Specialist Term Wrap

Physical Education

This term in Grade 3–6, we have had a strong focus on Athletics. Students have been able to transfer their knowledge and skills from our Fundamental Movement Skills work, particularly throwing, running and jumping, and apply these to the specific skills required in Athletics.

It was fantastic to see these skills on display at our own Athletics Carnival, which we organised at short notice when the Echuca Athletics event was cancelled. The students showed great skill, effort and enthusiasm throughout the day.

In Prep–2 PE, we have had a big focus on Gymnastics. Gymnastics is such a fantastic foundation sport for students, as it helps develop body control, balance, coordination, strength and spatial awareness — skills that support students across all sports and physical activities.

It has been fantastic to see students' confidence grow over the eight-week unit. By the end, students were able to perform some fantastic skills and were really proud of what they had achieved.

Our Prep–2 focus has now shifted to Athletics as we prepare for our House Athletics Carnival, which will be held on the first Friday back next term. We are looking forward to seeing the students put their skills into action and have a great day of participation, competition and fun!

Performing Arts

🎭 Drama – Our Learning This Term

This term in Year 1/2 Drama, students have explored how stories are created, performed and understood through drama.

We have used a range of familiar stories, including The Lion and the Mouse, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, Zelda Claw and The Apple, to investigate characters, events and important messages within stories.

A major focus has been learning how stories follow a clear structure:

Opening → Build Up → Problem → Resolution → Ending

Students have developed their drama skills through:

whole-class drama games, mime and movement activities
exploring character voice, facial expression, body language and movement
creating freeze frames and short improvised scenes
working in small groups to act out familiar stories
identifying and solving problems within dramatic situations
changing story endings and exploring events from different characters’ perspectives
creating their own characters and story ideas
discussing the lessons, feelings and perspectives found within stories.

More recently, students have used these skills in imaginative space-themed drama, taking on roles such as astronauts, aliens and robots and working collaboratively to solve problems and create their own scenes.

It has been fantastic to see students becoming increasingly confident, expressive and creative, while learning to listen, cooperate, contribute ideas and build stories together.

Science

🌍 Earth and Space Sciences

This term in Science, our Grade 3–6 students have been exploring Earth and Space Sciences and discovering more about our place in the solar system.

Grades 5 & 6 have investigated the Sun, Earth, Moon and the eight planets, comparing their sizes, distances, features and orbits. Students explored how gravity keeps planets in orbit, and how the rotation and revolution of Earth help explain day and night and the length of a year. They also investigated how our 24-hour cycle helps humans organise and measure time.

Grades 3 & 4 have explored the solar system and the features that make Earth a rocky planet. Students investigated different types of rocks and their observable properties, including hardness, texture, weight and shape, and discovered how these properties make particular rocks and metals useful for different purposes in our everyday lives.

Auslan

This term in Auslan we have covered several topics. We have learnt the signs for feelings, animals, colours and shapes. In the first week of term, we had Emma Godden as a guest who is deaf. She gave us an insight about growing up deaf. Emma also brought with her 2 interpreter and students were able to witness signing between people.

When learning about animals students could relate the signs to animal movements and features. Students in Grade Prep, 1 and 2 learn how to sign “I Can Sing a Rainbow” and “Happy Birthday”

3/4 Inquiry

Grade 3/4 Inquiry day:This term, the Grade 3/4 students have been learning about Sustainable Watercraft as our Inquiry topic. To celebrate the end of their unit, they spent last Friday putting their knowledge to the test!

The students followed the Inquiry Cyle to design, build and test their own small watercraft. The mission was to “Design a watercraft that is built from sustainable materials and uses naturally occurring forces to float and propel itself in the water.” The students made sure that their watercraft met the key criteria:

1 -My watercraft is made from sustainable or recycled materials.

2 -My watercraft is functional: it floats and incorporates movement.1. All of the watercrafts were made from materials that were found in nature or from recycled materials.

Thank you to Mrs. McPhee for lending us some art supplies, to Mrs. Elborough for letting us borrow the glue guns, and to families for the recycled materials that the students brought from home.2. As for the floating – some watercrafts were more successful than others!

We learned that the Inquiry process is just as important as the end result, so it was still a successful day all round. Please enjoy the photos of the student’s handiwork:

Student review: “The Inquiry day was fun. I liked using things from nature to make my boat.” – Harry“I thought it was really fun because we got to build stuff and use different materials.” – Ailish “Making boats was good – I liked testing it to see if it floated.” – Tayo

Rochester Primary School Newsletter

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility

Term 3 Week 10 · 17 Sep 2026

In this issue