Term 3

Here we are nearing the end of another term and as always its been a very busy one. There have been some exciting highlights this term with the Minibeasts unit, a visit from Wildlife Xposure, Pajamas Day, Book Week Dress Up Day with an author visit, the Fathers/Special Persons activity, Primary Sports Day, and Footy Day. These special events have made our learning even more enjoyable. It's amazing how we managed to fit it all in!

The inquiry unit Minibeasts, has captured everyone's imagination. You could tell how interested our students were when they spent their play breaks searching for and catching worms, snails, slaters, and beetles . They got to see these minibeasts up close and observe how they look and move. During the Wildlife Xposure visit, students had other chances to handle and observe more creatures including some giant cockroaches, slugs and spiders, which were a bit scary for some!

Students have demonstrated their knowledge of minibeasts over the term through involvement in discussions, photos, drawings, creative stories, projects, and special "bug" artworks which are displayed our classrooms. To expand their understanding, students also visited the Discovery Centre, where they examined models and used technology to learn more about how these creatures move, eat, and protect themselves. Students dressed up as their favourite minibeast, chose the right habitat and then were part of some fantastic photos using the green screen.

This term, we organized lunchtime soccer activities with coaches from DOC Football Academy every Wednesday and Thursday for interested students. These activities included basic drills, ball control skills, and teamwork building. The main goals were to have fun and encourage participation, and those who joined in certainly achieved both.

To support National Pyjama Day, our Lower Primary students wore their favourite pyjamas, onesies, trackies, hoodies, or oodies to school. This event helped raise awareness and funds for children in foster care, in partnership with The Pyjama Foundation.

During Book Week, our students dressed up as their favourite storybook characters. This is always one of the most anticipated events of the school year, generating a lot of excitement. Our students not only loved dressing up themselves but also enjoyed seeing their classmates' costumes during the parade. It was a day filled with fun and creativity, featuring superheroes, princesses, witches, pirates, minions, Snow White, The Cat in the Hat, Little Red Riding Hood, and many more.

A big thank you to Helen, our Library teacher, and Alix, our Performing Arts teacher, for making Book Week activities so enjoyable.

Primary Sports Day was an opportunity for students from across the Primary section of the school to come together at the Watsonia Campus for various tabloid sports activities. Kaboom Sports started the day with fun movement and dance activities and then led students as they rotated through 18 stations focusing on throwing, kicking, balancing, striking, catching, and other gross motor activities. Lower Primary students participated enthusiastically and everyone gave their best effort. A special thanks to the Lower Primary parents who joined us to support our students and share in the excitement of the day. These events require a lot of organization, so thank you to Garth, Glenys, Etaoin, and Suzanne for their involvement. It was a fantastic morning filled with physical fun!

Father's Special Persons afternoon was another positive event with over 55 family members in attendance. Our students just loved having their families at school to join in with all the planned activities.

With everyone talking about AFL and Rugby football at this time of year, we are gearing up for the finals. In preparation, we are having a footy parade as part of our final assembly on the last day of term. We can't wait to show our support by dressing in our favourite footy team's colours and cheering them on, whether they've made it to the finals or not. It's always loud but loads of fun!

As you can see, it has been a very busy term in Lower Primary, full of learning and fun. Congratulations to our wonderful students and staff for their efforts and achievements this term. Well done, everyone!

Wishing you all happy and safe holidays.

Kath

LPA, LPB, LPC

LPA, LPB and LPC began their Inquiry Studies Unit on How do Minibeasts Grow and Survive? by exploring the minibeasts at the Discovery Centre at the Bundoora Campus. The students had the opportunity to dress up as an explorer or their favourite minibeast in front of the green screen. LPA made beetles out of paper cut outs and LPB and LPC students used plasticine and other objects from nature to make a minibeast of their choice. Additionally, all the students loved exploring the MILE room which had the theme of environment. Some of students explored the plastic models of the minibeasts and labelled them on their communication devices, whereas others used them to create play situations which reflected how minibeasts live and act in their environment.

