Around The Rooms
Senior Team
Inquiry Expo
On Monday 8th September we are excited to invite you to attend Ballan Primary’s Travel Expo. Come and learn about native animals & plants, cultural events, attractions, fun facts, and cuisine from around the world, and award tokens for the country you think has the best and well researched stall!
Please note, if students are bringing food in this will need to be done in the morning to allow for set up. We also ask that students consider bringing a shopping bag or box to assist with packing up and transporting items following the event. Look forward to seeing you there.
WHEN: Monday 8th September At 11:45am – 1pm. WHERE: School Gym
Travel Expo Invitation 2025.docx
Mass
The senior team have commenced work on our third maths unit of the term which looks at measurement, in particular, mass. Below are some ideas you can try at home to support your child's understanding of this concept.
- Kitchen cupboard weigh-in: Let your child hold two items (e.g., a can of beans and a packet of rice) and guess which is heavier before checking on a scale.
- Fruit basket challenge: Compare different fruits (apple vs. banana vs. orange) – order them from lightest to heaviest.
- Pantry sort: Line up food tins/packets from lightest to heaviest.
Man Cave
On Wednesday this week the Senior Team were thrilled to welcome Narada and Reece from The Man Cave who spent the day working with our Grade 6 boys. The program is designed to create long-term, positive shifts in attitudes and behaviours by creating a psychologically safe space, challenging problematic gender stereotypes and providing participants with the opportunity to step into healthier masculinity attributes. We were proud of how our students conducted themselves during the workshop and hope they got lots out of it!
Middle Years Team
Book Week was an absolute hit! Our classrooms and hallways were filled with colour, imagination, and a whole lot of excitement as students dressed up as their favourite book characters. From wizards to superheroes, from classic storybook favourites to modern-day heroes, the creativity and effort that went into the costumes was nothing short of inspiring.
It was clear that students (and families!) had put so much energy, thought, and enthusiasm into making this day special. The joy on students’ faces as they paraded, shared their stories, and spotted characters they recognised from the books they love was truly heart-warming.
But Book Week wasn’t just about costumes – it was about celebrating a love of reading. Throughout the week, classes enjoyed author studies, buddy reading sessions, and fun activities that reminded us of the power of stories to connect, inspire, and spark our imaginations. A big thank you goes out to our school community for supporting Book Week so wonderfully. Your creativity, encouragement, and enthusiasm made this celebration one to remember. Here’s to another year of discovering new stories, diving into books, and keeping the magic of reading alive every single day!
A big shout out to Ballan IGA for kindly donating ingredients for us to use in our S.A.K.G.P. recipes. We are very grateful for their support and generosity! 🙏
An exciting local/walking excursion is being planned for the last week of term (Monday 15th, September) for Middle Years students, linking to our MAPPEN unit ‘Our Dynamic Community’ and visiting/touring the new Ballan library. Keep your eye out for further information to come.
Finally, as you know Miss Muir is expecting her 1st baby and will be taking maternity leave starting at the end of week 7. We are excited to announce that Mr. Murrell will be taking 2/3M for the last 2 weeks of term 3. We wish Miss. Muir (and her fiancé) the very best for the coming months and very much look forward to hearing the happy news of their baby’s safe arrival soon! 👶
A final reminder that the Premier's Reading Challenge finishes on September 5th, so please help your child to log in (https://vprc.eduweb.vic.gov.au/home) and log their books! We want everyone to achieve this challenge! 💪✨
Ms. Nicholls, Ms. A. and Miss Muir
Junior Team
P-2
We are very excited for our upcoming incursion this Friday, where students will dive into the fascinating world of Australian animals. This experience will connect beautifully with our current inquiry topics and spark curiosity as we continue exploring the amazing creatures that call Australia home.
A huge thank you to all our families for the incredible support during our Book Week parade. The costumes were absolutely fantastic, our students looked amazing as they brought their favourite characters to life. It was wonderful to see the smiles, laughter, and excitement as they proudly showed off their outfits.
We were also thrilled to welcome so many special people into our classrooms afterwards. The joy of having families join in the fun, share stories, and spend time exploring the learning spaces made the day extra memorable. Book Week is always about celebrating the love of reading, but this year it truly felt like a celebration of our whole school community.
Specialists
Physical Education
On Tuesday Grades 3-6 participated in our first hockey clinic run by Coach Kylie. Students learnt the proper stick grip, dribbling and juggling, with a focus on stick and ball control. They also played some modified games of Hoctopus and Ballan Great Ball. It was all a lot of fun!
Unfortunately, our District Athletic Sports had to be postponed again to Wednesday 3rd September, sorry for any inconvenience. Logistics will remain the same with a bus available, or families can arrange their own transport, just please let your child's teacher know if they are travelling by car.
Lastly, Cricket Victoria, along with support from the Ballan Cricket Club, started their afterschool free cricket clinics for girls in our gym. Girls participated in a number of fun skill activities and games. There are still 3 clinics to go, with sign up free. They will be held on Tuesday's from 3:30-4:30pm.
Marcus Murrell
Science
Students are focusing on Chemistry this term, with the 5/6 students learning about forensic science. Our Prep and Year 2/3/4 students are completing separate units on the properties of materials and through hands-on experiments, they are finding out how different materials are chosen for different purposes. The junior students in Year 1/2 are looking at different mixtures and how different ingredients can react when combined.
Next week we are excited to celebrate Science Week with a whole school incursion on Friday 15th with a show called "The Super Science Circus Show".