Primary School News

From the Head of Primary, Wayne Revitt

Generation Joy

You may have seen the excellent, heart warming ABC program Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, where a small group of children visit an aged care facility to interact with the residents. John Wollaston has led the way in this area with our Intergenerational Arts Festival last term in conjunction with Amana Living. This term, we have established an Intergenerational Choir, which is going from strength to strength. Our students visit the Thomas Scott Hostel residents each Friday and are enjoying getting to know each other. There is a real sense of energy and fun during the Choir sessions. The Choir has named themselves Generation Joy which perfectly captures the feeling and mood each week. Generation Joy has been invited to perform at the National Anglicare Conference next week, being held at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Perth. Their performance will follow presentations from The Honourable Kim Beazley AC and Janet Anderson, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner. The Principal will also be joining us for the performance. This is a wonderful opportunity for John Wollaston and Amana Living to showcase the positive relationships developed through intergenerational activities, and we are very proud of our partnership. Thank you to Senior Deputy Head of Primary, Fiona Shand for leading this project and to Primary Music teacher, Hollie Burbage for jointly leading the choir, with the Amana Living music therapist. 

Year 5 Encounter 

The Year 5s are excited for their upcoming Encounter experience to the Swan Valley Adventure Centre from Wednesday 11 September to Friday 13 September. This is an exciting Encounter and for many students, their first experience of an overnight school camp. Students will be challenged with various outdoor education activities including the flying fox, rock climbing, commando course, canoeing and archery.  All activities are facilitated by qualified staff at the centre. As I mentioned to parents during our recent briefing session, this is great preparation for the Canberra Tour in May 2020. I will be attending the camp along with the Year 5 staff, Primary Art Specialist, Jeanette Lyons and two parent helpers. We suggest students pack some old clothing and shoes because after the activities and some time in the river, there will be some very dirty washing! I look forward to another great time at the Year 5 Encounter. 

Primary Inter-House Athletics Carnival

What a great day we had today at the Primary Inter-House Athletics Carnival! All students performed to the best of their ability and I always appreciate the supportive atmosphere at our events. We had a great number of parents, grandparents and friends come to support their children. A big thank you to Primary Physical Education Specialist, Mel Fowler for again organising a wonderful day for all. 

Grandparents' Day - Friday 20 September

Grandparents’ Day is one of my favourite days of the year. Once again we invite all grandparents to join us for a special assembly followed by a visit to Primary classrooms and our wonderful Art Exhibition. The day will begin at 8:45am in the Berry Durston Indoor Sports Centre (BDISC) then following the assembly our Year 6 Captains will guide grandparents to classrooms to view the work of their grandchildren. We have timed Grandparents’ Day to coincide with the John Wollaston Art Exhibition and House Shout, so that grandparents can share in the artistic and musical talents of our students. The Art Exhibition will be on display in the Technology Centre. If your child does not have a grandparent available, a favourite great aunt or uncle is always welcome. The event will conclude at 12:00pm. Parking for this event will be located in the main carpark behind the BDISC with overflow parking on the Primary Oval. I know I have many special memories of my grandparents and the many wise things they taught me over the years. It is important to recognise and celebrate the role that grandparents play in the lives of our children. I look forward to a wonderful day on Friday 20 September.

Colour Explosion - Friday 20 September

Students in Pre-Primary to Year 12 will participate in a Colour Explosion on the afternoon of Friday 20 September. Each student has been given a sponsorship form so please register your child to participate at the following address: https://myprofilepage.com.au/ as soon as possible. We require students to register in order to participate. Each student who participates in the Colour Explosion will be provided with brightly coloured sunglasses, a wrist band and an icy pole. Students can commence their fundraising with as little as $10 to be eligible for an incentive prize. Prizes are allocated based on the total amount of fundraising for each student. They can choose up to five incentive prizes dependent on the amount of sponsorship donations received. We look forward to a busy day on Friday 20 September!

Opti-MINDS

A team of six Primary students in Years 4 to 6 competed in the annual Opti-MINDS competition on Saturday 31 August. Opti-MINDS is a creative thinking and sustainability challenge run jointly with Curtin University. Our students chose to compete in the Language-Literature discipline, with this year’s long-term challenge entitled Spin That Story. The storytellers were given the challenge to both delight and entertain, whilst changing peoples’ minds about an issue that was dear to their hearts. Over the past six weeks the Opti-MINDS team have been unpacking the challenge through brainstorming and discussion, followed by preparing a script for a dramatic presentation, rehearsing and making props and costumes from recyclable materials. As well as presenting their solution to the long-term challenge, the team had to solve an unseen, spontaneous challenge. Congratulations to Mia Collis, Tuppence Cornelius, Suruthikasri Saravanan, Jothilingeswara Jothiraja, Alexis Hennett and Arjan Singh for their outstanding performance and representation of our school.

Wayne Revitt

Head of Primary