Primary Update – Term 2 Week 2

Jenni Vile on 09/05/2025

Welcome back to Term Two. The primary school community has welcomed me in my new role as Head of Primary in Ryan von Bergheim’s absence. My background is in both primary and secondary teaching, spending much of my career specialising in Diversity and Learning Support, which has given me a big-picture view of the learning journey our students go through, from those first days in Pre-Kindy all the way through to the later years of school and beyond. I’m particularly passionate about helping students prepare for the many transitions they’ll experience, making sure they feel ready—not just for the next year, but for life beyond school. I also care deeply about diversity, especially neurodiversity, and the different ways children experience and interact with the world around them.  

I am excited to get to know all the students quickly and thank everyone for their kind words over the past two weeks. 

Year 6 Red Assembly

Last Friday, Year 6 Red performed a magnificent assembly, using their imagination to fly us via Newman Airlines to China, New Zealand, the United States of America, Italy, and North Korea. We learnt some funny and quirky facts about each of these countries. Thanks to Year 6 Red and Ms Lara Gray for their outstanding performance.

Fathering Project 

The Fathering Project recognises that fathers and father figures play a vital role in the lives of children. The evidence demonstrating fathers’ potential to positively influence their children’s health and mental health, social success and academic achievements is robust and compelling. 

Delivering engaging prevention and intervention programs and research-based resources will equip fathers with the skills to be the best father they can be and improve the lives of fathers, children, and families for generations to come. 

Our next event, ‘Bangers and Bingo,’ is being held on 23 May at the Marian Hall and is open to all primary families. Tickets are currently available here. A special thank you to Newman College Dad, Matt Hamilton, for organising this important event.  

Teaching Mathematics Across the Primary School  

Over the last two years, we been reviewing and updating Mathematics teaching across the primary years. Our focus has been on upskilling staff on High Impact Teaching practices and aligning the Mathematics curriculum across the year levels.  

High Impact Teaching practices are strategies that research shows have the greatest impact in improving academic outcomes and deeper learning. Some strategies you may hear about in include: 

  • Daily Reviews – these are quick hits of previous learning that help to transfer learning to long term memory.    
  • Clear and explicit learning intentions and success criteria – the teacher explains exactly what the main focus of the lesson is and what is expected of the students by the end of the lesson. This helps students stay focused on the learning and recognise the steps needed to experience success in their learning.  
  • Structured lessons (I do, We do, You do) – this structure is consistent across each year level so students become familiar with expectations and can expand their thinking on the Maths learning, not what comes next in the lesson.   

We use a range of ORIGO Mathematics resources that follow a spiral curriculum, allowing students to develop mastery of skills and understandings over time. Students engage in a range of experiences that move from concrete, hands on learning, to abstract and symbolic representations of mathematical concepts. This approach allows students to gain deep understanding of concepts and skills and experience success in their learning. Learning is organised into modules and there are check ups of student learning for each module followed by quarterly tests each term. This tracking helps to provide timely feedback to students that corrects misconceptions and guides relevant planning for future lessons. This is also useful information that helps demonstrate student learning progress with parents.  

We are excited about the growth we’re seeing and remain committed to providing all students with a strong foundation in Mathematics that supports confidence, curiosity, and long-term success. 

School Photos 

School photos will be held at the following dates, with Envelopes being sent home today.  

  • 23 May – Lavalla Campus, Y3-Y6
  • 29 and 30 May – Marian Campus, PK-2 May

Uniform requirements for these days include: 

  • Y1-Y3:                  Winter Uniform with jumper 
  • Y4-Y6:                 Winter Uniform including blazer and Tie (boys). No jumper is required.  
  • Pre-Primary:      Sport Uniform (no guild shirt) 
  • Kindy:                  No uniform (kindy top an option) 
  • Pre Kindy:           No uniform  

Year 3-6 Guild Cross Country Carnival 

Further to correspondence from Mrs Barnsley, the Year 3-6 Guild Cross Country Carnival will take place next Thursday 16 May. Students must wear their sports uniform with their faction shirt and bring a drink bottle and a hat.  

The approximate timeline for the day is as follows:  

  • 9.10am Year 3 race (1.5km)  
  • 9.30am Year 4 race (1.5km)  

Presentations for Year 3 and 4 students will take place at the conclusion of the Year 4 race.  

  • 11.10am – RECESS  
  • 11.40am Year 5 race (2.5km)  
  • 12.00pm Year 6 race (2.5km)  

Presentations for Year 5 and 6 students will take place at the conclusion of the Year 6 race.  

If you are attending as a spectator, please ensure you remain in the designated spectator area, spectator on the oval along Dolomite Ct. Visitors must sign in on the day via the QR code in the spectator area. 

Mother’s Day

It was so wonderful to see so many mothers and significant female figures attend today’s Mother’s Day breakfast and Liturgy at Marian. Thank you to Year 1 for your terrific reading, singing, and liturgical dancing. We wish all mothers and significant female figures in our community a very happy Mother’s Day.

Road Safety Slogan Competition

Dogs on Campus 

A reminder that for the comfort and safety of all primary students, dogs are not allowed on either Primary Campus. We have students who are allergic to animals, as well as those who are frightened of dogs. If bringing your dog with you to collect your child, we ask that the dog remain on a leash outside of the campus. Your support is greatly appreciated.   

Mrs Sarah Pagett

ACTING HEAD OF PRIMARY