The Learning Zone
Year 5 Excursion
Monday 18th September Year 5 set out on their first excursion to the Whitehaven Mine (Maules Creek). This was our first visit to the mine and it was fabulous! So many insights to how a mine is run and what an operating mine looks like. We set out at 9am and were escorted out to the mine from Boggabri. On arrival we had 'smoko' onsite at the 'crib' and were kitted out with our PPE, we then loaded back onto the bus and went on tour, passing many dump trucks, some of which fully loaded weighed over 500 tonnes!
Maules Creek showed many examples of how they are using technology with robotic dump trucks, robotically loaded trains and measuring the usage of equipment such as tyres.
The highlight of the day was going up to the top of the pit and looking down (250m to the bottom) where we could see the excavators digging up coal, from this vantage point we were very lucky to see the dump trucks unloading the byproduct onto the mountain to reshape and rehabilitate the land. Year 5 students were also shown fossils and petrified wood found in the pit, and they were not fooled by the 'fool's gold' (pyrite).
After our tour we headed back to school via the park at Boggabri for lunch, a stretch and run around - it was a great park and accommodated the 55 students perfectly!
Once back at school we were able to (cool down) and reflect on all the amazing facts we learned about the mine, giving us all a bit more understanding of where those trains come from that travel through our town 3 times a day, loaded for the port at Newcastle.
A big thank you for Whitehaven for allowing us to visit and showing us around - not to mention the generous goodie bag. We hope we can come back next year.
Living Well, Learning Well
| Week 9 | Name | Reason | Character Strength |
| Kinder | Benjamin Martin | For exceptional growth in reading. | Love of Learning |
| Kinder | Harper Griffin | For always being an active classroom participant and demonstrating pride in her schoolwork. | Love of Learning |
| Year 1 | Ashton Mitchell | For working well with others and sharing his ideas and thoughts with his table group. | Love of Learning |
| Year 1 | Shelby Sloey | For always being patient, kind and respectful to her classmates. | Kindness |
| Year 2 | Nash Seach | For his amazing performance in Seussical Jr. the Musical | Bravery |
| Year 2 | Charlotte Wiggins | For her wonderful performance in Seussical Jr. the Musical | Courage |
| Year 3 | Eloise Launders | For continually asking questions, contributing to discussions and being open to learning new things. | Curiosity |
| Year 3 | Emma Gander | For showing maturity, perseverance in class activities and always being ready to learn. | Self-regulation |
| Year 4 | Georgia Hobson | For having a humble and kind heart and always being inclusive to those around her. | Humility |
| Year 4 | Jayde Sloey | For bringing a calm presence to our classroom and always trying her best. | Gratitude |
| Year 5 | Georgie Thompson | For always bringing energy into our class and brightening everyone’s day. | Energy |
| Year 5 | Will Riordan | For giving everyone a go in turbo touch and showing his great sportsmanship. | Sportsmanship |
| Year 6 | Gus Simpson | Showing care and concern whilst remaining calm in a difficult situation with an injured child. | Empathy & Kindness |
| Year 6 | Jake Hausfeld | For his commitment to the musical and sharing his knowledge with others during maths. | Love of learning |
| Year 6 | Darcy Mainey | For expressing interest and working hard in the musical. | Creativity |
| Year 6 | Miss Clift | For bringing new and exciting activities into the classroom. | Energy |
