills, which were then applied to  a variety of game situations. We are lucky to have Eden continue the program over the next three weeks.

District and Division Swimming

I would also like to congratulate our Year 4-6 students who represented Yarra Road at  the  District and Division Swimming Competitions. They achieved some outstanding results, but the courage they demonstrated when facing unfamiliar experiences was very commendable. Congratulations team and a very big thankyou to Mrs Macrae on being our Swimming Captain!

Cross Country Coming Up!

Don’t forget the House Cross Country from Prep to Year Six is rapidly approaching. The event will be conducted on Tuesday, April 1st at Lilydale Lake, so make sure you’re working on your endurance running!

STEAM

Prep students turned into authors and illustrators this fortnight, creating a class story about a reptile’s adventure. Their imagination and teamwork were fantastic to see, and their story is shaping up beautifully!

Students in Year 1 and Year 2 stepped into the role of palaeontologists by creating and painting their very own fossils! They loved working with plaster of Paris and showed amazing attention to detail in their creations. It’s incredible to see their passion for learning about the past!

This week, Year 3 and 4 students explored how natural forces like water, wind, and ice shape our landscapes. Through experiments and art, they recreated the beauty and transformation of changing landforms.

This week, Year 5 and 6 students explored the beauty of landscapes through captivating artwork, using a range of different art media. Their creativity flourished as they brought stunning scenery to life with colour, texture, and depth!