Primary Specialists
Music
Dear Parents and Students,
We’re excited to share some wonderful updates from the Music Department! Each term, students from Prep to Grade Six attend weekly music sessions in our dedicated music room.
In Prep and Grade One, our focus is on developing beat and rhythm through clapping, tapping, and movement. These foundational activities help students build coordination and a strong sense of musical timing in a fun and active way.
Grade Two students are exploring the basics of percussion ensemble work. They’re experimenting with instruments such as drums, xylophones, and shakers, learning how to listen to one another and play together as a group.
From Grade Three to Grade Six, we are extending these skills through more structured ensemble work using both tuned and untuned percussion instruments:
Grade 3 is learning to perform Obwisana, a Ghanaian clapping and singing game arranged for percussion ensemble.
Grade 4 is playing Che Che Kule, a West African call-and-response song adapted for classroom instruments.
Grade 5 is working on Funga Alafia, combining voice, movement, and multi-instrument accompaniment in a vibrant performance.
Grade 6 is taking on Sansa Kroma, a traditional song from Ghana that challenges students to play interlocking rhythms across a range of instruments.
Each class is developing ensemble awareness, refining their musical technique, and learning to work collaboratively as they rehearse and perform these exciting pieces.
We’re so proud of the progress our students are making and can’t wait to see where their musical journey takes them next. Thank you for your continued support! We encourage you to nurture a love of music at home by enjoying rhythm games, attending live performances, or simply encouraging your child to share what they’ve learned.
Warm regards,
The Music Department
Exploring Chinese Traditional Festivals From Prep to Year 6
This term, all Mandarin students from Prep to Year 6 have been busy learning about two of China’s most important traditional festivals: 端午节 (Duānwǔ Jié – Dragon Boat Festival) and 中秋节 (Zhōngqiū Jié – Mid-Autumn Festival). Across all year levels, students explored the stories, history, traditions, and meanings behind these special celebrations, building a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and why these festivals are still honoured today.
Our Prep students were introduced to these festivals through colourful stories and pictures. They enjoyed learning how Chinese people celebrate with dragon boats, zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), and mooncakes. They also completed themed colouring sheets to reinforce key images and ideas.
In Years 1 and 2,students learned full festival stories and began recognising key symbols and traditions associated with each celebration. Using simple vocabulary and checklist-style worksheets, they explored elements like lanterns, mooncakes, kites, and family reunions.
Year 3 and 4 students dug deeper into the history of each festival. They learned how and why Chinese people celebrate them today and what these traditions represent within Chinese culture. To support character recognition, they completed creative Chinese character colouring tasks based on key festival words.
In Years 5 and 6, students focused on understanding the significance of each festival and when they are celebrated on the lunar calendar. They explored traditional customs, key historical figures, and legends like Qu Yuan and the moon goddess Chang’e. Students worked with timelines, character writing, and reflection tasks to express what they had learned.
We look forward to continuing our journey through Chinese cultural traditions and will explore more exciting festivals in the upcoming term!
Wellbeing:
The past 2 weeks, students in Grade 1-6 have been working on similarities and differences between each other as well as strategies to work well in teams. Students demonstrated this using Venn diagrams, videos, learnt teamwork skills and play.
Grades 1 & 2
Grades 1 and 2 were partnered up with someone they did not usually sit with in the class to complete a similarities and differences comparison with their partner by writing or drawing. Students needed to find at least 3 similarities to their partner by asking questions such as; do you play a sport and what is your favourite colour. In the following session, Grades 1 and 2 used the skills learnt in their previous session, to create their own story by taking it in turns to create one sentence each then swapping with another group to finish the story they have created. This builds on student communication skills and turn-taking skills.
