Week 7, Term 3

Hello from the Preps! 

The highlight of this week was welcoming our parents into the classrooms for our Student Led Expo. It was wonderful to see students proudly sharing their work, talking with joy about their favourite pieces, and showing parents around the classroom. Thank you for taking the time to celebrate your child’s learning with them.

This week in Literacy, we explored the ‘ch’ sound and practised reading and writing words using this code. We continued improving our sentence skills, focusing on joining words ‘but’ and ‘because’.  Our writing was showcased in the Cold Write topic My Adventures with an animal, where students showed their understanding of capital letters, full stops and spacing between words. It has been wonderful to see their growing confidence and independence as writers.

In Maths, we continued our focus on sharing. Students enjoyed investigating the many ways objects could be shared equally, whether it was apples in bags, frogs on lily pads and teddy bears at a cafe. There was plenty of trial and error as they checked to make sure each group was equal and challenged themselves to find all the possibilities.

In R.R.R.R, we continued our topic of Help Seeking. We discussed the different people who can help us at school, including classroom teachers, the principal, the librarian, and yard duty teachers. Students also identified five trusted people in their own lives whom they can turn to for help.

Next week in Literacy, we will be learning the new two-letter code ‘th’. We will continue practising using because and but, in our sentences, and building confidence with our dotted thirds writing lines. In Maths, we will begin exploring skip-counting patterns. 

And of course, next week, we have our Whole School Performance at the Town Hall. We will have a rehearsal on Wednesday, followed by two concerts on Thursday: a matinee at 11:00 am and an evening performance at 6:00 pm. We can’t wait to share our amazing performance with you!

Enjoy your weekend! 

Miss Else and Nicole

It’s hard to believe there’s only a couple of weeks left of term! We have had another week of busy but fun learning. We continued our focus on our Big Question, "What can we learn from those who have come before us?" by learning about different indigenous plants, in particular, types of wattle. We learned that indigenous people traditionally ground wattle seeds and other plant materials for food and medicine using grinding stones. We had a go at grinding our own seeds using a mortar and pestle, then painted our own wattle artwork.

We also read the story The Two-Hearted Numbat by Ambelin & Ezekiel Kwaymullina and unpacked the different parts including the author’s message that we all need two hearts – one strong like stone that helps us be courageous and resilient, and another soft like feathers so we can show kindness, compassion and empathy towards others.

We had a go at writing our own animal story that included a message as part of our Cold Write. We used a template to help plan our story to ensure it included an introduction, a problem and a solution.

Our Maths focus this week has been on exploring the concept of time. We started the week sequencing events, then ordered events depending on their duration of time, and finished the week exploring analogue clocks and making times to the hour and half hour.

Our Wellbeing focus this week involved challenging gender stereotypes. We read the book Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlmann and discussed situations we’ve encountered where people have said certain things are only for girls/boys.

We loved sharing some of our learning with our families at our Student-Led Expo this week. Thank you to everyone who turned up. It was lovely to see students proudly share their work with you!

Next week is going to be a big one with our school concert rehearsal on Wednesday and the matinee and evening shows on Thursday. We will also sneak in some learning in between, with a continued focus on time in Maths and using the conjunctions ‘so’, ‘but’ and ‘because’ in Literacy. We’ll link our exploration of time with our Big Question by looking at the Dja Dja Wurrung seasons and making our own calendars.

We hope you have a lovely weekend and a happy fathers’ day for Sunday.

Wendy, Laura, Claire, Sarah and Andrew

 Hello from the Ironbark building! 

What a busy week we’ve had! A highlight would have to be our Student Learning Expo where we enjoyed sharing what we have been working on this term with our families. Thank you to everyone who made the time to pop in and visit our classrooms. We hope you were impressed with the confident way students shared their work with you – we definitely were! 

Students became scientists this week through our literacy and BQT lessons as we delved into our big question, "What is it made of and why?". We got our hands messy conducting experiments to find out about what happens when a state of matter changes.  There was lots of excitement when students investigated reversible and irreversible changes and recorded their predictions and observations. We enjoyed finding out about non-Newtonian fluids while making Ooblek and worked collaboratively in groups to explore melting chocolate and ice, dissolving solids and making bubbles. Throughout our experiments we discussed how chemical changes can create new substances.  

