Book Parade

Can I extend a huge thank you to everyone for involvement in the Book Parade today. I have never been in a school before where every student has dressed up – that is indicative of the incredible school and community we are part of. Parents and carers – thank you for all the effort that went into making costumes so that the event could be so successful.

Amazing costumes!

Fitness Club

Fitness Club is a fantastic initiative in our school that promotes movement in the morning. There is plenty of research around to show the increased blood flow to our body improves brain function – just what we need for kids in the morning! We have made a slight adjustment to Fitness Club times, with it now running 8.30am – 8.40am (Wednesday’s and Friday’s). By stopping slightly earlier, this ensures that all students have time to get back to class and set themselves up for the day, ready to learn when the siren sounds at 8.45am.

Learning Journey

A reminder that our Learning Journey is taking place on Thursday 11 September from 4pm – 6pm. Classrooms will be open from 4pm – 5.40pm, with a special music performance taking place in the Undercover area at 5.50pm. During this evening, the Library will be holding a Book Fair – a fantastic opportunity to purchase some new books for your child while also supporting the school.

Faction Carnival

One of the biggest events on the school calendar is fast approaching. Jumps and Throws take place on Tuesday16 September, and then the big Faction Carnival on Friday 19 September – we welcome you to be part of this fantastic event and look forward to a great day for our students and community.

It is with great excitement that I announce that Grace B in rm 7, Lyla S in rm 8 and Riley Rogers in room 8 have managed to get through to the STATE finals of the spelling bee. We wish them every success at this next stage of the competition and congratulate them on their achievement.

A few of our students entered a wonderful colouring competition in the Keep Albany Beautiful campaign. Keep Albany Beautiful is a community-based group in Western Australia. Its goal is to make the city and the surrounding Great Southern region a cleaner, safer, and more beautiful place to live and visit. 

The Judges were extremely impressed with the high level of creativity produced. Lillian and Rosalind in particular, who came away with some lovely prizes for coming first and second in the competition! Well done girls!

Room 1’s Science Experiment

We explored Science Inquiry Skills through a fun and egg-citing experiment! Students placed one egg in tap water and another in vinegar, predicting what might happen. After a few days, nothing changed with the egg in tap water. In the vinegar jar, we saw bubbles form as the vinegar reacted with the shell, gradually dissolving it. Then the shell softened, and we rubbed it away to reveal a soft, rubbery, translucent egg!

Unfortunately, as we rubbed off the last bits of shell in water, the vinegar egg popped. We discovered two days was not enough time for it to become fully rubbery. Next time, we will leave it for a whole week and hopefully create a bouncy egg. That is what science is all about—sometimes things do not go to plan, and we learn through trial, error, and trying again. 

This activity gave our young scientists the chance to make predictions, record observations, and reflect on their results. The transformation fascinated the students and sparked lots of curious questions and lively discussions.

This week we finish up focusing on numbers. Our signs of the week are numbers 16 to 20. These signs are integrated through our Auslan lessons in lots of ways. Students Yr 3 and above can sign numbers up to 100 and some beyond. So, if in doubt- ask one of our very capable students.

Newsletter: Lunchtime Volleyball with Bodhi
This week our Year 4–6 students kicked off lunchtime volleyball with Bodhi! The undercover area was full of energy, laughter as the students learned new skills and enjoyed playing together.

West Australian Ballet Visit – Monday, 15th August

A big thank you to April and Alex from the West Australian Ballet Education Team for visiting our school and running dance workshops for our junior block students. This visit was part of a pilot program during their Albany tour. Hopefully they will be back in Albany in the future. 

It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to experience dance through storytelling, movement, and music.

Our Pre-Primary to Year 1 students took part in the Storytime Adventure workshop, adapted from the book Possum Magic. Students were encouraged to move, dance, and express their creativity. It was wonderful to see everyone getting involved and giving it a go!

Year 2 students participated in a more structured Dance Moves workshop, where they were introduced to ballet through creative games and movement-based activities. All students showed great enthusiasm and openness to learning something new. It was fabulous to see them try out different ballet positions and enjoy the experience.

Bike Safety Reminder: Ride a Bike That Fits

This week's Bike Safety Reminder is all about making sure your bike is the right size. Here’s how to tell if a bike fits properly:

·         When standing over the top tube, both feet should be flat on the ground, with some space between your body and the frame.

·         While seated, you should be able to touch the ground with both feet.

·         You should be able to reach the handlebars comfortably, without straining your back or shoulders.

·         Ask for help when buying a bike—check how much the seat and handlebars can be adjusted to grow with you.

·         If your bike has handbrakes, ensure the brake levers are adjusted to your hand size so you can grip them firmly.

If your child is in Year 3 from Room 6 or Room 3, this is a great opportunity to check that their bike fits properly ahead of their Bike Education sessions at the start of Term 4.

Parent Help Wanted – Tuesday, 17 September (Jumps and Throws Day)

We are looking for four parent helpers to assist with measuring jumps and throws during our Jumps and Throws Day on Tuesday, 17 September, from 9:15 AM to 12:30 PM.

If you’re available to help, please email Miss Upchurch or contact the front office staff. 

As a wonderful award for collecting so many bottles, therefore helping clean our environment, Room 3 was spoilt today. A huge well done to Room 3 for all of your hard work! Thank you to everyone from the P&C for cooking up a storm for these students.

FUN FACT

We have saved 70,096 containers from landfill since the school started collecting for Containers for Change WA in November 2020. What a mighty effort for our school

If you'd like to help us increase those numbers, you can drop off your empty containers at our school or at your nearest drop off point and reference our member number C10244448.

Do you want to spoil your dad? Please head on down each morning and afternoon to our ladies near the undercover area who will be selling tickets for this fantastic raffle!