Specialists

Sport

District Athletics Carnival

On Monday 2nd September, selected students in Grades 4-6 will be representing our school at the District Athletics Carnival. This is a tremendous opportunity to compete against students from other schools in the event/s they have qualified for. All competing students will score points for our school, with the winning school to be announced at the conclusion of the day. Depending upon their results, some students may be offered the opportunity to progress and compete at the Maroondah Division Athletics Carnival in early Term 4.

Victorian Netball Championships

Recently, selected students in Grade 5 and 6 represented our school at the Victorian Netball Championships. We had 4 teams competing on this occasion. The day gave opportunity for students with a variety of ability and experience to enjoy the sport of Netball in an environment which fostered teamwork and skill development. 

We would like to thank Sharmini Philp and her team of parent volunteers who worked tirelessly to train the students prior to the day, and then travel with them to the event. 

A special congratulations goes to one of our mixed teams, who have qualified for the state finals, coming up on Tuesday 27th August, at the State Netball and Hockey Centre. We can't wait to hear how they go. 

Victorian State Swimming Championships

Tom, one of our Grade 6 students, recently attended the Victorian State Swimming Championships. To say it was a successful event for Tom is an understatement. His achievements included 1st in the 200m backstroke, 2nd in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, 100m backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, and 3rd in the 200m backstroke. He also did the 100m freestyle in under 60 seconds. Well done Tom! (see below for an interview with Tom!)

National Diving Championships

Last week, Dulcie in Grade 4 competed in the National Diving Championships, held in Adelaide. She was selected to represent the state of Victoria at this carnival, which is a tremendous honour and achievement. Her events were the Mixed Team Synchronised Diving and a selection of individual 1m dives. Dulcie placed 6th overall for this event. Well done Dulcie, we are so proud of you.

STEM

Grade 5 and 6

Grade 5 and 6 students participated in hands-on experiments to explore the rate of reaction when dissolving an Alka-Seltzer tablet and the factors that influence the dissolving process of sugar. They tested variables such as temperature, stirring, and the size of the particles to observe how each one affected the speed and efficiency of dissolving. Through these experiments, students deepened their understanding of chemical reactions and solubility, applying scientific inquiry skills to analyze and interpret their results.

Grade 3 and 4

Students have been investigating how different variables impact the force exerted on an object in an exciting classroom experiment. They used their knowledge of scientific inquiry skills to hypothesize and test how far a rubber band would push a weighted box, with different amounts of force. 

Grade 1 and 2

Grade 1 and 2 students learned about separating mixtures using various methods and engaged in exciting experiments to explore how ink absorbs into wet paper. They experimented with sifting, filtering, and using magnets to separate mixtures, understanding how different tools and techniques can be used to sort materials based on their properties. They observed how different types of ink spread on wet paper, discovering unique patterns and colors. 

Visual Arts

Prep

Fairytale treehouses complete with garden paths, ponds, swings, ladders and fairies.

Grade 1/2

Self Portraits with matching skin-tone and paying attention to symmetry, shapes and details.

Clay Jelly fish getting ready for their second firing.

Grade 3/4

'The Pocket Dog' - Margaret Wild

Grade 5

Olympic Rings using hammers and nails and wood burning tools.

Alcohol Ink and Yupo Paper for a collaborative Grade 5 project.

Grade 6

Dragon Eyes using air dry clay and featuring coils, spirals, balls, swirls and texture.

An interview with Tom

Recently Thomas Poppins from Grade 6 competed in the ACT Short Course State Championships in Canberra in several events/strokes. He was incredibly successful, winning gold, silver and bronze medals in his events!

Where was your swimming competition?

The ACT Short Course State Championships were held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. I flew there with my team, Metro East Swimming Team. 

What events did you compete in?

The events I competed in were 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke, 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke, and 100m Butterfly.

You won seven medals at this competition! What events did you win the medals for?

I won seven medals all up. I got gold in the 200m Breaststroke. I won silver in the 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke,100m Breaststroke and I00m Butterfly. I won bronze in the 200m Backstroke. In some of those races, I was competing against one of the fastest swimmers in the country for my age group. In the 100m Breaststroke, I came second by a touch.

That’s an incredible achievement Tom! How did you get into swimming?

I first started swimming competitively at around 8 years old. My first major competition was when I was 10. But it wasn’t until the end of last year that I realised I was good at swimming. I was getting great times in each of the different strokes and decided to dedicate more of my time to swimming.

How often do you have to train?

I do 7 training sessions a week. On Wednesdays, I have to train twice. Every day I get up at 4:35am to head to Ringwood Aquanation. I also do three gym sessions a week. 

How does swimming make you feel?

I love swimming competitively, because I’m fast and I’m a very competitive person, so I love to win. I also have good friends at my swimming club and get to spend time with them every training session. 

Do you have any swimming competitions coming up?

My next big swimming competition is the Victorian Short Course State Championships on the 6th of September. 

Tom, we can’t wait to hear all about your next comp! We wish you all the very best and will be cheering you on from school!

Performing Arts

It has been a busy few weeks in Performing Arts! 

A group of our 5/6 students have been busily rehearsing for the State School Spectacular. They travelled into the city for more Mass Choir Rehearsals at Melbourne Town Hall, hearing parts of the band and principal vocalists for the first time. It's exciting to see all the parts of the show coming together.

The show is on Saturday 14th September, but not before 2 full days of rehearsals at John Cain Arena, where students will get to see the whole show, the staging and lighting effects and even more performances. Tickets are selling fast and can be purchased here:

https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=STATESCH24

Our Prep Concert is also rapidly approaching! The students have been eagerly learning their lines, songs and actions. As part of our CBL Big Idea of 'Respect' the Prep Students have been exploring fairytales, and well, realising that there isn't much of that in them! With this discovery, they will be performing the ways in which they have re-written the fairytales so they do show respect! The excitement is building for the performance on Wednesday 11th September. There are lots of great photos on the Prep page of this newsletter.