Playground Update

Some exciting news about our Junior Playground redevelopment. It's been a long ordeal for all of us as we negotiated the administration of our chosen contractor which forced us back to square one. We've been working with the Victorian School Building Authority and a new contractor to plan the redevelopment of the area and we are almost ready to start the project! We are looking forward to a brand new sandpit, landscaping, edging and access pathways, as well as blending elements of the existing structure with all new elements designed for climbing, swinging and sliding. Once completed we will top it off with new shade sails for sun protection. The existing playground will close next week for the remainder of the year which should mean the redeveloped site will be ready for the start of the school year!

Class formation

Thank you to those parents and carers who sent through their contributions as we begin the process of creating classrooms for 2026. We had over 70 entries which represent nearly 20% of the whole school cohort. Much of the information will be already known by your child's teacher, but is it good to have it all in one place for the teachers to refer to. We endeavour to address each of the requests, but at times it is impossible to fulfill all requests. 

Thank you Morning Tea

Over the year, so many of you volunteer your time and energy in so many different ways to help our school. Maybe you have go on an excursion, maybe you walked with a group to a sport event, maybe you were a helper for reading session. Or you were a member of the Parents' Association, or organised Trivia Night or the Disco, or manned the second hand uniform shop. So many of you have helped out with the success of our school we want to say thank you! On Friday, November 28th at 10.30am, we welcome you to the hall for a special Parent Helper Morning Tea! 

Remembrance Day observation

On Tuesday we marked Remembrance Day with a moment of quiet and reflection. Our Community and SMILE leaders - Samah, Sam, Kristy and Ara spoke over the PA system as they explained the significance of the day and what the poppies represent. This was followed by a minute's silence and the playing of the Last Post. It is pleasing to see so many of the students wearing a poppy or other item that both helps to raise awareness of our veterans but also much needed funds. Poppies and the like are still available to purchase this week in the office with proceeds support the local RSLs.

Mini Olympics

Don't forget tomorrow after lunch is our Mini Olympics for our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students. If you can make it we'd love to have you on site from 2pm on the oval and courts to cheer them on!

Our new flags!

We were honoured with a special visit from the local member for Ashwood, Matt Fregon at last Friday's assembly. Matt has visited our school many times, often to speak with students about the structure of government and local issues important to them. But this visit was a little different. Matt presented us with three new flags - the Australian national flag, the Indigenous flag and the Torres Strait Island flag. 

Our previous flags had served us well for a number of years, but after many days outside in the suns and rain were starting to look a little tired. Matt presented the flags to our two Community leaders, Ara and Kristy in front of the whole school. As leaders, Ara and Kristy are in charge of organising the raising and lowering the flags. 

Look out for the new flags in the plaza!

Auction results!

Last Thursday at 12pm the hammer came down on the Art Show Auctions. Thank you to everyone who put in a bid. We had some furious bidding in the final 30 minutes and we are super happy with the outcomes. Three pieces have already been collected, if you are on of the sucessful bidders yet to collect please drop by the office where you can pay and collect!

We’re now into Week 6, and Year 6 are diving deep into their projects while juggling all things graduation! There’s a real buzz in the classrooms as students balance creativity, collaboration and preparation for all that’s ahead in their final term of primary school. Over the past two weeks, students have been:

• Progressing well with their Bizarre Bazaar projects, having received their ordered materials and begun creating the products they’ll soon be selling. Groups have also finalised their logos, bringing their branding and business plans to life.
• Investigating advertising and branding in English, linking directly to their Connected project. Students selected a company of interest and created presentations on its origins, logo, design strategies and overall marketing approach.
• Applying their maths knowledge through spreadsheets and budgeting, practising how to use Google Sheets to plan and manage costs. Students even created budget sheets tailored to their Bizarre Bazaar businesses.
• Spending time connecting with younger students, enjoying a fun session playing games with the Year 2s - a lovely opportunity for leadership, laughter and mentoring.
• Getting ready for end-of-year celebrations, with graduation and Christmas songs about to kick off rehearsals. Students are very excited to start practising and bring some festive energy to the final weeks!
  
