Gong hei fat choy(恭喜发财), 'Best wishes, wishing you happiness and prosperity.' 

Xīn nián kuài lè,  'New Year happiness' 

Welcome picnic

One of the highlights of our year is always the picnic to welcome in our new families and celebrate the beginning of another year together.

We were privileged to have Uncle Jason Kerr, come and hold a Welcome to Country and Smoking ceremony for us.

His words were heartfelt and made us reflect on both Country and how we need to care for each other and to walk together. 

We really are so lucky to be living and learning on Djaara Country. Thanks Uncle Jason. 

Jason Kerr is a direct descendant of the great Leonard Kerr who was born at Mt Hope on Dja Dja Wurrung Country around 1854. Jason is an extremely passionate Dja Dja Wurrung man and lives and works on Djandak. Jason has worked for the Dja Dja Wurrung Corporation for over 15 years and is an integral member of the Cultural Heritage Team. He is an appointed Aboriginal Heritage Officer and also holds a Certificate IV in Cultural Heritage Management. Jason has a passion for sharing Dja Dja Wurrung Culture and ensuring the protection of Cultural Heritage on Country.

Jason is also a very talented artist who has designed artwork for local Council projects and numerous artwork pieces when commissioned.

Swimming Carnival

wurru mouth of river yaluk flowing creek baring bend in the river     yarram yarram chain of waterholes

We had a fantastic celebration of our swimming lessons with the carnival on Friday. Lots of cheering, everyone giving it their best and encouraging each other. 

The banners for our houses looked fantastic (Thanks Kate and the 5-6 class)  

Special thanks to Kahu for the wonderful swimming instruction this year. The growth in skills over the 2 week program was amazing to see!

Anaphylaxis

We ask all our families to ensure that no nuts or nut spreads are included in your child's lunchbox. Please check the contents of your child's muesli bars to ensure they do not contain nuts.

We ask all families to ensure hands are washed prior to leaving home to minimise the risk of cross contamination. (eg for children when they brush their teeth following breakfast and for adults after food preparation)

If you volunteer in the Brekkie club, please follow the safe food handling guidelines.

You can find more information in our Anaphylaxis policy

Grade Prep Learning Update

Our Prep students have been busy, enthusiastic learners and it has been wonderful to see their confidence continuing to grow!

In Literacy, we have had lots of fun meeting Milo Monkey’s friends — Milo, Sally, Felix and Ally. As part of our learning, students have been exploring the initial sounds that match each character (m, s, f, a). The children have loved making connections between the characters and the sounds, and it has been fantastic to see them beginning to identify these sounds in words around them.

In Mathematics, we have been learning about the days of the week and thinking carefully about sequencing events. Students have been ordering activities based on the time of day — what happens in the morning, afternoon and evening — and sharing their own daily routines. This has been a wonderful way to build both mathematical understanding and real-life connections.

We also proudly survived our very first visit to Winters Flat Primary School! The students showed great resilience and enthusiasm as they explored a brand new playground environment. It was exciting to try something different and build confidence in a new setting.

To top it all off, we had a fantastic time participating in a Footy Skills Clinic. The students practised important skills such as handballing, kicking and catching — and especially enjoyed the game of “steal the treasure”! It was wonderful to see teamwork, encouragement and big smiles all around.

Great work, Grade Preps — keep up the fantastic learning!

Grade 3/4 Learning Update

This week in Grade 3/4, students have been building their Writer’s Notebooks, exploring pre-writing strategies and collecting ideas to support their writing journeys. We’ve been focusing on generating and organising thoughts, helping students develop confidence and creativity as writers. In Mathematics, we have been working with graphs and data, interpreting information and discussing what different representations can tell us. Students have also been reflecting on their learning goals for the term, identifying personal strengths and areas for growth as part of our ongoing learning conversations.

Today we were excited to welcome an AFL Victoria incursion, where students practised handballing and kicking skills through a range of fun games and activities. It was wonderful to see teamwork, persistence and lots of enthusiasm on display!

Grade 5-6 Learning Update

In grade 5/6, there have been many students feeling eager to get into some deeper learning in numeracy and literacy... and this week we dove right in! In maths we are looking at decimal numbers and place value and will be considering all the ways​20260219_164911.jpg​ that decimals help us to understand concepts such as finance and data. In reading we are focusing on selecting books that are 'just right' for us and are soon launching into a narrative unit on short stories. In writing, we have been writing individual acknowledgments of Country (please see Sully's and Arlo's heartfelt acknowledgements).

Our current inquiry topic is Civics and Citizenships, and as part of this topic, students have been writing letters to individuals or organisations about something they are passionate about. We are aiming to enter these letters into the ABC competition 'News in My Neighbourhood', where students will have the opportunity to have their letter published by the ABC. 

A special mention to Miro and Orlo this week, who are stepping up to lead our whole school picnic! Well, done! 

Sushi

Register for Sushi https://schoollunchonline.com.au/

We have sushi 3 times each term. 

Next Friday is our first one for the year.

Orders must be placed by Thursday 5pm.

Songlines and Seasons Exhibition

Dumawul, Hargreaves Mall, Bendigo

 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 

You may have heard that Djaara have begun Treaty negotiations with the Victorian government.