Primary

                                                                   Mrs Leanne Schulz

Assistant Principal (Primary)

Cumberland Cross Country 

A very big thank you to Mrs Dowling, the PE staff, the Dunhelen Captains and VCE VM students and the Primary Staff for the smooth and efficient running of the Cumberland Cross Country. The students were very excited to compete and were exhausted as they crossed the finish line. What a great effort by all, particularly the Year 3 students as it was their first time running in the competition.

Awards will be presented at the next Assembly. Congratulations to all the students for their positive attitude and House spirit. 

Akshaj M - 6P

Cross Country running is a sport in which students run races on outdoor courses. The Cross Country event at Aitken College this year was held on Tuesday 7 March. All Cumberland students were required to run a 2km course around the school. Students could take part in any way they liked. Students could run, jog or walk. The main aim for students was to have fun, get out and get fit.  

Not everyone is a born runner, running a race can seem like a daunting challenge for many. Some students were excited whereas some students were anxious before the race. In the first period, it was Year 3 and Year 4 students' turn whereas the Year 5 and Year 6 students completed their race in period 2. 

All the Year 5 and Year 6 girls were first up and they lined up near the start line and once the whistle blew, here began the race. Within 6 minutes, all the Year 5 and Year 6 boys also began running.  

Though it was exhausting to run 2kms on an up and down course, still all the students were running with a smile on their faces. Some runners pushed the limits of impossible and even inspired others to finish the challenge. Some were really competitive and some were just running to have a fun run with their friends. After reaching the finish line, we all were feeling delighted and proud on our accomplishment.  

Cross Country was a challenging event, however, all students tried their  best and made this year’s event a memorable one. Congratulations to all the winners and special shout-out to Year 3 students for their commendable effort who participated in this competition for their first time. 

A big thank you to all the teachers and senior students who supported and encouraged all of us throughout the day. 

Mia P - 6A

On Tuesday 7 March, all Cumberland students took part in Aitken College’s 2km Cross Country race which was held throughout the College grounds. Students commenced the race at the running track, over the Ring Road, up towards and around the farm, down past the juicy green grass, finishing off at the soccer field. Some students walked, some jogged, while others including myself ran the whole distance. Fortunately, I finished in 1st place out of the Year 6 girls. At the end of the 2km race, some students were ecstatic, some were overwhelmed and some were tired and pleased it was over. Next round is Districts which is held on Thursday 30 March for primary students.

On Wednesday, 8 March, it was Dunhelen’s and Brookhill’s turn to run the College Cross Country course. The Cumberland Sports Captains, some House Captains and I volunteered to assist with their race. Whilst the Sports and House Captains directed the students, my role was to run the course with the senior students to ensure they understood the course.

The events held over the two days were most enjoyable for Cumberland, Dunhelen and Brookhill students. 

Congratulations to all junior and senior students who successfully made it to Districts. Running Cross Country is definitely challenging. It takes determination and fight to successfully make it through each round.  Districts is next, followed by Division, then Regionals and finally State which is where I successfully made it in 2022. I hope to achieve these results again.

Thisen H -  6P

I think that Cross Country is a great event.  I think of cross country as a great way to test your speed and time. Another thing I love about cross country is getting those rewarding house points even if you come last or any other place.  But the most I love about cross country is having fun.

Semester 1 Class Captain Photos

Fairview and Cumberland Chapel and Assembly 

Term 1 Assembly Roster 

Reminders 

• Students are not permitted to cross the ring road in the mornings for safety reasons, unless crossing at the pedestrian crossing to go to their class in the Prep / Year 1  area. 
• Each child is required to have a named bottle of water at school. 
• When packing a lunch box, we encourage you to attempt to eliminate the need for any plastic wrappers around food. It is important to include healthy snacks, including fruit and vegetables, and avoid snacks high in sugar or salt. NUDE Food is a priority. 
• Your child must bring their hat to school every day otherwise they may have to miss out on playing. 
• It is also advised that your child bring a small tube/bottle of sunscreen. Please ensure that they have sunscreen on before they arrive to school. 
• It is also compulsory that hair is tied back, at all times. If hair is long enough to tie back, it must be tied in a bottle green or navy hair tie.  
• Prep and Year 1 children are required to bring a spare change of underwear, socks and trackpants/shorts (blue or green) to school.  
• Jewellery is not permitted, except for a small stud or sleeper. 
• Mobile phones must not be used to communicate with parents during the school day; it is preferable that Primary students do not wear a smart watch as they are expensive, and there is a temptation for students to ring parents rather than sort problems out at school (this does not help build independence or resilience). 
• If you plan to bring birthday treats to school for your child, speak to the Homeroom teacher before you prepare a treat. A bag of lolipops is sufficient so please do not prepare elaborate individual lolly bags or gifts for students as this creates a level of unwanted competition. 

Mrs Natasha Radley (Head of Year Prep) 

As children progress through their primary school years, one of the most important skills they can develop is independence. This allows students to take ownership of their learning, build self-confidence and develop problem-solving skills that will assist them throughout their lives. This can be challenging, especially in the first weeks of school. Some of the things that you can do to assist your child are to set expectations and boundaries, provide opportunities for practice and feedback, help to develop a growth mindset, encourage problem solving and model independence.

