Specialist News
Physical Education
Triathlon
Bittern Primary School has a proud history in the district triathlon producing multiple individual winners.
This year's triathlon will be held on 27th November at Crib Point Recreation Reserve. We have teams in grade 4, 5 and 6 competing where students complete either a set run, ride or swim. Good luck.
Bike Ed
Students in grades 4-6 have been taking part in Bike Education.
The emphasis for grades 3 and 4 has been on bike mechanics and safety. This then leads into riding skills such as slow riding, power positions and maintaining srraight lines with head turns.
The grades 5 and 6 cover predominantly the same as the lower grades but extend knowledge to road rules and the application of learnt bike skills to the road environment. This includes skills such as group riding formations, signalling and applying bith knowledge and skills in road situations such as 'giving way'.
Most years we take a select group to compete in the Sir Hubert Opperman Bike Challenge on the Hastings foreshore. Unfortunately this was cancelled by council this year due to a lack of funding.
Athletics
Congratulations to Bailey Becker (Discus) and Kiri Chahwan (Discus) for progressing through to the Regional Athletics Titles. This is a huge achievement for both girls and is testament to the training and effort they both put in. The next step if they had won through were the State Titles. Both girl were not far off at all and they could both rank themselves in the top tier within the state.
Mr. E
Digital Technologies
In Digi-Tech this term, students have been diving into creative, hands-on projects that combine storytelling, imagination, and technology. Our Foundation and Year 1 students have loved bringing their favourite storybook characters to life! After reading stories in class, they created their own colourful drawings and used the app Chatterpix Kids to make them talk. By recording their own voices and adding fun sound effects, students learned how pictures, sound, and technology can work together to tell a story in new and exciting ways.
The Year 2 and 3 students have continued exploring digital storytelling through the animation app Puppet Pals 2. They’ve been creating original stories by choosing settings, recording dialogue, and animating characters to act out their ideas. This project has encouraged lots of creativity, teamwork, and confidence in using technology to express their imagination.
Students in Years 4 and 5 have been hard at work designing and building detailed sets and characters for their stop motion animation films using Stop Motion Pro. They’ve been learning how small, careful movements and lots of patience can bring inanimate objects to life on screen. The excitement is building as they prepare to begin filming their unique and creative animations!
Finally, our Year 5 and 6 students have moved from planning into the production phase of their podcast projects. After brainstorming topics, writing scripts, and practising their speaking skills, they are now recording their episodes in the school’s podcast studio. These podcasts showcase their teamwork, creativity, and growing confidence in communication and media production — and we can’t wait to hear the final results!
Mr. D
🎨 Visual Arts
It’s been a wonderfully creative few weeks in Visual Arts. Students across all year levels have been exploring different materials and techniques while learning about famous artists and developing new skills.
Foundation/Year 1 students had lots of fun creating their “Picasso Frankenstein” — a playful introduction to Cubism and abstract portraiture inspired by the famous artist Pablo Picasso. They are now beginning to explore textiles and stitching techniques through colourful fabric collages, learning how to use thread and needle safely and creatively.
Year 2/3 artists also completed their imaginative Picasso Frankenstein portraits, showing fantastic use of line, shape, and colour to express character. They’ve been practising basic stitching skills in preparation for their next big project — designing and sewing their very own felt pizza plushies.
In Year 4/5, students were inspired by Tim Burton’s unique artistic style to create expressive black-and-white portraits featuring exaggerated proportions and whimsical designs. This project focused on shadows and highlights. They’ve also been practising more intricate hand-stitching techniques and beginning to plan and create their own simple felt plushies, combining design and textile skills.
Meanwhile, Year 5/6 students have continued their work with kiln-fired clay, carefully crafting their decorative mugs. This has been an especially exciting project, thanks to new connections with a neighbouring school, which have given us access to use their kiln for this project— opening a whole new world of ceramic possibilities to our young artists. The mugs are now drying and getting ready for firing, and we can’t wait to see the finished results!
🖌️Mrs. Roberts
Auslan
Junior School
Our junior students have been learning how to communicate about one of the most important parts of their lives family. Students have been expanding their signing vocabulary by learning signs for different family members such as mum, dad, brother, sister, grandparents, and more. They have also been practising how to put these signs together to talk about their own families and describe family relationships using simple sentences.
Students have enjoyed using games, songs, and storytelling to help remember their new signs and to build confidence in communicating through Auslan. As part of their learning, they have also been reminded of the importance of facial expression and the H.O.L.M.E. elements of signing: Handshape, Orientation, Location, Movement, and Expression, to ensure their signs are clear and meaningful.
It has been wonderful to see the enthusiasm and pride our junior learners have shown as they begin to express themselves in a new language. Auslan continues to help our students appreciate the importance of communication, inclusion, and connection.
Middle School
Our middle school students have been revisiting and strengthening their understanding of emotion signs. This learning supports students in developing their ability to communicate about feelings and emotions using clear and expressive signing. By refreshing their knowledge of signs for emotions such ashappy, stressed, angry, worried, and frustrated, students are learning how to express themselves and recognise the emotions of others in meaningful ways.
A special focus this term has been on using Auslan to communicate strategies for emotional wellbeing. Students have been practising how to sign sentences such as “When I feel upset or frustrated, asking for help makes me feel better.” Through role-plays, games, and class discussions, they have developed greater confidence in expressing when they need support and in understanding that communicating feelings is a positive and empowering skill.
Throughout this year these students have become thoughtful communicators who can use signing to express emotions respectfully and confidently, which is an important step in both their language learning and social development.
Senior School
The senior students have been expanding their global knowledge through language. They have just finished their focus on learning the signs for European countries and have now begun exploring the signs for countries across Asia. This unit has provided a solid connection to the Geography studies recently completed in the classroom, where students investigated the diverse cultures, environments, and landmarks of both regions.
Through this learning, students have discovered how Auslan, like all languages, reflects the world around us and continues to grow and adapt as we connect with new ideas and places. Each lesson has encouraged students to think about how signs are formed and remembered, using the key H.O.L.M.E. elements: Handshape, Orientation, Location, Movement, and Expression, to ensure accuracy and meaning in their signing.
It has been exciting to see our senior learners use Auslan to communicate about the wider world, building both their signing fluency and their global awareness. Their curiosity and enthusiasm have made for engaging discussions and fun, interactive lessons.