the Nor'Wester

A Message from 

Hannah & Keir

“We would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people, the first people to dream, create, wonder, dance, play and learn on this breathtaking land. This land was cared for and respected for tens of thousands of years. The First Nations people lived in companionship with the animals and the life on this land. We acknowledge that this is stolen land and we pay our respects to elders, past, present and emerging.” 

Rayma Atkinson (2023 Suzanne Peterson Award Recipient)

Grade 5/6 Camp - Phillip Island

We wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who attended the senior school camp last week, or who helped in the organisation of the special event! We had a spectacular time seeing the Fairy Penguins, playing on the beach, engaging in adventure activities and enjoying each others’ time. Together the staff have been on quite a few camps and we all really enjoyed our time together. A big thank you to the students for your exceptional behaviour; you showed kindness and compassion towards yourselves and others and bravery to push yourself to achieve new heights (both literally and figuratively). Thank you to the staff who attended camp and spent time away from your families in order to help the camp run and a big thank you to Martin for your organisation and leadership both in the lead up and throughout the camp. And last, but certainly not least, we would like to thank the three parents who attended the camp and gave everything they had! Alice Simone, Jess Borger and Libby Harper - your time, energy and enthusiasm was truly appreciated throughout each day (and the nights, in some cases). Thank you for your assistance, wisdom, laughter and support - we couldn’t have done it without you.

Grade 3/4 Camp - Campapse Downs

Keeping on theme with camps, we thought we would share information about the grade 3/4 camp that is coming up next term. In Week 6 next term (Wednesday 21 - Friday 23 August) our grade 3s and 4s will be going to Campapse Downs - an adventure camp run by PGL in Tyldon, just south of Kyneton. PGL is the same organisation that runs Camp Rumbug and offers a great adventure program which is likely to include activities such as canoeing, archery, initiatives courses and of course the infamous giant swing. We are still finalising some details including which staff are attending, which impacts the cost of the camp. We hope to get all these details onto Sentral soon.

We will run an online information session on Thursday 25th July (Week 2) for parents and carers who might have questions about the camp - so put a note in your calendar if you think you will want to attend. The information session is not compulsory and is intended to answer questions that families may have about how camps run - we know that kids attending camp can be a big milestone for families as well as for the kids! Details of the time and a link to the information session will be shared at the beginning of next term.

F-2 Swimming Program

Don’t worry Foundies and Juniors - we haven’t forgotten about you! Next term we will also be running our swimming program throughout week 5 (Monday 12 - Thursday 15th August). The swimming program will cover concepts such as:

  • Fundamental movement skills (FMS) — Developing foundation movement and skills to enable students to participate in a range of physical activities. For example, floating and moving the body through water.
  • Safety (S) — Practising behaviours and skills to keep themselves and others safe in and around water. For example, sun safety, use of protective equipment and first aid.

Again, we hope to get this information to you through Sentral very soon.