Junior School

Laidlaw House Service and Fundraiser

Congratulations to Laidlaw House students, Mr. Hawthorne and Mrs. Alexander on an excellent House Service on Monday. The theme of ‘Respect’ was expertly conveyed via readings, songs, stories and reflections. It was also wonderful hearing from the 2026 Senior School Laidlaw House Captains Nathalie Wallingford and Bailey Clarke, as well as Rev. Peter Cook. As adults, we know respect is a key life skill. Learning to respect others’ differences, opinions, and rights prepares us for successful workplaces, communities, and relationships in life. 

“Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.” — Laurence Sterne

Tomorrow, Laidlaw House will host a ‘Dress in Blue’ day to raise funds for the Fred Hollow’s Foundation. There will be a bake sale at lunch time. Students are asked to bring a gold coin donation and some change for the bake sale, to support this important charity. Founded by the humanitarian eye surgeon Professor Fred Hollows, the organisation restores sight and prevents blindness by providing affordable eye care and empowering local communities to build sustainable health systems. It operates in more than 25 countries, working with governments and partners to deliver training, surgeries, and other treatments.

Long Service Leave

Deputy Head of the Junior School Mrs. Bernadette Milich will step into my role of Head of Junior School from Monday 17 November, through to the end of Term Four. Mrs Milich will work in the Myrniong homestead on Fridays and Miss Simone Brabham will teach the Year 2 class. I extend my best wishes to all at Myrniong for a wonderful end to a fantastic year of learning at the Junior School, and for a peaceful and safe festive season, and enjoyable summer holiday break.

Junior School Captain’s Corner

Our Junior School Captain’s thoughts on their Year 7 Orientation Day at Senior Campus.

Hugo Cameron -“I thought Orientation Day at Senior Campus was very inclusive. Everyone was trying to make friends. It was great.”

Livvy Bell -“The rock climbing was fun, as everyone cheered each other on. I enjoyed going home, being really excited for next year.”

You Raise Me Up

In an exciting initiative, Mrs Christie has invited a small group of Junior School parents and staff to join our Chamber Singers on stage in singing ‘You Raise Me Up’ at the Junior School Speech Day on Wednesday 10 December. The Chamber Singers are always a highlight of any Speech Day program, and the addition of parents and staff to the choir is certainly a musical item not to be missed.  

World Teacher’s Day

Friday 31 October was World Teacher’s Day. ‘Hats Off to Teachers’ was the theme. It was a day to recognise the dedication, creativity, and care our teachers bring to the classrooms every day. Our Junior School KidsMatter team held a quiz at lunch time, with the ‘Young Guns’ team of Mrs Weilbaecher, Mrs Kelly and Mrs Callinan winning the day. 

Grandparents’ Day / Drama Showcase and Blessing of the Pets

Friday, 21 November, promises to be a delightful day at the Junior School. We will start things off with our traditional ‘Blessing of the Pets’ with Rev. Peter Cook, on the Library lawn. From 1.30 pm, grandparents and parents are invited to tea/coffee and P&F Christmas cake in the foyer of The Kantor Family Music and Performing Arts Centre at the Senior Campus. Background music will be provided by some of our accomplished Junior School musicians. At 2.00 pm, under the direction of Drama teacher Ms Angela Kenna, our Prep to Year 6 students will perform a Christmas Drama Showcase.

Spotlight on Myrniong Learning

Maths Enrichment- congratulations to Will Brown and Theo Horne, who were our 2025 Maths Games and Maths Olympiad Stock Market Challenge winners. The students created a portfolio of shares and tracked their progress over a six-week period on the Australian Stock Exchange, with the goal of increasing the value of their portfolio. It involved a lot of mathematics, and both boys made a handsome profit. 

Prep to Year 6 Drama - Final rehearsals are well underway for the Drama Showcase next Friday, 21 November. Year levels have been rehearsing their class items and the whole school finale in preparation for the performance.

Year One students are working on a unit called ‘Body Systems’.  So far, we have explored the skeletal and muscular systems.  Did you know there are 206 bones in the human body?!

Year 2 is looking at Earth’s Resources in our Earth and Space Science unit. They have discovered how precious and valuable our natural treasures are and how important it is to look after them. Students have answered the question ‘How do we stop wasting resources?’ They had fun adding other ‘re’ words to the list of reduce, reuse and recycle. Repair, rebuild and rethink, to name a few. Students have taken a particular interest in the harm caused to animals, especially in our oceans, through pollution and how their actions can make a difference. 

Chinese - The start of Term 4 was the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Year 4  and 5 students were engaged in the lantern riddles, a traditional activity during the festival. They worked with parents to guess the animal names on the lantern riddles.

Assembly

The following students were awarded certificates at this week’s Assembly.

Maths Games Certificate of Achievement:

Hazel Johns, Shriaan Golwala, Eva Solum, Will Brown, George Whinney, Bobby Giles,  Ed MacDougall, Amina Barrera, Penelope Copley and Euan Baulch

Mathematical Olympiads Certificate of Achievement:

Patrick McDonald, Hugo Cameron, Alice MacDougall, Maelys Haynes, Alex Monsbourgh, Ed Whinney, Theo Horne and Livvy Bell

Star Student Certificates:

Year 2

• Sam Uebergang for achieving his black belt in Karate Maths, mastering automaticity.

Year 3 

• Annie Barber for being a focused learner in Maths and working hard to improve her knowledge and understanding. 
• Rosie Bell for displaying excellent teamwork in Shared Inquiry, sharing ideas, and respecting the contributions of the other members of her group to work through the steps of The Great Desert Island challenge.

Year 5

•  Hugh Cain for putting effort and thought into his exceptional descriptions using 'show, don't tell'.
• Hazel Johns for the consistent hard work, thought, and effort that go into her work, and for her kindness and excellent sense of humour, which bring lots of laughter to the classroom.
• Olive Monk for her fantastic work, effort and persistence during our unit on decimals, fractions and percentages.

Year 6 

• Johnny Fenton for being welcoming to new students and giving everything a go during Orientation Day last week.
• Will Harvey for showing confidence when speaking at the Laidlaw House Service last week and helping to organise the younger year levels beforehand.