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Students take a positive approach to NAPLAN
Well done to our Year 3 and Year 5 students who recently completed NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy). These tests assess literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and through life.
Students in Australia who are in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 complete the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests.
NAPLAN is just one aspect of our school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing school-based assessments by teachers – and it is not a test for which students can study. At CGS, we prepare students by embedding the skills and knowledge required for NAPLAN in our teaching and learning plans. I was very impressed by the positive attitude that our students adopted in taking the opportunity to demonstrate what they know and what they can do. Many thanks also to our teachers who supported them so very well.
Bugs Alive!
Last Thursday our Year 2 students attended an excursion to the Melbourne Museum and the IMAX cinema. From all accounts, our students had a wonderful day and presented themselves in a way befitting of our school. They thoroughly enjoyed their IMAX experience and watching ‘Bugs: Mighty Micro Monsters 3D and visiting the different exhibitions in the Melbourne Museum, including the Bugs Alive! area. Many thanks to Mrs Grech, Mrs Duell and Mrs Harvie for organising and attending this excursion.
On the Ball
Thanks to our four Junior School Heads of House for organising and running our successful Soccer tournament over the past weeks. It seemed that every student, whether playing or cheering their House team on, enjoyed the games. Bravo to Leaver House who won the Grand Final against Booth House!
Celebrating the True Superheroes
We were indeed fortunate to have our second class assembly last week. This was hosted by the talented students of 4B who expertly performed a play about superheroes. The costumes, acting, props and singing were of a very high class, but what I particularly liked was the moral of the story that highlighted that we are all superheroes in our own way. The emotion of the final song that paid tribute to true superheroes - our COVID frontline doctors and nurses - had me close to tears. Huge congrats to Mr Bell and 4B!
High Spirits at our Annual Athletics Carnival
Last Friday saw our Year 3-6 students and teachers dress up in their House colours and head to Casey RACE for our annual Athletics Carnival. It was a day of House spirit, healthy competition, fun and athletic prowess. Congratulations to our medal recipients.
A huge congratulations to Reid House for winning our Athletics Carnival convincingly and well done to all our medal recipients:-
8/9 year olds
- Runner Up boy Malay Mishra
- Champion boy Tyler Martin
- Runner Up girl Charlie Simmonds
- Champion girl Vrinda Sharma
10 year olds
- Runner Up boy Akam Saini
- Champion boy Jacob Dawes
- Runner Up girl Arianna Jesurajah
- Champion girl Harleen Senghera
11 year olds
- Runner Up boy Murphy Hancox
- Champion boy Oliver van den Brink
- Runner Up girl Meg van Brakel
- Champion girl Alarice Moore
12/13 year olds
- Runner Up boy Dhruva Sairam
- Champion boy Harrison Brewster
- Runner Up girl Mackenzie Bell
- Champion girl Ziva Mackley
Melissa Roberton
Head of Junior School
Prep to Year 2s Hatch a Plan
There was a ripple of excitement from the Prep to Year 2 children on Monday thanks to the arrival of two chicks together with an incubator and eggs ready to hatch! The hatching program is part of our ongoing Inquiry investigation into how living things grow and change and what they need to survive.
We ended the week by welcoming our wonderful Mums into our classrooms to enjoy a variety of activities, fun and, of course, a visit to the chicks!
Charlotte Bouman
Head of Early Years
JS House Soccer Tournament
After being postponed due to weather, students were extremely excited to finally face off against each other in the highly anticipated soccer final between Leaver House and Booth House. There were costumes, pompoms, banners and chants – and it was great to see both the P-2 and Senior students from all houses supporting the event.
A big thank you to Latisha Yr 9 and Mr Newham for refereeing the game. As Head of Leaver House, I am extremely proud to announce that we won 4-0, but more importantly, the sportsmanship displayed by both teams at the end of the game was a credit to everyone involved.
