Primary School
Primary School Science Week 2025
What a truly exceptional week it has been! The joy and excitement on the faces of our students, their thought-provoking questions and their passionate commitment to protecting endangered animals made Primary School Science Week 2025 an unforgettable experience. This year’s theme, focusing on Australian native and endangered species, perfectly complemented our school-wide Possum Project.
The week began with a presentation by Steph Hill, a carer from Born Free. She shared her expertise and touching stories about Western ringtail possums and other native species, emphasising the importance of rescue, rehabilitation and release.
Next, Dr Mitrovski captivated us with his research on local native animals and the biodiversity hotspot that is Albany. We even had the chance to observe the nocturnal wildlife visiting GSG through a night vision camera!
Tuesday brought local Menang Elder Vernice Gillies, who shared insights into the ngwayir (Western ringtail possum) and its deep connection to Noongar Boodja (land).
That evening, we embarked on the first spotlight walk, led by Menang man Larry Blight. Students and teachers trekked around Mount Clarence, spotting western ringtail possums, bats and a boo book owl.
Wednesday’s Science Challenges saw impressive animal houses and wildlife-attracting structures from students across all year groups. Mr Irving was awestruck by the creativity on display.
Throughout the week, Indigenous artist Jessika Woods guided students in creating beautiful artworks representing the Noongar seasons and their native flora and fauna.
With 72 students attending the evening excursions, I want to express my gratitude to Ms Mordy and all staff volunteers who made this week such a success. What an inspiring week of learning and discovery!
Mrs Fiona Gouldthorp | Primary School Science Coordinator
Before-school supervision
There will be no before-school supervision tomorrow, Friday 4 April due to a whole-school staff commitment. Students will need to be supervised by parents until 8:30am.
Easter Hat Parade
Get ready for one of the most exciting events on our school calendar: the Early Childhood Easter Hat Parade! This fun and festive celebration is exclusively for Kindergarten to Year Two students, and it is the perfect chance for your child to get creative at home and design a colourful, one-of-a-kind Easter hat. This year’s parade will take place on Wednesday 9 April, with students heading to the Hall at 8.50am, and the parade will kick off shortly after, wrapping up around 9.30am. We would love for parents, family members and friends to come along and cheer on the students as they strut their stuff in their fabulous Easter hats! It is going to be an unforgettable experience full of creativity and joy!
Languages in Primary School
The new language programme is now well underway. Using AUSLAN actions to reinforce French words and sentences has been a highly effective and engaging approach, significantly enhancing students' ability to retain vocabulary. It has been fantastic to see the children’s progress, their enthusiasm for French and the wonderful feedback from parents.
You may notice that some of your children are covering similar topics this year. This is because language learning follows a structured progression, and establishing a strong foundation is essential for all students. As they advance, new themes will be introduced, allowing the programme to expand naturally over time. To support this progression, I am currently developing a scope and sequence document to ensure a high-quality, cohesive learning experience while integrating more of GSG’s successful inquiry-based pedagogy.
If your children are exploring the same material, it is a great chance to spark fun family discussions and challenge each other on what they remember!
Please note that while students may be learning the same content, I differentiate the lessons to meet their developmental levels. Younger children engage in simpler, age-appropriate activities, while older students take part in more in-depth discussions on French phonetics and grammar. This ensures that all learners are both supported and challenged, making their language journey engaging and meaningful.
In Term Two, all students will be introduced to words for family members in both French and AUSLAN. Our Pre-Primary to Year Two students will explore an inquiry into first names around the world, examining their sounds and meanings. Year Three and Year Four students will research the benefits of learning an additional language, while Year Five and Year Six students will embark on a journey to learn more about the Francophonie, the French-speaking world.
Ms Vanessa Krier | Languages/Cultural Programme Teacher
Classroom News
We hope you enjoy reading the news from our Primary classes.
Kindergarten: In Kindergarten we have continued to work hard on our PLD programme and are becoming so confident in segmenting words into syllables! It has been exciting to explore new vocabulary topics like animals, vehicles and minibeasts while strengthening our skills. We love celebrating our progress throughout the day, whether it is during transitions from the mat to the table activities or even as we head out to play. If you were to sneak into our classroom, you would likely catch someone quietly practising their syllables while they play! One of our favourite activities is identifying words in simple sentences by jumping through hoops and counting each word as we go; we love learning through movement!
