Primary News

It was a wet and woolly welcome to Term 2 for the children on Wednesday but this did nothing to dampen the spirits. The students were excited to catch up with their friends and teachers and we heard many interesting stories about what happened over the holidays. The theme to these was birthday milestones and lost teeth.

ANZAC

I had the pleasure of catching up with some of our students at the ANZAC day march on Tuesday, the day before school started. Our children were small in number but represented our school proudly looking great in the winter uniform and behaving respectfully and beautifully. They made their parents and myself very proud.

Playground

Yay, our playground has reopened. Thankyou to Mr Pirga and Mr De Lucia for their efforts over the holidays, our playground has been relocated and refreshed with a lovely wide retaining wall and a huge sandpit. The students were very keen to reacquaint themselves with the equipment. Other developments will happen in this space into the near future with some nature play logs and HMAS ACC back on board.

Growth Camp

The Year 6 Growth camp last term has had a great impact on the students who attended. A great camp is not only the activities that happen on the days but is a foundation or catalyst for growth of the children. Mr Lewis Sinclair reflected on the camp, please read.

I am pleased to report that the Year 6 Growth Camp was a resounding success! The students had a fantastic time participating in a range of challenging and exciting activities designed to promote personal growth and development.

One of the highlights of the camp was the opportunity for the students to climb Castle Rock. Despite the steep incline and rocky terrain, the students demonstrated great resilience and determination, encouraging and supporting each other every step of the way. It was a truly inspiring sight to see them all reach the summit, beaming with pride and accomplishment.

Another memorable activity was swimming at the beach. The students enjoyed the cool water after a hike along the beach and the opportunity to play and splash around with their friends. They also had the chance to practise their diving skills by leaping into foxholes dug in the sand.

Throughout the camp, the students demonstrated excellent teamwork and camaraderie, working together to overcome challenges and support each other's learning and growth. I was particularly impressed by the way they encouraged and cheered on their peers, even when faced with difficult tasks or obstacles.

Overall, I am extremely proud of all the students who participated in the Year 6 Growth Camp. They showed great courage, resilience, and determination, and grew as a class. Thank you to Mr Gill, Miss Johnson and Mrs Jansz who all generously gave their time to make the camp possible.

Kya Beach has reflected on what this valuable experience meant to her.

What was fun about the Growth camp?

There were a lot of fun things we did including; spotlight, foxholes, Castle Rock climb and chatting at night. I think that most of us year 6s really enjoyed the team games and fox holes at the beach when it was dark.

What did you learn about yourself?

I learnt that if you sometimes just push yourself a little further, I can achieve what I thought was basically impossible. I also overcame a long term fear and surprised myself.

What did you learn about your classmates?

After spending three days with my classmates we all became closer as friends. We also got to see the other sides of each other. I thought so many people in my class did an extraordinary job at pushing themselves, especially doing the skywalk.

What did you learn about your teacher?

During the camp we all got to see Mr Sinclair into his chilled self. I think Mr Sinclair loved the camp because he got to learn what we are like out of school.

I am incredibly grateful that we got to go camping for three days. I would like to thank Mr Sinclair and all the E.As for the time and effort.

Book Term

The primary school students are reading a variety of novels this term, each with a unique focus on comprehension strategies, character analysis, and plot development. Kindy and Pre-primary students are studying The Little Red Hen, Year 1 and Year 2 are reading The Boy Who Grew Dragons, Year 3 is exploring James and The Giant Peach, Year 4 is reading A Wrinkle in Time, and Year 5 and 6 are studying Blueback. Through interactive activities, guided reading sessions, and engaging discussions, students will develop their critical thinking skills and deepen their understanding of narrative elements.

Students will practise comprehension strategies such as predicting, visualising, inferring, questioning, and summarising. Term 2 is our novel and speech term. All students will practise speaking skills this term as our school becomes adept in this valuable skill.

Cross Country The primary school cross country is on Thursday the 11th of May. We will run from 9am starting on the school Oval. Parents are welcome to attend and assist. The competition between Kangaroos ( red) and Magpies ( blue) is heating up with children practicing chanting. All participants contribute to the team points. Children can wear their team colors on the day. Magpies are the reigning champions so go Kangaroos.

Following representing Albany at the Country Week soccer tournament last year, Shelby Burns was selected to attend the Football West Country Camp in Perth. This was a great opportunity to represent country Western Australia against some Perth Metro teams. She was one of 2 under-12 girls from the region selected to attend the camp.

Football West

Following representing Albany at the Country Week soccer tournament last year, Shelby Burns was selected to attend the Football West Country Camp in Perth. This was a great opportunity to represent country Western Australia against some Perth Metro teams. She was one of 2 under-12 girls from the region selected to attend the camp. The girls stayed on campus at Curtin University for three nights. They were taught about nutrition for athletes, rest and recovery, tactical sessions, training sessions and feedback from Football West Coaches. The camp culminated in 2 matches against Perth clubs, Wembley Downs and UWA. The girls performed strongly, winning both games. This has been a wonderful experience, and Shelby has bought some skills and knowledge to share with her ACC teammates.

The girls stayed on campus at Curtin University for three nights. They were taught about nutrition for athletes, rest and recovery, tactical sessions, training sessions and feedback from Football West Coaches. The camp culminated in 2 matches against Perth clubs, Wembley Downs and UWA. The girls performed strongly, winning both games. This has been a wonderful experience, and Shelby has bought some skills and knowledge to share with her ACC teammates.

Run Club Run club on a Wednesday and Friday has commenced with some keen runners. It is now in the midst of the Cross Country season. The Interschool Cross Country will be held on the 21st of June in week 9 at Great Southern Grammar and the State Cross Country Camp in August.