Student Learning

What's been happening in Year 1/2W

With Term 3 well underway, our students have embraced an exciting term of learning, despite the chilly mornings and rainy days!

English

In Procedural Writing, students have been learning how to enrich and strengthen their writing through the integration of the Seven Steps program. This has included focusing on engaging starts to their writingto capture their reader’s attention. They are growing in skills and confidence as they work towards an exciting end-of-unit activity and thereafter put their procedural writing skills into practice by (perhaps) enjoying some holiday fun with their parents.

It has also been encouraging to see the positive impact of the Playberry program, with students continuing to make progress as demonstrated through our ongoing monitoring. We are incredibly grateful to our wonderful parent community for partnering with us and supporting students to regularly revise heart words, weekly sounds and morphology rules at home.

Visual Arts

This term, we have embarked on weekly literacy-inspired art experiences, drawing inspiration from a range of books, some shortlisted for Literacy Awards. The students have loved responding to the literature by creating amazing artworks many of which have been displayed in our classroom. One of our recent artworks involved the students using their blending skills to create one of their favourite (not so favourite!) vegetables, broccoli. Our Year 1 and Year 2 students have been experimenting with visual arts processes, materials and techniques, developing their skills in colour and blending to create their artwork.

Serve Project

In line with our Serve value at Pilgrim School, our students have been encouraged to look beyond themselves and consider how they can make a genuine difference in the lives of others, no matter how small the gesture. Each week, we have been visiting Estia Aged Care, where our students have been sharing smiles, conversations and games with the wonderful residents. It has been incredibly heart-warming to witness the joy these visits bring, with smiles lighting up the faces of both our students and the residents.

Thank you for your continued support throughout the term. It has been wonderful to see our students grow in confidence, creativity and kindness. We are grateful for your ongoing encouragement and partnership in their learning.

Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14

Carla Wiegels

Year 1/2 Class Teacher

What's been happening in Foundation L

It has been an exciting few weeks in Foundation as we reach half way in the term.

We have enjoyed spending time with our Grandbuddies, particularly showing them the baby chicks that we watch hatch over the previous week.

In Maths, we have been learning all about shapes. We have learnt about 2D and 3D shapes. We learnt about sides, edges, corners and faces. We found out that some shapes slide, stack and roll. We have sorted our shapes and made our own Mr Men and Little Miss Characters based on shapes.

In History, we have been finding out about our families. We have shared information about who is in our family and we took a 'journey around the world' to discover where members of our family were born or raised. We enjoyed hearing stories from some of our parents and Grandparents about the many different countries our Foundation families are from.

We enjoyed sharing a play at Worship about a special family in the Bible, Isaac and Sarah. We learnt that God keeps his promises. We had fun learning our lines, performing the play and singing the songs.

Megan Loffler and Lisa Newbury

Foundation Class Teachers

Student Led Conferences

In Week 4, our Year 5/6 students took part in Student Led Conferences, providing them with an opportunity to share their learning with their families and reflect on their progress throughout the year. It was wonderful to see so many families eagerly listening to their children share their learning, while our students stepped confidently into the role of presenting their achievements. A particular highlight was seeing students light up as they shared work they were especially proud of, as well as hearing their thoughtful reflections on their strengths and the goals they have set for themselves moving forward. We would like to thank everyone who helped make Student Led Conferences possible, and especially our families for supporting and encouraging their children throughout the evening.

Abbey McKennall

Year 5/6 Class Teacher

ASTA Oliphant Science Awards

Applause Erupts for Aurora’s Volcano

Pilgrim School had 13 entries in the Oliphant Science Awards this year, with all age categories represented and feedback about the high standard and quality of entries from our school.

Special mention goes to Aurora, who received ‘Highly Commended’ for her compressed air model of a volcano that shoots rocks when it becomes active.

Well done to all families involved. As teachers, we promote the Pilgrim School values to the students and it is deeply significant to students to see them practised in real and genuine ways by our parent community. The behind-the-scenes stories of support and friendships among families working to make the students’ entries a success are just as medal-worthy as any category win or prize.

With heartfelt thanks,

Andrew Harris

Specialist Science Teacher, Oliphant Science Awards Coordinator

Science Week Proves to be a Real ‘buzz’!

The theme for this year’s Science Week was Seeds of Science - focusing on sustainable food production. We rely on pollinators (insects, birds and mammals) to help flowers develop into the seeds, fruits and vegetables that form the major part of our healthy diet. Students spent the week searching for pollinators visiting the gardens on Campus, recording weather conditions and identifying anything we found on or around flowers throughout the day. By the end of Science Week, we had observed 221 individual pollinators from 22 species and 9 genera (the larger groups of similar species). Highlights from the survey were:

European Honeybees appeared in the greatest numbers and were the only pollinator to show up in every survey. They provide an excellent role in pollination, but also pose a threat to our Australian pollinators by aggressively dominating flower resources.
When sunny skies were accompanied by rapid temperature increases, the response in pollinator numbers and diversity rose dramatically and quickly.
The worst conditions for pollinators are a combination of low temperatures, wind, cloudy skies and rainfall.
Five new species were added to the Pilgrim School species list for the first time as a result of the survey.

In a time where the media can provide a gloomy view of what is happening to the world around us, it is beautiful for students to see first-hand that there is so much to discover going on around us every day in God’s creation, and to marvel at the beauty and diversity that speaks to the continued breath of life that flows through all living things. The photos show the students at work and some of the pollinators they discovered.

Andrew Harris

Specialist Science Teacher

NAPLAN 2026

Our Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN results were released earlier this term, and the national and state data recently became available. Whilst recognising that NAPLAN is only a snapshot of student achievement, Pilgrim School’s results have been consistently high historically. This year again, our results compared very favourably to the state and national averages, as you can see in the graphs below. Please note that due to technical issues with the NAPLAN platform on the first day of testing which affected testing nationally, ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) has not provided the Year 5 Writing mean.

Data provided by ACARA.

Premier's be Active Challenge

In it's 20th year, the Premier’s be Active Challenge is a great way for children to learn about, and enjoy their physical activity. How can your child/ren get involved:

Every student must have their activity recorded in the student recording booklet. These can be downloaded from Compass School Documentation or ask your child to collect one from the Front Office.
There is an option for a 4 week, 10 week or special 20 week challenge (for 2026 only).
Students must have their record verified by a parent, caregiver or teacher.
Pass on the completed Student Record to the Front Office by late Term 3.
Receive an award in late November.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school.

Brett Middleton

Campus Sports Coordinator & Pilgrim Wellbeing Coordinator

Premier's Reading Challenge – Last Chance to Take Part!

There's still time to be part of the Premier's Reading Challenge – but not much! All forms need to be completed and returned by Friday 4th September.

If your child hasn't finished their reading yet, don't stress – there's still time to get those last few books read before the deadline. Every child who completes the Challenge receives a certificate or medal to celebrate their achievement.

For younger children, reading together each night is a wonderful way to build confidence and a lifelong love of books. Older children can read independently, building their reading stamina and choosing books that interest them - although older children often enjoy being read to as well!

What you need to do:

Finish reading the required books (8 from the Challenge list, plus 4 books of your choice)
Complete the reading record
Return the form to your class teacher or Front Office by Friday 4th September.

Let's get every child across the finish line. You've got this!

Yiota Chesterfield

Inclusive Education Coordinator