GRAPEVINE
GRAPEVINE
have been our most successful spring fair ever. Thanks to P&F and for their continues support. They will report to the community in new year on the plans to invest the proceeds into projects that directly benefit the students.
A huge congratulations to our year 12s who have had their last days of class this week. They begin their exams on Friday and still have a lot of work on their plate, but we are proud of them for making to this point and excited for them to embrace the challenge of putting their knowledge and experience to the test. Graduation is just around the corner!
We wish the Year 9 students safe, exciting, and challenging travels as they set out on long journey for 19 days traversing mountains rivers and roads from Mt Bogong to school.
Simultaneously, the Year 7s are out for the week on Surf Camp at Phillip
Island. They are having a great time and taking the cool waters of Bass Strait in their stride.
Primary students are enjoying and being challenged by Eurythmy with the wonderful Jan Baker-Finch. It is a privilege to have her kind and disciplined approach guide the students for the week.
As the end of the year begins to enter our thoughts and the tendency towards busyness increases, we must help the students(and ourselves) to enjoy and appreciate the many excellent experiences and relationships that only exist in the present moment. Thank you again for all your efforts and contributions towards the Spring Fair. If you have ideas and reflections, please forward these to your class reps.
Glenn Hood | PRINCIPAL
MORNING STAR Sandi Valerio
MORNING STAR SANDI VALERIO
Last week the Morning Star children farewelled Winter with a special gnome afternoon tea. The Honeybee children were surprised as they arrived on their last day of Winter to see little gnomes waiting to share some pancakes and tea with them. Many conversations were had, games were played and then the little gnomes joined morning circle for a last time singing songs of frosty cold days.The Echidna children have been busy sewing gnomes to be ready for their end of Winter afternoon tea. Although we had a lovely afternoon sipping on chocolate chai and enjoying honey biscuits, we will do it all over again this week as some of our friends were not well and could not join us. Our stories have been telling us tales of the beginnings of Spring. ‘Pussy Willow’ with her little fluffy kittens blooming as Lady Spring arrived, and a Norwegian Folktale, ‘How the snow became White’.
The Morning Star children have enjoyed birdwatching in the week leading up to the Spring Fair. Lunchtimes were spent enjoying some sunshine and spotting local birds for our bird count week. Some of the children enjoyed it so much they did their own bird count at home. Our story for bird week was ‘The little Pardolite’. A story that one of our previous Kinder teachers, Taryn wrote in a time we had a little Pardolite nest in the compost at Kinder. The children enjoyed listening to the story as the little bird learned how to fly and went just a little too far beyond the fence of the garden. When the mother Pardolite found her little one, the children sighed with relief as the bird family made their way back to the safe nest in the Kinder Garden. Stories in the early years really do talk to the children and help them feel safe in our world. In morning circle this week we asked the children,’What did you like best at the Spring Fair?’ They all said ‘The Rainbow Tent’
ROSA MUNDI JACK FINEGAN
Rosa Mundi have been spending time out in the yard watching the Princess of Spring work her magic on the flowers and trees as they seemingly spring back to life. The seeds we planted in the garden are also springing to life with the kids excited to see what is to come. Our morning circle has changed with the season, as we prepare the yard for our Spring Festival and upcoming Spring Fair. Father Sun is returning from his holiday as the children enjoy singing songs of blossoms and warmer weather.
ROSA MUNDI Jack Finegan Spring in Rosa Mundi has been a time of change and preparation, both in the yard and in the children themselves. Flowers are blooming and birds are chirping as we sing of new blossoms and spring fairies. Our garden has been producing healthy food that we have been using to create our morning tea and provides the perfect toppings for our pizza each Thursday. Teeth are falling out, bodies are growing and children are asking many questions as they look through the fence towards Class 1
Nick Scott (former burser), Terri McMillan (one of the founders of the school) and Matt Reynolds (alumni lead teacher and parent) catch up at the Alumni Celebration
CLASS 1 Samantha Charlotte
What a wonderful beginning to the last term we have had in Class 1! Our spring mornings have been filled with lively activities such as outdoor obstacle courses and skipping to activate our minds and bodies. The children have discovered hula-hoops and can often be seen swirling their hips in unison on the grass outside of our classroom. Our Spring Fair preparation culminated in a joyful maypole dance and wonderful songs performed to a large crowd on the morning of the fair. We have squeezed in some learning around this! We delved into our second Number Processes main lesson to build understanding of each of the four number operations. Meanwhile, the children are revelling in their flourishing literacy skills and working hard every day to practice reading. Soon, we begin our World Tales main lesson, where students will continue to develop their artistic and writing skills through the stories brought to them.
CLASS 2 Liz Morrell
Class 2 have been busy with the Magic of Numbers main lesson with much exploration of patterns. We have discovered square and triangular numbers along with further understanding of even and odd numbers and their properties. The Lo Shu Squares – Chinese Magic Squares – was fun to discover and clay tortoises were created and marked with the magic numbers on the shell. Times tables continue to be practiced, with many already automatically known. The process of division will be a focus for the rest of the term alongside addition, multiplication and subtraction..
CLASS 3 Harriet Ritchards & Matilda McMahon
We have been working on our farming Main Lesson, learning about George and Ruby who grew up in the city and moved to their Grandparents farm where they learnt about all the animals. First they got some chickens, then horses, then cows, then sheep, then bees and finally goats. George liked to draw and Ruby liked to write and together then made a journal that the Class 3 students are recreating. We have been learning how to draw animals and writing about them. At the Spring Fair we had a very successful plant stall with seedings we grew and trees kindly donated. We also ran the falafel stall. Thank you to all the parents who volunteered!!
