Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute 

Hi all,

It’s hard to believe we’re already well into Term 2 - I hope the start of term has gone smoothly for all our families. With the AGM and first School Council meeting for the year now behind us, we wanted to take a moment to share a few highlights and provide some important updates.

Firstly, a big thank you to all our outgoing School Councilors whose terms have concluded. Your time, energy and thoughtful contributions have helped shape many important decisions for our school and we are incredibly grateful for your service.

I’m really pleased to welcome this year’s team, and we are excited to be joined by Niyati Robson. Stepping into School Council is a fantastic way to support our school community, and we really look forward to working together to continue the great momentum from the last few years. If you would like to know more about School Council and our standing orders, you can find this information on the school website.

One of the key topics at our first meeting was setting our priority projects for the year ahead. These include more exciting outdoor upgrades like improving the sensory garden, further synthetic turfing and a new play pod for the playground. These projects are all about creating more vibrant, engaging and inclusive spaces for our kids to learn and play and we will keep you updated as they progress.

We also had a comprehensive update about the Capital Works project. The removal of the older portables classrooms has further transformed outdoor areas, opening even more space for our kids to play and explore. It’s also really pleasing to hear how much our teachers and children are enjoying the new Senior School building and its modern learning spaces.

Lastly, the restoration of our Performing Arts Centre has been progressing well and should hopefully conclude in the September holidays. This historic, much-loved part of our school has already received quite a refurbishment, and we are looking forward to seeing it finished.

Finally, a big thanks and shoutout to our Parents Group, who have again hit the ground running with another packed calendar of events. This support is invaluable in helping us bring these school projects to life. Whether it’s an election cake stall, trivia night or Mother's Day stall, these fundraisers make a real difference and they’re a lot of fun too. Please consider helping or attending these events when you can throughout the year.

Finally, keep an eye out for The Fathering Project events – the next one is on tomorrow, and I'll hopefully see some of you there.

Chat soon,
Matt

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute

Our teachers are in the midst of writing Semester 1 student reports. Parents are reminded to check that your Sentral registration is active, as you will need this to access your child’s report at the end of this term.

Please note that there have been changes made to the reporting format for 2025, due to the introduction of the new Victorian English and Maths curriculum. These changes will be outlined in eNews later this term.

Sentral is also used for bookings for parent-teacher meetings, which are currently scheduled for Thursday 24^th July and Tuesday 29^th July, in Weeks 1 and 2 of next term. As bookings will open during the holiday break, please check that your login is still working if you have not recently accessed Sentral.

Are you one of our parent helpers? If you are planning to volunteer at school, on excursions or at other school events, you will need a Working with Children Check, as per our Volunteers Policy. Some of our parents have WWCCs that have expired, or they haven't applied for this important document. Please check that your document is current and update it if needed. An online status check is available here.

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute

The annual Attitudes to School Survey will be completed by our Years 4, 5 and 6 students during the period of 2^nd June to 13^th June. A Department of Education parent information and consent letter has been made available on our school website here to enable parents to translate this as required. This letter outlines the survey's contents and administration as well as other important information.

This survey serves as an important piece of data collection to feed forward to our whole school planning and programs. If you do not want your child to participate in this survey, please refer to the DE letter.

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute

Science
In Science, Year 1 have been learning about different materials and their properties. We tested different objects to see if they could fold, scrunch or stretch and used our knowledge of materials to justify why. Our learning culminated in a playful exploration of playdough. We changed our material (playdough) in a range of ways e.g. twist, roll, squash, pull etc. to create an image. This was such a fun way to end this hands-on unit of learning.
  

Writing
Year 1 has started a brand-new genre this term. We are writing information reports about different types of animals. To help us understand what an information report is, has, and what it looks like, we unpacked an example, which was about gorillas. Working in pairs, we identified the text and language features using colour-coding. We then were given an information report that had been all cut up! Our reconstructed information reports are proudly on display outside our classrooms. Next, we will be researching snakes and echidnas before choosing our favourite to write our first information report.
We can’t wait!
 

Maths, Science, Wellbeing and more!
Term 2 has been full of rich learning across all areas of the curriculum. While we continue to build skills in Reading and Writing each day, this update highlights some of the exciting learning that’s been happening in Mathematics, Science, and Wellbeing. Our Year 2 students have embraced each task with curiosity and enthusiasm and we’re so proud of their progress!

In Mathematics, students have been exploring regular and irregular shapes and investigating their properties. In this fluency board game, students work with a partner, roll the dice, and follow fun shape-based instructions such as “cover a shape with four sides” or “find an irregular shape.” It’s been a great way to reinforce their vocabulary and understanding of shapes.
  


Students have also been working with place value. Using materials such as MAB  blocks and place value charts, they are learning to build numbers, partition them into hundreds, tens and ones and explain the value of each digit.

In Science, we’ve continued the theme of properties, this time focusing on materials. Students have been busy investigating everyday objects, identifying what materials they are made from and describing their properties. For example, a plastic cup is made from plastic that is bendy, smooth and waterproof. One of the most enjoyable materials to explore was playdough, sparking curiosity and creativity in equal measure!

In Wellbeing, students took part in a lesson all about teamwork. They played a range of collaborative games, such as passing a hula hoop around a circle without letting go hands and transferring water from person to person using only spoons. These activities encouraged students to reflect on what makes a team successful and how to solve problems together.

Finally, a very special moment was the Mother’s Day/Special Person craft activities and stall organised by Parents Group. The students were absolutely beaming with pride and joy as they created cards and carefully selected goodies for the important people in their lives.

