Primary School

Year Three Camp

After 11 months of anticipation, the Year Three students have finally hiked, climbed, summited, descended, searched, built, feasted, s’mored, spotlighted, slept, breakfasted and completed their first Great Southern Grammar Campover Spectacular!

With lovely hiking weather of threatened drizzle, we were greeted at the Castle Rock picnic grounds by the largest collection of parent helpers we have ever had. We fueled up with packed recesses and set off at a brisk pace, confident that the cooler weather would keep our reptile friends at home. After a handful of brief snack stops and a gawk at the most obscenely large earthworm we had ever seen, we made it to the balancing rock that marks the end of the hike and the beginning of our scrambling. 

As most of our band of adventurers snacked, explored and cheered from a lower observation deck, small groups of students and helpers made their way through the three sections of granite and ladders, with almost all of us making it to the top of the highest platform. After safely returning to the car park and then returning to sea level, we settled in at school for the afternoon’s activities. The afternoon tea buffet of platters and brownies recharged our energy bars in preparation for the wild sprinting and photographing of the treasure hunt. Some of the rarest finds were creatures with six arms and cats made of sand, but we figured them out in time to set up our bedding before the pizzas arrived for dinner.

As the sun was thinking of setting, our Jo-Joe’s pizzas were passed from the boot of a Hyundai Getz delivery car into the eager arms of our Year Three students. Entering the Primary School foyer like Jack returning to town from the beanstalk carrying the golden goose, the pizza feast was laid out on the banquet table. Our wonderful students politely remembered all of their manners and ate sensible portions accompanied by witty conversations on important topics.

Finally, the sun had set, and the evening’s most anticipated activities were tantalisingly close. Ms Ritchie oversaw the building of spectacular wooden constructions while legendary outdoorsman, Mr Hardey, lit an epic campfire and the s’mores components were prepped for the final tasty treat of the day. Students roasted marshmallows to their personal specifications, stacked biscuits and chocolate with architectural precision and shared plans for spotlight-hiding spots while licking their sticky fingers. Then the clouds parted just long enough for us to get a couple of rounds of spotlight completed (which Nate won spectacularly!) before the security alarm suggested it was time for sleep.

With teeth brushed and jimbo-jammies on, our students retired to their dorms at a very sensible hour. The comforting words of Ms Pears warmly welcomed the girls to Noddyland and the boys were told to go to sleep. And they all did.

At a fairly reasonable time on Friday morning, students began to awaken. The boys woke intermittently and each began the day by respecting their friends’ needs for sleep, choosing, I suppose, to read the financial papers in silence. The girls woke and decided to recreate the title track from Deep Forest’s debut album at full volume. A game of cricket was set up outside as the bacon and eggs were fried up for breakfast and our wonderful parents returned to pick us up.

As an introduction to the yearly camp schedule at Great Southern Grammar, the Year Three Campover was a massive success. All of our students were able to push themselves through challenging situations and demonstrate personal achievements. For some of our classmates, it was their first time sleeping away from home, and they can now look forward to the gradual increase of independence in future Primary School camps.

Interm Swimming - Lunch Orders

Please be aware that when selecting items, lunch orders will arrive at the usual time, but will be eaten later for students in Pre-Primary, Year Two, Three and Six.

Reminder to label ALL interm swimming items with your child’s name.

Classroom News

We hope you enjoy reading about what has been happening in our Early Childhood and Primary School classes.

Kindergarten

This week we celebrated our very first Kindergarten Athletics Day – a wonderful community event built on inclusion and a “have-a-go” spirit. The students, who had been eagerly practising in the lead-up, were excited to showcase their skills and took part in a variety of activities, including running races, egg-and-spoon challenges, sack races and beanbag relays.

Not to be outdone, the parents laced up their shoes and joined in enthusiastically, competing in their own special events such as the egg-and-spoon race and running race.

It was a fantastic morning enjoyed by everyone, with all students participating beautifully and the highlight being the joyful involvement of so many parents.

Pre-Primary 

This week in Mathematics, the Pre-Primary class has been exploring capacity. We have been using direct measuring to compare which container holds the most. Did you know that sometimes a long skinny container holds less than a short fat one? Mind blowing! We are also very excited by the arrival of the ECC Elf Jingles. We cannot wait to find out what mischief Jingles instigates.

Year One

This week the culmination of the Term Four inquiry has been to create a poster to demonstrate the students’ knowledge of the Diwali, Festival of Lights through the given ‘who, what, when, where and how’ questions. The individual creativity has been amazing, and everyone was able to give examples of how this festival is celebrated through the different uses of light. The celebrations have continued this week ... the return of Kiddo in the Gym, the fantastic pop-up French patisserie with Madame Krier and the weekly paired reading with the wonderful Year Four class! The Nativity has been unveiled, and all the parts have been given out and the final, and most important, letter-writing task has been completed – the letter to Santa! I wonder if he will have time to reply to our letters?

