Junior School Report
August 17, 2026 – Edition 10
Celebrating Learning and Community
Our Foundation students marked a very special milestone as they celebrated their first 100 days at school with their 100 Days Brighter celebration. The excitement was evident as students and staff embraced the occasion with a dazzling display of bright colours, bringing sunshine and energy to the school.
A sincere thank you to our wonderful Foundation teachers, Miss Stephenson, Miss Hames and Miss Nolan, for creating such a memorable experience for our youngest learners. We also extend our gratitude to Miss Reale for her invaluable support in helping make the day such a success.
Congratulations to Ms Roffey, Mr Byrne-Nelson and every Junior School student for an incredibly successful Jump Rope for Heart Jump Off Day. The enthusiasm, teamwork and determination shown by our students was inspiring, and together our community raised an outstanding $7,070 for the Heart Foundation! Thank you to all families who supported this worthy cause and helped our students make a difference.
Our Year 3 students recently enjoyed an excursion to Old Gippstown, where they stepped back in time to explore life in earlier Australian communities. Experiences such as these bring classroom learning to life and provide valuable opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of history through physical exploration.
We were also delighted to host our Instrumental Soiree, showcasing the talents of musicians from Foundation through to Year 12. The evening was a wonderful celebration of perseverance and dedication. Thank you to our students, Mrs Kyne, our Performing Arts staff and families for supporting such a memorable event.
Our recent assemblies have been a wonderful celebration of creativity, confidence and kindness.
Year 5W, under the guidance of Mr Whalan, delivered an engaging and heartfelt assembly centred on this year’s Jeans for Genes Day. Students shared important messages about supporting medical research and highlighted the values of empathy and community. A special highlight was Kaya’s beautiful rendition of ‘How Far I’ll Go’, which captivated the audience with her confidence and talent.
The class also reflected on an unexpected classroom visitor, a bird that flew into their window, using the experience to explore an important message: ‘Smile, Breathe and Be Kind.’ Their thoughtful presentation encouraged us all to show compassion, resilience and care for others.
We also enjoyed 3R’s delightful Poet’s Got Talent performance, which showcased students’ creativity, expression and enthusiasm for poetry. The audience was treated to a wonderful variety of poems, including rhyming, humorous and haiku pieces as well as a poem that evoked powerful feelings and emotions.
The students presented with confidence and flair, demonstrating both their growing literacy skills and their love of language. A special thank you to Mrs Ramos-Chan for her dedication and support in bringing this engaging and memorable performance to life.
As always, I am incredibly proud of our students and grateful for the dedication of our staff who continue to provide rich learning experiences and memorable opportunities for every student.
Melissa Roberton
Head of Junior School
Fun in Foundation
There have been lots of exciting events happening in Foundation over the last two weeks, including a very special celebration of the students’ 100th day at school.
This year, we celebrated being ‘100 Days Brighter!’. We marked the day by dressing in bright colours, counting items up to 100, writing about our favourite things we have learnt at school, making fairy bread, eating cupcakes with our buddies and participating in outdoor activities run by the Year 6 students. A fantastic day was had by all!
As part of our inquiry unit, How Our World Works, Foundation students participated in an exciting and interactive science incursion exploring how materials can be changed.
Students observed and participated in many engaging activities, including changing the properties of different materials, creating ‘strong bones’ from paper to support the weight of their shoes, exploring absorption using nappies and playing with Oobleck.
This incursion supported our current learning by helping students develop their observation, questioning and investigation skills. It was fantastic to witness their excitement as they discovered more about the world around them.
Alexandra Stephenson, Annabelle Hames and Jasmine Nowlan
Foundation Teachers
Very Special Kids
This term, Reid House in both the Junior School and Senior School is proud to support the charity Very Special Kids.
Very Special Kids helps children who are very sick. They give children a safe and caring place where they can get help and feel comfortable. They also support their families during difficult times, help them make special memories together, and makes sure that every child feels happy and loved.
To support this important cause, we invite everyone to participate in our Footy Fever Day on Friday 18 September, which is the last day of Term 3. Students are encouraged to come to school dressed in their favourite AFL team colours or sporting team colours and bring a gold coin donation.
As part of the day’s celebrations, Junior School students can purchase a hot food item for lunch. All funds raised through gold coin donations and hot food sales will be donated directly to Very Special Kids.
We look forward to joining together as a school community and thank you for your continued support of Reid House.
Sam Iriyadi
Reid Junior School House Coordinator
Jump Rope for Heart
What a fantastic term it has been for Jump Rope for Heart! Our students have had lots of fun improving their skipping skills, learning new tricks and challenging themselves while learning about the importance of keeping our hearts healthy.
On Friday, 7 August, students gathered after lunch for our exciting Jump Off event, where they had the opportunity to showcase their skipping skills and amazing tricks to friends, peers and teachers. It was wonderful to see so many students cheering each other on and celebrating their achievements. Some of our teachers even joined in the fun and surprised their students with their impressive jumping prowess!
We are incredibly proud of our students’ fundraising efforts. Forty students reached out to family and friends to collect donations for the Heart Foundation, helping to support important research into heart health. And what an incredible result!
Together, our school community smashed our $5000 fundraising goal and raised over $7,000!
A huge well done and thank you to every student, family and friend who contributed. Your generosity and enthusiasm have made a fantastic difference.
Donations can still be made until Friday, 21 August. After this date, prizes will be ordered and delivered to school a few weeks later.
What an amazing effort – congratulations everyone!
Belinda Roffey
Junior School P.E Teacher