In Maths this week students completed a rich task where they had to plan a day at the Royal Show. They imagined they had $40 to spend and 5 hours (300 minutes) to enjoy the day. Students could choose from their favourite activities, but had to make sure they didn’t run out of time or money. It was interesting to see how students would choose to spend the hours in their day with rollercoaster rides, fairy floss and the showbag pavilion being some popular activities! Throughout this rich task students practised calculating elapsed time through number lines.

Over the next few weeks, we will be implementing our eSmart program where students will be engaged in activities that promote safe, smart, and responsible use of digital technologies. This week students found out about the benefits of sharing information online, but also about the safety and security risks of sharing certain types of information. Through discussion students could distinguish between personal information, which is safe to share online, and private information, which is unsafe to share and developed an understanding of what type of information can put them at risk for identity theft and other scams.

As part of our wellbeing program students have begun Topic 7 in our RRRR lessons, Gender Norms and Stereotypes. Students tuned into the topic by exploring what makes them similar and different from others. By playing a game of Human Bingo and completing an Identity Wheel students learnt that people of any gender can be similar and/or different and that it is okay to have different interests from their peers.

Today the 3/4s had the chance to participate in the District Cricket and Tennis clinics. It was a huge day, and we were proud of the way our students showcased their teamwork skills as well as displaying our school values of passion, courage, thoughtfulness and wonder. A big thank you to Carly for her organisation of this day and thank you to our parent helpers – we’re sure everyone will sleep well tonight!

Next week we will begin looking at fractions and decimals in Maths, while in Literacy, we will be focusing on how to be Sun Smart. Of course, next week is also our school performance, ‘A Journey Through the Realms’ which we are super excited about! We hope you can all make it. 

Enjoy your weekend,

Sally, Louise, Mr Scott, Hannah and Carly

Week 7 done and dusted—we can hardly believe it!

What a fantastic week it’s been welcoming families into our learning spaces for the 5/6 Student-Led Expo! Students worked hard to prepare the activities and displays they wanted to share with you, as well as organising materials and creating resources. It was wonderful to see the pride they took in presenting their work, leading you through their learning, and even challenging you with some of the activities. We are incredibly proud of the effort and progress our students have shown so far this year, and we hope you are too!

This week we launched our new unit under the big question: “What is it made of and why?” To kick things off, students became detectives in a Mess Scene Investigation, exploring a range of curious materials and changes. These included melted and burnt chocolate, icy poles that had melted, frozen milk, fizzing tablets in water, bubbles from sodium bicarbonate, vinegar solutions, salted water, and even scobies from kombucha! Over the next weeks and into Term 4, we’ll explore changes to materials, different states of matter, and how forming questions and predictions guide our experiments. Students will also practise communicating their findings in a variety of scientific ways.

Friday saw our students out on the fields for the Castlemaine District Sports. It was wonderful to see everyone out playing sport, cheering each other on, and for some, even trying new events and activities for the very first time. A huge thank-you to Carly for keeping us moving and encouraging our teams.

On Monday, a group of students who expressed interest will be heading to the Town Hall with Bec and Charlie to take part in the Maths Hoops program. With less than a week until our whole school performance, the excitement is really building. Tickets are still available for the midday show, and next week students will head to the Town Hall with their classes for a full rehearsal on Wednesday.

We hope everyone enjoys a restful weekend. Get ready for another exciting week ahead—we can’t wait to see our performers shine on stage!

Hannah, Jay, Bec, Ben, Nicci & Mr Higgins

Indonesian dance opportunity - Zinda Festival

There is another opportunity for Grade 3-6 students to participate in an Indonesian dance performance during the school holidays with Nita and her gamelan group, Mugi Rahayu, on Friday 26th September. The event is the ‘Zinda’ Festival, which will be held at the Dai Gum San Precinct in Bendigo. The performance is at 3.30pm, however students are required from 2.30pm for preparation with costumes. This is a great chance for students to deepen their cultural understanding and be part of a performance group that is developing the ‘Ponogoro Reog’ dance. With further grant applications underway, we are hopeful for more exciting opportunities for this community exchange and collaboration in the near future. So, save the date if you aren’t going away and can support your child to be part of this unique opportunity, and please reach out for further information if needed.

Nita Rahayu – 0421 912 012 

Kimberley.craig@education.vic.gov.au

District Basketball, Cricket and Tennis 

Today, Grade 3-6 students participated in our district sports event. The 3/4s rotated through skill-based activities, while the 5/6s competed in a sport of their choice. Thank you to the parent helpers for supporting our teams.

