Banksia 

LEADING TEACHER'S MESSAGE

🎉 Congratulations on finishing Semester One! 🎉

Thank you to all our wonderful families for your incredible support throughout the first semester of 2025. Congratulations to our amazing students on everything they’ve achieved so far this year.

IEPs and Semester Reports are now available on Compass—please take the time to celebrate your child’s progress and successes.

This term, our students have been busy learning together about biological sciences through our Integrated Unit; "Into the Wild". They’ve explored the needs of living things by reading and creating informative texts, researching fascinating animals, and working collaboratively to deepen their understanding. It’s been fantastic to see their curiosity and teamwork shine!

Looking ahead to Term Three, we’re excited to investigate our wonderful weather, dive into poetry and procedural writing, and continue developing our skills by collecting and presenting data and extending our knowledge in mathematics.

We hope you all enjoy a well-deserved, relaxing term break. We look forward to welcoming everyone back, refreshed and ready for more learning adventures in Term Three 2025! 🌟

FROM THE CLASSROOMS

B3A

In Banksia 3A, students have been doing incredibly well with their learning. They have made significant progress in building positive and trustful relationships with familiar adults, which is reflected in their daily interactions. We have been working hard to develop routines within the classroom, such as morning circles and sitting together as a group for story time.

This term, our focus was fostering communication skills using their AAC devices and PoDD book, and students have been excellent learners, showing significant improvement by responding to their communication partners. We will continue to enhance their learning in this area. Additionally, students have been working hard on developing pencil grasp and fine motor skills through activities like threading beads, tracing, fixing puzzles, and cut-and-paste activities.

In English, students have been working on letter sounds, letter formation, and participating in shared reading. In Maths, they have focused on number recognition, counting forwards and backwards, skip counting, and patterns and shapes. In Integrated Studies, our key learning was ‘Into the wild,’ where students learned about different animals, their habitats, features, and diets by creating animal crafts, watching educational videos, and engaging in activities related to the topic. They also enjoyed our weekly cooking and PE sessions throughout the term.

We hope you all have a wonderful break, and we look forward to seeing you all in Term 3!

                                                                                                           Navneet, Nathalia & Nathan

B3B

What a fantastic term it’s been in Class 3B! Our students have shown great enthusiasm and growth across all areas of their learning. 

We began the term by revisiting our school values, with a strong focus on being kind - to ourselves, to others and to our learning environment. The students have been learning to show empathy, take turns, and help one another, both in the classroom and the playground. 

A big focus this term has been on classroom expectations and routines. Students have developed a solid understanding of what it means to be ready to learn, listen respectfully, and contribute positively to group work and class discussions. 

In our Literacy sessions, students explored a range of texts, built their writing skills, and worked on speaking and listening activities. In Mathematics, we’ve had lots of hands-on learning with numbers, patterns, shapes, and problems-solving. 

Science has been full of wonder and discovery! This term, students explored “living things and their habitats” , participated in simple experiments, and asked lots of curious questions about the world around them. We’ve also enjoyed a wide range of rich learning experiences in other areas. In Cooking, students followed recipes, measured ingredients, and worked together to make some delicious creations. Our PE lessons have helped build fitness, coordination and teamwork, while Visual Arts has given students the chance to express their creativity through different materials and techniques. 

Friendships have blossomed throughout the term, and it’s been a joy to see the students building strong, respectful relationships. Their ability to show kindness and understanding during both learning activities and social interaction has been truly commendable. 

We are so proud of the effort and achievements of every student in Class 3B. We look forward to an even more exciting and rewarding term ahead!

Ming, Shaye & Jessica 😀

B3C

Term 2 has been a term of work hard, play hard, in Banksia Place 3C!

The students in our class have formed some amazing friendships this term, playing games together, having group discussions and looking out for each other, offering help and support to classmates along the way.

In the classroom, we have completed the topics of Addition and Subtraction, Shape and Geometry and Statistics in Maths, learned about the different features, traits and habitats of various animals in Topic classes and worked on recall skills and descriptive writing in our English lessons.

When visiting the stadium for Physical Education lessons we have perfected some of the skills of Soccer and Rugby Union, while in Art lessons we have used a range of art forms to recreate pieces in the style of famous Australian artists. During life skills we have baked a range of dishes from pikelets to French toast, with students beginning to help at our new school Café, Kindness Corner.

We have learned so much this term and had plenty of laughs along the way!

Lorcan and Sandra are looking forward to Term 3 already.

B3D

🌟 What a Wildly Wonderful Term in 3D! 🌟

Wow—Term 2 has been extraordinary for 3D! Over the past 11 weeks, everyone has shown fantastic teamwork, curiosity, and effort. We are so proud of how hard each student has worked! 🙂

This term, our theme was Into the Wild, and what a journey it was! We explored all sorts of amazing creatures—reptiles, mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians. The class loved discovering fascinating facts about animals and finding just the right adjectives to describe them in their writing. A favourite highlight was our Friday morning trips to the library, where everyone enjoyed curling up with a great book.

In Maths, 3D turned into shape experts, exploring the world of 2D and 3D shapes. The class had a blast building and constructing with all the different shapes! We also stretched our number brains by practising addition and subtraction on number lines, hopping forwards and backwards to find answers. Later in the term, we started using bar charts to collect and read information. To top it all off, we learned about positional language—following directions and using words like next to, between, and behind.

