A Wonderful Start to the Year!

What a fantastic start to the year our Kindy Kookaburras have had! We are so proud of the positive and enthusiastic way our students have settled into school life.

Our Kookaburras have been working hard to develop their understanding of phonics and spelling. We have been learning our sight words and, to help us practise, we created a special “password” on our classroom door with Mrs Partridge. This fun activity encourages students to read and recognise their sight words each day so they can confidently use them in their speaking, writing and reading.

We have also been enjoying a range of beautiful picture books, including:

• Starting School

• Little Nic’s Big Day

• Families

These stories have helped our class understand the emotions that can come with starting school and the importance of being organised. Our mentor text Families has supported rich discussions about how every family is unique. We explored how our differences might include what we eat, what we wear, and even where we live. It has been wonderful to see students sharing and celebrating what makes their families special.

In Mathematics, we have been learning how to become confident “mathematicians”! Students have been engaging in hands-on activities to explore the attributes of shapes and objects. We have also been practising our number recognition from 1–20 and building confidence in identifying and representing numbers in different ways.

The Kookaburras, Emus and Possums will be presenting a performance at the Week 9 K–2 Assembly. We are very excited and hope to see you all there to support our wonderful students!

Congratulations, Kookaburras, on a fantastic start to school. We are so proud of you and look forward to a wonderful year of learning together! 

What a Fantastic Start to the Year in Kindergarten Possums!

The beginning of a new school year is all about building relationships, learning routines, and settling into our classroom community—and the Possums have truly shone. Even in these early weeks, the children have already amazed me with their enthusiasm, confidence, and growing learning skills.

In English, we have enjoyed exploring the texts Starting School, Little Nic’s Big Day, and Going on a Bear Hunt. These stories have helped us think about what makes our own school special, while also inspiring us to create and write our own informative text, Going on a Principal Hunt.

In Mathematics, we have been learning to notice, wonder, and ask questions about the maths we see around us. We have explored making patterns, identifying similarities, and recognising shared attributes between different objects.

In other exciting news, the Possum class will present their very first Kindergarten assembly item on 27.03.26, and we would love to see you there to celebrate this special milestone together!

The Kindergarten Emus have had a wonderful start to school and are settling beautifully into classroom routines. It has been fantastic to see new friendships forming and confidence growing each day.

In Mathematics, we have been learning to become “mathemagicians”, exploring attributes and patterns and noticing how maths is all around us. Students have been sorting, comparing and identifying patterns while developing their mathematical language.

In English, we have been learning new sounds and building our labelling skills to help us communicate our ideas through drawing and writing. The Emus have been working hard to listen carefully, share their thinking and grow as confident learners.

We have also been creating artworks, developing our fundamental movement and teamwork skills in PDHPE, and exploring animals and their habitats during STEM lessons.

The Emus should feel very proud of their fantastic start to kindergarten. 

What a start to 2026! It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know the 23 students in Glider class over the past few weeks. As you know, the start of a new school year can feel a little daunting for our younger learners and I am incredibly proud of the courage, confidence and resilience they have shown as they build new friendships and begin challenging themselves in their learning.

Over the past few weeks, our focus has been on settling back into school routines, establishing clear classroom expectations, learning where resources and materials are located, and most importantly, getting to know one another.

 In our first week of school, students created self-portraits by carefully following along with a guided video. As part of this activity, we discussed what makes each of us special and unique and how no two people are exactly the same.These portraits now hang proudly in our classroom, showcasing the students’ artistic abilities and celebrating the individuality that makes our class so special.

In English, we have been taking a steady and explicit approach to learning how to set out our bookwork in line with the high expectations we have for our Stage 1 students. They have really taken it in their stride and are making a genuine effort to present their work to the best of their ability.

We have been reading The Wild Guide to Starting School, which has been a wonderful text to support our transition back into school routines. It connects beautifully with our whole-school animal theme and has provided great opportunities to link our learning back to our Glider Class expectations.

In Mathematics, we have been engaging in daily number talk routines focusing on friends of ten and twenty, skip counting, and choral counting. These short, focused sessions are helping students build fluency and confidence with number concepts.

We are continuing to practise “putting our mathematician hats on” by sharing different strategies, explaining our reasoning, and listening respectfully to the ideas of others.

What a fantastic start to the year our 1/2 Bilby class has made! The beginning of a new school year is always a special time for building relationships, establishing routines, and creating a positive classroom environment—and the Bilbies have embraced it all with enthusiasm. I have already been so impressed by their confidence, effort and eagerness to learn.

