Primary

                                                                   Mrs Leanne Schulz

Assistant Principal (Primary)

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Framework 

At the beginning of a school year, teachers establish routines and processes so that students are very clear about expectations regarding learning and behaviour. Teachers focus on building positive relationships with students and developing a safe, supportive, and collaborative learning environment. This year we have continued to implement our School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Framework. In the Primary school, this involves focussing on the Positive Behaviour Expectation Matrix which outlines the behaviours that we expect of all students. The Behaviour Expectation Matrix is based on the College values and the three areas of Respect, Responsibility and Learning.  

House Battles

By Kemindi and Jasvir - Year 6 House Leaders 

Year 1-6 students enjoyed their first ‘House Battles’ where they had the opportunity to collaborate with members from their House. 

The Houses: Millar, Clarke, Brodie and Cameron competed in a challenge against each other. The Year 3-6 students had to work in small groups to construct the tallest newspaper tower using limited resources within a set timeframe. The Year 1 and 2 students had to create the longest paper chain. We had fun organising this event with the teachers. Thank you for everyone that competed and we hope you all had fun. We would like to congratulate all the Houses for competing. We would also like to congratulate all the winners. Next term we will have a House battle to see who can win some more House points for their House. We hope you will enjoy the next House battle and good luck to everyone. Thank you! 

Fairview and Cumberland Open Afternoons 

It was wonderful to see families visiting the classrooms and sharing the engaging learning environments with your children. The partnership between home and school is highly valued. Thank you to parents for your ongoing support and trust, it is very much appreciated.  

Swimming Trials 

Congratulations to all students who participated in the swimming trials this week. Thank you to Mrs Emma Dowling, Primary House Sports Coordinator, and the PE staff for organising the event. There is a great deal of work that goes into ensuring that such events run smoothly. 

Cumberland Class Captains and Sustainability Leaders Semester 1

During the Cumberland Assembly this week, the Semester Class Captains and Sustainability Leaders were presented with their certificates and badges. Congratulations to the following students for being chosen to represent their class. 

2024 Class Captains Semester 1

2024 Sustainability Leaders Semester 1

Primary Captains 

By Lilly and Samuel 

Last Wednesday we organised a meeting with our Class Captains. As the voices for primary school, it is important that we share the ideas that were discussed with the teachers and College Council. Some of the ideas that all Class Captains brought to the meeting were amazing such as, on Harmony Day everyone could wear their cultural things. Another idea was getting bike racks because lots of people use bikes and ride their bikes to school and it will be environmentally friendly.  There were also lots of other ideas discussed.  

On Friday, the first College Council meeting was held at lunchtime. The Council is made up of all the School Captains, Principal and Assistant Principals. We shared all the Primary ideas with the College Council, and they took them into consideration. We encourage everyone to have a voice and share your ideas to make our school even better.  

Mrs Natasha Radley (Head of Year Prep)

It is that time of Term 1 where the Prep students have realised that school is here to stay. You may find that your child is tired and more grumpy than usual. This is normal. It may not feel normal as you get the thick of it at home, but it happens to most of the students. Trust me. 

You also may find that your child does not remember what they have done throughout the day, or they only remember play times! This is also very normal for Term 1 Preps. I can assure you that they have done a LOT of learning throughout the day and when they go home, it is the time where they can switch off a bit and relax. By the time we hand them over to you, they have done so much learning and socialising, they have no capacity to communicate what you would like to hear.  

In class the Prep students have been learning about communicating and ways in which to communicate. This varies depending on what they are wanting to convey. The students are learning how to ask questions and how to talk in a kind way to others. They are also learning how to look at another person when talking to them to ensure good manners and how to tell someone in a non-aggressive manner that they do not like something. The students have also been able to understand that nonverbal communication is also very important. 

Mrs Joanne Birchmore (Head of Years 1 & 2)

They say time flies when you’re having fun, and that’s exactly what we are finding in both Year 1 and Year 2! It’s hard to believe that we are already halfway through Term 1. It’s been an amazing few weeks with the few tears that we started the year off turning into smiles and laughter, the slight apprehension turning into eagerness and the concern of what a new year would bring, turning into excitement.

