Meet the team:

Welcome back to 2026! We are so excited to be launching into learning and have many fun things planned throughout the term and year.

This year our specialist team consists of:

Visual Art: Megan Cousins

Chinese: Leanne Deng

P.E: Ellie Avery

STEM: Catherine Kelly

Performing Arts: Emma Ranson

Visual Art

Welcome back to Art for 2026!

Foundation will use play, imagination, experimentation, and new materials to discover different ways to create art and develop ideas across the term. They’ll learn about how to bring their experiences and observations from the world around them into their artworks, and explore why artists make art.

1/2

In Year 1 and 2 students will further develop their creative mindsets, embracing mistakes as a way to produce art. Our artist study this Term will focus on Austrian artist and architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Students will explore the art principles of movement, rhythm and repetition and the art elements of line and colour.

3/4

In Year 3 and 4 students will explore and experiment with visual conventions, materials and processes to develop their visual arts practice. Through a mixed media unit students will use a variety of different materials to complete their artworks. They’ll be learning about Wurundjeri native bird names and using oil pastel techniques to create life like representations of birds, focusing on texture.

5/6

In Year 5 and 6 students will select and use visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials to create artworks that represent their sense of self. They will explore photography, printmaking and painting through a pop art self portrait unit to produce a mixed media artwork. Students will develop an understanding of more complex colour theory and detailed art processes.

Chinese

大家好！Welcome back to school!

This term in Chinese, we will be celebrating and learning about the Year of the Fire Horse through our exploration of Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival. Students will discover the cultural significance of this important festival and learn about its rich traditions, including family reunions, food, decorations, and festive customs.

Foundation students will be introduced to aspects of Chinese culture and learn basic greetings in Chinese, such as saying hello, goodbye, and thank you.

In Years 1 and 2, students will participate in singing the Chinese song Happy New Year, revise basic greetings in Chinese, and explore vocabulary related to family members. Through songs, repetition, and interactive activities, students will develop confidence in recognising and using simple Chinese words and phrases in a fun and engaging way.

In Years 3 and 4, students will use Chinese to initiate structured interactions, share information related to the classroom, and express hobbies they enjoy. They will use familiar Hanzi appropriate to the context and make connections between Hanzi characters and the spelling and tone marks of Pinyin.

In Years 5 and 6, students will learn the traditional Chinese song Gong Xi Fa Cai and explore its cultural significance in Chinese festivities. They will create texts by selecting and using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures suited to different contexts, applying conventions appropriate to each text type. Students will use familiar Hanzi and Pinyin appropriately within context.

P.E. (Physical Education)

Welcome back to PE for 2026! We can’t wait to get stuck into a busy and exciting term of physical education. There will be lots to learn and games to play as we try new things and celebrate everyone's personal growth and success during our PE sessions.

Our senior school students are starting the year strong by training for the cross country and senior house athletics events. They will participate in weekly “huff and puff” activities to build stamina for running longer distances, while also refining their techniques in discus, shot put, long jump, high jump, and triple jump.

Towards the end of the term, students will complete a Netball unit that explores the fundamental rules and techniques of the game, as well as strategy and the importance of good teamwork.

In the junior school, students will enjoy a variety of fun physical education games that incorporate running, turn taking, and encouraging their peers. They will also learn and practise correct techniques for fundamental movement skills, including throwing, catching, bouncing, and rolling.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths)

Across the school this term, students will be exploring the fascinating world of Biology and Earth and Space Science, building their understanding of the natural world through observation, discussion and hands-on investigations.

Foundation students are learning that living things are all around us. They are developing skills to observe their environment and identify living and non-living things, recognise plants and animals, and describe basic features of living things such as leaves, legs and eyes.

In Years 1 and 2, will explore the world around them by learning about weather, the Earth and sky, and how they can care for our planet. Students will learn about the Earth as part of out Solar System observing the Sun, Moon and stars and identifying patterns such as changing shape of the Moon.

Years 3 and 4 students are investigating how Earth’s surface changes over time. They are learning about natural processes such as weathering and erosion, and exploring how humans use and affect the Earth’s surface through activities like resource use and land management.

In Years 5 and 6, learning extends to the wider universe. Students are exploring the Earth’s relationship with the Sun and Moon, including orbits, seasons, moon phases and tides. They are learning about gravity, researching sudden geological changes such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and examining how extreme weather events and geological changes impact the Earth’s surface, environment and society.

Performing Arts:

Welcome, music makers to 2026!

We have a big term of creativity ahead of us, with so much to explore and learn!

Foundation students will be introduced to the world of music! They are discovering different ways to use their voices to create new and interesting sounds - most importantly their beautiful singing voices! We will be beginning our learning of beat and rhythm and learning songs about a variety of topics.

Year 1 and 2 students will be picking up right where they left off last year, learning new songs to sing, and continuing to develop their instrumental skills. They will be both learning to recreate music and stretching their imagination and creating their own music. Students will be exploring written notation, and starting to write their own melodies using high and low sounds.

Grade 3 and 4 students will be continuing to develop their singing skills, learning songs by First Nations artists and even writing and creating their own songs using borrowed melodies. Students will be stretching their vocal ranges and learning about pitch and Sol Fa, as musical tools. They will be continuing their learning of beat and rhythm, exploring combining rhythmic patterns with lyrics of their own creation.

Grade 5 and 6 students will be singing, playing, writing and creating their own music! Students will be exploring music from First Nations artists, and music from around the world - discovering how music can be used in a variety of contexts. Our senior students will be extending their knowledge of beat and rhythm, building these skills through our drumming percussion unit.

Whitehorse Family Network