Mrs Leanne Schulz

This week the students and teachers have been enjoying their last week of the term together! The Peer Support Leaders in Year 6 have thoroughly enjoyed their last session for the term with the Preps and have done an outstanding job in their leadership role. Cumberland classes enjoyed their digi-tech challenge creating a movie trailer. Fairview students and teachers have been continuing to have fun while completing assessment tasks for the term.

Staff Changes

Miss Hannah Petterson leaves us at the end of the term to commence Parental Leave. We are grateful for the passion and commitment she has for teaching the students in her care. She is an outstanding teacher, Assistant Head of School and colleague. She will be greatly missed by all! A very big thank you to Hannah from the Aitken Community! Our thoughts and prayers will be with you as you embark on this exciting new stage of your life.

A warm welcome is extended to Mr Kyle Parkinson who will be commencing as Homeroom teacher for Year 1A at the beginning of Term 3. Mr Parkinson has been getting to know the students and their routines over the last week by spending time with the class, Miss Petterson and Mr Scandrett. This will ensure a smooth transition for Year 1A students’ next term. Mr Jevon Scandrett will be the new Assistant Head of School (AHOS) for Years 1 and 2. His role will include working with the Year 1 and 2 students and teachers, as well as continuing in his Performing Arts teaching role.

Thank You

Thank you to students, teachers and parents for adapting to the changing nature of teaching and learning throughout the term as we have transitioned smoothly to Home Learning when needed. Having a growth mindset and being resilient are important life skills.

Happy Holidays

We wish you all a safe and happy holiday. Take care and enjoy the precious family time. The staff and I look forward to reconnecting in Term 3!

Prep News

Miss Gemma Jackson (Prep AHOS)

The Preps enjoyed Home Learning and did a fantastic job on Zoom. It has been so nice being back in the classroom this week. We have finished off our Farm Animals and Weather unit with lots of new knowledge. The Preps have been busy writing information texts about farm animals. The teachers are very impressed with how the Preps are beginning to write independently. In Mathematics this week, we have been learning about positional language. We had fun making obstacle courses in the classroom. The Preps are started to talk about left and right. Our new word of the week was ‘wax’. It was an extra special word as it is our first ever diphone. The Preps can tell you that a diphone is one letter making two sounds.

To the wonderful parents, thank you for your support with Home Learning. Enjoy a lovely break with your family and stay safe.

Year 1 and 2 News

Miss Hannah Petterson (Year 1/2 AHOS)

It has been an eventful and fantastic semester as the Assistant Head of School (Years 1 and 2). Two stints of Home Learning, one excursion to Scienceworks and four amazing classrooms across Years 1 and 2 have seen this semester fly by. I have absolutely loved learning alongside the Year 1 and 2 cohorts. The students’ resilience with learning challenges, warm hellos and keenness for new learning has put a smile on my face every day. As I head into Parental Leave and await the arrival of my first born, I wish all families a safe, restful and relaxing holiday. Thank you to all of the incredible families for your support and commitment to your child’s learning. I hope to see you all again soon!

Year 3 and 4 News

Mrs Anne Adams (Year 3/ 4 AHOS)

Year 3

After assessments and lock down it’s great to see the Year 3 students head back into literacy groups. Students have tailored literacy targets within their groups to support learning at their levels.

Year 4

Year 4 students have had a great time experimenting with their chariots. Students designed and tested their prototypes out and altered their designs to better suit the sphero robots. Chariot races have been held this week to see whose chariot could last the distance and who the crazy drivers are!

Year 5 and 6 News

Mr Nigel Keegan (Year 5/ 6 AHOS)

Year 5 StarGuards

Our Year 5 students were very fortunate to have recently participated in ‘StarGuards’, as part of our Integrated Studies unit for Term 2. StarGuards is a game set in the solar system in the year 2150 and focusses on problem-solving and teamwork.

The students were tasked with solving 18 space challenges, everything from gravitational waves to supernova. Each planetary team had a spaceship with specific attributes, resources present on their home planet and a collection of machines. Students used their teamwork skills by combining the spaceships, resources, machines and their own creative ideas to solve the challenges they were presented with.

The game itself was run by two students from each class, with teachers just providing assistance and advice where necessary. It was an excellent example of students taking the initiative, developing problem-solving and negotiation skills in a fast-paced, action-packed environment. The students played fantastically well and came up with many ingenious solutions to the challenges they were faced with.

A big thank you to Mr Lawless for creating and implementing these exciting problem-solving games, that enrich students’ learning.

‘It was cool and interesting!’ Noah L

‘This activity was really fun and an incredible experience. I got to learn problem-solving and teamwork, and co-operating with people who I don’t usually work with.’ Aanya K

‘It was really cool and I really liked the game board!’ Claudia C

‘The students enjoyed the game. Thanks to Mr Lawless and the Year 11 students who helped create the game.’ Remi S

‘This game was really fun because we got to explore planets further and solve problems that may occur in the future. We got to solve problems with people we haven’t worked with that often before.’ Akshara A

‘StarGuards was really good especially for the knowledge of the solar system.’ Kimaya A

‘I thought it was very good.’ Max V

‘I love StarGuards because we were learning about the solar system.’ James A

VCAL News

VCAL 2022