Learning & Teaching

Michela Vella and Josy Reeder

Grade 3/4 Excursion to Polly Woodside

On Monday, our Grade 3/4 students enjoyed an exciting and educational adventure to Polly Woodside. The trip began with an immersive session on Wurundjeri culture, where students learned about the traditions, stories, and daily lives of the Wurundjeri people, the traditional custodians of the land.

Next, the students explored the historic Polly Woodside ship. They were fascinated by its storied past and had the chance to explore the decks, cabins, and cargo holds, imagining life at sea in the late 19th century.

The adventure continued with a scenic walk along the Birrarung (Yarra River) where students discovered Aboriginal landmarks and historical sites, learning about the traditional uses of native plants and the importance of the river to the Wurundjeri people.

This excursion enriched the students' understanding of local history and culture, fostering a greater appreciation for the diverse heritage that shapes our community. The students returned with a wealth of knowledge and lasting memories, eager to share their experiences with their families and friends.

Grade 5/6 Excursion to the Immigration Museum

On Thursday, the Grade 5/6 students went on an excursion to the Immigration Museum.The excursion aimed to complement our classroom learning, students attended the 'Many Stories' workshop where they were led by museum staff and learnt about migration stories, explored the museum and visited the Sandridge Bridge where they interacted with 'The Travellers' exhibit. Although the weather was a little wet, we had a fun and exciting day in Melbourne city.

G.A.T.E.WAYS Eureka - Language and Literature

At the end of last term, selected students had the opportunity to participate in two half day workshops led by specialist educators from G.A.T.E.WAYS. Students were exposed to notable authors and their works to inspire their own creative writing and expression. By learning various literary techniques, formats, and structures, they broadened their ability to shape their unique voices. They developed creative thinking skills in both content—such as character, setting, and conflict—and construction. This program encouraged students to extend their reading and writing choices, enriching their practical and conceptual understanding of literature.

By Cleo & Noah

We had so much fun in Gateways. Gateways is a special program for kids to challenge themselves in learning and try new things to help them to expand their knowledge. In the morning we left with our school bags and our pencil cases. We had to go to the Indonesian room to get our name tags. There were a bunch of different schools at the Gateways program that were excited to be at our amazing school.

In the morning, we split off into two different classes based on our grades. There were Grades 4 to 6 in one group and Grades 1 to 3 in the other. We were with Layla in the STEM room. Firstly, we played a knockout game. Then, we read a book with a partner that we were all familiar with. Noah and I (Cleo) read ‘The Three Little Pigs’, and as a group, we all had to pick cards and place it on the story people thought matched the book. Then Layla told us that we could change the entire story with one different object. For example, what if in Cinderella, instead of a glass slipper she could have dropped her phone and the prince went around town trying to see if anyone could unlock the phone by putting the passcode in.

Then, Cleo and I had to write a prologue about the three little pigs. A prologue is a short paragraph that introduces the main characters and can be held in the past or future. It’s meant to leave the reader curious and entertained. After we had written it, we went down on the mat and shared our prologue with the other students. Everyone had a great prologue.

Then we went to the Indonesian room to learn with Rachel. In Rachel's lesson we learnt about Sci-fi. Sci-fi means science fiction. We were looking at different movies that included science fiction. Some were Back To The Future, Wall e, Star Wars and Jurassic Park. Then we had a go at naming different books that are science fiction. Rachel told us that writers aren’t making science fiction books for our age so she challenged us to write a science fiction story. She told us about the story of Frankenstein. In 1816, Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein during a holiday. Then she told us about sub genres and hard and soft Sci-Fi. Then we wrote our story. My story was about an alien who got trapped inside a computer and had to try to escape. Noah’s story was about Star Wars where the Nedi used night sabres to defeat battle Moids.

Overall, it was a great experience and we can’t wait to go back next time!

Milo's Birthday

Throughout the year our Prep students have been learning letters and sounds through the Little Learners Love Literacy program. This program explores the letters and sounds through the book Milo’s Birthday Surprise. Each week we invite a new character to attend Milo’s Birthday Surprise. The Preps learnt all 26 letters and their sounds and so on Wednesday we celebrated Milo’s Birthday Surprise.

Each family was assigned a letter of the alphabet and brought in a small plate of food beginning with that letter to share! We had so much fun celebrating Milo!

Junior School Olympics

Today, we will celebrated the beginning of the Olympics. The junior school participated in Olympic themed rotations including sport games outside. The students wore the colours of the Olympic Rings (black, red, yellow, blue, and green). We enjoyed this fun and festive day!