Term 3

As we approach the end of another busy term, it is wonderful to reflect on the many learning opportunities, special events and achievements across Lower Primary. It has been a term filled with learning, discovery, communication and plenty of fun.

Language and Literacy

This term, students have developed their literacy skills through a range of engaging, hands-on experiences that are different for each class, relating to their Discovery learning and other interesting topics. Students made echidnas, kookaburras, bilbies, paper bag platypuses, cardboard roll koalas, jumping kangaroos and wombat stew as well as making toast, paper planes, fairy bread and hot chocolate. These activities provided natural opportunities to talk about what they were doing, learn new vocabulary, sequence events and share their ideas.

Students used these hands-on experiences to develop their oral language, vocabulary and communication skills, and then applied these skills to create responses at their individual level of ability. The level and format of each student’s response was differentiated according to their communication and literacy skills. For some students, this may have involved selecting or commenting on a photo, creating a drawing, using symbols or AAC, or communicating a single word or short phrase. Other students were supported to develop sentences, write descriptions or create more extended texts, including information reports and procedural texts. Those working on report responses connected them to our learning about Australian animals, with students describing their appearance, habitat, diet and interesting facts. Procedural texts provided further opportunities for students to record and communicate the steps involved in making or creating something, using sequencing language such as first, next, then and finally. In this way, all students engaged with the same meaningful learning experiences while developing and demonstrating their communication and literacy skills at their individual point of need.

Our Preps and Grade 1 students continue to develop their communication and early literacy skills through rich, sensory and hands-on learning experiences. Core words are taught and modelled throughout the day alongside spoken language, visual supports and communication devices. Students have many opportunities to hear, explore and use words as they play, move, listen, touch, smell and interact with the world around them. By connecting words with meaningful experiences, students begin to understand how words can be used to communicate with others, describe objects and actions, and share their experiences.

All these experiences help students build confidence as communicators and provide an important foundation for developing language, communication and literacy skills across Lower Primary.

Australian Animals Discovery Unit

Students have thoroughly enjoyed exploring Australian animals as part of the Discovery Unit. They have developed their understanding of where Australia is located on a map and discovered some of the unique features about our native animals.

Through videos, discussions, worksheets, creative crafts and hands-on activities, students have recorded their learning and developed their knowledge while building curiosity, creativity and communication skills.

There were plenty of fascinating discoveries along the way! Do you know?

• that a newborn kangaroo joey can be as tiny as a jellybean
• kangaroos can’t move backward
• that koalas have two thumbs on each front paw to help them grip and climb
• wombats produce cube-shaped poo! (this provided plenty of laughs)

• male platypuses have venomous spurs on their hind legs.

   

A highlight of the unit was our visit to the Discovery Centre, where students became Australian animal explorers. They dressed as explorers, travelled through different seasonal environments and searched for Australian animals. Students also made their own explorer binoculars to use during their animal hunt and enjoyed having their explorations captured through green screen photographs.

It has been wonderful to see the curiosity and excitement students have shown as they discovered new facts and shared their Discovery Unit learning with others.

Father’s and Special Persons Day

Father’s and Special Persons Day was another wonderful event, with many family members joining us at school. Our students loved having special people visit and proudly shared their classroom and learning experiences.

Our youngest students in LPH, LPI, LPJ and LPK enjoyed a special morning with their dads and father figures. Families took part in a range of activities, including watching Father’s Day videos, making BBQ rub, preparing popcorn, creating Father’s Day crafts and enjoying bubbles together. Students were very excited to present their special gifts and share something they had made themselves. The morning finished with a lovely story celebrating how special dads can be.

The remaining classes invited fathers and special people to an afternoon session, where families enjoyed a variety of activities and opportunities to spend time together. LPA, B and C joined together in the MPR to play a variety of games such as musical freeze, musical dots, coloured corners music game and relays and then returned to the classroom for further activities. LPD, LPE, LPF and LPG had their dads or special people participating in a variety of outdoor games such as sack races, soccer skills, ball games, hurdles and egg and spoon races. The adults joined in activities with their child and had a lovely time. Students then returned to class to take some fun photos and give their gifts to dad.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make these celebrations so special. We hope all our dads and special people had a very Happy Father’s Day!

Book Week

A symphony of stories truly came alive during our Lower Primary Book Week Parade! This is always one of the most anticipated events of the year and there was certainly plenty of excitement.

Students enjoyed dressing up as their favourite book characters and loved seeing the wonderful costumes worn by their classmates and teachers. The parade featured superheroes, princesses, witches, pirates, Minions, The Cat in the Hat, Elsa, Little Red Riding Hood and many more.

It was a wonderful celebration of books, stories, imagination and creativity. A huge thank you to our specialist team for helping make the morning so entertaining and enjoyable for everyone.

Lunchtime Soccer

Students thoroughly enjoyed participating in lunchtime soccer sessions with Coach Pat and Coach Cody from DOC Soccer Academy.

The sessions have provided opportunities for students to develop their passing, dribbling, shooting and teamwork skills through fun and engaging games. The coaches have created a positive and encouraging environment where students feel included and supported.

It has been fantastic to see students building confidence, developing their skills and enjoying being active with their friends.

Swimming and Water Safety

Swimming has been another highlight of the term, with LPF, our Prep girls and boys participating in water safety and swimming programs at Reservoir Leisure Centre.

For our Prep students, this was their first experience participating in swimming lessons. The focus was on becoming familiar with the pool environment, developing confidence in and around the water and learning important foundational water safety skills. Students practiced safe pool entry, safety jumps, blowing bubbles, floating on their backs in a star shape, kicking and gliding with support, using noodles and kickboards, and treading water in the deeper pool.

LPF had the fantastic opportunity to return to swimming lessons and build on skills they have developed through previous programs. Students continued to develop their swimming and water safety skills, including safe entries, safety jumps, using life jackets, front and back glides, floating, kicking, treading water and swimming with increasing independence. A highlight was watching students bravely take a big jump into the deeper end of the pool!

It was wonderful to see the Prep students becoming increasingly comfortable in the water, while LPF continued to build their confidence and extend their swimming skills. We are very proud of the enthusiasm, courage and persistence shown by all students throughout the program.

Nell Street Walking and Cycling Bridge Opening

A number of Lower Primary students were very fortunate to be invited to attend the official opening of the new Nell Street walking and cycling bridge.

Students proudly represented Concord School by participating in our Acknowledgement of Country, followed by a cleansing Smoking Ceremony. They then had the exciting opportunity to take part in the maiden walk across the bridge.

Students enjoyed taking in the views, watching the traffic and even hearing some trucks honk as they travelled past. The event also included live music, a novelty balloon artist and morning tea.

It was a wonderful community experience, and our students should be very proud of the way they represented our school. Thank you to the Northeast Link team for including us in this special occasion.

Footy Day

With AFL and rugby fever in the air as we head towards the finals, Lower Primary enjoyed our Footy Day celebrations. Students and staff showed their support by wearing their favourite team colours and proudly cheering on their teams.

It was a fun, colourful and very energetic day—and certainly a little noisy!

Looking Back on the Term

As you can see, it has been a very busy term in Lower Primary, with students involved in a wide range of learning experiences, special events and community opportunities. We would like to thank our families for their ongoing support and participation in our special events.

Congratulations to everyone on a fantastic term. We hope you all enjoy a well-deserved break and look forward to another exciting term ahead!

Kath Moore

Campus Principal