Junior School News

Garden visit 

On Friday 14 November, we were delighted to welcome students and staff from John Paul II Catholic School for a tour of our College garden spaces. 

The visit provided a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn about our First Nations presence and explore our bush tucker garden. They also enjoyed freshly prepared cheeseburgers and fries from Murphy’s Café. 

A highlight of the day was the thoughtful Acknowledgement of Country, led by our First Nations student, Laycie Read (Year 6). 

We extend our thanks to Murphy's Café Manager, Mr Phil Shanny and our First Nations Facilitator, Mrs Cat Midson for sharing our initiatives with these enthusiastic students, who showed great interest in sustainability principles and our school gardening program. 

Year 2 students inspired to rethink waste 

Students in Year 2 were recently treated to an eye-opening visit from Kimberley Eaton from Rethink Wate Tasmania as part of National Recycling Week. The session encouraged students to think critically about the impact of litter and the choices we make when shopping. 

Kimberley explained why litter is harmful to the environment and helped students understand the difference between organic and inorganic materials. 

To bring the lesson to life, she led a game showing how long everyday items take to break down, which left students amazed at how long some materials remain in the environment. 

Plastic bottle – 450 years

Plastic bag – 30 years

Aluminium can – 500 years 

Banana peel – 3–4 weeks

Glass bottle – 1 million years 

Kimberley also encouraged students to think about the packaging of products and how small changes can make a big difference. She challenged them to consider: 

• Choosing blueberries in cardboard containers that compost instead of plastic ones.
• Refusing plastic-wrapped vegetables and bringing reusable bags instead. 
• Saying no to products like Pringles, whose packaging cannot be recycled due to mixed materials. 
• Avoiding small plastic packets of chips and biscuits by buying larger bags or boxes to reduce soft plastic waste.
• Skipping balloons, which often end up polluting our oceans and waterways. 

Thank you to Kimberley for inspiring our Year 2 students to reduce waste and protect the planet through everyday actions!