The Year 1 students have been working on number recognition and counting displaying a love for Maths and building upon their knowledge from Prep. They have embraced hands-on learning as well as more traditional forms of learning about numbers. We have read some amazing recounts from the students who have been eager to show their understanding of ‘who, what, where, when, why’ from visiting a sunflower farm, swimming with siblings and sleep overs at grandparents or cousins' houses. It’s lovely to see their little faces light up when they discuss something they have been successful at, and it goes to show that kids of all ages get a thrill from learning. 

The Year 2 students have continued work on their Forces unit in Integrated Studies by blowing bubbles demonstrating the amount of air determines the size of the bubble. They had a lot of fun with this activity and relished in the opportunity to learn outside with their friends. They have planned recounts in their books, and used playdough where they created the scene, took photos and then wrote about it. The students loved showing what they did including playing with their pets, going to the movies, and visiting the park. They showed off their creative sides and were proud of their masterpieces! 

Probably the highlight of the past few weeks has been our Battle of the Houses competition where the primary school got to compete in their houses completing different challenges. They loved making the longest paper chain and taking the most creative photo. It was a great way for the children to connect with friends and enjoy learning while discovering ways to be innovative and improve their chances of winning! 

We’re all looking forward to another fantastic few weeks of learning, connecting with others and having fun! 

Mrs Anne Adams (Head of Years 3 & 4)

We have had a jammed packed first half of Term 1 and more learning experiences to come! Here are some highlights from the students: 

Ranumi A - 3A 

I loved Kaboom. I am in Millar. I liked the activity where we had to hold the parachute and move and down. One of the Kaboom leaders threw rubber chickens in the middle. The chickens were flying up in the air when we made the parachute go up and down.

Hunter M -  3A

My favourite thing to do is to read long books. I’m into novels and magazines. My all time favourite is the ‘Tom Gates’ series. My favourite Tom Gates novel is ‘Everything’s Amazing.’ I get to read in the morning at school and I read at home a lot.  

Mila R - 3A

I like Maths because it is easy for me. I love learning about odd and even numbers and multiplication and division because it is harder for me. I like that the numbers come out when you didn’t expect that number. I like Math games too. We play in small groups.

Yasmin A - 3W 

I enjoy playing with my friends. Sometimes the group is big and sometimes it is small. We go across the road and sit down and talk. Other times we go to the Library where we colour in. 

Rayen D - 3W 

I love sports. I play cricket at recess and lunchtime. We have about twelve people playing. I love batting most because you can hit sixes and fours and then run. I also like P.E. My favourite thing that I did was tennis and cricket last year. I hope we do that again this year. 

Kavish K - 3W 

I love playing cricket. I play during snack and lunch and sometimes in the morning. I like bowling the best because I am a leg spinner and I know how to do every type of bowl. My batting specialty is that I hit big shots mostly. 

Selin D - 3R 

I like handwriting and writing. I am writing about Earth and the Sun. I learn that the Sun doesn’t move but the Earth goes around the Sun. The moon is just a rock. I think it goes around the Earth. 

Kavin A - 3R 

We have being learning about data in Maths. We are learning to collect data and to put them into tallies. I like Maths because it has hard equations and other hard stuff. 

Oliver J - 3R 

I love going across the road to play for my first time ever. I play soccer with my friends. I like to play in the position of a striker. I probably get three goals each day. We also get to go to the canteen to buy food. I couldn’t do that in Year 2. 

Melis D - 4N 

Mr Nevill makes everything fun while we are learning. If we are doing a warm-up for an activity, he makes it a game. My favourite game is ‘eleven’. It’s a bit like buzz. You can say up to three numbers and whoever gets the number eleven, is out. 

Lisara B - 4N 

I’m really excited to be a Class Captain. I went to a meeting on Wednesday and we shared our ideas. My idea was drawing flags of everyone’s culture for our class. I gave them out and then we talked about our backgrounds and they are now on the wall. 

Ashmit C - 4N 

I love playing soccer with my friends. Our day on the futsal court is Wednesday. I like to play defender or midfield. Most of the time we get along really well. 

Arhaan K - 4M 

In Mr Munro’s class we have been growing our sunflowers and measuring their growth. I like Kitchen Garden because we get to cook. We have practiced our cutting skills and have practiced safety. Next time we will cook! 