Grades 3 & 4
Grades 3 & 4 have also been working on the same topic of similarities and differences although they needed to complete this using their own personal created Venn diagram and needed to find more similarities between each other. Some groups were made groups of 3 where they were to find similarities between all 3 students. The following session consisted of students putting their differences aside and working as a team to ‘untie the human knot’. This activity involves students being in a group and creating a ‘human knot’ with their arms and needing to communicate as a team to try ‘untie’ the ‘knot’ and create a perfect circle with their group.
Grades 5 & 6
Grades 5 & 6 have been focusing on their similarities and differences alongside building a deeper understanding of how people change and can build or reduce their similarities and differences over time. The following session consisted of a few short movie clips where students needed to analyse positives and negatives of the teamwork being shown. As a class we created a list of positives and negatives of teamwork which students later implemented into their class competition of ‘Team Relay Charades’. The class were given challenging group situations during this where the focus was around teamwork rather than the ‘winning team’.
VISUAL ART
Prep Art
What a fantastic last two weeks in Art. Firstly, a big shout out to all our amazing parents and students for bringing in materials for our sock puppet project. Your donations are greatly appreciated! Thank you! I cannot wait to pursue our next project and create our masterpieces. If you still have any clean long, socks (without holes) or recycled materials you'd like to donate, that would be incredible. Please give these to your child's classroom teacher. What's been happening in Art? In Week 5, our Prep students begun a new inquiry: Central Idea: Emotions, attitudes and beliefs influence the way we act. Once again, we have seamlessly aligned our Art curriculum with the Prep team. Students inquired into how we use colours and textures to show feelings & emotions. They begun to learn about a new element of Art: texture and will continue to learn about texture this term, both actual texture and implied texture. In Week 6, students learnt how they can create a connection between colour and emotions through matching certain emotions and feelings with colours and drawing emotions with different colours. Well done Preps!
Grade 1 and 2 Art
Art in week 5 and 6 has inspired further masterpieces with a focus on Complementary Colours and Contrast! Students created realistic art work from observation and a touch of imagination! Art work included the Elements of Art -Colour, Shape, Line and texture, and how such elements combine to create a harmonious and vibrant art piece! The fruits of our student's work looked so real, they seemed good enough to eat! Using blending, shading and contrast, students made the art work pop out of the page with flair.
In week 6, students based their creations on Van Gogh's 'Starry Night,' and Monet's Cityscapes. Buildings of varying heights, overlapping to create distance, foreground and background, were a sight to admire.
The bright background contrasted well with the black and patterned cities. Students enjoyed utilising materials around the art room, such as, rulers for the buildings, containers for the circle stars, and stencils for added designs in the background....The best feature of the past 2 weeks was.... Some exceptional art pieces were submitted by 2 amazing educational support staff... very talented indeed! Thank-you Romana and Ms T! Brilliant, quiet achieving artists, must be acknowledged for their effortless creations in little less than an hour of art time! Well done! Bravo ladies...lucky to work alongside you in the art room!
Grade 3 and 4 Art
In the last couple of weeks in Art, students explored Vincent van Gogh’s "Bedroom in Arles" to better understand how artists use perspective to create depth and space. By analysing the painting, they identified the horizon line and vanishing point, and discussed how van Gogh used angled lines and visual cues to draw the viewer’s eye into the room.
Building on this knowledge, some students took ownership of their own learning by creating perspective drawings of their own bedrooms. This hands-on activity allowed them to apply key concepts in a personal and meaningful way translating what they observed in van Gogh’s work into their own artistic expression.
It was a fantastic blend of art history, technical skill, and student creativity.
Grade 5 & 6 Art
This week in Visual Arts, Grade 5 and 6 students have been diving deeper into their watercolour studies, building on foundational skills to refine their painting techniques. As part of this exploration, they’ve focused on how to use watercolour to create depth in landscapes, experimenting with colour gradients, perspective, and layering to give a sense of space and distance. They’ve also been working on still life compositions, learning how to create a sense of form and volume by applying shading and tone with watercolour. These exercises are helping students strengthen their observational skills and gain greater control over the medium, setting a strong foundation for their upcoming artworks.