We had another successful Prep / Year 6 Buddy session. The Year 6 students talked to their Prep buddy about different emotions and what they looked and felt like. They worked together to take some photos of different emotions and the Year 6 students led the way to create a presentation using their iPads.

This week in Prep, students developed their independence by having a go at writing the words of the week on their own and understanding that it is ok to make a mistake as we get better at things by trying and trying again. They also got to catch up with their Buddy from Year 6 and play a game together, and make Fairy Bread which was lots of fun.

Mr Jevon Scandrett (Head of Year 1 & 2) 

Year 1 and Year 2 students and teachers have been working hard over the past six weeks! 

In Year 1, students have had the chance to meet their Year 5 buddies. Year 1 and Year 5 buddy classes will get together once or twice a term which will provide some excellent opportunities for cross-age learning and development. In Writing, Year 1 students have been focusing on recount writing and letter formation through daily handwriting. 

In Year 2, students have been visiting Brodies Creek as part of their Integrated Studies unit ‘Creeks and Minibeasts’. They have been introduced to the endangered species, the Golden Sun moth as well as the features of the creek ecosystem. 

Should you have any questions or concerns, your first point of call should always be your child’s homeroom teacher followed by me as the Head of Years 1 and 2. 

Mrs Anne Adams (Head of Year 3 & 4) 

Year 3 and Year 4 students have been busy! Kitchen Garden is definitely a highlight for the Year 4 students. The Year students  have been experimenting with light. A huge thank you to the parent volunteers that have come in to help out in the Kitchen and the classrooms. The students love having you there and so do we! Here are some comments about the activities the students have been doing over the last two weeks.  

Year 4 

Sze Sze - 4S 

In Year 4 Kitchen Garden, we made super healthy muffins. Everybody had fun and we all helped each other out. We all had different jobs just by pulling out a tag with a number on them. When everybody was done with the batter that was being used, all the teams started to clean up. Person one, washed everything in a certain order, person two and person five dried everything, and person three and person four put everything away. The helpers set up the tables, so it looked like a restaurant. They even put water and glasses on the tables!  The helpers also put everybody’s pencil cases on a bench and put plates in front of everyone. It was super fun and super professional. We could get seconds if we wanted, and usually students were only allowed to have one. It was amazing.  

Mikaela V - 4S 

In the garden, we do activities in groups. We explored the shed. Inside the shed were gardening tools like shovels, rakes and secateurs. We used the secateurs to cut the weeds. We put them in a bucket and gave it to the chickens. They all crowded around and ate the weeds. 

In reading, we did an activity called the Escape Room, there were five different levels. There were clues about genre in the text. There were questions and clues about different types of genre. We worked in groups of four to solve the problems. We didn’t get to the fifth level, only the fourth one. 

Bronel M - 4S  

On 2 March, we made a fruit salad including apples, grapes, watermelon, nectarines, plums and bananas. We were in our groups. We learnt how to cut our fruit safely but using the ‘bear claw’ and the ‘bridge’ way of holding the fruit. This means we won’t cut our fingers. Some people loved it, some didn’t.  

When we did the Escape Room, I was with Christian, Elijah and Nathan. We read the questions and clues and we figured out the code. We got up to level four.

Year 3 

Leia T - 3W

We did an experiment with white and black paper. We poured water on the paper and made a prediction about whether the black or white paper would dry first. I thought that the black paper would dry first because darker colours absorb the sunlight. The more sunlight it got, the quicker it would dry. 

Kayden R - 3W 

We were collecting data about horse races. We had to add information onto the graph so it made sense. We added the numbers, coloured the columns and added a title. We wrote facts about the graph.

Olivia K - 3W 

In Maths, we used the MAB blocks with dice. We rolled the numbers and made four digit numbers. Then we wrote our number in numbers and in words. We drew a picture of the blocks too. In Visual Arts, we are drawing a tear drop tree and then we are going to paint it. It is my favourite subject. 

Mr Nigel Keegan (Head of Year 5 & 6)

A lot of excellent work is happening across the breadth of subjects in Year 5 and Year 6, and assessment tasks are underway. These tasks provide opportunity for students to show their learning and for teachers to see how students are managing new content and skills. Keep your eye on My Aitken for feedback on your child’s progress.  

The Year 6 students have started their class novel study ‘Once’, a novel written by Australian author, Morris Gleitzman. It is about a Jewish boy named Felix who lived in Poland and is on a quest to find his book-keeper parents after he sees Nazis burning the books from a Catholic orphanage that he had previously lived in.  

In Integrated Studies, students are learning about renewable and non-renewable energy. Students even had the opportunity to create their own solar ovens, which was a lot of fun!  

Year 5 Integrated Studies has focused on colonial Victoria, the Gold Rush, and Australian Immigration. Other interesting learning experiences include problem-solving in Mathematics, our novel study on the book ‘Detention’ by Tristan Bancks and learning how to code mini robots during STEM. 

Prep/Year 6 and Year 1/Year 5 Buddies activities continue. It is always so great to see the engagement from students, and relationships established between students across the age groups.  

The House Cross Country Carnival was held on Tuesday, in which the students competed commendably! Year 5 and Year 6 Summer Interschool Sport is in full swing, with the Mixed Tee-Ball team undefeated so far. An engaging in-school sport program runs alongside the Interschool sport competition, for students who are not competing.