Primary School

Inquiry-based learning doesn’t demand a right answer; it asks for an explanation

- Laina Porter

In education, finding the right balance between play, curiosity, questioning, and curriculum is essential for fostering a well-rounded learning experience. Play is a vital tool for young learners, as it sparks creativity, encourages problem-solving, and allows for exploration. When combined with curiosity, it nurtures a natural desire to learn and discover new concepts. Questioning further enhances this by promoting critical thinking and deepening understanding, allowing students to challenge ideas and develop independent thought.

However, the curriculum provides structure, ensuring students gain the necessary knowledge and skills. The key is not to treat these elements separately, but to weave them together in a way that makes learning both meaningful and engaging. By blending playful exploration, curiosity-driven inquiry, thoughtful questioning, and a solid curriculum, we create an environment where learners are motivated, empowered, and better prepared for lifelong success. Striking this balance is fundamental to developing well-rounded, curious minds.

Primary Interhouse Swimming Carnival

What a day!!! Energy, enthusiasm, sportsmanship, camaraderie and great competition was on show this year for our Primary Interhouse Swimming Carnival. The day was extremely well represented throughout with many students pushing themselves in many of our races. Congratulations to all our medal winners as well as the winning House: Camfield.

Thank you to all the support from our community on the day.

Champion Girls and Boys

Year Three Girls

1st Aurora Leslie, 2nd Lucy De Groot

Year Three Boys

1st Nate Lucas, 2nd Louie Sutton

Year Four Girls

1st Stephanie Forgus, 2nd Evie Ford

Year Four Boys

1st Mason Fourie, 2nd Faolan Williams

Year Five Girls

1st Laily Wrobel, 2nd Ava Rowe

Year Five Boys

1st Tate Eckersley, 2nd Fraser Lester

Year Six Girls

1st Emily Leov, 2nd Leah Watkins

Year Six Boys

1st Malachy Williams, 2nd Samuel Forgus

Champion House

1st Camfield, 2nd Mokare, 3rd Baudin, 4th Wilson

We hope you enjoy reading the news from our Primary classes.

Kindergarten: We have had lots of fun this week. We are exploring shapes and colours through play and had lots of fun making watermelon paintings using triangle sponges! It is always lovely when our two classes get together and we had so much fun on our Wild Space adventure that even Mrs Ranger and Ms Field came along.

Pre-Primary: The Pre-Primary students learned about the letter ‘p’. We made and ate popcorn! We were fascinated to find that popping popcorn makes a /p/, /p/, /p/ sound. We have been enjoying counting and loved the story One is a Snail. Did you know spiders have eight legs? You can make nine with a snail and a spider.

Year One: The Year One students were very excited to be given their first-ever homework. They have been working hard on their reading and spelling patterns both at home and in school. I wonder if the Upper Primary students showed as much excitement to be taking home their weekly homework. The inquiry this week focused on the concepts of past, present, and future, and the Year One students all came up with some amazing examples for these, ranging from the past ideas of dinosaurs and white people arriving in Australia to future ideas of flying submarines and owning a zoo!

Year Two: The Year Two class has been busy in Mathematics, working on place value in the hundreds and skip counting in two, five, and ten over 100. We began our old toy/new toy investigation this week. This required us to look at the toys we brought into class to determine the differences between the materials these toys were made from, how they look, and how we think they were made. We have begun our home reading programme, and it is wonderful to see the students’ dedication to further developing their fluency and comprehension.

Year Three: The Year Three legends have been learning about Lunar New Year, how people like to celebrate it, and how we could celebrate it in Albany. This helps us with our inquiry this term, as we investigate the ways that people integrate their history and preferences into their lives and environment.

Do we want to celebrate the Year of the Snake? Yes!

Do we want to celebrate with local snakes? No!

Year Four: In preparation for an inquiry, the Year Four class has been building up their background knowledge of famous European explorers who risked their lives to sail the oceans in search of unknown lands in the 1400s to 1800s. They even found out where the game 'Marco Polo' originated!

Year Five: Year Five students are making great progress in their inquiry journey, having transitioned from the 'tuning in' phase to actively 'finding out.' In Science, we're diving into the fascinating world of animals and exploring how different species adapt to their environments. Meanwhile, in HASS, we are focusing on North and South America, investigating the diverse landscapes, climates, vegetation, and natural disasters that shape each country within these hemispheres.

Year Six: The Year Six students had a fantastic time exploring electricity! They experimented with friction, used alligator clips, and built circuits to make light globes shine. Along the way, they learned about electrical flow, energy sources, and systems. They even challenged themselves to create circuits with multiple globes that stayed on, even if one broke!