Thanks to our parent helpers last week in First Nations Ways: Country and Place: Alex, Lily and Jamie

Bullying No Way: National Week of Action

This week is Bullying No Way: National Week of Action. In Respectful Relationships classes students have been talking about Bullying, what it is, how to recognise it and what to do about it if it happens to them or a friend. In year 2/3/4 the students made posters. In year 5/6 the students made a banner. In F/1the students practiced kind words and actions. 

 Importantly all students thought about what actions they can take to prevent bullying in our school and the wider community.

 What can we do about Bullying – some of the students’ ideas

-          Include others

-          Be kind

-          Be a good friend

-          Get help

-          Be an upstander

Bullying is everyone's responsibility. It takes a community to be brave and address bullying behaviours, within and beyond the school gate.

In our community and in our school, we want a place where everyone can belong, a place that celebrates everyone, and where bullying is never accepted.

This Bullying No Way Week, we're asking students, schools, families and communities to be bold and say something, be kind and support someone, and be proud to take a stand against bullying.

Links for families

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/responding-to-bullying/how-families-can-respond

School Performance Base Layers needed for costumes 

Have you brought in your base layers for our performance yet?

What's happening in P/1?

Prep/1 News

It’s been a busy and exciting couple of weeks in Prep/1!

In Reading:
 Our Preps have been practising reading longer words by adding an extra sound at the start or end – like crab, swim, wink, and jump. They’ve also started learning about the digraph /ck/, which often comes at the end of words like duck and luck. This week, they began bringing home Stage 5 readers – amazing progress!

Our Grade 1s have been learning about the split digraph /a-e/, which we see in words like cake, snake, and wave. We call the /e/ a “bossy letter” because it changes the way the vowel sounds. Even though English has some funny spelling rules, our Grade 1s have been doing a fantastic job!

In Writing:
 We’ve continued to work on writing procedural texts – writing instructions step-by-step. Last week we followed a procedure to make parachutes, then had lots of fun building and testing them. We practised using “bossy words” in our instructions, like: Step 1: Tape the string to the paper.

This week, we listened to the story How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth and started learning the very silly steps you’d need to give one a bath!

Sustainability Fun:
 Last Friday, we were lucky to have beautiful weather for a special Sustainability session with our Grade 5/6 buddies. Together we weeded the gardens, worked on our River Health posters, and made delicious damper and bush food dukkah, which we cooked over the campfire.

A big thank you to Serena and all our parent helpers for making the day so special.

From Erin, Sue & Luke

Sustainability with our buddies, 100 days of school with our buddies

What's happening in 2/3/4?

2–3–4 Inquiry Update: “What’s the Matter?”

This week in our Inquiry, students have dived into the exciting world of buoyancy and density through hands-on experiments that sparked curiosity and deep discussion. Here’s what we explored:

Exploration Highlights:

●     Predict, Test, Observe: Students hypothesised which materials would float or sink, then tested their guesses in trays of water.

●     Density Detective Work: We investigated why some objects—including massive ships—float: often because their overall density, including air in their structure, is less than water.

●     Gas Experiments: Using the classic bicarbonate and vinegar reaction, students filled balloons with carbon dioxide, observing how gas production can inflate balloons and create lift.

Our Inquiry Questions:

●     How do the properties of materials affect whether they float or sink?

●     What roles do density and air volume play in buoyancy?

●     How can we use science to understand real-world phenomena like floating ships or rising balloons?

Learning Outcomes:

By participating in these investigations, students are:

●     Strengthening their understanding of materials science and physical properties

●     Practicing scientific prediction, testing, and reflection as part of their inquiry process

We invite you to explore the photos capturing their investigative spirit, lively predictions, and thoughtful conclusions. Stay tuned for future updates on how matter changes state—and the magic that happens when heat is added or removed!

Hands on Learning

Our semester two students started last week with great enthusiasm. Beginning in the shed we went through the four pillars of the Hands-on Learning program (HOL).

- A place to belong

- People to belong to

- Real things to do

- A chance to give back

It was then to the kitchen to make and knead our pizza dough. Along with the cooking of pizzas all students had the opportunity to use some important tools including hand saws and clamps.

We finished the day back in the shed with a hot cuppa. There were smiles all around. 

Tree Planting

Friday food: helpers needed for this to happen

Helpers needed. Our Student Council members sent out a survey and got fantastic response from parents. They are keen to get the Friday food happening but we need at least 2 adults who can take this on together. The most popular options are pizza and toasties to start with…  

Community Notices

 First Peoples connections and information

You can find out more about Yoorrook here

https://yoorrookjusticecommission.org.au/ and Four Corners have an excellent program on Yoorrook. 

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/four-corners/series/2025/video/NC2503H008S00 

We also heard about the current Treaty work being undertaken in Victoria. You may have heard that Djaara have begun Treaty negotiations with the Victorian government.

Sushi Dates for 2025

http://www.schoollunchonline.com.au 

14/2

14/3

16/5

13/6

8/8

12/9

24/10

14/11

12/12

Term 4 dates

Term 4 6 Oct – 19 Dec

• 7-15 October Somers Camp selected 5-6 students

• 10 October World Mental Health Day

• 10 October Goldfields Team Tennis/ softball (9/10-12/13 YO) TBC

• 17 October Goldfields Cricket Blast/ Basketball (9/10-12/13 YO) TBC

• Tuesday 21 October at 2.30pm Vaping prevention session for Grade 5-6 students

• Wednesday October 22 + Thursday October 23 I Am Mindful (I.A.M) program yr 5/6 students in 2 x 2hr sessions, Teacher PD 3.30-4.30 and Parent education workshop on Zoom 7.30pm-8.30pm 

• Wednesday 29th October Vaping prevention session with Bron Grieves 2:30pm

Preparation for Puberty grade 5-6

• Tuesday 28th Oct 9:30-11am

• Friday 7th November 2.30- 3.30

• Thursday 13th November 9.30- 11am

• Tuesday 18th Nov at 9,30 a- 11

• Tuesday 25th November 9:30-11am

• 4 November Curriculum Day

• 10-12 November Grade 5-6 Anglesea

• 7 November Kickball P-2 (change of location to Maldon)

• 11 November Remembrance Day

• Bike Ride 3-6 Date TBC

• Halloween dress up (week of 31st)

• 18, 25 November, 2 Dec Prep Transition 

• 3 December International Day of persons with disability

• 9 December Whole School Step Up Day

• 10 December Human Rights Day

• 16 December Xmas Carols, Yabbying

• 17 December Graduation/ End of year picnic 5-7:30pm

• 18 December Year 6 Big Day Out

• 19 December Pool Day 12-2:30