Mrs Kyne
Head of Leaver House JS
Student Reflections of the Game:
“I think that the house soccer tournament were awesome! We had fun and got to compete for the title of ultimate soccer champion. It was super fun and we all got to support our houses when they played. Even if you didn't play, you still felt like you were on the field getting involved. I got to meet more Leaver students and interact with them in a whole new way! I am looking forward to the next time that I get involved with house sports.”Cameron 6M - Leaver House Captain
“The house soccer tournament was a great experience and I loved being the captain of the Booth team with Dhruva (School Captain). He was a great helper. We defeated Trist in the first round and we had high hopes that we were going to win against Leaver. We played as best as we could, but sadly we did not win - which was not the outcome we wanted. However, we were OK with second place and overall it was a fun and exciting tournament.” Harrison 6M – Booth House Captain
“All the Leaver, Reid, Booth and Trist students were asked if they wanted to play soccer and compete against the different houses. I volunteered. When I stepped onto that field, I felt nervous, but when the Leaver house started cheering I felt confident. Then the ball was kicked and we were ready to run. I had a blast playing soccer with my friends and playing against different houses and it just feels really amazing because everyone is cheering L-E-A, V-E-R! Leaver is the best by far. Then we repeat the chant. It just gets you excited. To be honest, when I got the ball, my heart was racing a lot but I had an awesome time.” Hayley, 5D
“Last week was the first soccer match. It was a tight game between Leaver and Reid - we were in the lead and we won. I was mascot and wore an Incredibles costume. On Wednesday I couldn’t find my black mask so I wore my red one – and we won against Booth!” Enrick, 3D
Leaver Legends Update
It was great to get together with my Leaver Legends on Friday and to practice our new Leaver chant - L E A V E R – Leaver is the best by far! We congratulated our fabulous Soccer Team on making the finals and then had a little Marshmallow and Spaghetti Tower Team Challenge to top things off. I can’t believe that nobody ate their marshmallows during the Challenge! Congratulations to Marco, Harleen, Sehajleen and Hayley for constructing the tallest tower.
Big thank you to Agam 6M and Finley 6M for making awesome Leaver banners – they are going to come in very handy at our Athletics Day on Friday! Go Leaver!
Mrs Kyne
Head of Leaver House JS
Booth News
Soccer Update
What a busy term for Booth House! We enjoyed a wonderful lunchtime soccer tournament between the Houses. Booth played their first game and won against Trist. Many students were on the sidelines cheering loudly and singing our chant with pom poms! Congratulations to Booth House Captains, Harry and Ella, who were amazing at generating plenty of ‘House Spirit!’ Unfortunately, Booth House did not win the final but we had plenty of fun trying. Congratulations to Leaver House on a well-deserved win. I was very proud of the excellent sportsmanship demonstrated by everyone involved.
How Many Lollies in the Jar?
There was a very exciting competition for our Booth House students who had to guess how many delicious lollies were in a jar. Sarbjot Saggu from 4B was the lucky winner. He was the closest to guess that there were exactly 618 lollies. Congratulation Sarbjot, enjoy your prize!
Booth House Meeting
Booth House had a change of venue for our latest meeting and we enjoyed relocating to the Chapel as it provided us with a little bit of extra space to play some games. Students practised the Booth chant and it is safe to say that nearly all the Booth students know the chant. We had a fun game of ‘heads and tails’ and played a chance game using cards. There were plenty of Booth winners!
Upcoming Events
- Karaoke Classroom
- Booth movie with popcorn
- What’s in the Bag Competition
- Billy’s Birthday Party
The Booth students are very excited about the Athletics Carnival this week. I cannot wait to see all the ‘Green’, Goooo Booth!
Miss Sarah Nolan
Head of Booth House
Reid News
Reid House Competes in Inter-house Soccer Tournament
Last week, many of our Year 3–6 Reid House students had an opportunity to represent Reid in the Inter-House Soccer Tournament held during lunch. Our team consisted of fourteen students who all happily shared their time on the field to allow everyone a fair turn.
Congratulations to Harrison (3I), Tyler (3I), Olivia (6N), Alexia (6M), Thanush (6M), Gavin (6N), Spencer (6M), Kobi (4N), Jake (4B), Ameek (4N), Eve (4N), Averia (4N), Michelle (3D) and Hailey (3D).
We were incredibly proud to see the sportsmanship, teamwork and integrity that our Reid House students demonstrated throughout the game, and we’d like to congratulate Leaver House on the win for the day!
Reid House Launches Coin Trail as House Fundraiser for 2021
Reid House’s 2021 fundraiser is a Coin Trail for Sweet Shepherd Rescue Australia Inc. The local organisation does the most incredible work to facilitate the rehabilitation and rehoming of German Shepherd dogs around the country. This fundraiser will involve all students from all Houses who are in Years 3-6.
