From the Classroom

Junior Unit Tells All 

Welcome to the start of a new school year in the Junior School! We are especially excited to welcome our Foundation students and their families as they begin their learning journey with us. 

Our Junior A students have settled beautifully into their first days of school and are doing a wonderful job learning important school routines. They have been practising how to line up, care for their belongings, listen during group time, and move safely around the school. We are so proud of the confidence and independence they are already showing as they begin school.

Junior B have also had a fantastic beginning to the year. Students have been working on revising the school values and positive behaviour expectations, getting tokens for all of the wonderful behaviours we have seen! In English, students have begun working on creating a whole class Acknowledgement of Country, based on the story 'Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy. We look forward to seeing what Junior B create as our class Acknowledgement in the coming fortnight. 

In Maths, students have begun working on their Place Value Unit and have been setting up their learning routines for Maths class and using their knowledge of numbers to play different games and activities. 

We are all so excited to work with you and your child across the school year. Thank you for your ongoing support as we work together. We can’t wait to see the growth and successes that 2026 will bring for our Junior School students.

Middle Unit News

Welcome back to the new school year! We are so excited to see our students return and to begin another year of learning, growth and connection together. It has been wonderful welcoming students back into classrooms and seeing their smiles, enthusiasm and readiness to learn.

We have had a great start to the year, with students settling in well, building positive routines and reconnecting with their peers. Our classrooms are already buzzing with curiosity, collaboration and a strong sense of belonging.

As always, our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Inclusivity guide everything we do. Students are being encouraged to:

• show respect for themselves, others and our learning environments
• take responsibility for their learning, choices and actions
• embrace inclusivity by being kind, welcoming and supportive of everyone in our school community

In English, Middle B will be reading the novel Blueback by Tim Winton. Through this rich and engaging text, students will explore important ideas and themes such as respect for the natural environment, responsibility for protecting wildlife, and the impact of human choices on the ocean. The story also encourages students to think about family relationships, community, courage, and standing up for what is right, even when it is challenging.

Middle A have been exploring circular narratives, where a story begins and ends at the same location, and how characters can change throughout a text. Students will then write their own version of a circular narrative.

In Maths,  the Middle Unit will be developing their understanding of place value. Students are learning how numbers are built by exploring the value of digits in ones, tens, hundreds and beyond. Through hands-on activities, games and problem-solving tasks, students are practising reading, writing and ordering numbers, as well as representing numbers in different ways.

We look forward to working closely with families throughout the year and appreciate your ongoing support as we partner together to help every child thrive. Thank you for being part of our school community—we can’t wait to see what this year brings!

Senior Unit

We hope everyone had a relaxing break and a great start to the new year. It has been wonderful welcoming our senior students back to school, and we have been very impressed with how smoothly they have settled into the classroom, routines, and expectations so far.

In English, we are beginning our class novel Storm Boy by Colin Thiele. This is a powerful story about a boy growing up along the South Australian coast, exploring themes of friendship, nature, and belonging. Over the next fortnight, students will focus on how authors use descriptive language to create strong imagery for the reader. We will also explore how authors draw on their own experiences, as well as figurative language, to create meaning in a narrative. Students will apply these skills by writing their own setting and character descriptions using figurative language.

In Maths, our focus this fortnight is on place value, building students’ understanding of whole numbers and how numbers can be represented, compared, and partitioned in different ways. This will support students to work confidently with larger numbers and develop strong number sense.

Interschool Sport will take place in weeks 3, 4, 5 and 8 this term, where we will compete against other schools. Students have been practising skills for their chosen sports and are looking forward to participating in the upcoming games. Further information, including schedules and locations, can be found on Compass.

We are looking forward to a positive and productive term ahead and working with families to support students throughout the term.

Indonesian News

Selamat Datang Term 1, 2026

It is great to see the enthusiasm shown by our students as they learn not only the language but also learn about the culture of Indonesia. I will be working at Marlborough PS on Wednesdays and Thursdays this year. This term the main theme is “keluarga” (families). The junior students are learning new vocabulary through games and songs. Students in the middle and upper school are focusing on basic Indonesian sentence structure and grammar. The students will also develop their language skills through role playing, online activities and putting their language skills into practice. A particular favorite with the older students is playing “congklak”, a traditional Indonesian children’s game.

Words to practise at home:

Bapak – Dad, Ibu – Mum, kakak – older sibling, adik – younger sibling, Kakek – Grandpa, Nenek – Grandma, paman – uncle, bibi – aunty, sepupu – cousin.

If students have access to the internet at home, they might like to explore or revise their vocabulary at the Indonesian section of Languages Online at: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/indonesian/indonesian.htm

Terima kasih (Thank- you),

(Bu) Mary-Ellen Dowling

Physical Education News

Welcome back to MPS. 

I am hoping you all had a safe and energetic break. The start of the year has been full of happy students with big smiles and enthusiastic cheer.  

I am teaching Physical Education classes on Wednesday and Thursday this year as the Physical Education Teacher. 

The focus for Term One across all classes will be Fair Play and Inclusivity. 

The students will co-construct and apply rules to promote fair play and inclusion in a range of physical activities. The students aim to accept rules in game situations and suggest modifications to achieve new game concept outcomes or improve safety. 

On specialist PE days, can students please wear appropriate footwear, runners or sneakers. I’ve been very impressed with most students with their sun safe hats.

Let’s make 2026 an energetic, safe and inclusive year.  I am looking forward to a positive and productive Term. 

Ms Chisholm 

PE Specialis