Learning and Teaching

NAIDOC Week

This week St Justin's School celebrated NAIDOC week (3-10th July Nationally). The Performing Arts and Creative Arts Year 6 Leadership groups led assemblies on Monday and Tuesday mornings with the whole school that focused on what NAIDOC week is and how we can celebrate the achievements of our First Nations people.  We learned about the many Indigenous communities that make up Australia, specifically the communities which make up the Kulin Nation - the Boonwurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung, Wathaurung and Woiwurrung, commonly known as Wurundjeri, which is the land on which we live here at St Justin's.

We listened to Aunty Joy Murphy welcome us to country. Aunty Joy is a senior aboriginal Elder of the Wurundjeri people of Melbourne and surrounds. The students in the Performing Arts and Creative Arts Leadership groups spent time in each year level reading Aunty Joy's book, Welcome to Country. We then each took a Manna Gum leaf and decorated it with our names and the colours we found in the book. Click on the image here if you would like to hear Aunty Joy's Welcome to Country.

During Term 3 each year level will be focussing on the Learning Area of Geography and some will also focus on History. Beginning the term with a focus on NAIDOC week has allowed us to set the scene for our students as they engage in the main concept of CULTURE through these learning areas. Each level will examine the connection that people have to the places in which they live. Some levels will delve into the physical elements of our land, investigating the earth’s surface and how to read maps and understand different landscapes. Others will look at other countries in relation to Australia, including the influence of people on the environmental characteristics of the land.

We are 121 days into the Premier’s Reading Challenge and we have finished 784 books! 

We have a number of books on the Premier’s Reading Challenge Booklist in our school library. Please see Mrs Cedro if you are looking for a particular book.

Our Books

Other books we have enjoyed reading

Shrek the Musical

This past Wednesday, the Year 4s and 5s watched “Shrek, the Musical" play performed by students from Avila and Mazenod Colleges. We drove to the Besen Center Theater in Burwood. In this giant theater there were two levels and lots of seating. We were seated near the stage. Before the show started there were people singing and practicing, making sure the sound was right.

At the beginning of the show the curtains rolled up and the show began. Shrek's swamp got invaded by the fairy-tale creatures. If he wanted his swamp back, he had to save Princess Fiona. So Shrek went on an adventure. 

When we first saw all of the characters' costumes, we were amazed because they were so realistic. The students and staff from Avila and Mazenod would have put a lot of time and effort into making them. The creative costumes really helped the show come to life and made you engage with the musical.

When it came to the music, there was a space beneath the stage where everyone had the instruments to make the music. The music was fantastic and really added to the production.

There were a lot of cool characters featured in this musical, including Shrek, Donkey, Humpty Dumpty, Pinocchio and more. The characters were portrayed by the students from Mazenod and Avila. All the characters were very cool to watch. It was astonishing. 

At the end of the show, all of the characters celebrated and it was overall a fantastic show. Once the show had ended, we walked out of the theater following our teachers. Now that we were out of the theater all the Year 5’s gathered to talk about the show. When we were about to leave, SHREK, PRINCESS FIONA, DONKEY and LORD FARQUAAD came to sign autographs. Everybody was pushing through the big crowds just to get the autographs. Once the crowd settled down we jumped back on the bus and headed back to school, singing the songs from the show!!

Life Education - Healthy Harold

This week, both prep classes were visited by Healthy Harold the Giraffe and his friends, Caitlyn and Melissa from Life Education. The students learnt about friendship and their feelings. Harold helped us learn that we always should tell the truth even if we think we might get into trouble. They had a great time playing pass the parcel to some of Harold’s favourite music. We got to find out where our heart, brain and lungs are in our body and how big they are. Most of the students agreed that the funniest part was when Harold slipped over on a banana. We had so much fun learning about so many things from our new giraffe friend!