Primary School
Welcome back!
We are excited for this term. School is about learning, but it is also very much about the people we are with. This term, we want to really focus on honouring the people who make us feel our best. We are especially looking forward to celebrating and showering our mums and grandparents with love across two special occasions later in the term.
Over the holidays, I attended a funeral. The man had lived a long and full life, and the chapel was filled with people. What struck me most about the stories shared that day was not what he owned, how successful he was, or how clever he might have been. Instead, every story came back to the same thing: the way he made people feel.
On the last day of school, Mr Owenell asked me a question: would I rather be the smartest person or the funniest person? After joking that I was already both, I thought about it more seriously. And I realised I would rather be the person who makes others feel like they are the smartest, funniest, kindest or most important person in the room.
Over the next week, as we reflect on ANZAC Day, we will hear many stories of courage and sacrifice. But what often stands out most are the stories of camaraderie, of people supporting one another and lifting each other, even in the darkest times.
So, as we begin this term, I would like to leave you with something to think about: how do you make others feel? There are people in this room who can brighten your day just by being themselves. Be one of those people. Listen − not just to respond, but to understand. Walk away from every interaction having given more than you took.
It has been said, ‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ Let’s make this a term where we choose kindness, connection and the type of impact that truly lasts.
Have a wonderful term.
Classroom News
Please see the classroom focuses for Term Two. Some fantastic experiences to look forward to in our classrooms; we hope you enjoy reading about them.
Djinda
This term, we continue to explore the environment around us: developing confidence, being curious, and understanding what it means to be part of a community. This week, we open Djinda Vet, where all (stuffed) animals are welcome, big and small. We are learning to take turns, share resources, use our voices and have a whole lot of fun. We will continue our home news program; this will see Ruby the Red Tail Cockatoo, Eddie the Echidna and Percy the Penguin continue to visit our families’ homes, each bringing tales back to Djinda, where children can share their world with their friends.
Kindergarten
This term we are focusing on Farming as our point of inquiry. The students are very excited to learn about different aspects of farming and, in particular, the animals and what they produce. Each week we will also be learning about specific sounds and letters in literacy. The students are extremely excited about this and beginning their journey towards reading letters and words in books.
Pre-Primary
This term, our inquiry will have a HASS focus. We will be investigating which places are special to us and how we can look after these places. Learning how to zip sounds together to read words and listen for the sounds in each word for spelling and writing will be a big focus for us this term, too. We are super excited to practice these skills and show them off to our families! In Mathematics, we will continue to practice our counting, begin addition, and have fun with measurement. It is going to be a really fun term!
Year One
This term, the Talk for Writing program has been developed around the wonderful texts The Gumleaf Thief and The Gruffalo, which will link beautifully with the joint HASS and Design Technologies inquiry unit. The inquiry explores What are the different features of playgrounds and parks? and is centred around ‘the features of places’ (natural, constructed and managed) and the Science unit on materials. The new Mathematics program ‘Learning through Doing’ is successfully assisting the students to learn key concepts through practical activities. The following concepts will be covered this term: continued work on place-value, skip counting and number lines, length, Venn diagrams, data collection as well as addition and subtraction work.
Year Two
This term, we will have a HASS focus in Year Two and will be inquiring into How significant people and places teach us about the past. To begin with, we will investigate how our families and our houses are significant to our individual lives, then we will move on to look at people and places in Albany. We will read My Place by Nadia Wheatley and discover how a place can change over time. Our Mathematics focus will be on fractions, measurement and continuing place-value, and we will begin to look at the structure of Information Reports through our Talk 4 Writing program.
Year Three
This term, the Year Three class is looking forward to exploring further into our inquiry unit. Our inquiry focus will explore Australia’s states and territories, significant landmarks and the classification of living things. To support this learning, students will start by identifying Australia’s states and territories on a map and inquire how the places people live influence their identity. In English, students will begin developing the skills required to write information reports through the Talk for Writing program. In Mathematics learning will continue to build understanding in place-value, financial Mathematics and measurement.
Year Four
This term, Year Four will be engaging in a range of exciting learning across key subject areas. In English, students will focus on writing a suspenseful narrative, developing skills such as building tension, using descriptive language and crafting engaging story structures. Our reading program will centre on Birrung the Secret Friend by Jackie French, helping students build comprehension while exploring historical perspectives. In Humanities and Social Sciences, we will investigate the First Fleet, with a focus on early contact and different perspectives. In Mathematics, students will continue developing their understanding of place-value, while also exploring chance and probability, perimeter and other key concepts to strengthen their problem-solving skills. It is shaping up to be a busy and engaging term of learning!
Year Six
Year Six are ready and set for an action-packed, exciting and full-of-learning term. We are excited to welcome Mrs Nyree Mackenzie, who will be working with Mr Osborne’s class to complete her final practicum placement. Students will be exploring themes of migration and immigration and the stories we each bring together with a deep dive into the novel Boy Overboard by Morris Gleitzman. In Mathematics we will continue extending our understanding of place-value and operations to working with decimal numbers and we will be exploring transformations and the Cartesian plane to four quadrants. We cannot wait!
Art
The Year Six classes are completing aerial-view paintings of their favourite local beach or walk. We began the task last term by looking at artists who paint landscapes in aerial perspective such as mid-century artist John Olsen and contemporary indigenous artist Allery Sandy. We have been mixing up tertiary colours and then have used some different paint techniques including watercolour and salt as well as applying acrylic paint with cue tips and sponges. Everyone has been very focused on this task, and the paintings are all looking fantastic. Families and the wider Great Southern Grammar community will be able to see the Year Six students’ landscape paintings at our whole-school exhibition in Term Three.
Languages
This term students will be learning French vocabulary − and for our ECC and Middle Primary students some AUSLAN, too − through fun topics such as colours and pets (Pre-Primary to Year Two), school stationery (Years Three and Four) and clothing (Years Five and Six). Along the way, they will build their confidence in putting sentences together in French, starting with simple ideas in ECC and gradually moving to more detailed and complex sentences in upper primary. By the end of the term, they will be able to express and share their ideas in French, both orally and in writing, in ways that feel meaningful and relevant to them.
Physical Education
During this term, our Upper Primary students will be focusing on orienteering, netball and soccer as their core sports. These activities are designed to build teamwork, strategy and physical fitness while encouraging active participation and enjoyment.
Our younger students will be developing the fundamental movement skills that form the foundation for these sports. By building confidence and coordination early on, they will be well prepared to participate in these activities as they progress through the school.
Upcoming Events
Term Two
Week Two
Monday 27 April, ANZAC Day Public Holiday
Friday 1 May, Years Five to Six (selected students) Orienteering Carnival, North Road Ovals, 9.00am to 11.30am
Friday 1 May, Foundation Day Assembly, 1.45pm to 2.30pm and then Running of the Flags at 2.45pm
Saturday 2 May to Sunday 3 May, P&F Dads Camp Out, grassed area near the GSG vineyard, arrive from 4.30pm on Saturday
Week Three
Tuesday 5 May, ECC Mother’s Day Morning, ECC, 8.45am to 11.00am
Wednesday 6 May, Mokare Day
Friday 8 May, Year Five to Six (selected students) Great Southern Netball Competition, ALAC, 9.00am to 2.45pm
Sunday 10 May, Mother’s Day
Have a wonderful weekend
Ms Leah Field | Head of Primary and
Mrs Hayley Ranger | Head of Early Childhood