Celebrations from the week

It was wonderful to welcome our mums and special people to the classroom on Thursday 7th of May for our Mother’s Day Open Morning. The students absolutely loved having you there and took great pride in sharing their learning and celebrating the important role you play in their lives. Thank you for taking the time to join us and help make the morning so special.

Sovereign Hill Camp

Our Level 5 students and staff had a fantastic time at Sovereign Hill Camp! Although the weather was lovely, it was certainly on the chilly side—perfect for experiencing a true taste of Ballarat’s history.

A highlight of the trip was the spectacular Aura Night Show, which left everyone in awe, while the lively pantomime had students (and teachers!) laughing along. Students especially enjoyed trying their luck at gold panning and exploring the shops, bringing home a few special treasures.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience filled with fun, learning, and lasting memories for all.

Trailblazers

On Monday 11th May, selected Level 5 students participated in the Trailblazer program, delivered by Trailblazers, Resilient Youth Australia. This one-day workshop empowered students to explore wellbeing in their school community by identifying strengths and challenges, brainstorming solutions, and developing innovative ideas.

Through team building, problem-solving, and guided discussions led by experienced facilitators, students-built resilience, leadership, and a strong sense of belonging. The program gave students a voice and the confidence to take action, with the goal of creating positive, student-driven change that supports wellbeing across the school.

Reading

Our Level 5 students have been engaging with the novel The Lemonade War, using it as a springboard to explore both literacy and real-world business concepts. Through the story, students are analysing character development, particularly how emotions and decisions impact relationships over time.

Alongside this, students are investigating key ideas in economics and business, including entrepreneurship, business strategies, problem solving, and decision making. Rich discussions have also focused on ethics and fairness in business, encouraging students to think critically about what it means to act responsibly.

It has been wonderful to see students making strong connections between the text and real-life situations, while developing both their comprehension and critical thinking skills.

Writing

Our Level 5 students have been working as young researchers by selecting a business that interests them to investigate in depth. Students have explored the history of their chosen business, how it has developed over time, and the strategies it has used to grow and succeed.

Using the 6+1 Writing Traits to support their learning, our focus so far has been on developing strong Ideas and Organisation. Students are using their research to write an information report, ensuring their ideas are clear, well-structured, and logically sequenced.

This unit is helping students build their understanding of how real-world businesses operate while strengthening their research, writing, and critical thinking skills.

Spelling

In Spelling, our Level 5 students have been focusing on learning and applying subject-specific vocabulary related to business and economics. Building this vocabulary is helping students to better understand what they read, contribute more confidently to class discussions, and communicate their ideas clearly in their writing.

Term 2 - Week 4 - Economics
economics	joint venture	supply	stagnation
financial	inflation	demand	taxation
revenue	underselling	equilibrium	recession
entrepreneurship	slump	scarcity	levy

As students become more familiar with these terms, they are developing a deeper understanding of key concepts and are able to use precise language when explaining their thinking.

Term 2 - Week 4 - Economics words
Word	Definition
economics	A science focused on how individuals, businesses, and governments allocate scarce resources to produce, distribute, and consume goods and services.
financial	Relating to the management, transfer, or investment of money and assets.
revenue	The total income a business generates from the sale of goods or services.
entrepreneurship	The process of starting and running a business or creating new ideas to solve problems and make money.
joint venture	Two or more people joining forces to sell a certain amount of goods or to work on a single venture.
inflation	The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises.
underselling	Pricing the same goods for less than the competition.
slump	A drop in the activity or a business or the economy.
recession	A significant, widespread, and sustained decline in economic activity.
taxation	A compulsory financial charge or levy imposed by governments on individuals and businesses to fund public expenditures.
levy	An officially imposed tax, fee, or fine collected by an authority.
scarcity	An economic problem where there are not enough resources, goods, or services to meet everyone’s wants and needs.
equilibrium	The price point where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied, resulting in no surplus or shortage.
supply	The availability of a goods/service.
demand	Consumers’ desire for a particular goods/service.
stagnation	When an economy stops growing or changes very little over time.

Numeracy

In Mathematics, our Level 5 students are developing their understanding of large multiplication using a range of efficient strategies. Students are learning and applying the vertical algorithm, lattice method, and area model to build flexibility and accuracy in their calculations.

We will also extend this learning to include multiplying decimals and fractions, helping students strengthen their number sense and deepen their understanding of place value and proportional reasoning.

Through hands-on problem solving and visual models, students are gaining confidence in choosing and explaining different strategies to solve complex multiplication problems.

Important Dates

Week 4

Monday 11th

Trailblazers Program (selected students)

Tuesday 12th

ES Appreciation Day
Maths Olympiads Contest

Thursday 14th

Level 5/6 VHAP

Friday 15th

Ethics Olympiad

Week 5

Monday 18th

Education Week Open Night
Maths Olympiads

Tuesday 19th

District Cross Country (selected students)

Wednesday 20th

Walk to School Day

Thursday 21st

Pupil Free - Whole School Curriculum Day

Friday 22nd

Pupil Free - Professional Practice Day

Week 6

Monday 25th

Maths Olymp

Thursday 28th

5KL to Heathmont Preschool
Level 5/6 VHAP

Friday 29th

Subway Lunch Order
Ethics Olympiad

Community News