From the Head of the Junior School

Our recent Stage 3 Showcase was an impressive evening with our students and their learning under the spotlight. The evening was designed to show our Year 4 parents from both campuses what happens in the two classes, as well as inviting our Stage 3 parents in to see what their children have been learning. The evening showed the deep learning that happens in our Stage 3 classrooms and the agency our students have about learning in ways that suit and challenge them. Thank you to our students, but also our teachers for the hard work involved to make the evening happen.

Each week in the Junior School I am more and more convinced of the power of learning that happens everywhere at school and beyond. Time in the playground, at Wild Ed, during Sport, through play is not a break from learning. These times are rich and powerful and there is great evidence of learning, as there is in our classrooms.

At Springwood, the children are interested in water systems. Many children wear their gumboots at recess and lunch and have been cooperatively working on digging a river and pond. The children noticed that this was flowing on to the grassed area where ball games are played, so they worked together to create a dam. This play is enjoyed by children from Pre K to Year 4. It’s amazing to observe and see that the children involved understand the rules of this project and it’s incredibly collaborative. While we have had to deal with some mud accidents, overall parents and teachers are delighted to see wholesome, sensible and really focused play, which is what childhood should be about.

This week at Wentworth Falls our students have been fascinated by the cicadas that are everywhere. Our students are observing live cicadas and many hundreds (even thousands) of discarded shells. This curiosity has led to inquiry questions to learn more about cicada habitats and life cycles and children have been sharing their knowledge across the Junior School. I have been incredibly impressed with the care that our students have to make sure that cicadas who have travelled to paths are carefully removed to safe places. We are using Library books and the internet to find out more about these creatures. I predict a noisy summer will be upon us.

Two of our Junior School teachers will be moving on next year. Mrs Laura Fox will be taking a full time position at the school where her children attend, and we wish her a rich time of teaching and family time next year. She has been an outstanding Pre Kindergarten teacher here at BMGS. We will also be farewelling Mr Luke Carr, who will be moving on to teach at a new school. We know he will have an impact as he has done here. Mr Carr and Mrs Fox have been instrumental in bringing our vision of “Wild Ed from Pre K” to the Junior School and their hard work will have lasting impact into the future. They will pass the baton to the other staff who they have mentored in this area. Please be prayerful as we recruit new staff to the Junior School and look to the next chapter – 2025 and beyond.

Rachael Newton

Head of Junior School