LPD, LPE, LPF – Mini-Beasts Incursion

Students at the Lower Primary campus were lucky enough to come up close and personal with a wide range of insects and bugs during an incursion with Xavier from Wildlife Xposure. The learning experience was part of our Integrated Unit investigating MiniBeasts.  Students have been learning about the features of MiniBeasts, their habitats, life cycles, the food they eat, and what eats them. We were able to touch a giant cockroach and snail; who knew they could grow so big! We also witnessed an enormous millipede release the funkiest odour the students have ever smelt. We saw a lizard eating some delicious larvae, which may have put some students off their lunch. We also encountered a centipede and giant spider, but these we did not touch as they could have bitten us. Thanks Xavier and the team from Wildlife Xposure.   

LPG, LPH, LPI

Book Week is always a favourite time for our little people, and teachers alike. This year the Lower Primary team embraced dressing up and we had many different characters represented. Some of the characters represented were Cat in the Hat, Batman, Super Mario, Harry Potter, Wiggles, various superheroes, princesses and dinosaurs. Thanks to the parents and carers who came along to the parade and all who dressed their child up for the day. Lots of fun was had by all.

LPJ, LPK

LPJ and LPK were excited to have their Dad’s and special people come to visit them at school. The students and their special people participated in lots of fun activities including decorating cupcakes, building towers, playdoh mats and colouring in. The LPJ and LPK students enjoyed giving their special people all the gifts they made them. 

PE

On Thursday 7th September, all students from Foundation to Grade 6 at Concord School came together to celebrate Sports Day. Watsonia Campus hosted the event and students from the Bundoora Campus either walked or travelled by bus to participate. Students participated in 18 tabloid sports style activities including “Flying Fruits”, where students worked in pairs to catapult soft fruit into the air. “Parachute”, where students played a variety of games with the parachute.  The students all really enjoyed themselves.  The event was very successful.  A special thank you to all the parents and grandparents who came along to support the students on this special day.

Library

In the Specialist programs this term, it has been all about books, books and more books, with a little bit of dancing to end the term. Our annual Book Week dress up day was, as always, a success. Students and teachers all took part in celebrating books and dressing up as their favourite characters. The excitement was at an all-time high as we put on a parade and showed off our creative book week costumes. Our Book Week celebrations continued with a special visit from children's author Jane Godwin. She read us some of her books, spoke to the students about her writing inspiration and even gave us a demonstration using real life models on how she illustrated one of her book pages. Our Book Fair was held this term. Thank you to all the families that supported the fair and bought books for their children. The profits will go towards buying new books for our library. Lower Primary students were also treated to a live show by the Bushwahzee Band. The students are preparing for a Twilight concert next term. 

Soccer

In partnership with Sporting Schools Victoria, Concord School Watsonia Campus hosted the Football in Schools Inclusive Program with Special Olympics Australia.  During July and August our students were able to participate in a range of Soccer activities on the oval with a soccer coach.  Students from classes LPA to LPI were involved.  Many students enjoy playing soccer as their preferred sport and were able to develop their skills further.  The feedback from the students was that it was nice to do something different with their friends at lunchtime.  Many students said they were trying out soccer for the first time. The activity was enjoyed by all who participated. 

Social Competencies

At the beginning of Term 3, we started our unit on the Relationships area as part of the Social Competencies Program. Our Prep students looked at 'okay' and 'not okay' touches with family, teachers and school friends. We learnt that it is okay to hug and kiss our family, but it is not okay to hug and kiss our school friends or teachers. Instead, we can give a high five, fist pump or an okay pat on the back to say hello, interact and show we care for these people. First year students explored people who make up our family, friends and teachers and those in the community. Also, we looked at 'okay' touches for these different relationship groups. Our older students focussed on how to distinguish between big and small problems. The students explored many ways to solve a small problem by ourselves and that if we have a big problem, we need our teachers or adults to help resolve it. 

In the second half of the term, we started our unit on Sexuality. Our younger students engaged in hands-on learning through play with baby dolls and were taught about body parts, including the names of private ones (penis, vagina, nipples, and bottom). They were taught that these body parts should not be seen or touched by others. Our older students looked at the difference between typical male and female biological parts and how or bodies grow and change as we get older. The important rule of respecting privacy, no touching, no looking, or taking photos of others' private parts, was reinforced throughout. Everyone worked hard throughout the term and should be proud of their achievements in Social Competencies. 

Lower Primary Team