Spanish.
¡Hola! Celebrating Spanish Learning Across Our School
At our school, the Spanish program is more than just learning vocabulary—it's a journey into language and culture! Our goal is to introduce students to the beauty and diversity of the Spanish-speaking world, while helping them develop the confidence to use Spanish in fun and meaningful ways.
Across the school, our students have been engaging in exciting Spanish activities:
Prep to Year 2 – Students are learning the names of foods in Spanish, sorting their favourite foods, and enjoying a food-themed colouring activity. They are also learning about opposites through fun movement activities like “arriba/abajo” (up/down).
Grade 3/4 – These learners are exploring vocabulary related to the weather, days of the week, and months of the year. They’re using this new language to describe daily conditions and build sentences.
Grade 5/6 – Students are working on asking and responding to questions about directions in Spanish. They are learning how to give simple instructions and understand how to get from one place to another in Spanish-speaking contexts.
¡Bien hecho! Well done to all our enthusiastic Spanish learners.
MEDIA with Mr. Brendan Howarth
Prep
Prep students have finished their mini-unit focused on learning about our emotions. We are now focusing on using media texts, such as Bluey and Ask the Storybots to explore the difference between fiction and non-fiction, identifying characters, and understanding of media can inform as well as entertain.
Year One
We are branching out from our understanding of Dreamtime stories to explore how other cultures have stories of their own passed down through generations.
Year Two
Having developed an understanding of close-up, medium, and long shots, Year Two students are now using their skills to depict behaviours of the PYP, such as Thinkers.
Year Three
Students are continuing to represent different areas of their school community through photography (such as spaces for physical recreation) and then presenting those photos on slides with titles and information.
Year Four
Year Fours are continuing to learn about Indigenous Australian history through text-to-world connections to the TV series, Thalu.
Year Five
Our examination of how media has evolved over time has extended to music players, such as walkmans and i-Pods, and how we can create music online electronically with different apps.
Year Six
Following along with the Writing Process we use in literacy classes, Year Six students are progressing with the creation of their two to three minute podcasts. Students have brainstormed, planned, and are drafting their scripts, ready to soon record.
DANCE.
The Year 6 students have had some great break throughs over the last couple of weeks in dance. The students were taught a mixture of dance combinations they had to remember, and were then paired up with fellow classmates they that don’t normally work or associate with. In this task they had to work with their partner and rearrange the combinations they had learnt within a certain time frame, while staying within the guidelines and requirements set out. This taught the students time management, problem solving skills, communication, compromise, creativity, while being a risk taker and open minded to each others ideas. We also had a game of freeze while free styling, in which we discussed and highlighted the importance of consistently working hard and creating opportunities, instead of waiting for opportunities to present themselves before being proactive and acting upon it. This created more insight into the possibilities of reaching personal goals and dreams, and we can alter our approach and benefit ourselves to help create and achieve them moving forward.
VSSS...(Dance)
The VSSS dancers have been rehearsing over the last couple of weeks on the new routines and updated routines passed on at the last Hub rehearsal here at school. We have focussed on attention to detail and correcting minor habits and variations of choreography that have crept in throughout rehearsals. This is to help ensure we are all doing exactly what’s required and all looking sharp, strong and exactly the same! The dancers have been working hard and have a great approach to all we’re doing. They just keep getting better!
Wakakirri...(Dance)
Our Wakakirri dancers have been rehearsing very hard throughout the past couple of weeks and they just keep getting stronger. We have made changes to upgrade current choreography and combinations, as well as learning new sections to add into the show. As each rehearsal progresses, the students get a clearer insight to the vision that we are working on, creating more excitement and energy in how they work and all they do. We have increased the rehearsal schedule slightly to help get everyone ready for the big show ahead. The clock is ticking with only 5 weeks to go and so much to do, but these talented and hungry dancers always rise to the occasion and keep pushing the boundaries. We can’t wait to see them shine on stage soon!