Physical Education

Athletics Carnival

We recently held our Athletics Carnival at Victoria University Sports Complex. Well done to all the Grade 3–6 students who participated! Everyone did a fantastic job trying their best and representing the school with pride. The carnival days were full of fun, and we were fortunate to have great conditions for the events.

Teachers were particularly impressed by some of the outstanding results on the day—it's clear we have some very talented athletes at Saltwater P–9! We are proud of all students who gave the events a go, and we wish the very best of luck to those who made it through to the next stage!

District Cross Country

Congratulations to the students who represented Saltwater P–9 at the District Cross Country, held at the Werribee Racecourse on the 22nd of May.

Ava Pelaez
Dahamsa Dissanayake
Zoey See
Logan Tuppen
Patrick Siriphromphan
Cooper Selkrig
Dylan Clendenning
Sai Balaji
Will Penny
Noel Kaso
James Deen
Daniel Jiang
Lewis Flygenring

It was a tough competition, with students racing against other schools from the district. The top 12 runners in each race qualified for the Divisional Cross Country.

A special congratulations to Ava Pelaez, Dahamsa Dissanayake, Patrick Siriphromphan, and Sai Balaji for making it through to the next level. We are incredibly proud of all our Saltwater runners, and we wish the very best of luck to Ava, Dahamsa, Patrick, and Sai in the Divisionals!

Prep Art

Over the past two weeks in Prep Art, students have been exploring how colour and texture can be used to express emotions. In Week 7, they enjoyed experimenting with different texture boards to discover how various surfaces feel and look. In Week 8, students drew faces showing different emotions and used colours they felt best represented each feeling. There were no right or wrong answers—just lots of creative thinking! They also had the opportunity to label the emotion and match it with a texture they thought suited the chosen colour. Well done Preppies.

Art Year 1 & 2

What a wonderful two weeks of Art, indeed!

Our 'cactus art,' using oil pastel, was bright, and contrasted well with the complementary colours chosen. The background popped out and the foreground looked sharp textured and spiked "ouch"! Some children were up for a challenge and added some cute little pots to place their prickly cactus's in...with a big smiley face and adorable cartoon eyes, special and unique to view! Other artist's ensured to add some details like, desert flowers, a sweltering sun, and patterns of varying shapes and sizes.

Next, our artists transitioned from the hot desert skyline to that of the city night. Students created their own stencil cities

and used chalk pastels as the medium. The bright and beautiful scene was filled with shiny stars and beamed with a moonlit glow... very well executed with smudging and overlapping techniques. Yet again, an amazing group of artists- producing some creative and exceptional masterpieces. Well done! I'm so proud of the engagement, efforts and beautiful work produced week after week, each artist always exceeds my expectations, Thank you, Lots of love, and appreciation, Ms Ancona! :)

Grade 5 & 6 Art

Over the past two weeks in Visual Arts, Grade 5 and 6 students have explored and combined new techniques to enhance their creative expression. They experimented with a portraiture technique layered over abstract watercolour backgrounds, learning how to contrast detailed drawing with expressive, fluid colour. In addition, students began planning their final watercolour piece for Term 2 by researching a subject that holds personal meaning to them. This approach encourages both technical growth and deeper self-expression, as students connect their artistic choices to individual stories and interests.

Mandarin

Exploring Chinese Traditional Festivals: Qingming and Chinese New Year

This term, all Mandarin students from Prep to Year 6 continued their exploration of Chinese traditional culture by learning about 清明节 (Qīngmíng Jié – Qingming Festival) and 春节 (Chūnjié – Chinese New Year). These two important festivals highlight the values of remembrance, renewal, and family reunion in Chinese culture. Students across all year levels engaged in age-appropriate activities to understand the stories, symbols, and customs behind these meaningful celebrations.

Prep students were introduced to these festivals through vibrant stories, videos, and illustrations. They discovered how families visit ancestors' graves during Qingming Festival and how they celebrate Chinese New Year with fireworks, red decorations, and special family dinners. Students enjoyed colouring lanterns and firecrackers to reinforce key visuals.

In Years 1 and 2, students began recognising important traditions such as tomb-sweeping, offering food to ancestors, wearing red clothes, and receiving red envelopes (红包 hóngbāo). Using matching games, and simple reading tasks, students explored the cultural importance of showing respect to elders and welcoming a fresh start to the year.

Year 3 and 4 students took a closer look at the historical background of each festival. They learned about how Qingming reflects the Chinese values of filial piety and seasonal change, while Chinese new year celebrates new beginnings and good fortune. Students practiced writing key festival terms in Chinese and participated in creative tasks like designing red envelopes and illustrating Qingming customs.

In Years 5 and 6, students developed a deeper understanding of the cultural significance of these festivals by examining Chinese zodiac story. They identified the symbolic meanings behind traditional customs and explored how these festivals are celebrated across different regions of China. Activities included timeline sequencing, worksheet reflections, and Chinese character tracing for terms like “spring” (春), and “blessing” (福).