In English, we have begun exploring the text The Wild Guide to Starting School. This engaging book has inspired us to reflect on what makes our own school unique and special, while also supporting us to write our own informative texts. Later this term we will be researching all about the Bilby!

In Mathematics, students have been developing their skills in noticing, wondering and asking questions about the maths we see around us. We have been counting collections by organising objects thoughtfully and recognising group structures, as well as combining and separating quantities to deepen our understanding of number.

Across other Key Learning Areas, the Bilbies have been busy and engaged learners. In Health, with Mr Piper, they are exploring healthy and unhealthy foods and discussing ways to keep both our bodies and minds healthy. In CAPA with Mrs Earnshaw, the class are expressing themselves through dance and drama. With Mrs Thomson during STEM, Bilbies are investigating motion, friction and how objects slow down. Finally, our class is enjoying Library and HSIE lessons with Mrs Mathers learning about how people are connected to places and groups.

It has truly been a wonderful start to the year, and I am so proud of the positive way 1/2 Bilbies have begun 2026

What an incredible start to 2026 Lorikeet class have made! The beginning of a new school year is all about building relationships, learning routines, and settling into our classroom community, and the Lorikeets have excelled. On top of that, the children have already blown me away with their learning. 

In English, we began a new text, "The Wild Guide to Starting School." This text has given us the opportunity to think about what makes our own school special, and to practice writing our own informative texts. 

In maths, we have been learning to notice, wonder, and ask questions about mathematical concepts around us, count collections of objects by organising them and paying attention to the structure of groups, and to combine and separate quantities. 

In other KLAs, the Lorikeets have also enjoyed learning about healthy and unhealthy foods, keeping a healthy body and mind, and cooking with Mr. Piper, participating in creative and performing arts such as dance and drama with Mrs Earnshaw, and in STEM with Mrs. Thomson, the children have been learning about motion, friction and slowing objects down. 

In other news, the Lorikeet class have their class assembly item on 27.02.26 and we would love to see you all there to celebrate!

The Turtles – Term 1 Newsletter Update

What a fantastic and busy start to Term 1 it has been for the Turtles! From the very first day, students have been building friendships, learning about one another and working together to create our classroom expectations. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm, kindness and positive attitude towards learning.

Adding to the excitement, we are eagerly waiting for our brand new classroom to be completed. Even more exciting is that the Turtles will work together to design and decorate the space themselves. Our chosen “Under the Sea” theme will inspire our learning environment, and students are already sharing many creative and imaginative ideas.

Throughout our English lessons, students have been enjoying the story The Wild Guide to Starting School. Inspired by the text, we have been learning what makes a good sentence and how to make our writing more interesting. By using nouns, verbs and adjectives, along with more descriptive vocabulary, students are beginning to bring their ideas to life.

During Mathematics, students have been enthusiastically participating in new number games while developing efficient counting strategies. In addition, we have been exploring 2D shapes, identifying their features and carefully learning how to draw them accurately using a ruler.

Creativity has truly shone in Visual Arts, where students have painted beautiful sea turtles using watercolours and pastels. They have also amazed everyone with their lifelike self-portraits, demonstrating wonderful focus and artistic skill.

Curiosity has been sparked in Science lessons with Mrs Thomson, where students have been investigating how objects slide and discovering how motion and friction influence movement through hands-on exploration.

Energy and rhythm have filled the room during Creative Arts with Mrs Earnshaw, as students have explored how to combine music and movement through dance.

Excitement was certainly high in Food Technology with Mr Piper, where students created and enjoyed delicious, healthy chocolate balls.

Overall, it has been an incredible start to the year. I am so proud of the Turtles and the confidence, creativity and enthusiasm they bring to our classroom each day.

Attendance Matters – A Great Start to the Term

As we begin a new term, we would like to remind families of the importance of regular school attendance. Every day at school provides valuable learning opportunities, helping students build strong foundations in literacy, numeracy, social skills and wellbeing.

Consistent attendance supports children to stay connected with their learning, develop positive routines, and build strong relationships with their teachers and peers. Even short or occasional absences can impact a child’s progress and confidence in the classroom.

We understand that illness and unforeseen circumstances can occur. However, wherever possible, we encourage families to prioritise school attendance and plan appointments or holidays outside of school hours and term time.

Thank you for your continued support in helping your child start the term positively and make the most of every learning opportunity.

A huge congratulations to Possum Class, who have recorded the best attendance this term so far, with a whopping 99.33%! We are incredibly proud of your commitment and effort.