Year Two 

There was excitement plus in Year Two this week. After patiently waiting, we finally had three butterflies emerge from their chrysalises and we were lucky to actually witness one of them! It was amazing how small their wings were when they first came out. After about 20 minutes, when the fluid from their abdomen had been pumped into the wings, they were full size. We were so lucky to be able to hold them. We also enjoyed releasing them into the wild when they were ready to be free. Despite these exciting distractions, we have also been busy planning arguments and writing persuasive texts about dogs or cats being the best pets. We have been learning about persuasive writing features such as explanation marks, exaggeration and even rhetorical questions!

Year Four

This week in Science, students have been learning about the differences between erosion and mechanical weathering. We did this by venturing out into the play sand to build our own model mountains. Students created gradients and mimicked the natural forces of rainfall to see how the shape of a hill changed because of erosion. In Health students have been reflecting on the merits and dangers of screen time. Whilst we are only really in the infancy of studying the effects of screen time on children, it was interesting to see how the students consider whether screens are, on balance, a positive or negative in their lives. 

Year Five 

Students have been having a lot of fun in Mathematics this week, classifying the types of angles in fun and creative ways by using their bodies. Also, we have been exploring chance by creating games and aligning these ideas to our Science experiments, as the class looks at how light is reflected, refracted and split into the visible spectrum. In HASS students are starting to imagine how it may have been to be a convict in the first fleet, as well as how Noongar nations received and perceived the arrival of these pale invaders. Students are constructing several text forms to illustrate these perspectives, as well as how the land has changed throughout time because of human hands. This concept flows perfectly into our English comparison task where students have compared The Lorax by Dr Suess with the film adaptation of the book. Students are putting great detail into describing how these two texts differ and are alike. Many of the class prefer the age-old picture book as we are perfecting it as our class fluency task. Focusing on expression, intonation, texture and timing are key concepts for the students to deliver the best-read The Lorax ever by any class at Great Southern Grammar.

Year Six

This week in chemical sciences, students investigated how heat can cause materials to change by designing and testing their own solar ovens. Using everyday items such as chocolate and marshmallows, they observed first-hand how solids can melt when exposed to the Sun’s energy. The students experimented with different oven designs, compared results, and recorded how the materials changed state. It was a hands-on (and delicious!) way to deepen their understanding of how heat affects matter, and the photos captured plenty of excitement as their solar treats transformed.

Languages

To celebrate an amazing year of learning Languages and French, we wrapped things up in the most delicious way − with a selection of sumptuous French treats delivered straight from La Pâtisserie 1931! The pastries were a feast for the eyes and the taste buds, and an extra treat for Madame Krier’s ears as all students from Pre-Primary to Year Six confidently ordered their cakes and pastries en français. Learning a new language can be challenging, and I am incredibly proud of all our students who have grown from having little to no French to holding short conversations with enthusiasm and courage. I cannot wait to continue this language-learning journey with them next year and see just how far it will take us!

ECC Briefing 

The following superstars have consistently delivered exceptional results and received a Star Award for their outstanding efforts. 

Kindergarten H: Isobel Henry

Kindergarten M: Alby Sedunary

Pre-Primary: Eric Chen

Year One: Oakley Pyle

Year Two: Ava Smart

The following students have stood out for their ability to show compassion.

Kindergarten H: Ajit Grewal

Kindergarten M: Laylah Stone 

Pre-Primary: Harry Downham

Year One: Hargun Chahal

Year Two: Athena Wong

Upcoming Events

Week Six

• Friday 21 November, House briefing and House Leader voting, Year Three to Six. Please wear House shirts.
• Friday 21 November, Staff v students cricket game. Students are invited to wear a pink accessory and bring a gold coin to raise money for breast cancer research. 

Week Seven

• Monday 24 November to Friday 28 November, Interm swimming lessons, Pre-Primary to Year Six. Please label all items with your child’s name.
• Friday 28 November, Orientation Day for 2026 Kindergarten to Year Five, 9.00am to 11.15am; and 2026 Year Seven, 9.00am to 1.30pm

Week Eight

Monday 1 December to Friday 5 December, Interm swimming lessons, Pre-Primary to Year Four, and Year Six. Please label all items with your child’s name.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Ms Leah Field | Head of Primary and

Mrs Hayley Ranger | Head of Early Childhood