Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members,
As we come to the end of the penultimate week of the school year, we have much to celebrate. There have been many successes across our school, and we are incredibly proud of our students. We are also deeply grateful for the continued support of our families and wider community, which enables us to provide the best possible education for our amazing young people.
Last week we embarked on a journey to the Ballarat Wildlife Park. We were incredibly lucky to have some dry and warm weather for our excursion. During our visit, we listened to some animal keepers inform us about the lifestyle and habitat of Meerkats; Blue Fairy Penguins, Dingoes, a python, a blue tongue lizard and a Siberian Tiger! Gabrielle had a conversation with a Dingo – (it barked at her, and she replied with a loud scream in fear) We had a wonderful day, but I think the highlight was patting the gentle kangaroos and seeing a baby joey in its mum’s pouch!
This week we are beginning some learning about Christmas traditions and writing a persuasive letter to Santa about something we want. So far, an iPad is high on the list for many kids.
In our Grade One classroom, we have been as busy as ever! Even though we’re all feeling a little tired at this time of year, the learning certainly hasn’t slowed down.
In Writing, students have been exploring the difference between fragments and complete sentences. They have been drawing on their prior knowledge and growing literacy skills to create some fantastic, well-structured sentences.
In Mathematics, we’ve been learning to read analogue clocks, focusing on identifying o’clock and half past times. Students have enjoyed the hands-on practice and are becoming much more confident telling the time.
In Knowledge, we’ve been investigating Australian traditions. A highlight of our learning was performing a wonderful rendition of “Waltzing Matilda” at our recent assembly—our Grade One students sang proudly and represented our learning beautifully.
What a wonderful end to 2025, the year sure feels like its gone quick! I have been lucky enough to work with the Grade 2's for the past 2 years so watching them move into Grade 3 next year will be bittersweet. As we come to the end of the term the students are still doing fantastic learning. In class students have built a snowman and independently written a single paragraph outline (SPO) on how to build one. They also are working hard in Maths to identify and continue growing and shrinking patterns.
Next week, we are lucky to have a final excursion to Sovereign Hill where we will watch a pantomime performance on the 12 days of Christmas - a text we have been reading in class. It should be a fantastic day out. I wish all families a Merry Christmas and hope you have a safe and happy new year. Thank you, Miss Eustice.
Over the past week and a half, the 3/4 class have taken up residence in the old 5/6 room, which then became the STEM room and will return again next year to being the 5/6 room again. This is because the 3/4 room has been undergoing some window-work, with large scaffolding taking-up a fair chunk of our space. It’s the second time this year that we’ve needed to relocate (the first being to the library earlier in the year) due to building works.
During this time, the students haven’t batted an eyelid and have taken it all in their stride. Despite being out of their normal abode, the entire class has shown great resilience – one of our school’s guiding values. Furthermore, they’ve been both respectful and responsible in their time ‘away from home’.
As this year comes to a close, I would like to thank all of our wonderful Grade 5/6 students on a fantastic year! We have had an absolute blast over the last 4 terms.
To our Grade 5’s, I am looking forward to another 12 months of fun and learning with you guys. To our Grade 6’s who are moving on to the next adventure, we wish you all the best and hope that you check in throughout the years to come to let us know how you are doing.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas break. See (some of) you in 2026!
Congratulations and all the best in the future.
Happy Birthday to the students who have celebrated their birthday in the last week or will celebrate their birthday over the summer holidays.
