Head of Junior School 

This will be our last newsletter before we break for the July school holidays. I would like to take the opportunity to wish all families a happy and relaxing holiday break. I encourage you to touch base with your son’s class teacher and wish them well for the break as well. It has been yet another busy and productive term. Our class teachers have been preparing your son’s report, which will provide insight into how he is progressing in the School year. The teacher’s comments reflect the relationship they have established with your son and will give you valuable insight into how he is coping here at School.

At the beginning of Term 3, we will welcome a new family into our Junior School community. Shae and Shannon Thrift are relocating from South Australia. Their sons, Teddy and Alby, will be joining the Prep and Year 3 classrooms respectively. I know you will join me in welcoming the Thrifts to our Junior School community.

The handball craze has arrived at the Junior Campus. When you enter the Junior School, you will see students from Prep to Year 6 playing handball before school, at recess, and during lunchtime. When they can’t find a court, they make their own on the futsal court, using jumpers for lines. We are now selling handballs in the office for $4.00 each. We have currently sold more than 60 handballs! Mrs Graves has been busy ‘handball-proofing’ the entrance gate, as we may have lost a few already down Patrick Street.

I would like to thank Miss Daun for her organisation of our Mini-Vinnies afternoon/evening last week. As well as Miss Daun, I would like to thank the students, from both Junior and Senior Campuses, parents/carers, and staff members who attended, cooked soup, and made muffins, all to support such a worthy cause. Elle from Loui’s Van was onsite in the afternoon. She talked to the students and parents/carers about the important role the van has in our community. This capped a very long day for some of our students who commenced with water polo training, followed by competing in JSSATIS Cross Country, and then participated in this outreach initiative.

Mid-Year Assembly

A reminder that our annual Mid-Year Assembly is on Wednesday 3 July, in the Nagle Centre at St Mary’s College. You may enter the Nagle Centre from either entrance. Assembly commences at 1.00 pm. During the assembly, we will have performances from the choir, our Early Years classes, and Years 5-6 bands. Certificates will also be handed out to students from each class, including specialist lessons, as well as a class Virgilian Way Award. You will have been informed by Miss Daun if your son is receiving an award. We estimate the Assembly to conclude by 2.30 pm.

Cross Country Events at the Junior School

Last week saw our SVC students competing in not one but two Cross Country events. The students showed great resilience in tough conditions on both days, competing amongst some very strong runners in their fields.

The Tasmanian Primary All Schools Cross Country Carnival was held at Symmons Plains Raceway on Tuesday June 18. The day was very chilly but clear, and Mr Beard led our team of students with his usual mix of calmness, deep knowledge, and enthusiastic gusto! In fields of well over 200 students, our team held their heads high and competed with great resilience and pride. Notable performances in the top 50 were Lewis Finlay (Year 5) and Angus Newsham-West (Year 6), and in the top 100 were Isaac Whitfield (Year 3), Jack Kilgour (Year 4), and Alexander Pritchard and Archie Argyropoulos (both Year 5).

Two days later, our larger team of 32 students competed at the JSSATIS Interschools Cross Country event at Rokeby Police Academy. With the event having to be rescheduled from the week prior due to inclement weather, our students did well to overcome cold and wet conditions, which were still favourable compared to the previous week’s addition of high winds. With nearly half our team at the peak of their DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) having run the Tas All Schools 48 hours prior, there were many examples of resilience, respect, and integrity demonstrated throughout the carnival. Notable performances were by Jack Kilgour (8th place) of Year 4, Lewis Finlay (3rd place), and Alex Pritchard (7th place) of Year 5, and Angus Newsham-West (5th place) of Year 6. A well-earned rest is coming this week for our Cross Country team! A big thank you to Mr Tom Beard, Mrs Nicole Read, and Mrs Gina Graves for their awesome work in supporting our students.

We now have a break from carnivals, with our next one in September. For your calendars, our SVC Junior School Year 2-6 House Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday September 6 at the Domain Athletics Centre. For this year’s event, we have merged the St Mary’s College Junior School event and ours, and look forward to a great day of competition and House spirit across both Colleges.

Kindergarten

In Kindergarten, we have been learning about seagulls. As part of this inquiry, the students have investigated varying species of gulls. They have used books, internet searches, and visits to the beach and Museum to find out facts about seagulls. The students have recorded their learning in a floor book, through sharing their ideas on our wonder wall, and through daily discussion circles.

We borrowed seagull specimens from the Museum; the Pacific Gull was named Gary by the students, and thus every seagull we see is now called Gary too. We have learned what seagulls like to eat, where they live, about their families, and how they play. We have made wooden flapping seagulls that fly in the Kindergarten room and have nearly finished a large wire sculpture of a seagull which will be on display in the Early Years Reception. Our focus has now turned to caring for seagulls and making our school bird-friendly. We have a lot of plans and wonder where this inquiry will lead us next.

Library

Book Week is Week 5 in Term 3, and this year the theme is “Reading is Magic”. In the lead-up to this celebration, Mrs Young has issued three challenges to all classes that can be started during these July school holidays.

• Challenge 1: Design a bookmark or poster for display in the library. Use the theme “Reading is Magic”.
• Challenge 2: Write a short story with the title “What if?” Let your imagination go wild with ideas with a word limit of 300 words.
• Challenge 3: Email a photo to be added to our GET CAUGHT READING window display! This should be a photo of your child reading (anything) and can be taken in any location, for example, on a train/bus/car, with a pet/family member/favourite toy. Multiple entries are encouraged.

Year 1 Visit to St Mary’s Cathedral

Year 1 students are inquiring into how we celebrate Jesus’ presence with us now. This week, we visited St Mary’s Cathedral to further explore and get a close-up look at some of the sacred symbols we see in churches. The students were curious about the Stations of the Cross and the candles in front of the statues of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. Some students were moved to take a few quiet moments and pray. We also participated in a guided meditation, with some students sharing that they “felt Jesus in my heart”.