School Leaders Report - Gary Woodward

It has been an energetic fortnight across the college, with students embracing every opportunity for learning and fun. There is a buzz of excitement among the students, and their positive attitude toward learning continues to shine through each day.

Our Splash and Water Fun Day, along with the Year 5 and 6 Swimming Carnival, brought plenty of excitement. Students participated enthusiastically, showing great teamwork, confidence and joy throughout both events.

We are also heading into a long weekend, with the Public Holiday on Monday 9 March followed by a Student Free Day on Tuesday 10 March. We hope everyone enjoys the break.

Primary Assembly

Next assembly: 23 March, 9.05am, Black Box

Class Reports

Foundation

Literacy

The children are being explicitly taught phonological skills to prepare them for later reading and writing tasks. They are learning about spoken and printed words and sounds within words.

Our storybook lessons this week are based on the book Grandpa and Thomas by Pamela Allen. During these lessons we read the story, talk about the story, complete word work and do activities that go ‘beyond the book’.

Maths

In maths we have begun our unit on counting and place value. The focus is on building students’ understanding of number by counting, representing, comparing and ordering numbers up to 10.

Buddies

The children enjoyed getting to know their buddies last Thursday when we had our fortnightly session together. They were able to choose between playing inside or outside games. The Grade 6 buddies are being very responsible and kind and modelling respectful behaviour.

Year 1

Year 1 students have lots to be proud of this fortnight. They have been working hard during our InitiaLit-1 lessons, reviewing the sounds and spellings learnt in Foundation and learning the digraphs (two letters making one sound) th, ch, wh, sh and ng!

During InitialWrite, students have been practising writing ‘three-part sentences’ - sentences that contain a ‘who’, ‘action’ and ‘object’. This week they also had a go at writing their first recount using the sentence starters, ‘first, next, then and last’.

In Maths, students have been practicing counting to and from 120 and representing two-digit numbers using tens frames, bundling icy pole sticks, grouping counters and writing numerals.

During Humanities, students have been learning about our local environment. While on a big walk around the college they were able to identify the natural, constructed and managed features of our school environment.

Year 2

This week in Year 2 we have begun exploring persuasive texts. Students are learning how to share their opinions clearly and give reasons to support their ideas. We look forward to seeing them use their persuasive skills in their own writing!

In Reading, we have enjoyed the beautiful story The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson. Through this text, we have been exploring themes of kindness, being helpful and caring for others. The students have had thoughtful discussions about how even small acts of kindness can make a big difference.

In Religion, we are learning about Lent and what it means in the Christian tradition. We have been discussing ways we can show kindness, generosity and reflection during this special time through almsgiving, fasting and prayer. The students created their own artistic representations of the Last Supper, thoughtfully designing their own settings and thinking about the meaning of sharing, friendship and gratitude.

For Humanities, we are learning about important places in Shepparton that are significant to us and our community. Students are sharing special places that matter to them and exploring why these places are important.

Last week we enjoyed a very fun Water Afternoon! Students loved participating in water activities and especially enjoyed working and playing alongside students from Foundation to Year 4. It was wonderful to see teamwork, laughter and great sportsmanship across the year levels.

We are very proud of the enthusiasm and positive attitude the students are showing in all areas of their learning!

Year 3

We are well underway with our narrative writing, composing our own stories and ensuring we include the correct structure of a narrative. Students are working hard to refine and complete their drafts, and we are hoping to have them published and ready to share with an audience very soon.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN begins on Wednesday 11 with Writing in Session 1 & 2 for Year 3 students.

The other NAPLAN tests will take place on the following days:

Thursday 12: Reading

Friday 13: Conventions of Language

Monday 16: Numeracy

Students are encouraged to bring a book to read if they finish early.

Year 4

Literacy:

This week in Literacy, we have finished reading our first class novel, Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. The story follows a young boy, Michael, who is washed overboard during a family sailing adventure and finds himself stranded on a remote island. As he learns to survive in the wild, he discovers he is not alone and forms an unexpected friendship with Kensuke, a mysterious man who has lived on the island for many years. The novel explores themes of survival, resilience, friendship and courage.

Students thoroughly enjoyed the novel and engaged thoughtfully in class discussions. Gurman shared that he thought the book was “pretty good because it had an exciting journey and tells you how to survive on a deserted island.”

Adele said she found the book inspiring, as the characters each had powerful and meaningful stories to tell.

Maths:

In Mathematics, we have begun our new unit on time. Students are learning to read and interpret analogue and digital clocks, with a particular focus on understanding the difference between am and pm. We have been discussing daily events and sorting them into morning, afternoon and evening times.

Science:

In Science, we have continued exploring food chains and developing our understanding of predators and prey. Students have been learning how energy moves through a food chain and identifying producers, consumers and top predators within different ecosystems.

This week, students created their own food chains, carefully selecting organisms and explaining the relationships between them.

