Book Week Celebrations
What an amazing morning we had on Monday for our Book Week parade. I loved all the creative costumes the kids and staff wore, ranging from unicorns, llamas, Sponge Bob Square Pants, Peter Pan (and his shadow!), Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit, and a magnificent Wicked Witch of the West costume with full make up. It was lovely to see so many parents and friends watching on as the kids paraded their costumes.
The theme for this year’s Book Week is “Reading is Magic”, and I can’t think of a better way to describe reading than simply magic. In our school, we often talk about the importance of reading, but this year, I want to highlight the true magic that books bring into our lives. When we open a book, we are transported to worlds where anything is possible. Books create images in our minds of characters, places, fantastic creatures and voices that help us imagine things that would be very difficult, or even impossible, to perceive in real life. It’s like playing a movie or computer game in your mind.
At our primary school, we believe that every child holds the key to reading magic. Through reading, children also enhance their skills and knowledge in other curriculum areas. Educational research indicates that as a child’s reading abilities improve, so does their ability to understanding mathematical problems and write complex sentences.
As we celebrate Book Week, I’d like to thank Mrs Leanne Bentley and her crew of library captains and parent volunteers for their contributions towards Book Week and the Book Fair.
School Disco
The school disco happened a few weeks ago and was a tremendous success once again. The DJ this year was very engaging for the kids – they seemed to love all the prizes and the structured dances. It kept them going for the entirety of the disco. A special thank you to Rachel Husar and her team of volunteers for making the disco happen so smoothly.
Year 5 camp
On Monday 2nd September, the year 5 students and teachers will be on their way to Ballarat for the camp at Sovereign Hill. This will no doubt be an exciting experience for the kids, many of whom have never been to Ballarat and experienced what life might have been like in the 1800’s during the Gold Rush era. I like that we provide a variety of camp experiences for the kids – it helps them develop a broader knowledge base that can then be used back in the classroom for things like writing and reading comprehension. Camps also allow the kids to develop some independence and build stronger friendship connections.
This should be a great camp for all to enjoy.
Visits by Jackson Taylor MP
Jackson Taylor has always been a strong supporter of our school and shows great interest in the work we do. On the 8th August he spent the morning with the Year 6 students talking to them about how our government works. Following this talk, we moved to the basketball court area to officially opened the Inclusive Play Space.
He will also be joining us at assembly this week to present two students with their Writer’s Challenge Awards certificate and prize.
Three Way Conferences
Three-way conferences are happening again on Tuesday 17th September. Like we did in Term 1, students will be invited to attend a short conference meeting with their parent(s) and their teacher(s) at a time throughout the day. For the most part, children will be at home on this day and only attending school for their interview time.
We understand that some families can’t make arrangements for kids to stay at home. That’s why we’ve arranged for our specialist teachers to work with the kids whose only option is to attend school. Normal lessons won’t be running. More information will be posted on Compass shortly so that parents can let us know if supervision is required.
Kind regards,
Mat Anderton
Principal