Spanish News – ¡Vamos Aprendiendo!

Spanish continues to be a vibrant and exciting part of the weekly curriculum at our school, with all students from Prep to Grade 6 participating in one hour of Spanish lessons each week. These sessions are filled with fun, interactive activities that help students build their language skills and cultural understanding.

In the lower grades, students have been focusing on basic greetings, learning to confidently say “hola” and “adiós” to teachers and classmates. They’ve also been expanding their vocabulary through topics like colours, numbers (up to 50), and simple conversational phrases. Recently, students have explored the world of fruits and vegetables, learning words such as fresa (strawberry), uva (grape), lechuga (lettuce), and brócoli (broccoli). They’ve also enjoyed learning about birthdays—how to say “Happy Birthday” in Spanish—and discovering the names and locations of various Spanish-speaking countries.

Students in the upper grades are building on this foundation by forming short sentences and engaging in simple conversations. They’ve been learning to describe people, places, and objects, and are currently expanding their vocabulary around clothing items. These activities help students grow more confident in their ability to express themselves in Spanish and communicate more meaningfully.

It’s been wonderful to see the enthusiasm and progress in each year level. As we move forward, students will continue to develop their Spanish language abilities and deepen their appreciation for the rich cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.

¡Buen trabajo a todos!

The Spanish team

Music

Hi parents and students!

We’re excited to share some wonderful updates from the Music Department! Each term, students from Prep to Grade 6 visit our music room for a weekly session, and they’ve been making fantastic progress.

For our Prep students, we’re focusing on beat and rhythm activities. They’re singing fun songs like B.I.N.G.O and Tingalayo, learning the basics of music through clapping, tapping, and moving to different beats. These activities help them develop a strong sense of rhythm and coordination in a fun and engaging way.

Grade 1 and Grade 2 students are adding to their collection of simple songs by singing and playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and You Are My Sunshine. These songs help them explore melody and rhythm while using untuned percussion and body percussion to create a lively classroom environment.

Grade 3 is learning Obwisana, a traditional song that encourages cooperation and rhythm, while also introducing them to call-and-response and multi-instrument playing.

Grade 4 is diving into Che Che Koolay, a lively song that builds on their rhythm and ensemble skills with more complex patterns and multi-instrument arrangements.

Grade 5 is working on Funga Alafia, a fun, multi-instrument song that combines rhythmic movement and call-and-response singing to develop their musical confidence.

Grade 6 students are playing Sansa Kroma, a dynamic and challenging piece that uses multi-instrument techniques and more advanced rhythms, giving them an opportunity to showcase their growth and creativity.

We’re so impressed with the progress all of our students are making and can’t wait to see what they create next. Thank you for your ongoing support. We encourage you to get involved at home by doing rhythmic activities together, attending concerts, and fostering your child’s musical creativity.

Cheers,

The Music Department

DANCE!

In dance we have been working on tasks focussing on perception, adapting to changes, body awareness, ownership and control. Students were taught a combination of steps put together, incorporating different directional changes while working on range of movement also. These steps included combinations that moved from side to side, forward and backwards, and high and low, which engaged muscle memory and focus along the way. Once students had learnt all the combinations, the class was split into two groups where they had to face each other and perform the combinations at the same time. Although the choreography and combinations had not changed in any way at all, this at times caused confusion amongst students while they faced each other as everything they had just learnt seemed opposite.

Students learnt to adapt to the changes made and commit to what they had learnt, even though the people they faced looked like they were doing the opposite. This taught everyone how to refocus, persevere, adapt to change, and not give up, while making the most of what they know and committing to the task at hand.

VSSS...(Dance)

This week on Tuesday, Saltwater College hosted our third and final VSSS combined schools hub rehearsal. We had five other schools visit us again for an all day rehearsal held in the school gym and dance studio. Up to 100 students and staff spent the day learning the final routines and combinations for this years Victorian State School spectacular which will be held at John Cain Arena on Saturday 13th September.

Our VSSS dancers led by example in all areas throughout the day with a professional and positive energy and attitude, receiving great feedback from the VSSS staff and choreographers. Our fourth and final hub rehearsal for the year will be held in Term 3 at the Keilor Basketball stadium with up to approximately 220 students and staff, before heading to John Cain Arena for technical rehearsals and the show.We’d like to send a big thank you to the PE Team also for being so supportive and accomodating in using the gym for these 3 past hub rehearsals…thank you again.

Wakakirri...(Dance)

With three weeks left of term, rehearsals have been filled with energy and excitement as we draw near to our upcoming performance. Students have been working hard and giving 100% in all they do, while working amazingly as a team! The final pieces of the performance are all starting to come together, and our Wakakirri dancers are starting to see the storyline and vision come to life. This has generated even more excitement amongst students and the will to learn more and reach higher in every rehearsal! Saltwater College will be performing on Tuesday 22nd July at the Clocktower Centre in Moonee Ponds. Tickets for Wakakirri will go on sale soon and will sell fast. Please don’t miss out, and we look forward to seeing you all there!

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