Year 5

Literacy:

In Literacy, we are nearing the end of our novel, War Horse , and three of our Year 5 students, Hope, Lily and Zoe, presented extracts from their narratives written while completing our task work on this unit at our recent Assembly. The Year 5 students have demonstrated some excellent writing skills, with many engaging and uplifting short stories being created during our Literacy sessions. Maiya’s story about a young boy finding a snowy owl who dreamed of having an owner to care for her was one of many heartwarming tales our students have written in the past fortnight.

Maths:

In Mathematics, students have been learning about factors, multiples and how to solve large multiplication problems using an area model and mental strategies. Students have been practising their new skills independently and in small groups.

Connections:

Students have been working through a unit on personal safety and the Winter Olympics. They have created a ‘Write It, Talk It, Draw It, Make It’ poster centred around an Olympic sport or piece of safety equipment used at the Winter Olympic games. The results have been impressive with students demonstrating a keen capacity for creativity and group work.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN begins on Wednesday 11 with Writing in Session 3 & 4 for Year students.

The other NAPLAN tests will take place on the following days:

Thursday 12: Reading

Friday 13: Conventions of Language

Monday 16: Numeracy

Students are encouraged to bring a book to read if they finish early.

Year 6

The Grade 6 students continue to approach their learning with focus and growing confidence. It has been pleasing to see their maturity develop as they take on new academic challenges and leadership opportunities within our classroom and across the school.

In Literacy, students have now completed our novel study of A Ghost in My Suitcase and continued to build their understanding of persuasive language and writing techniques. We have recently begun our new class novel, The Silver Donkey, and students are already engaging in thoughtful discussions about characters and themes. Our spelling focus has centred on prefixes and suffixes, helping students understand how words can be changed and expanded to refine meaning.

In Numeracy, we have begun exploring multiplication strategies, particularly how to partition larger numbers into smaller, more manageable parts to solve problems efficiently and accurately. Students are developing confidence in selecting strategies that make sense to them and explaining their mathematical thinking.

In Humanities, we are beginning to investigate the difference between hazard and risk, identifying potential hazards within our school environment and discussing the protocols that help keep everyone safe.

We were also very proud of Violette, Abijot, Fateh and Scarlett, who confidently assisted in running our Primary Assembly earlier this week, a wonderful example of Year 6 leadership in action.

Reminders:

Annual General Permission

If you haven't already done so, please ensure you have completed the Annual General Permission on SIMON via the Connect Field. It is imperative this is completed in order for your student/s to attend important excursions throughout the school year.

Opening the Doors Foundation - Student Grant applications are open!

The Opening The Doors Foundation (OTDF) invites eligible families to apply for a 2026 student grant. Grant applications are currently open and close on 2 April 2026.

The Foundation prioritises students with the highest financial need to ensure fair access to support. Applicants with a Health Care Card or Pension Card will be processed first. Other applications are still welcome however processing may be slightly delayed.

Please attach a copy of your Health Care or Pension Card to your online application.
Missing documents will delay processing.

All applications must be submitted online via the OTDF Grant Portal.

🎒 Items you can apply for from OTDF:

School books & stationery
School uniforms
One pair of shoes (school or sport shoes)
IT equipment (laptops, calculators, etc.)
VCAL/VET levies
School camp costs

⚠️ Funding is up to the OTDF grant limit and up to OTDF Trustee discretion. You may not receive the full amount requested.

🚫 What We Don’t Fund

Independent school fees (families are responsible for paying private school fees and levies)
Applications where OTDF funds are used for school fees may affect future eligibility.

⚖️ Other Funding

If the student is already receiving support from:

Traditional Owner education grants
First Nations scholarships
Other charities
School financial assistance

The application may not be successful. Final decisions are made by OTDF Trustees.

✅ Eligibility

To apply, the student must:

✔️ Be of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent

✔️ Provide a Confirmation of Aboriginality

✔️ Be enrolled in a Catholic or Independent school in Victoria (Prep–Year 12)

❌ OTDF does not support students attending government schools

🎟️ How Grants Are Provided

Grants are mostly provided as vouchers from approved suppliers
Vouchers must be used by 31 May 2026
For camp levies, school uniforms, or school IT items, funds may be sent directly to the school if the school supplies these items

📅 Key Dates

* Applications Open - 10 November 2025

* Applications Close - 2 April 2026 (strict deadline)

* ALL Vouchers expire on - 31 May 2026

Apply here!

Parents/carers are reminded there is a very important process to follow if your student must leave the college at any time throughout school hours. Please ensure you follow these steps:

Parents/carers MUST provide a note to the front office, at the start of the school day, stating the following:

- Student Name

- Date of leave required

- The time the student must present to reception to take their leave

- If they will return to the college the same day, and if so what time they will return

- The reason for the leave being requested

- The parent/carer’s name and signature

Please note, students will only be permitted to be collected by their parent/carer unexpectedly and without a note if it is an emergency.

We remind all that the college opens at 8:30am. This enables educators time to prepare for their day ahead. We appreciate your support in helping our educators be successful. Yard duty staff begin at 8:30am to monitor play spaces before the school day begins at 8:55am.

Upcoming Dates

Please refer to the calendar on PAM for upcoming dates for activities and events.

Around the College

Year 5-12 Swimming Carnival

Foundation - Year 4 Splash Afternoon