Specialist Updates

Art

 Foundation students are exploring wax-resist techniques, using markers to create patterns, shapes and lines in their artworks. They are layering watercolours over their designs and observing how the wax resists the paint, allowing their patterns to stand out. Students are experimenting with colours, shapes and overlapping techniques to create unique and vibrant backgrounds,

Years 1 and 2

Students in Years 1 and 2 are creating lion-inspired portraits using fluorescent watercolours and markers. They are exploring vibrant colours, expressive lines and patterns to bring their lions to life. Through experimenting with different techniques, students are creating bold, colourful and individual artworks.

Years 3 and 4

Students in Years 3 and 4 are exploring the work of mentor artist Paula Wiegmink, taking inspiration from her close-up drawings of safari animals. They are looking closely at and responding to her artworks, investigating how line, detail, texture and pattern can capture the unique features of each animal. These observations are informing and inspiring students as they develop their own animal-inspired artworks.

Years 5 and 6

Students in Years 5 and 6 are exploring the work of First Nations artist Kaylene Whiskey, researching her vibrant artworks and the influential women who inspire her practice. They are investigating the concept of celebrating female role models and selecting an inspiring woman to become the focal point of their own artworks this term. Through this process, students are exploring identity, representation and the ways art can celebrate strong and influential women.

STEM

Students in Prep, Year 1 and 2 began their new STEM unit, Mission to Space!  Exploring the big question, “How can we design things to help humans explore space?”, students watched a short video showing what Earth looks like from the International Space Station. They also learnt that the word astronaut derives from Greek words meaning “star sailor” and discovered that only a small number of humans have travelled into space. To finish the session, students designed their own astronaut mission badges, ready for their exciting journey into space exploration. 

This week, Year 3 students began their new STEM coding unit, where they will be creating their own games using Scratch! Students explored what coding means and learnt that it involves giving a computer a set of instructions, known as an algorithm, to follow. They also explored different types of games they could create, including  catching, jumping, shooting and snake games, to help inspire their own game designs. We look forward to seeing their creative ideas come to life. 

Year 4 students began their screen-free coding unit, as requested by the students, where they will work towards building an Ozobot 3D City! They met their Ozobot, Evo, and learnt how to turn it on, calibrate it, and navigate using drawn lines and colour codes. Students are excited to develop their coding skills and bring their city to life. 

Following student requests at the end of last term, Year 5/6 students have begun exploring the world of 3D printing! They learnt what 3D printing is, explored the different materials and ways 3D printers are used, and discovered some fascinating facts about this technology. Students are looking forward to exploring how they can bring their own designs to life this term.

Italian

The Prep students have begun the term by learning how to name family members in Italian. They have completed and shared illustrations of their family. As they continue to prepare for Italian Day the students have listened to the songs they were introduced to last term that will be part of the incursion.

Year 1- 6

The  term has begun with the sound of singing, as the students practised the Italian songs they were introduced to last term. They have shown great recall of lyrics and actions as they sang three songs from the incursion they will take part in on Italian Day. They have been introduced to a new song about Gladiators which allowed for some role play as students took on the characters mentioned in the song. They have also worked on activities that help them with the words of the song La Pasta.

Performing Arts

Foundation students are taking inspiration from The Bare Necessities song, using their hands and body movements to express the music and rhythm. They are exploring how movement, gesture and actions can respond to the beat and tempo of the music, developing their coordination, creativity and confidence as they move along to the song.

Year 1 has jumped straight into another term of  music by participating in activities to revise and practise rhythm and reading notes on the treble clef. They enjoyed playing along with the rhythm patterns of the song Chicken Banana, using different instruments. This week they have begun learning to play Mary Had A Little Lamb on the glockenspiel.

Year 2 enthusiastically began another term of music, as they sang a traditional Ghanan folk song Obwisan as part of a circle passing game. They were able to keep a steady beat, add more complex movements with rhythm sticks and experimented successfully with changes in tempo and volume.

They have revised beat, rhythm and reading musical notation and applied their skills as they played Mary Had a Little Lamb on the Glockenspiel or kept the beat on a percussion instrument.

Year 3 began this term by learning about sharp and flat notes in music and how to read and play high and low notes. They have then leaped back into their practice of their chosen piece of music from a music soundtrack on the glockenspiel applying their new found knowledge.

They are working towards presenting their chosen song as part of an assessment task in a few weeks.

Year 4 have revised playing the notes B A D G C on the recorder. They have then learned about duets in music and practised reading those notes as they interpreted an accompaniment to the song When The Saints Go Marching In. They have formed groups and have begun practising both parts to eventually play the song as a duet.

Year 5 and 6 have explored the idea of jingles used to advertise products. They enjoyed working in groups to present their own short jingles advertising something about Stella Maris School. They have then continued learning how to play the ukulele, completing various activities as part of a rotation. They were introduced to the G chord and practised the song Rip Tide which contains the four chords they have learnt so far.

Physical Education

Our first few weeks of school showcased Stella’s students’ sporting prowess with so many of them progressing to Kingston Division Competitions, representing the school in their different sports.

Congratulations to all of the 13 students who represented Stella at the Kingston Division Athletics.  All participants tried their hardest, jumped, threw and ran their fastest while competing with great sportsmanship to make us all proud. Well done team!

Good Luck to our Boys Volleyball team which headed to Frankston today to compete in the SSV Division Finals and also to the Senior Boys Basketball team which will have its turn to play Division finals the following week on Thursday 22 October.  We are all so proud of you and wish you the very best. 

Year 5 and 6 students have been working on developing their Volleyball skills in serving, digging, setting and spiking, while applying strategies and understanding team positioning during game play.  Using strategic movement, following rules and team work are all part of the unit’s focus.

Year 3 and 4 students have started their unit on Volleyball where they will focus on learning the key movements, rules and hitting techniques of the game. The students will play a modified version of Volleyball - Volleystars which will allow for skill development, inclusion and also help students gain an understanding of strategies used in the sport.

Students in Years 1 and 2 have started a unit in Tennis skills. They are currently working on developing and keeping control of the ball and racquet, maintaining safe movement with the racquet and learning the forehand stroke and volley.  They are also taking part in playing short rallies with each other. 

Prep students will be involved in a Tennis Skills unit, starting with an understanding of how to use their peripheral vision to keep themselves and classmates safe when using a tennis racquet.  They are developing skills in how to keep control of the racquet and ball and use safe movements while using the tennis equipment. The students will then progress to developing their forehand and volley strokes.

All Stella Maris Students have had the opportunity to participate in the school swimming program in the past two weeks.  The Year 2 - 6 students will celebrate their learning with a swimming carnival on Friday 16 October.  District swimming trials for the Cheltenham District Schools Carnival in 2027 will also be held on the day. 

Library

A Huge Thank You!

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful support of our Jungle Themed Book Fair! It was an amazing success, and we are so grateful for the fantastic sales and the enthusiasm shown by our school community.

Thanks to your support, we have lots of wonderful new books and some fantastic new resources for our students to enjoy!

The students and I are also looking forward to displaying our Christmas books and starting our Christmas Book Advent Countdown! We have some fantastic new Christmas books that I am excited to share with the students as we countdown to Christmas! 

Our students will have their final book-borrowing session during the week ending Friday, 4th December. However, we will continue enjoying our Christmas Countdown books in the library up until the end of our school year. 

Louise Moore,

Library Technician