Primary Years, Tarneit

Peaceful Classrooms 

Creating a peaceful classroom environment is essential for both students to learn and teachers to teach. This does not happen by chance; it’s the result of deliberate and consistent strategies and regular practice.

Here are some ways that our Primary Years teachers achieve peaceful classrooms: 

• Structured routines – students feel safe when they have clear, predictable routines and feel secure when they know what to expect next. 
• Mindfulness activities – starting with devotion and other mindful practices sets the tone for the day. 
• Effective classroom layout – students need spaces to gather as a whole group, in small groups and somewhere to sit quietly to complete bookwork. As well as this knowing where all the things are that they need helps prevent chaos and keeps the peace. 
• Visual calmness – minimal clutter avoids over stimulation. Having displays which the students help create and can refer to as part of their learning are important. 
• Positive relationships – building genuine, trusting relationships with students encourages respect and cooperation, which contributes to a peaceful classroom dynamic. 
• Clear communication of expectations – when students know what is expected of them in terms of behaviour and academic performance, anxiety can ease, misunderstanding is minimised and the potential for disruptions is reduced. 

Maria Denholm

Deputy Principal - Primary

Premier’s Reading Challenge – Coming Soon!

We’re excited to announce that the Premier’s Reading Challenge will be launching soon! Open to all students from Prep to Year 6, the challenge encourages a love of reading and supports literacy development across all year levels. We are currently organising the administration and can’t wait to get everyone involved. More information, including how to participate and log your books, will be shared shortly.

Mother's Day Stall

Primary Year students will have the opportunity to shop at the Mother's Day Stall on Thursday 8 May. Gift items will range from $2-5.  Please remember to bring cash next Thursday to purchase something special for Mum!

Year 6 Immigration Provocation

As part of our new Year 6 unit, "Immigration can be a response to challenges, risks, and opportunities," students participated in a powerful provocation designed to simulate the experience of displacement. Without warning, they were asked to leave their classrooms and seek refuge elsewhere, only to face uncertainty, language barriers, and unexpected instructions.

This immersive experience helped students build empathy by stepping into the shoes of those who are forced to leave their homes due to conflict or insecurity. Through confusion, discomfort, and reflection, students began to understand the emotional and practical challenges faced by migrants around the world.

We hope you enjoy reading some reflections from students that capture their personal responses to this thought-provoking experience:

On Thursday, 24/4, grade 6 students were studying when Mr. T called for an urgent meeting with other teachers. He left the room and then instructed all students to leave the building and go to a different classroom. I had mixed feelings of confusion and frustration, as some of the other classrooms we were not allowed into. 

On the speaker, it instructed us to return to our classrooms, where the teachers, who now spoke a different language, were handing us a paper in German. We realised this was a Visa. The entire scenario was meant to demonstrate the difficulty of leaving homes due to conflict and the need for security. The security forces spoke in a different language, and students had to obtain a visa in a different language. This was also a cool introduction, that was partly scary for me, to our new unit, immigration can be a response to challenges, risks and opportunities.

- Krisha Arora

It was a normal day. A normal devotion, a normal learning activity. Suddenly the day took a turn and everyone in our cohort was forced to evacuate the classrooms. Instructed to head to any other classroom in primary years, me and my friends were welcomed into the 5B classroom. A few minutes later we were directed to the line up area where I found the teachers talking in different languages leaving me confused. We were handed a visa sheet in GERMAN!, which added to the confusion. Next the translation app didn’t work and I was unclear of what to do. Then I found myself waiting outside the auditorium in the Bethany Building which was a detention centre holding us whilst we filled out the visa sheet and followed the rules of entry. Finally, upon entry we realised this was a provocation for starting our new unit on “Immigration can be a response to challenges, risks and opportunities”.

- Zeal Purohit

- Mia Pinto 

Rebecca Moore

PYP Coordinator