SCHOOL OF INNOVATION

BUILDING BLOCKS OF FUN

The Year 5 students began investigating the LEGO Spike Education kits for STEM this week.

Students have spent the term learning about circuits - their properties and uses. They have practiced making circuits with batteries, wires and globes as well as switches. Students have identified conductors and insulators, and ways to make complete circuits with various materials. They also investigated energy, its sources, the transfer or transformation of energy in the world, and learnt that energy is never made or deleted, it moves to another form or force. Finally we explored 'light', from natural to artificial forms and how the speed and direction of light impacts how we see objects around us.

The LEGO kits provide a fun way to combine circuits, energy and light. Each kit contains materials to use which, when combined with an app, can be created, connected and coded to perform a certain action based on the type of construction for example a spinning Ferris Wheel, moving car and seesaw.

Students this week completed basic skill tutorials, as well as beginning to create a moving item. It will be fantastic to see what students have been able to create by the end of the term.

Two St Anne's College students were recently recognised at the Ganbina Youth Achievement Awards Night. A huge congratulations to Year 8 student Tyler and

Year 9 student Corey for their incredible achievements. Ganbina was created to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in the Goulburn Valley with the education, training, and life skills needed to reach their full potential.

Last week some of our Year 5 students travelled to St John’s Primary School, Euroa to participate in the Caritas Australia’s Just Leadership Day. Caritas engaged with the students about social justice issues and encourage them to be just leaders, in their schools and in their communities, for both local and global change.

The lessons learnt on the day are aimed at enabling students to challenge injustices, and to develop the leadership qualities to encourage others to do the same.

Congratulations to these Year 5 students for showing real commitment in participating in the day, collaborating with students from other schools and doing such a fantastic job at representing St Anne’s College.

The Year 8 students headed off on their camp to Harrietville this week and got off to a 'flying' start with the first day consisting of a giant swing among other adventurous activities.

The students had a fantastic time braving the high ropes course and tested their hand-eye coordination by taking part in archery.

Here is a snippet of what the campers got up to - we can’t wait to to share more updates and photos from the students in the next newsletter

The Year 9 campers had a fantastic time away at Anglesea! The students enjoyed beach-life as well as getting some adventure in. This camp has been a fantastic opportunity for students to engage in a variety of activities while building independence and strengthening their friendships.

The activities have included hiking/bushwalking, surfing, archery, spending time around the campfire, beach games, rock climbing and more!

The students had great experience and returned back home filled with incredible memories to cherish.

Hear from some the students about their favourite part of camp:

"The best part of Year 9 camp was the second day when we went to the Anglesea beach, and myself and a few other students went searching through the rock pools." - Lacey

"The main highlight of the camp was spending the whole of Thursday at the beach playing beach games, free swimming and playing in the rock pools. Also the surfing lessons were really fun." - Jack

"My highlights of camp were the campfire, hanging out with my friends. It was a fun experience and I feel like we all got very close." - Charli

"The best bit was swimming at the beach and learning how to surf." - Maddi

"Year 9 camp was probably one of the best camps I have even been on, getting to spend all day on the beach together is what made it the best camp that I feel any of us have ever been on. We all bonded so much over those three days and came back to school the best connected we have even been." - Mackenzie

"The best part of the camp was the beach. We went surfing and played games on the beach. We also were able to go into the ocean and swim. We also played some trivia games and other games like table tennis and beach volleyball." - Owen

"Camp was so much fun especially the beach and surfing. The campfire was also very good with the comments from the teachers." - Liz 

"Anglesea Camp was an engaging experience. I think it really helped me to developed closer to my friendships and helped us to stop stressing about school work. One exciting thing that we did was when we went out to the beach and played ultimate frisbee as well as going for a walk around the beach. We went surfing and found that it was really difficult." - Will

Class Resources

Our iPads! Please ensure any damage is reported to Pastoral Group Leaders and IT staff to ensure it can be rectified as soon as possible. iPads must be fully charged each day and it is encouraged that we adopt good habits to assist us with this. 

Important Pastoral Group Information

At St. Anne’s College, all students within the School of Innovation are allocated to a Pastoral Group. These groups are overseen by a Pastoral Group Leader and currently comprise students from their respective houses: Montessori, Charles, Cooper, and Majella houses.

Each morning, students commence their day within their Pastoral Groups. This time involves participation in morning prayer, a welcome to country, and updates about the day's news and events at the College. This period holds significance in allowing our students to establish strong connections with their peers and their Pastoral Leader. Consequently, our students are able to cultivate a strong sense of community at St. Anne’s College.

Our Pastoral Leaders also seize this opportunity to implement the three core principles of Gratitude, Empathy, and Mindfulness (GEM), which stem from our school-wide program conducted by the Resilience Project. These principles encourage our students to contemplate and recognise the positive facets of their day-to-day experiences both at the College and at home. This practice ensures that our students embark on each day well-prepared for successful learning and meaningful connections with others.

Given that this session only spans 10 minutes each morning, it is imperative that students are punctual and actively participate within their designated Pastoral Groups. If students miss this period or arrive late, they will forfeit this crucial initiation to the school day.

We extend our gratitude to all parents and caregivers for your sustained support in ensuring that this routine is upheld for the continued success of our students.

Important Uniform Information

A reminder that all School of Innovation students are required to wear their academic uniform items each day, except for sports days or other nominated days when their sports uniform items can be worn. Please ensure your student is in their full academic uniform. If this is not possible on a particular day, please send a note, including the date your student will be able to be in full school uniform.

A dress code, in particular a uniform, provides a visual connection to identify students as members of St Anne’s College community. The way a uniform is worn makes a statement about our college and it represents the fact that the student is a part of the community.  The benefits of a school uniform include:

• Allows all students to feel equal

• Helps prevent bullying and competition on the basis of clothing

• Ensures students appearance reflects the expectations of St Anne’s College

• Enhances the profile and identity of the College and its students in the wider community

• Strengthens the spirit of community within St Anne’s College

• Enhances individual student safety and group security

• Ensured all students are dressed safely and appropriately for school activities

• Encourages students to develop pride in their appearance

• Prepares students for the expectations in workplaces

• Encourages students to present themselves appropriately for a particular role

Thank you for your support.