Primary Department

Sport

It has been a very busy and exciting sporting calendar for our primary school students, with many opportunities for students to represent our school across a range of sporting events. It has been wonderful to see students challenge themselves, try new experiences and proudly wear our school colours.

Recently, students represented our school at the Netball NSW Gala Day in Tamworth. Our students demonstrated fantastic teamwork, enthusiasm and sportsmanship throughout the day. They encouraged one another, showed respect to other schools and represented our school exceptionally well. We are very proud of the way they conducted themselves both on and off the court.

Our athletics students have also been busy, with students representing the school at PSSA Zone and North West Athletics. It was a fantastic day of competition, with students showing determination, resilience and great sportsmanship. A very special congratulations goes to Billy, who achieved an outstanding result in Shot Put, earning himself a place at the NSW State Athletics Championships! This is an incredible achievement and a wonderful reward for his hard work and dedication.

Congratulations to all students who have represented our school at these events. Whether competing at zone level, participating in a gala day or achieving a personal best, every student should be proud of their efforts and the way they represented our school.

As a teacher, I am incredibly proud to have the opportunity to take our students to represent our school at the various sporting events throughout the year. These experiences provide students with wonderful opportunities to develop confidence, resilience, teamwork and sportsmanship while creating memories they will carry with them.

The sporting calendar doesn't slow down just yet! Our students will soon take the field in Armidale for a League Stars NRL Gala Day. We wish all of our students participating in this upcoming event the very best of luck!

Congratulations to all of our sporting teams and athletes, and good luck with all of the upcoming sporting events. We are incredibly proud of you all! 🏆🏉🏐

Stage 1

Graduation Performance

Students have been enthusiastically rehearsing ‘My Graduation Song’ to perform at the Year 12 Graduation assembly on Thursday, 24 September at 11:30am. We invite all families to join us in celebrating and farewelling our Year 12 students—it’s sure to be a memorable occasion! 

Farm Visit and Sheep Shearing Experience 

Our Stage 1 students recently enjoyed an exciting trip to the school farm, where they had the opportunity to watch sheep being shorn. It was a wonderful, hands-on experience that sparked lots of curiosity and conversation! 

In the Kindergarten Classroom

Our kindergarten students have been embarking on an exciting learning journey all about insects and their habitats as part of their Science unit. Through hands-on activities and exploration, students have developed a keen understanding of the vital roles insects play in our environment.

Last week students created bee hotels. They used air-dry clay, sand, and pots to build cosy habitats for solitary bees. This activity not only sparked their creativity but also deepened their awareness of how important it is to provide safe spaces for pollinators.

By constructing bee hotels, our kindergarteners learned about the diversity of insect homes and the ways we can support local ecosystems. 

We look forward to continuing this exploration and watching our young scientists grow their understanding of the natural world!

In the Year 1 Classroom 

Dinosaur Discoveries: Students have researched various dinosaurs, sorting their findings into Appearance, Behaviour, Diet, and Habitat. They’ve also been busy drawing detailed diagrams. 

Mathematics: The students are practicing ‘Make a Ten’ and the ‘Split Strategy’ for number investigations and are learning how to follow directions to plot objects on grids. 

Staying Safe: Discussions around personal safety have helped students understand how their bodies send warning signals. They’ve been learning and practising the ‘No, Go, Tell’ rule to keep themselves safe. 

In the Year 2 Classroom 

We are delighted to welcome Miss Smith to our school community! She has joined us for a three-week teaching practicum and has quickly become a valued member of our classroom. The students are enjoying her enthusiastic approach to teaching and learning. 

Literacy, the children have been inspired by the heartwarming text, The Boy and the Elephant. Using the story’s vivid images as a stimulus, our young authors have written narratives that showcase their creativity and storytelling skills. Additionally, they have  

completed imaginative art projects that bring the story to life in new and exciting ways. 

Our Mathematics unit has focused on how data can help us predict the likelihood of events. Students have been busy tallying data and representing this information in graphs. This hands-on approach has helped the children understand how maths applies to everyday life and how we can use data to make informed decisions. 

A Spectacular Celebration of Reading: Book Fair, Book Week, and Book Parade Highlights!

What an incredible term it has been at our school, celebrating the magic of books and the joy of reading! Our recent Book Fair, Book Week activities, and the much-anticipated Book Parade brought together students, staff, and families in a vibrant celebration of literacy and imagination.

Book Fair Bonanza: Thanks to the enthusiastic support of our school community, over $2000 was spent at the Book Fair! This fantastic effort has earned us just under $500 worth of valuable new resources and scholastic credits – a wonderful boost to our library and classrooms. It’s heartening to see our students' excitement for exploring new stories and expanding their reading horizons.

Book Week Roaring Success: Book Week was nothing short of spectacular, especially in our Primary classes tackled the daily question with energy and enthusiasm. The Secondary school’s Book Week progress had a more reflective, thoughtful tone but were no less meaningful. A highlight was the mystery song challenge where four savvy Secondary students correctly guessed “Hedwig's Theme” from Harry Potter, composed by the legendary John Williams, on Thursday no less. They didn’t even need all the clues. A round of applause to them for their impressive musical insight!

Meanwhile, the surprise champions in Primary were our Kindergarten class. They were the sneaky achievers, being the only class to correctly guess their mystery song the timeless classic “Over the Rainbow.”

Book Parade & Prizes: Our Book Parade was a kaleidoscope of creativity and costume, as students dressed as their favourite literary characters and stories. The enthusiasm was infectious, filling the school with colour and imagination. The much-coveted Lego prize was awarded to Benny in Primary, who correctly guessed all 20 of the rebus puzzle book titles.

This wonderful celebration of books and reading wouldn’t be possible without the wonderful participation and enthusiasm of our students, teachers, and families. Let’s continue our journey in literacy and imagination all year round and go again next year!

Happy reading, everyone!

New England sings:

Our choir recently enjoyed its final New England Sings! outreach workshop before the big weekend. Choir director Ian Jefferson and pianist Warwick Dunham were very impressed with the students’ manners, and the choir had great fun learning some useful singing techniques with Ian. The final rehearsal will be held on 31 October, followed by the concert on 1 November, both at Lazenby Hall in Armidale. Tickets will be on sale soon and usually sell quickly, so stay tuned!

Thank you for your ongoing support of our learners.