From the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

Belonging at Pittwater House

Last Friday’s Belonging Ceremony was a very special moment in the 65 year history of Pittwater House. It marked the official welcome of Dr Middleton into our community, alongside our families, staff and most importantly, our students.

I felt incredibly proud watching all of our students, from our youngest to our oldest, sit so attentively and respectfully as they listened to others speak about Dr Middleton, and then to hear from Dr Middleton himself. His words about belonging really resonated, reminding us of the importance of being part of a community that supports growth, builds friendships and values partnership.

Pittwater House is a place where we look after one another, but also gently encourage each other to step outside our comfort zones, stand up for what we believe in, and listen with respect so that every voice is heard. It was a privilege to be part of such a meaningful occasion and to reflect on the next chapter ahead for our school.

It also gave me a moment to think about what belonging really means in a school setting. In our Junior School, belonging is about every child and every family feeling seen, valued and connected. It’s in the small moments, knowing a child’s name, hearing their ideas, and celebrating the different experiences and perspectives they bring.

For families, belonging comes from feeling welcomed and respected, and knowing that your child is safe, supported and able to thrive. Across the school, it is the strength of our relationships, our inclusive approach, and the shared experiences we create through celebrations, learning opportunities and open communication that build trust and a genuine sense of partnership.

When children feel that they truly belong, they are more confident to challenge themselves in their learning, form strong friendships and develop a positive sense of who they are. Families, in turn, feel proud to be part of a community that is caring, connected and vibrant. I do genuinely believe that this sense of belonging exists here at Pittwater House. At the same time, it is something we continue to build together through our conversations, our willingness to listen, and sometimes making adjustments along the way. It is something I am deeply committed to continuing to nurture.

SRC “All Minds Matter” Initiative – Term 2

Our Student Representative Council, led by Mrs James, is also playing an important role in strengthening this culture of belonging through their Term 2 initiative, “All Minds Matter.” This initiative focuses on celebrating neurodiversity across our Junior School.

Our SRC students will be leading a range of activities designed to promote inclusion, empathy and understanding, while recognising that every person thinks, learns and experiences the world in their own way. As part of this, students are invited to design an original logo or symbol that represents the theme “All Minds Matter.”

What makes this initiative especially powerful is that it is being led and shaped by our own neurodivergent students, who are sharing their experiences and helping to raise awareness across our community. I couldn’t be more proud of their leadership.

I encourage families to continue these conversations at home about what inclusivity, respect and belonging look like in our everyday lives and in our wider community.

From the SRC - Neurodiversity Week (Week 5: May 18th to 22nd, 2026)  - 

This week we are celebrating Neurodiversity Week. This occasion is important because we must celebrate diverse minds. We are all unique and we all have various traits. Remember Neurodiversity Week means that we recognize all the minds in our school community because all minds matter, and we need to make sure that we don’t let anyone feel left out. We must embrace everyone into our arms, not just this week but every day. 

This week the SRC are holding a Years K-2 Colouring Competition and a Years 3-6 Logo Competition that will be judged on Wednesday to celebrate Neurodiversity Week. Thank you everyone who put forward an entry and I hope you all do well. My fellow SRC, Indigo, will be presenting the winners at the assembly on Friday.

Also, some brave students have come to talk to us about neurodiversity and how they have learned to embrace it. Thank you for sharing your experience with us and we have learned a lot from these students and thank you for coming out of your way to see us.

by Roman, SRC Leader (P6) 

From the Junior School Curriculum Co-ordinator

Last Thursday, sixteen Year 5 and 6 students proudly represented Pittwater House at the 2026 Junior Division DaVinci Decathlon, held at Knox Grammar School. A total of 158 teams from across NSW and the ACT competed on the day. Students worked in teams of eight to complete a series of challenging papers across ten disciplines: English, Mathematics, Science, Code Breaking, Engineering, Art and Poetry, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy.

It was an early start, with students departing school at 6.45 am ahead of an 8.00 am commencement. Across three sessions, teams worked collaboratively to tackle the diverse set of academic challenges. The competition provided a valuable opportunity for students to extend their thinking, apply their knowledge in new contexts and work critically and creatively alongside their peers.

A special congratulations to the Year 6 team, who achieved full marks in the Code Breaking discipline and placed equal first alongside several other schools. All participants will be recognised at assembly this Friday, where we look forward to celebrating their dedication, teamwork and achievements.

Additionally, many students in Years 3-6 participated in the first APSMO Maths Explorer, Maths Games and Maths Olympiad papers for 2027. These papers are developed by the Australasian Problem-Solving Mathematical Olympiads organisation, which works closely with university professors to design challenging and novel mathematical problems. Each paper is carefully structured for specific age groups across the primary years and provides students with opportunities to develop problem-solving skills, think critically and apply mathematical reasoning in unfamiliar contexts.

At Pittwater House, the Maths Explorer, Maths Games and Maths Olympiad papers are used as a valuable learning experience. For many students, it was their first exposure to these styles of questions, and time was spent exploring a range of solution strategies to support the development of their problem-solving toolkit. The aim of this experience was for students to build confidence in applying these strategies so they can continue to develop their own problem-solving skills with increasing independence and flexibility in a range of mathematical contexts. Well done to all students for their willingness to give these challenges a go. The second paper will take place later in Term 2, with Papers 3 and 4 scheduled for Term 3.

What is happening in the Junior School?  

This week, Ms Gina Platt has provided an update on learning and activities in the Pre‑Kindergarten classroom. 

Our Pre-Kindergarten children have immersed themselves in a vibrant journey of discovery through our Colour Explorations topic. What began as a simple curiosity about colours quickly unfolded into a rich and meaningful learning experience across multiple areas of development. 

Colour proved to be the perfect vehicle for building confidence. During mat time discussions, the Pre-Kindergarten children eagerly shared their ideas, described observations, and expanded their language. Some taking early steps in speech development, while others experimented with increasingly complex and descriptive vocabulary. 

Our young learners also ventured into early mathematical thinking, exploring concepts such as addition and division through colour mixing, sorting, and grouping. In science, they became curious investigators, eagerly making predictions, testing hypotheses, and observing changes as colours combined and transformed in exciting ways.

We are especially proud to celebrate just how much knowledge the children now carry with confidence. They can clearly identify and explain primary and secondary colours, enthusiastically recite the seven colours of the rainbow in the correct sequence and even name all six tertiary colours. Perhaps most impressively, many are now able go on to teach others, happily testing their families’ limits by explaining the difference between a shade, tint, and hue with remarkable clarity! 

This learning came to life through a balance of structured discussion, recording discoveries, artistic expression, and plenty of hands-on exploration. From paint and water play to sensory-rich, slightly wet, wonderfully sticky experiments, every moment was filled with joy, curiosity, and discovery. 

As we wrap up our Colour Explorations, we celebrate not just what the children have learned, but how they have learned, with enthusiasm, creativity, curiosity, and growing confidence that encourages them to be active participants within their own unique learning journeys. 

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