Around The Rooms

Senior Team

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the senior team with students commencing their new reading groups. We now have a 4-way rotation for reading twice each week allowing students to work on the skills most relevant to their needs. It was also lovely to catch up with so many families as part of the recent 3 way conferences. Below are a few particular items to let you know about. 

Grade 6 Uniform

Orders are now closed for Grade 6 uniform items for 2026. We have been advised by Beleza that a second run will be made available for interested families following the initial delivery next year. If you have any questions about your order please direct this to Beleza 

Tel: (03) 9702 3218

Volume and Capacity

The senior team have commenced work on our second maths unit of the term which looks at measurement, in particular, volume and capacity. Below are some ideas you can try at home to support your child's understanding of this concept. 

Scavenger Hunt: Create a game where your finding household items with specific capacities, like "Find something that holds about 500ml."

Compare Container Sizes: While shopping, compare different product sizes. For instance, ask, "Which juice bottle holds more?" or "How many millilitres are in this milk carton?"

Cooking Together: measuring ingredients using cups, teaspoons, and tablespoons. Discuss how different measurements relate, such as how many tablespoons make a cup.

District Basketball 

Last Friday a number of our grade 5 and 6 students travelled to Ballarat for District Basketball. Congratulations to all who attended and represented our school. A particular thanks to Mr Heeps, Miss Lisa and Miss Nat for attending to support, our fantastic parent community for arranging travel and supporting our students and of course to Mr Murrell for his ongoing efforts arranging sports. Thanks everyone!

Middle Years Team

Middle Years Teachers were delighted to get to meet with so many of our families for Parent/Teacher 3 Way Interviews in Week 2! It was inspiring to see our students share their work with parents, and to discuss their growth and progress. Students showcased their handwriting, by sharing their end-of-term test (Pen Licence for 3/4 Grades) and their weekly entries. We discussed handwriting conventions and the need to develop fluidity with joining, at this level. Students also shared their Maths goal set for our Multiplication/Division unit, and many shared their times tables grid; proud of how much progress they have made since the start of the term. Many students are finishing the 10 x 10 grid within 5 minutes, and all are improving on their scores/times. Students were asked to choose 1 other item which they were especially proud of and wanted to share. It was lovely to see the range of choices and pleasing to see the pride and pleasure our students took in sharing their work. Many students chose their cards from our Term 2 MAPPEN unit, The Game of Life (see pictures below of students playing The Game of Life). The interview was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on mid-year reports also and to set intentions for second semester; We note across the board, a renewed commitment to organisation, especially around reading diaries and home reading habits, as well as great support from parents in helping their children follow behaviour expectations and display focused learning behaviours.

The Game of Life - featuring question cards made by students on topics; Role Model, Sports & Hobbies, Customs, and Principles.

In Week 2, Professor Keong Ku from the Global Lyncs Program in Sth. Korea, and 2 colleagues from the Deagu education department office came to visit our school. Students interacted very respectfully and were interested to ask questions about school and life in South Korea. Mr. Carlyle & Mrs. Mauriks spent some time answering our guests’ questions about our education programs and systems at Ballan Primary. We are honoured to be visited by these educators and look forward to our continuing work in the Global Lyncs Program. Keep your eyes/ears out for some exciting activities we are planning, inspired by their visit. 👀

Finally, a reminder that the Premier's Reading Challenge (finishes September 5th), so please help your child to log in (https://vprc.eduweb.vic.gov.au/home) and log their books! We want everyone to achieve this challenge! 💪✨ 

Ms. Nicholls, Ms. A. and Miss Muir

Junior Team

Prep – Grade 2 in the BER

Term 3 Begins!

We are thrilled to welcome back all our wonderful Prep to Year 2 students for Term 3! The classrooms are buzzing with excitement, and it's been such a joy to see so many happy, smiling faces returning to school.

French Week Dress-Up Day – Junior School Fun!

French Week Dress-Up Day was a huge hit with our Junior students last week! It was wonderful to see so many children dressed in French colours and some truly creative, French-inspired costumes. The special lunch and canteen treats were a big highlight, and the day was made even more special thanks to the amazing efforts of Mademoiselle Spencer.

From the beautiful French artwork displayed around the school to the fun goodie bags delivered to each classroom and of course, the fantastic Eiffel Tower photo spot in the foyer! Mademoiselle Spencer helped bring a touch of France to our school in the most exciting way.

A big merci beaucoup from all of us in the Junior School!

Specialists

Physical Education

In Physical Education we have begun the term focussing on basketball across the whole school. Skills have included passing, catching, dribbling and shooting. Students have participated in a number of skill activities, short relay tasks, challenges and mini games. It has been great to witness the excellent teamwork, cooperation and inclusion of students. Later in the term Grades 3-6 will be involved in a number of hockey clinics by Hockey Australia. This will be a great opportunity for students to try something different. This program has been made possible through funding by Sporting Schools Australia

Unfortunately, our District Athletic Sports had to be postponed until Thursday 28th August. This does gives us a little time for practice here at school and at home. Logistics will remain the same with a bus available, or families can arrange their own transport, just please let your child's teacher know if they are travelling by car.

Lastly, Cricket Victoria, along with support from the Ballan Cricket Club, will be holding a series of cricket clinics for girls in the gym after school. These will be conducted on 4 successive Tuesdays, from 26th August to 16th September from 3:30-4:30pm. The clinics are free, although participants will need to register. For further information please contact the school.

Marcus Murrell

Science

Students are focusing on Chemistry this term, with the 5/6 students learning about forensic science. Our Prep and Year 2/3/4 students are completing separate units on the properties of materials and through hands-on experiments, they are finding out how different materials are chosen for different purposes. The junior students in Year 1/2 are looking at different mixtures and how different ingredients can react when combined.

Next week we are excited to celebrate Science Week with a whole school incursion on Friday 15th with a show called "The Super Science Circus Show".