We hope all our mums and carers had a Happy Mother’s Day - your children think the world of you!

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

Year 3
Year 3 have been exploring the features of paragraphs to write information reports. First, students selected a country to research, gathering key facts and details. Using their notes, they created well-organised paragraphs, beginning with strong topic sentences to introduce each idea. They then added supporting details to inform and engage the reader. It has been wonderful to see students’ enthusiasm as they develop their research and writing skills.

In Maths, students explored how numbers hold different values and worked to identify the most efficient way to represent them. They teamed up to construct place value buildings using MAB hundreds, tens, and ones. It was fantastic to see their creativity and teamwork as they built and explored numbers in a fun and engaging way!
 

Year 4

Over the past couple of weeks Deakin University Science student teachers have worked with Year 4 students, focusing on physical sciences. During these hands on engaging sessions, students made parachutes, investigated the pull of magnets and explored the impact of gravity. 

                      


Year 4 have also recently finished their two week swimming program. Learning critical swimming skills and how to be safe in the water was the focus for these sessions.
We finished the program with a fun-day which involved water games, and everyone's favourite -
the Tarzan swing!
                      

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

National Simultaneous Story time (NSS) is held annually. Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator is read simultaneously in libraries and schools all around Australia. NSS aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book and promoting an Australian writer and illustrator.

This exciting event was held on 21 May and more than 2 million participants joined in the fun of NSS.

On Wednesday at 12 pm Laburnum Primary School simultaneously read ‘The Truck Cat’ written by Deborah Frenkel and illustrated by Danny Snell. This wonderful story is about cats and humans, immigration and identity, and homes lost and found.

This book was chosen because it has a positive storyline, appeals to a modern and diverse audience and is suitable for a read-aloud. 

What we are learning:

 

Prep and Year 1 students have been learning about nursery rhymes and fairytales. We know that nursery rhymes tell a short story in just a few lines, they usually rhyme, and words are often repeated.

We also know that fairy tales often begin with ‘Once Upon a Time’. The story typically resolves a conflict with a happy resolution. Fairy tales often take place in a long-ago time and place, like a kingdom or a magical forest. Many fairy tales teach us about good values, like honesty, kindness, and courage. 

Years 2, 3 and 4 have been exploring fiction genres of books and where to find them in the library. Genre is a way to sort fiction stories based on their main themes and elements. Some of the genres we have been reading include fantasy, mystery, adventure and humour. We have learnt that many authors tend to write the same genre of book.

Examples of Genres:

• Mystery: Clues, detectives, and secrets are big!
• Fantasy: Magic, mythical creatures, and other worlds. 
• Humour: Witty dialogue, funny situations and amusing characters
• Adventure: Exciting journeys and daring deeds. 

Years 5 and 6 have been learning the elements that make a chapter book senior fiction and where these are found in the library. We know that senior fiction books may contain mature themes and advanced vocabulary. We also know that they are generally found on the blue twirls or on the dedicated senior fiction stand in the fiction area of the library.

We have also been looking at the genre realistic fiction and finding examples amongst the senior fiction books. We have learnt that realistic fiction seems like real life, with characters dealing with real life problems. The plot often takes place in the present time. The situations are true or could be, but the main characters are fictional.

Thank you to the wonderful families who have donated large numbers of books to our library. They are very much appreciated.

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

Mother’s Day Stall 2025!

Thanks to Raylene W and Kate W for organising another successful Mother’s Day stall this year. The stall also fundraised just over $1,000 which will ultimately go towards some of the new play areas at school.  Thanks also to the many parent volunteers who worked at the stall. We hope all the Mums / Grandmas / Special People enjoyed their gifts.

 

Lunch Orders – More Helpers Needed!

We are seeking lots of parent volunteers to help pack and distribute lunch orders in term 2.  If you can spare about 1 hour on a Wednesday or a Friday at 11.15am, please sign up here: https://signup.com/go/CNbQDJF

We rely on parent helpers for lunch orders to run, so please consider volunteering if you can.

Please note you must have a valid working with children’s check (WWCC) to volunteer at school.

Container Deposit Scheme – Raise Money for our School!

Just a reminder that Laburnum Primary Scheme is a Donation Partner of the Container Deposit Scheme.  Next time you are getting your container refunds please consider donating to Laburnum Primary School as part of the school's fundraising efforts. 

How to Donate:

Step 1: Collect your cans and bottles, please refer to the poster below for acceptable containers.

Step 2: Take your containers to your preferred refund point (reverse vending machine, over the counter or collection depot).

Step 3: Download the CDS North Zone app (if you do not have it already)

Step 4: Select 'Donations and choose Laburnum Primary School.

If you do not have the CDS app, the assistant at the collection depot can also search for Laburnum Primary School on their device.

For more information on the Container Deposit Scheme please visit the website at  https://cdsvic.org.au/

Currently we are still fundraising for the Junior School Playground.

Thank you for choosing Laburnum Primary School to receive your refund.

                             
LABURNUM PRIMARY SCHOOL 
SECOND-HAND UNIFORM SHOP

Curiosity  •   Respect  •  Integrity  •  Resilience

If you would like to join, use the QR code below.

                    

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute

Click on these links  below for Community News or information:         

Click on the OSHClub logo to read this week's OSHClub news. OSHClub Registration - please register your child - it's free to register and you'll always have that option for childcare, even in unexpected circumstances.

Please click Chess Club image for registration

Please click here to view information and registration for Digimaker.

Please click here for information for the June Open Day

Our Vision:    Learn   •   Thrive  •   Contribute