Year One: Science Week has been so much fun! Our highlights have been learning more about the ngwayir (Western ringtail possum) and its connection to Noongar Boodja (land) with Ms Gillies, discovering that the Western ringtail possum eats its own poo (to ensure it gets all the nutrients it can from its food) from Steph Hill (Born Free animal rescue organisation), making our own clay animals to place in the habitat diorama with Jo Mitchell and Jane Forward (Healing Hands wildlife carers), watching secret night vision footage of the amazing native animals that visit GSG while we are asleep (thanks to Doc Mitrovski), and taking part in the incredible interactive Science show in the Hall! What a fun week we have had!
Year Two: The students thoroughly enjoyed the activities Mrs Gouldthorp had prepared for us in Science Week. They particularly loved showing their animal house design to their peers, telling them what the house was for and the materials it was made from. In Technologies, we have begun to plan our own Rube Goldberg Machines in groups. These machines will have five forces including a lever or a pulley, I cannot wait to see their finished designs and to see if their plans work!
Year Three: After a sensational Science Week, whose themes and questions wound their way into every subject and lesson throughout the day, we are refocusing our efforts to create projects that bring together all of our Term One’s learnings. We have begun looking at collage, as an art form and as a metaphor for how communities are created. We have begun to design robots that could help with important real-life tasks, the components that would be needed to perform those tasks, and the code that would be needed to run them. And we actually worked so hard that we earned the honour of being the first Primary School class to ‘help out’ in the playground.
Year Four: The Year Four class thoroughly enjoyed everything about Science Week! They all thought the ‘Question, Guess, Test’ strategy from the Questacon Science show was interesting and useful and they were excited by all of the presentations and activities provided by all of the expert visitors. Making a drey was one of their favourite activities along with making an origami whale. They have used the knowledge that they learnt about Western ringtail possums along with some internet research to make a ringtail possum lifecycle diagram in Science lessons.
Year Five: Year Five Explore Nature and Creativity through Inquiry! We had an exciting visit to the school’s nature garden, exploring what can be easily grown in our local environment. Using our fresh pickings, we worked together to create a delicious frittata to share, proving that gardening and cooking make a great team! Our Science project entries showcased incredible creativity and thoughtful solutions for helping animals in our environment. From innovative ideas to carefully designed models, it was inspiring to see so many practical ways we can support local wildlife. Meanwhile, our dioramas are taking shape, each one displaying a range of fascinating adaptations that help animals survive in different environments around the world. From desert-dwelling creatures to rainforest marvels, our projects highlight the incredible ways nature thrives in diverse conditions. It has been a hands-on, engaging learning journey, and we cannot wait to see the final results of our hard work!
Year Six: Year Six students have been bringing their architectural visions to life by applying practical design technology skills to create 3D facades of The House from Mr Monday by Garth Nix, inspired by our earlier research into Baroque, Victorian and Gothic architecture. Through hands-on construction, they have transformed their ideas into models that reflect both creativity and technical skill.
ECC Briefing
The following superstars have worked beautifully and received a Star Award for their efforts.
Kindergarten H: Brooklyn Lucas
Kindergarten M: Luka Moon
Pre-Primary: Eric Chen
Year One: Adrian Forgus
Year Two: Denvah Nelson
The following students have stood out for their ability to show compassion.
Kindergarten H: Llewyn Walls
Kindergarten M: Alby Sedunary
Pre-Primary: Larni Jefferis
Year One: John Stone
Year Two: Amaya Fourie
Primary Briefing
The following students have received a Value Award in the Primary School.
Year Three: George Grosshans
Year Four: Kaidyn Ruffell
Year Five: Brodie Pyle and Finn Rutter
Year Six: Maddy Hull and Xavier Warne
Upcoming events
Week Nine
Friday 4 April, Whole-school Photos, Gym 7.30am to 3.30pm
Friday 4 April, No before-school supervision in ECC or Primary
Sunday 6 April, P&F Afternoon Tea on the Knoll, 2.00pm to 5.00pm
Week Ten
Monday 7 April, Year Three to Twelve Easter Service, 10.15am, in the Gym
Wednesday 9 April, Kindergarten to Year Two Easter Hat Parade, in the Hall, 8.50am to 9.30am
Thursday 10 April, Year Four to Six (selected students) Primary Interschool Swimming Carnival, ALAC, 9.00am to 2.30pm
Friday 11 April, Whole-school Interhouse Cross Country Carnival, 10.00am to 1.00pm
Have a lovely weekend!
Ms Leah Field | Head of Primary and
Mrs Hayley Ranger | Head of Early Childhood
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