   

From Brooke, Chloe & Kristen

It's that time of the year where we say THANK YOU to all of you who have put in the extra effort as part of our school community. You may have come on an excursion, been a classroom helper for reading, manned the second hand uniform shop, been part of the Parents' Association, organised year level social events, been a part of the Disco or Trivia night or ANYTHING where you have volunteered your time and energy for our school and its members. 

To recognise you all, we will be holding a Parent Helper Morning Tea on Friday, November 28th from 10.30am-11.15am in the Hall. Enjoy something sweet, something savory and a coffee/tea while we celebrate you!

RSVP via - https://forms.gle/WncNLgQYfQ7EMWed6 

In Week 5, Year 4 students attended a creative Incursion with Toonworld Education. During the workshop, they explored stop motion animation techniques, designed characters and backgrounds, and worked collaboratively to bring short animated sequences to life. The Toonworld team encouraged a “no mistakes” mindset, reminding students that creativity comes from experimenting and having fun. 

Following this experience, students have taken this learning into their literacy subjects where they are exploring the traits and choices of authors. They have begun analysing how authors develop characters, build tension, and choose words that bring stories to life. 

Next, students will use their new knowledge to brainstorm and plan their own original narratives, which they will later transform into animations. They will create imaginative characters, vivid settings and interesting problems to solve - all while thinking like real authors and animators. 

Maths Games team 2025

We congratulated our Maths Games team at our recent assembly as we presented them with their certificates for their work this year. Maths Games is a weekly session where our Year 6 mathematicians get together to solve a range of problems. Much like Maths Olympiad, Maths Games features four contests across Terms 2 and 3 for the students to test their problem solving skills. Here's an example of one of the type of problems they might be presented with - 

Thank you to Miss Reese for taking them through these challenges!

The Prep-2 Mini Olympics will be held on Friday 14th November from 2.00-3.30pm on the school oval.

 All children in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 can choose  to wear House Colours and runners on the day.

• Gurrng-gurrng:Green
• Gurrborra-Yellow
• Bunjil-Blue
• Warinj-Red

 To develop leadership skills the Year 6 students will be involved on the day to help run events.

 We will not require parent helpers for the Mini Olympics, however you are more than welcome to attend as a spectator. It would be fantastic to see as many spectators cheering on the students.

This fortnight the prep students have been designing more items for fairy tale characters to help them. They have been exploring various materials and the benefits of these when making and designing things. So far the students have made a bag for the Little Red Hen, a beanstalk for Jack, a new chair for Goldilocks and the three Bears. The students will be creating and measuring a nose for Pinocchio this week. 

Other learning experiences in Prep over the past two weeks have included:

• Learning about the measuring attribute of MASS and how to heft two objects with their hands to see which one is heavier. 
• Learning long vowel sounds using the graphemes OO for book, OO for moon, OW for cow, OU for cloud and OY for boy. 
• Practising our events for the Ashy Olympics with our Year 5 pals. 
• Identifying the features of fairy tales such as characters, setting and the beginning, middle and ending. 
• Using known fairy tales as a prompt for our own writing ideas. 

Year 2 have had a busy and fun-filled few weeks with many highlights. Students have completed a range of assessments for their end-of-year reports and are looking forward to finishing the week with the Mini Olympics!

Year 2 have been working on:

• Phonemes and graphemes for /ch/ and /sh/
• Writing and publishing our own picture book narrative with thought about how to create tension, suspense and the ways our pictures can evoke feelings and giving the reader more information about the character, setting and events.
• Viewing texts, noticing multimodal features and connections we can make. Comparing texts looking at similarities and differences.
• Plan and sketch items to solve an everyday problem.
• Plan and sketch a bridge that can hold a small load (like a toy car), select materials that are strong and stable for building, test the bridge and make improvements to strengthen it.
• Using different strategies (like counting on, known facts, bridging and split strategy) to solve addition and subtraction problems.
• Recognise and use number facts to 20 to add and subtract quickly and accurately.
• Solve simple word problems by choosing whether to add or subtract.

To purchase - https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1489749

To purchase - https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1489749