One of the most exciting parts of our term was visiting the gymnastics centre! Everyone had such a fantastic time exploring all the equipment. We bounced high on the trampolines, leapt and tumbled into the foam pit, swung across the monkey bars, and practised our balancing skills on the beam. There were so many smiles and so much laughter as we built confidence, strength, and coordination. It was definitely a highlight of Term 3!

This term, 3D also became talented little chefs! We learned the important life skill of cooking, trying out all sorts of delicious recipes. Everyone took turns measuring, mixing, and tasting our creations. We made French toast, fluffy pancakes, crunchy rice crackles and even our own homemade pizza! It was wonderful to see everyone working together, following instructions, and enjoying the results of their hard work. What a tasty way to learn!

We are so proud of all the amazing effort and enthusiasm 3D has shown this term. We can’t wait to see what wonderful things Term 3 will bring! 

Kim & Parul xx

B3E

Wow, what an amazing term we’ve had! Everyone in 3E has been working super hard and should be very proud of all they’ve achieved.

In Maths, we continued building our skills in addition and subtraction while also exploring patterns — we even made our own paper chain patterns! We wrapped up the term learning about positional language, having so much fun dancing and walking around the school to practise using different directions.

In English, we focused on grammar and punctuation. We loved finding nouns and adjectives in sentences and practised using capital letters, full stops, and spaces in our writing. Our weekly library visits were a highlight — we each chose a book and enjoyed some relaxing time to read.

Our integrated unit this term was Into the Wild, and 3E did an incredible job. Each week, we learned about a new animal and worked together to make a class fact file during Creative Writing. We also made animal masks, watched fascinating videos, and even tried some bird watching!

In Visual Arts, we explored the work of many Australian artists. We used paint, tissue paper, twigs, and all kinds of colours to create some amazing pieces. In Cooking, we whipped up all sorts of delicious dishes — from pikelets and French toast to muesli balls. During P.E., we had a blast playing soccer and rugby in the stadium. In Science, we carefully investigated the life cycles of animals like caterpillars and frogs. And in Performing Arts, we visited the music room to sing and dance together!

3E have been amazing all term, and we can’t wait to see everyone again in Term 3. Keep up the fantastic work and enjoy the holidays!

Aoise & Chloe 😊

B3G

This term in 3G, we learned so many new things! Academically, we learned about animals and their habitats, adjectives, number skills, shapes, and collecting data. Socially we learned about taking turns, the qualities we like in a friend and how to be a good friend, personal space, and toilet skills. The teachers learned that most of the students appreciate a good quality dark chocolate and that sharing makes everyone happy.

For physical education, we learned how to take care of our bodies, which are growing and changing. We did this by studying about personal hygiene, puberty, and participating in sports such as excursions to gymnastics, playing in the yard, and badminton lessons. Another thing we learned is how to regulate our emotions with yoga and meditation. We also had a special visit from some Olympians where we got to try on their medals and test our long jump skills!

Another activity the students really enjoyed is our weekly cooking on Fridays. We practiced vital skills during this time such as making shopping lists, budgeting, cooking safety, measuring ingredients, table manners, and cleaning up after ourselves. Of course, the best part is eating the yummy food we make. Pizza was a favourite this term and it gave us the opportunity to learn about fermentation!

I hope everyone had an amazing Term 2 and I know we all can’t wait for Term 3 to start and be even more successful because we still have so much more learning to do!

xx Melissa and Ankita

B3H

What a remarkable term it’s been in 3H, filled with memorable moments, shared laughter, and a growing sense of community. With lots of new faces and shifting routines, 3H took everything in stride, quickly finding their groove and embracing each new experience with genuine enthusiasm and kindness. Some amazing new friendships have formed, with everyone stepping up to encourage and support each other.

During our English sessions this term, we focused on informative texts that linked to our Integrated Unit, Into the Wild. Each week, we explored a new animal and worked together to build a class fact file - sharing ideas, engaging in group discussions, practicing our writing skills, and uncovering lots of interesting facts along the way. In Maths, we built on our knowledge of addition and subtraction through hands-on activities and interactive games. Our exploration of 2D and 3D shapes sparked plenty of curiosity, especially as we sang along to new songs that helped us remember key features. We ended the term with a focus on positional language - using movement, dance, and a few outdoor adventures to practise giving and following directions. 

This term in P.E., we had a blast staying active by playing soccer and rugby at the stadium, along with lots of fun games on the playground. Our gymnastics excursions were a big hit too - helping us to build balance, strength and coordination in exciting new ways! In Visual Arts, we discovered the work of different Australian artists and enjoyed getting creative using bright colors, paint, fabric and natural materials to craft our own masterpieces. In Cooking, we had fun preparing delicious dishes such as banana pikelets, French toast, and pizza - which quickly became a hit in 3H. Some even began lending a hand at our school café, proudly putting their cooking skills to good use.

It’s been a fun-filled term full of learning and laughter! Enjoy the holidays and keep up the fantastic efforts.  We can’t wait to see you in Term 3!

Abby, Corinne, Hayley and Bealiah 😀