Hridya G - 4M 

I like Integrated Studies and Reading. I like growing sunflowers. I love books. At the moment, I am reading ‘My Pet Slime’ and ‘Excellent Excuses’ by Tom Gates. 

Emma L - 4M 

I have enjoyed seeing who is in my class and getting to know my new teacher, Mr Munro. I have made new friends and I love writing. At the moment we are writing about animals. My animal that I am researching and writing about is dogs. I am looking forward to camp. 

Nikolai M - 4I 

I liked being involved in Kaboom. We got to play soccer and kick mini goals. I also like playing on the futsal court. Our day is Wednesday. Sometimes Leo brings his ball, sometimes it is Melis. The teams are usually fair and I am a mid fielder, sometimes I am a striker. 

Raissa L - 4I 

I really love playing with my friends and hanging out in the morning before school. We play tag. We do rock, paper, scissors to figure out who is ‘it’, 

Max C - 4I 

I love P.E. I like playing with the ‘yoga’ ball and we played dodgeball. We had to run to the other side without getting hit. Our teacher is Ms Pocervina. She is fun!

Mrs Jane Steenkamp (Head of Years 5 & 6)

Last week, the Year 5 students braved the heat and wind and took a trip back in time to Sovereign Hill, a living museum in Ballarat, Victoria. The excursion was part of the history curriculum, focusing on the migration experiences to Australia during the 1850s gold rush era. 

The visit to Sovereign Hill was truly a journey through time, enriching the students' learning and understanding of Australia's rich heritage. Here is what the students had to say about the excursion: 

Last week Thursday 22 February all the Year 5’s went to Sovereign Hill, we saw many things, learnt and bought souvenirs. My highlights were the self-guided mine tour, a short underground walk with an audio to guide you and a small video, sound effects and FACTS! There were other things like gold pouring, gold panning and a small learning experience plus many shops. There were shops like a bakery, lolly shop, jewellery shop and ceramics, a photo store, a candle and soap store.   Arya K - 5T 

At the Sovereign Hill excursion we did gold panning where you had a pan and shovel and had to take rocks from the river to find gold. Some of our class mates found flakes! After that we went into a gold mine and saw the world's second biggest gold nugget. It was also really dark in the mine. We also had the opportunity to look at all the shops and buy things. My highlight was definitely the gold panning.   Anirudh J - 5T 

Last Thursday the Year 5's went to Sovereign hill. We watched a gold pour demonstration. The gold used for the presentation had been melted for three hours. First the presenter poured the molten gold as a fluid into a mold. After that when it cooled down to a solid, he got it out onto a small metal platform. He then explained that if you touch molten gold you will combust due to the extremely hot temperature. Then he put the gold bar into water to make it a solid. The presenter then explained that a three kilogram of 24 karat gold is worth $310k.   Sashwat D - 5M 

The underground mining was incredible. First, we had to go down long steps and then we went to watch a little clip which looked like a real scene. After that we went to see a giant piece of gold, but we had to go even deeper in the mine to see this. When we saw it most of the people were asking if that was real gold or if it was painted gold colour on metallic. We had to climb long steps that took like a century and at last we saw light. Our legs were tired and most people were panting. We all enjoyed our day and had a great time!

Ryan S - 5M 

On Thursday all the Year 5's went to SOVEREIGN HILL. The bus left at 8:10am, the bus ride went for 1 hour and 30 minutes. When we got there 5M got split in half, half went to Mr Keegan and Mrs Gilbert . The other half went to Mrs Touma and Mr Miller . One group went gold mining and the other group went to an important education session on the gold rush. After that we swapped over. The next activity we did was going to the market. Some people bought lollies and chocolate, later we went through a mine and watched people find a vein of gold . Later we did bowl and candle making. Finally our day finished off with watching someone make a block of gold from a goal pour. It was an awesome day!

Lily M - 5M 

Shifting our focus from history to the realm of engineering, in STEM Year 6 students have been on an exciting journey through the design process, drawing inspiration from the adventures of Engibear. They have read about Engibear's quest to design, build, and test a Bearbot to share his workload, which sparked their creativity. Delving into parts of the design process, students embarked on their own design challenges, drawing designs of robots tailored to address needs they identified for themselves. These activities have not only enriched their understanding of STEM but have also fostered their problem-solving skills and creativity. 

Fairview and Cumberland Chapel and Assembly 

Important Dates