Junior School

There have been lots of twists and turns these past weeks as teachers busily prepared for the earlier than expected return of students to onsite learning. In the flurry of excitement, the joy of again filling the classrooms with children and the sounds of learning was tangible. I want to take this opportunity to express our collective gratitude to every parent for their support during this period. We share many of the challenges experienced by families, having to also manage employment and remote learning. It has been stretching, yet a blessing in many ways, especially to know our families have been kept safe.

We enjoyed sharing in the excitement of Year 12 Final Day last week, viewing the Year 12 Concert from the comfort of classrooms or from home. We pray a blessing over our Year 12 students as they complete their examinations. What a bright and promising future lies ahead for these incredible students.

On Friday 29 October, we celebrated World Teachers’ Day. We are certainly thankful for our teachers every day! Many of our staff will tell you that they want to make a difference in the lives of the children whom they teach. For others it is the intrinsic rewards of being a teacher that bring much joy. These rewards are what we might call light globe moments, when we see that a child has genuinely grasped a concept, has achieved a personal goal, or overcome a challenge. These are very special moments for teachers who genuinely care.

Our Prep teachers have again explored creative options for the annual Step into Prep Transition program for Prep 2022 students. At home and with their family, preschool students have enjoyed viewing staff presentations, including Art, Library, PE and Music lessons with the specialist staff. Story reading, craft activities and a tour of the classrooms have been enjoyable features. We look forward to welcoming pre-schoolers onto the property for a visit soon.

Students are busily preparing to showcase their talents in dance and drama in the upcoming Junior School Musical, Annie Jr. We take our hat off to Mr Jeffrey Clarke, the Junior School Performing Arts teacher, who has managed to single-handedly work with our main cast via remote means. Students have been learning lines and choreography at home and can now refine their scenes in person. Information about costume requirements will soon be forwarded to parents, as we prepare for final rehearsals in Week 6 and the recording of the performance in Week 7. Once ready, parents will be provided with a link to the performance for their viewing pleasure at home – how wonderful to be able to watch our incredible students on stage!

As the end of the year approaches, we also move into our assessment and reporting period. Given the extended period of remote learning, we are finding such delight in celebrating the unique learning journey and progress of every student in what have been challenging circumstances. We now look forward to celebrations such as the Prep Nativity, Year 6 Graduation and Final Junior Assembly, which may run differently this year due to COVID protocols. More information to come!

Ah, Sovereign LORD, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You. Jeremiah 32:17

Sharee Gaiser

Head of Junior School

What Did You Do at School Today?

Prep

We are finally back at school and could not be more ecstatic! The last two weeks have been filled with so much joy and excitement. When we returned to onsite learning, not only did we finally get to see our friends and teachers again, WE ALSO GOT A SANDPIT! We have loved playing in it and are becoming great at remembering to dust the sand off our shoes before we enter our classrooms. We have also started our Multi Genre Writing Project and are looking forward to having our first showcase later in the term. If that wasn’t already enough excitement, we have been busy practising for the JS Musical and Prep Nativity. We cannot wait to see what our last few weeks of Prep will hold.

Year 1

Hip, hip, hooray! We are finally back at school! We settled in quickly and loved reconnecting with our peers. We have been working hard on our Multi Genre Writing Project and have been thinking about all the creative ways that we can publish our pieces. In Mathematics, we have learnt to identify Australian coins by their features. Did you know that the 50 cent coin used to be circular and it’s shape was changed in 1969?

Year 2

Yay! We are so excited to be back onsite and learning in our classrooms. Miss Wynne and Miss Newton are so proud of the way we have demonstrated resilience and have overcome a variety of obstacles during remote learning. We have loved seeing our friends, working collaboratively and celebrating our learning together. In Mathematics, we have enjoyed learning all about money! We are now experts at quickly and efficiently counting small collections of money. Did you know collections are easier to count when the same coins are grouped together? Learning about money is important because we use money to buy necessary items, such as groceries. We loved using the iPads to explore Coles Online and could practise adding amounts together.

Year 3

We were delighted to return to face-to-face learning and quickly began to settle into the routine of school. We reunited with friends and classmates after a considerable time learning from home. We wish to congratulate all students on your amazing effort during online classes, always showing up on time and entering videoconferences with a smile. Of course, we know that all this would not be possible without the support from parents and grandparents who have worked alongside the students to give them the greatest measure of success. Students mentioned that they valued the family time, completing lessons with their pet and enjoying a hot meal.

Year 4

We were so excited to be back at school for two days this week! Here are some of our comments when we were asked what we are looking forward to next week:

“Learning without looking at a screen.”

“Seeing my friends and playing with them.”

“Seeing my friends and doing extra work.”

“Seeing the new building.”

“Seeing Mrs Kelly face-to-face.”

Seeing friends is definitely the top response, as is “seeing our students face-to-face,” the top response of teachers!

A tribute to parents who have toiled alongside their children during remote learning – your efforts are truly heroic. Enjoy the rest!

Year 5

We did it! After a long few months, we finally returned to school to see each other in person; a much better experience than on a screen! Thank you to every parent and guardian who has supported these incredible students during this time. It was noticed and appreciated. Our students have become masters of navigating OneNote and our email system, making the start of the Multi Genre Writing Project an enjoyable experience. We have all completed our narrative texts with well-crafted word choices, page turning plots and a touch of pizazz. Our next challenge will be to collaboratively create a product in a small group to sell at our Bizarre Bazaar. Each product will be made from recycled materials and we will learn about the process of design and budgeting. We cannot wait to finish our year together in person!

Year 6

What a sweet sound has echoed in the Year 6 classrooms this week! This term, we have participated in Literature Circles and it was so wonderful to finally gather physically in our groups to discuss our thoughts and questions for our allocated book. It takes a lot of self-control to not read further than what has been decided – we are just too excited for what is coming next! As we prepare for our Bizarre Bazaar, we have used our knowledge of open and closed questions to create an online form to distribute for market research. We have loved analysing the results to aid our product development.