5-8 Community News

From our 5-8 Student Leaders

Dear 5-8 Families,

This year in our 5-8 Community we have been very busy. 

We just recently had our athletics day at the northern oval which was very exciting. The weather was awesome and we all had heaps of fun. 

The Year 8s are currently planning and creating their products for the Year 8 Market Day. Some of the products being sold are stress balls, custom drink bottles, slime and much more. They have been working hard and are looking forward to making a profit for a school charity.

Our 7 and 8 boys recently had school footy at Rochester.  It was a very competitive day.

One big thing we have been doing this term is the healthy eating and food/mood in our TA spaces, which has been happening on a Wednesday extended TA. The first time we did a healthy breakfast the Year 8 Leaders set up and made the brekkie for all the TA spaces. This Wednesday, the Year 8 Leaders are putting together a visual of the amount of sugar in drinks to show other students the amount of sugar in the drinks they are drinking. Drinks will include energy drinks, Primas, Coke, Prime and strawberry milk.

Paddy Westerveld, 

on behalf of the 5-8 Student Leaders

From the 5-8 Community Leaders

A big thank you to those who attended our Subject Teacher Conversations. As staff, we always value the opportunity to discuss your child's progression across all subjects, including what's taught in the TA communities.  Please continue to have the conversation about your child's homework expectations, learning expectations, SOLE and how they are managing their space and their social peers. 

The last few weeks have encouraged our community to continue to show resilience with the extra curricular activities that have occurred. We have had various sporting activities, a Lone Pine Ceremony, ongoing TA activities, St Augustine's Feast Day and the Beaut Bloke's Breakfast/Footy Colours Day.  On behalf of the staff, I wanted to take the time to commend the students for continuing to be their best by taking every opportunity as a learning opportunity.  It is an exciting time at the moment for a number of our students who are in the process of applying for a Leadership Position for 2024. Twelve courageous Year 7 students have nominated themselves for a position. The students will present their nomination speeches next Wednesday, as they look to showcase the skills and the attributes that they wish to bring to the role in 2024. I wish all of you the very best in what is a wonderful and rewarding experience. 

As we look to conclude our 'Food and Mood' activities for TA the students will unpack 'discretionary foods'. For those who don't know, discretionary foods, also known as discretionary choices or discretionary items, refer to foods and drinks that are not considered essential for a healthy, balanced diet. These items are typically high in calories, sugar, salt, saturated fats and/or alcohol and provide limited nutritional value. Many dietary guidelines and nutrition recommendations emphasise the importance of limiting discretionary food intake and focusing on whole, nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and dairy products with lower fat content to promote overall health and well-being.

From a SOLE perspective, we have been working with our students to encourage the students to apply a number of help seeking and conflict resolution strategies if they are finding themselves feeling bothered or frustrated. Please encourage your child to use some of these strategies as an opportunity to support their decision making and to promote positive social interactions.

I have loved watching the students welcome back the wearing of their hats. It complements our wonderful uniform, especially the academic uniform.  Students in 5-8 are welcome to attend a lunchtime activity if they do not have a hat. If you need to purchase a hat, please see Kathy or Lee at the College Office. 

Please ensure that your children are in the correct uniform. A note is needed if your child is not in the correct uniform. We have a beautiful uniform that should be worn with pride. Our school shirts are a wonderful representation of our fantastic and welcoming school community.

Lastly, on 13th September, we look forward to welcoming you to our College for our end of term assembly, commencing at 10.00am. The kids always look forward to presenting their work for the term. It's always so wonderful to see so many stand up and be proud of the learning that they have achieved over the course of the term!

Enjoy this wonderful weather, 

Corey Carver and Anthony Poppa

5-8 Community Leaders

Visiting Author

Next Tuesday, 5th September, we are incredibly blessed to be having author Fleur Ferris attend our College to speak with our Partnerships for the Future students after Year 8 student, Summah, reached out to Fleur privately about attending our school. The partnerships students have been reading the text Risk which is centred around the dangers of the ICT world.

We look forward to welcoming Fleur to St Augutine's.