Students are invited to begin collecting coins at home and to keep them safe in a zip lock bag. In the last week of this term, students can bring their coins to school and Years 3-6 classes will head out to the courts to add their coins to the coin trails for their House.
Prizes will be awarded to the student who raises the most money and to the House with the longest coin trail. Click here for further information about Sweet Shepherd Rescue Australia Inc. We are very excited to see how much money we can raise to support the work of the organisation and thank our families very much in advance for their contribution.
Miss Laura Dascoli
Head of Reid House - Junior School
Trist News
Trist House Meeting
Last Friday we hosted our third Trist House meeting. Zac and Joanne did a fabulous job running the meeting where we discussed past and present events for Trist House. Last week, Trist played against Booth in the House Lunchtime Soccer Competition. Although we didn’t win the game, it was great to see everybody sharing the Trist spirit! Thank you to Mr Newham for coaching the side and a special mention to Jacob and Isabelle in Year 2 who enjoyed supporting Trist during the game.
Well done to our players on the day:
Sahej, Shakya, Vinuka, Bella, Luca, Annalise, Dihein, Nereesa, Auro, Irushi, Murphy, Tyler, Lucas, Mason, Ziva, Zac, Mackenzie, Daksh, Aiyla, Alice and Joanne.
Secret Sound Competition
Trist are having their very own Secret Sound Competition. Everyone in Trist house will have the opportunity to listen to the five secret sounds and guess what they are. One winner will be selected from each year level, in senior and primary school. Watch this space for the winners.
Good Luck to Trist’s Athletes
Everyone is very excited about athletics and we have our Trist voices ready to cheer for our team on the day.
Good Luck to the following people who will be racing in the District Cross Country event on Tuesday 25 May: Blake, Shakya, Irushi, Murphy, Auro, Joanne, Ziva and Zac.
Ms Amy Mepstead
Head of Trist House
Friendly French Monsters
On Tuesday lunchtimes, a small group of enthusiastic students has been gathering in the GL1 to practice their French through games and fun activities. We have been learning about the body and last week we had our first go at creating and describing our Play-Doh monsters.
Theekshana Talapareddy using Play-Doh to make a monster. Of course, the monster looked rather like the teacher….hmmm!
Eva Shiju with her monster.
Exploring French Through Art and Play
French students are busy working on their plays. The Year 3 students are practicing their play, ‘La Poule Maboule’, based on the Chicken Little story, and have made some wonderful animal masks. Year 5 students are practicing their play, ‘Boucles Violettes’ or ‘Purple Locks’ and have been creating some amazing artwork.
The bears are a single line drawing, which many students found very challenging. Students then added pattern to the single-line outline using pencil, fine liner or black oil pastel. The final stage was to create a bright, colourful and textured background to contrast with the black and white of the bear.
Ruth Grant
Primary Religion and LOTE Teacher
Telling the Easter Story
Year 6 students worked very hard towards the end of Term 1 to produce a great performance of the Easter play, ‘Three Little Trees’. It was lovely to be able to perform in front of an audience as part of our Easter Chapel service. It brought the students together and gave us a real sense that 2021 was a much more normal year than 2020.
The students learned their lines and performed songs and their roles beautifully in telling the Easter story from the perspective of three trees. Three Little Trees is a wonderful, encouraging tale that teaches us that sometimes things that initially seem disappointing can bring blessings that are greater than we ever anticipated.
Ruth Grant
Primary Religion and LOTE Teacher
Calling all Veggie Garden Volunteers
The Veggie Garden is being reorganised and we would really appreciate the help of mothers, fathers and grandparents to complete the job. The garden is a much-loved outdoor learning space where the students save seeds, raise seedlings in our hot house and shade house, and then transplant them to our wicking garden beds. They tend and harvest them and then start the whole process again.
We are hoping to build an Indigenous and Bush Tucker Garden as well as a Succulent, Medicinal and Insect-attracting garden complete with Insect Hotels. You don’t have to be a gardener as we can guide you in what to do. The only requirement is a Working with Children Check and some free time on Monday morning between 9:00 and 11:00am.
For more information contact Mal Dunkley M.Dunkley@caseygrammar.vic.edu.au