Division Athletics – Gr 4-6 select students 

Based on performances at the House Athletics last term, some students have the opportunity to participate at the Goldfields Division Track and Field in Bendigo on Monday 15th September. Students will travel by bus with two staff members. Please arrive at school at 8:45 and meet at the grapevine. Cost $15. Permission notes are due next Wednesday 10th September. We will also need the support of parent/carer helpers.

House Athletics Gr P-2 Tuesday 16th September 

Students in Grades P/1/2 will participate in their House Athletics Event at our school on Tuesday 16th September, 11:30-1:30. Students may wear their house team colours on this day. Events are modified and aimed at teamwork and participation. Grade 4-6 student leaders and  SRC also have the opportunity to join this event as a group or event leader and they may also wear their house team colours. Families are welcome to come along to support our students.

WHOLE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE - A Journey Through the Realms

It’s now less than one week until show time! The students have been getting excited this week as we polish up our pieces. I’m looking forward to seeing all our students on stage. Not everyone will be feeling excited, some may be feeling nervous, and that’s completely normal before going on stage — many performers do, even adults! 

All students are expected to take part in both the Matinee (during school hours) and the Evening Performance at 6:00pm on Thursday the 11th of September. As part of our preparation, each class will have a stage rehearsal on Wednesday the 10th. Please see below the important information for each day. 

Wednesday 10th of September: 

• Students will walk down in small groups with their teachers. 

• Each grade will have 15 minutes on stage to walk through their performance and get familiar with the space. 

• This rehearsal is a valuable chance for students to practice their movements and positions on the actual stage before the big day.

Thursday 11th of September: 

• As space is limited at the venue, students should arrive at school on Thursday dressed in their costume, ready to perform. 

• Students will walk down to the Town Hall between 10:00 and 10:30am for the Matinee rehearsal and performance. 

• After the Matinee (approximately 1:00pm), students will return to school. To keep costumes fresh for the evening, we suggest they change back into their school clothes once they return. 

• All students must arrive at the Town Hall by 5:30pm on Thursday evening, ready for the performance. 

Costume reminder 

This weekend is the final opportunity to get costumes sorted for the performance! Feel free to get creative - craft something together at home, reach out to family for help, or explore your local op shop for ideas.

Costumes don’t need to be perfect—just fun and in the spirit of the performance. The goal is to enjoy the process, not to feel stressed. Thank you for supporting your child with this part of the show!

Prep E

Arlo M - for the brave way you accept making mistakes and listen to feedback to keep improving.
Gene L - for the courageous and positive way you have been starting each day at school.

Prep N

Harvey K - for the kind and thoughtful way you helped a classmate when they needed it.
Amelie E - for challenging yourself to find all the possible ways when solving division problems in maths.

1/2 CS

Xavier B - for the amazing effort you put into your Cold Write.
Austin T - for your enthusiasm when completing our Cold Write.

1/2 L

Charlie R - for your clever representation of the footy season as an event that takes a long time.
Lilah G - for the quick and effective way you used your planning document to jot down your ideas for your cold write.

1/2 WA

Matteo T - for the care and attention you took painting a silver wattle during our BQT lesson.
Ewan W - for the passion and knowledge you brought to our study of local plants.

3/4 H

Samuel C - for helping your classmate understand a maths concept more clearly.
Arthur C - for being a star cleaner-upper after our STEAM challenge.

3/4 L

Annabelle C - for helping Louise out in a "sticky situation".
Freddie A - for your terrific efforts in spelling. 

3/4 PS

Tait E - for your passion and hard work during maths lessons.
Hugo H - for enthusiastically sharing your wonderings about our reading with the class.

3/4 S

Takisha C - for your fantastic effort and results in our maths fluency activities.
Arlo T - for your focus and effort when learning to tell the time.
Daisy H - for sharing your knowledge about solids, liquids and gases during our BQT discussions.

5/6 BN

Lily G - for taking the time to produce and entertaining Cold Write.
Dougie W - for consistently producing original work of a high 

5/6 H

Emilia E - for your commitment to completing your data task to a high standard.
Ruben B - for presenting with confidence with minimal preparation.

5/6 J

Jack T - for your determination to make every shot at Friday's tennis day.
Chris P - for your eagerness to share your learning and to challenge your dad's maths skills.

Indonesian

Chloe O - for your ongoing, positive commitment to your learning, in your effort, behaviour and participation.

Performing Arts

Frederick C - for consistently bringing energy and a genuine love for Performing Arts to every rehearsal.
Raeka G - for always singing with a big smile and lots of enthusiasm!

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