Specialists News

1/2 in the kitchen and garden

With the blessing of a beautiful winter’s day in Week 4, our Year 1/2 students made the most of the sunshine and worked diligently in the garden. They began preparing our garden beds for seeds and seedlings, while also completing the planting jobs we started the previous week.

It has been wonderful to observe the teamwork shown by the students as they organise themselves within their allocated groups. They have been busy planting, raking the tanbark in the playground and watering the garden beds, while also having impromptu discussions about what they can see and smell. When exploring our herb garden, some students were even brave enough to use their senses to have a taste!

It is wonderful to see the students developing their gardening skills while working together, sharing ideas and becoming curious about the wonderful things growing around them. 

As the sun is now warming up our Kitchen Garden area, we threw down our picnic rug and enjoyed a delicious warm apple turnover together. The children loved taking their shoes off (although, of course, there were no shoes allowed on the picnic rug! ).

We said Grace and gave thanks for our time outside, our delicious treat, our wonderful garden classes and, of course, the sunshine. We all agreed that it is a fantastic space for a picnic, and we hope to enjoy many more special treats together there in the future!

In Week 5, we prepared a cake using a vegetable that is often overlooked and possibly avoided by many of our students, zucchini! Our menu was zucchini cake with homemade cream cheese icing.

The cake itself is beautifully moist, thanks to the grated zucchini and olive oil. Although delicious on its own, we all agreed that a good homemade cream cheese icing takes it to another level! Students lovingly piped the cream cheese icing onto their freshly baked cakes before sitting down to enjoy their creations with a cup of tea.

Many students agreed that they would make this cake at home and proudly demonstrate that they can eat their greens! 

We also prepared some zucchini cake for the Kindergarten children who were attending the library. We hope they enjoyed their special treat and appreciated all the hard work of our Year 1/2 Kitchen Garden chefs!

Week 6 was a Teacher Day, so sadly we missed our Kitchen Garden session. However, in Week 7, we were very excited to prepare our special Father's Day gifts.

The students made yummy muffin dry mixes, complete with a printed recipe. They carefully prepared their mixes and are very excited about all the fathers/special people taking them home as a special gift.

Dads, we hope you enjoy your muffins when you prepare them together for your special Sunday breakfast! We hope they are made with lots of love, and taste delicious too!  

Garden tip: Baking Soda Weed Killer

For everyone that has tried to set up a garden at home, one thing we all have in common is weeds!!! I have been exploring ways to manage weeds using simple, everyday materials that are safe for the environment and importantly something safe our children can use. One method I came across is the use of baking soda. Baking soda can be used as a natural weed-control option as it affect plants by drawing moisture from their leaves.

It’s not the ideal solution for targeting weeds near your veggies or prized flowers.  Just be sure that you are careful that the baking soda doesn’t physically touch your “good” plants as the salts left behind in the soil can add up over time, potentially severely damaging your soil, which is a challenge to undo.

As a weedkiller, it’s best to use baking soda in small, diluted amounts (such as a spray bottle) and in a targeted way. For example, use on weeds that spring up solo on your balcony or verandah or footpath and near your driveway. In these cases, other plants aren’t at risk from the side effects of the salts. 

How Baking Soda Kills Weeds 

Note the word sodium in the name. Baking soda is basically just a salt, but not the kind found next to the cracked pepper. When it comes into contact with weeds (or any plant) the following happens: 

• If the soil is high in salinity, salt creates an chemical imbalance that draws water out of plant roots and back into the soil, heavily dehydrating the plant.
• If salts come into direct contact with leaves, they pull moisture from them in much the same way (a process called osmosis). If saline levels are too high, the plant (in this case, a weed) dies from dehydration.

It’s essential to recognize that baking soda has this effect on all plants—not just those weeds you’re trying to control. It’s not a selective type of weed controller (the way some herbicides are). It’s easy to overdo it, and it’s possible to injure the plants you’re trying to protect from weeds.

Baking Soda Weed Killer Recipe

There are two main ways to use baking soda as a weed killer: wet or dry. 

To use dry baking soda:

1. Dampen the leaves of your target weed with water.
2. Lightly sprinkle baking soda onto the wet leaves. With the water, the baking soda will easily stick to the leaves. Do this on a day with light wind so the baking soda won’t blow around where you don’t want it.

To use wet baking soda spray:

1. Combine baking soda and water and put the mixture in a spray bottle to spritz on weeds. The specific ratio of baking soda to water can vary widely, but a straightforward “1 cup baking soda to 2 litres of water”.
2. Spray directly on the weed. Be cautious to avoid contact with desirable plants.

Any questions or your experiences with this please don't hesitate to contact me. Kristen 

Sport

A big congratulations to all 43 students who recently participated in the District Athletics Event! This took place on Tuesday 11 August at the Williamstown Athletics Track. Everyone competed in their events to the best of their abilities and represented themselves and the school proudly. Qualifying and being involved in this event is always a fantastic achievement and makes for a fun and terrific experience for everyone. The students all showed great enthusiasm and effort across the day!

Another well done to those students who progressed through to the Divisional event!

A big congratulations to Yorke, Lachlan, Aria and Bonnie for going through to Divisional round. We are so proud of you !!!! 

Year 5/6 Italian: School Concert

Our Year 5/6 students have been working very hard rehearsing their own Italian Pinocchio concert item as part of this year’s school concert! 

The students have been busy learning their lines,  remembering their movements and working together as a team to bring their performance to life.

I am very proud of the enthusiasm, effort and commitment they have shown during rehearsals. We can’t wait to see them perform their Italian Pinocchio item as part of the school concert!

Bravissimi, Year 5/6!

The Arts

🎨 Prep – The Arts

This term, our Prep students have explored Disney characters, fairytales and nursery rhymes through Visual and Performing Arts. Inspired by Mary Blair, students created colourful Mickey and Minnie artworks and imaginative geometric castles inspired by It’s a Small World.

In Performing Arts, students brought familiar stories to life through drama, music, movement and puppetry, including a fun exploration of Shrek. Along the way, they developed their creativity, confidence and performance skills while having lots of fun!

🎭 Year 1/2 – The Arts

This term, our Year 1/2 students explored fairytales, nursery rhymes, musical theatre and animated stories through Visual Arts, Drama and Music. Inspired by Mary Blair and Alice in Wonderland, students experimented with shape, colour, line and pattern to create imaginative characters and artworks.

Through role-play, movement, singing, rhythm and percussion, students brought stories and characters to life. Exploring Matilda and Cats helped students develop their confidence, creativity, teamwork and expressive skills while enjoying a range of engaging Arts experiences.

🎨 Year 3/4 – The Arts

This term, our Year 3/4 students explored storytelling through Visual Arts, Drama and Music. Inspired by Mary Blair and Alice in Wonderland, students created colourful characters and imaginative settings using shape, colour, line and pattern.

In Drama and Music, students brought stories including Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Hoodwinked to life through role-play, movement, characterisation, rhythm and percussion. These experiences strengthened their creativity, confidence, collaboration and expressive skills.

🎬 Year 5/6 – The Arts

This term, our Year 5/6 students explored storytelling through Visual Arts, Drama and Music, developing their creative and performance skills. Inspired by Mary Blair and Alice in Wonderland, students experimented with colour, shape, line and pattern to create imaginative characters and settings.

Through characterisation, improvisation, movement, rhythm and percussion, students brought stories such as Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Hoodwinked to life. These experiences encouraged students to work collaboratively, take creative risks and develop their confidence, creativity and expressive skills.