Around the Grounds - Junior School

Welcome to Term 2!

What a wonderful start to Term 2 we have had! Our students returned to school last Tuesday rested, restored and raring to go and their teachers were so pleased to see them after the Easter break.

As part of the Music curriculum, Junior School students are all choir members, with students in Prep to Year 2 in Little Choir, and Years 3-6 in Junior Choir. Our Preps don’t start until Term 2, by which time they are settled into school routines and ready to try a very different kind of lesson. Our Preps have taken to Little Choir rehearsals like ducks to water! They have demonstrated excellent listening skills and fabulous singing, and participated in the singing games which punctuate our rehearsals with joy and energy.

Year 5 and 6 students began their investigations into biomimicry with an excursion to the Royal Botanic Gardens. They observed plant adaptations and learned how they can be used to inspire inventions, using optical instruments including microscopes in the field. Thank you to Ms Ho, Ms Watson and Mr Hellard for bringing together an inspiring excursion.

This week, Junior School students participated in a variety of ANZAC Day activities. Both our ELC4 students and our Year 6s have been baking ANZAC biscuits, with the Year 6s competing in a thrilling bake-off just this morning. Year 6 students have been selling a variety of ANZAC badges on behalf of the ANZAC Appeal, which students throughout the JS have been proud to wear in support of veterans. The Junior School ANZAC Day ceremony was held on Wednesday morning; as we commemorated the service of the ANZACs, our students learned about Dawn Services and the significance of The Ode and minute’s silence, and experienced a live performance of the Last Post and Rouse by Toby, a 2023 prefect.

Hopefully as you read this, the Junior School Cross Country carnival has just taken place; at the time of writing I am hoping that the weather will be sufficiently kind that the carnival can proceed! Mr Dinnison has been very busy with students from Years 2 to 6, preparing them for the biggest run of the year. I am looking forward to seeing countless personal best times run as our students compete for Ruthven and Thomson houses with the high level of sportsmanship of which they are abundantly capable.

Our Year 6 students are hard at work preparing their Science Talent Search candidate projects, which will be presented to teachers and the Year 5 students next week. We look forward to seeing which projects will be selected to represent Huntingtower in the competition. Entries from previous years have been fascinating tributes to the creativity and curiosity of our students in Science; thank you to Ms Watson for facilitating this work.

We look forward to the Parents and Friends’ Mother’s Day breakfast on Thursday May 9, beginning at 7.30 am. It really is a lovely opportunity for Junior School families to meet, make friends and connect over a delicious breakfast, before a quick visit to the classrooms with your children. Please make sure you place your breakfast orders ahead of time via the link on HT Connect on the Junior School Community page.

Year 4 students are eagerly anticipating their excursion later this term to the Polly Woodside, the Tall Ship experience run by National Trust at South Wharf; please refer to the Year 4 Community page on HT Connect for more information, and to volunteer to help on the day. The countdown is also on for the Year 5/6 trip to Canberra, from Tuesday May 21 to Friday May 24. Undaunted by the 6am start on the first day, we are looking forward to four very packed days in our nation’s capital, visiting twelve important sites including Parliament House, the High Court and the Australian Institute of Sport as we learn about democracy and decision making.

Thank you as always to our JS families for supporting your children’s learning at school. The home-school connection is so vital, and your children’s teachers are hugely grateful for the enthusiastic support provided by parents and family members.

Junior School Term 2 Captains

We are proud to announce our Term 2 leaders for 2024!

Thomson House Captains

Lachlan C & Warren M

Ruthven House Captains

Austin P & Eva F

Music Captains

Mia N & Georgia L

Art Captains

Jaxson B & Sonia H

Junior School Athletics Records

Congratulations to the following students who broke records at the Junior School House Athletics Carnival last term!

• Cheng-Yun H - Girls 12-13 200m & Girls 12-13 800m
• Alexander B - Boys 11 High Jump
• Mabel L - Girls 11 Shot Put
• Marcus L - Boys 11 Shot Put
• Peter G - Boys 11 Triple Jump

Year 6 Hoodies

The Year 6 students received their hoodies this week. The jumpers are a memento of their time in the Junior School. They will wear these with pride in their final year as part of their sports uniform. 

Ms Rachel Wallace

Year 6 Teacher

Year 5 & 6 STEM Excursion

The Year 5 and 6 students had a wonderful time in the sun on Monday 22 April, exploring the Royal Botanic Gardens and learning about how plant adaptations can be used to inspire new inventions. This was a great introduction to their STEM biomimicry unit for Term 2. 

Mrs Katrina Watson

Junior Science Teacher

Grade 4 Screen Printing

Students in Grade 4 have been learning about the art of screen-printing during recent Art lessons. Students made simple paper stencils, loosely based on Australian flowers and plants and have now started the process of screen-printing their own tote bags. Pictured here with Ms Anderson, we have some of our Grade 4 students ready to start the printing. Well done Grade 4s and looking forward to seeing the completed tote bags over the coming weeks!

Mrs Gillian Nix

Junior Art Teacher