CLASS 4 Michael Britton
The class has continued our Local Region and Mapping Main Lesson, deepening our understanding of the Mansfield area. Students have been learning about the mountains, rivers, lakes, and forests, and how the landscape has shaped the local economy and lifestyle. We have discussed the importance of agriculture and tourism, and how caring for the environment supports the livelihoods that depend on it. The students also explored how rainfall and snow are vital to these industries and how water levels can impact local jobs. The class has mapped the route to our Queenscliff camp and even helped budget for it. Afternoons have been filled with painting and exploring different techniques, while our mornings begin with skipping and our sport sessions focus on teamwork and good sportsmanship. We will soon begin our Human and Animal Main Lesson and are looking forward to our mountainbiking excursion next week.
CLASS 5 Lou Pullar
Class 5 began the term recapping stories from our Ancient India and Egypt Main Lessons. Everyone then took home a sample spice bag of our Indian curry to enjoy with their family before making a batch for the Spring Fair. Practice makes perfect, and our Sweet Potato, spinach and lentil curry was delicious and sold out early. We are now enjoying stories from Ancient Greece whilst learning a range of grammar tools to help develop our descriptive writing skills. From the story of the Minotaur, the students made wonderful clay labyrinths, taking care to smooth them and polish them before firing, but we learned the hard way about what happens when you miss the crucial wedging step and don’t let them dry beforehand. Two thirds of them exploded in the kiln! Next week, we’re looking forward to bike skills sessions with ATC and then a local area/botany camp into the high country. Thank you to all our class parents for the curries and help with Spring Fair and our upcoming camp.
CLASS 6 Clare Bennetts
Thank you to everyone who helped at our Candle Dipping stall on Saturday. Your efforts made the day run smoothly. Spring Fair had a great feel to it and was such a hub of activity all day. In our first week of the term students worked hard to prepare items for their Business Maths stall and, as a class, we raised $655 that we put towards Save the Children and the Education Program at our sister school, Uai Laco, in Timor Leste. In the second week of the term we travelled to Melbourne for our city camp, vising Parliament House, the State Library, the Old Gaol and Science Works. This tied in with our Physics Main Lessons and current Australian History Main Lesson. We will spend this week
learning about European Explorers and Federation then move on to introducing Algebra.
YEAR 7 Dion Hall
Year 7s have been working hard in their Age of Discovery Main Lesson, creating board games, making maps, and learning how our explorers from around the world. In the next Main Lesson, students will explore the physics of forces, mechanics, and magnetism through hands-on experimentation. They will design and build their own hydraulic-powered cardboard machines, applying the principles of the six simple machines to redirect and magnify force. Alongside this practical work, students will investigate electricity in nature—examining phenomena such as lightning, magnetic polarity, and electrically charged creatures like the electric eel.
YEAR 8 Amy McMahon
Last week was a significant one for everyone as we prepared for the Spring Fair. For the Year 8 students, it was also a time of great achievement as they finalised, displayed, and presented their year-long Year 8 Projects. The week culminated in a presentation evening on Thursday, where students confidently delivered speeches that showcased their hard work and creativity. Congratulations to all students for their dedication, and heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported them and attended the presentations. We have now moved into our next Main Lesson, Perspective Geometry, which calls for focus and precision. Over the coming weeks, students will continue developing their skills as they work on increasingly complex pieces.
YEAR 9 Andrew Raftery
In an increasingly interconnected world, what structures and technologies have been developed and utilised to enable global communication and transportation? After researching and living into ancient methods of communication over distances, students harnessed electricity to create Morse code generators and de-constructed a mechanical dial telephone while appreciating the industrial undertaking of colonizers installing a global telegraph and telephone network. Students then gained an understanding of radio and mobile communication through the harnessing of electro-magnetic waves as carriers of analogue audio and digital information. A brief exploration of the combustion engine and battery-powered transportation have allowed students to appreciate the complexity of everyday travel..
YEAR 10 Charlotte Dayman
Upon their return from France, Year 10 students explored 20th century art history. Through this main lesson, students looked at major art movements including Fauvism, Futurism, Expressionism, Constructivism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art. Students investigated the historical and cultural contexts that gave rise to these movements, discovering how artists responded to rapid social, political, and technological change. They researched key figures such as Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol, considering how each movement influenced those that followed. Alongside their research, students created a series of small studio experiments inspired by these styles, experimenting with painting, drawing, printmaking and collage techniques.
MUSIC Celeste Cleason
What a joy to hear all the class performances at the Spring Fair! From the first delightful Class 1 songs and recorder to the greater complexity of parts and arrangements with the Class 5 and 6 orchestras, the students shone. The music continued until the end of the day with our many extracurricular ensembles joyfully sharing with the school community their musical passion and dedication (which involves many early morning rehearsals!) The music faculty appreciates the commitment to music of both students and parents alike.
Saturday 8th November
Meet 9.30 at Mansfield Info Centre
Join us for a fundraiser bike ride from Mansfield to Maindample for FoV (Friends of Venilale) Sat 8 November, the same day as the FoV Open Garden Event. The ride will take place on the rail trail between Mansfield and Maindample. Please arrive at the Mansfield Information Centre. 9.30am for a 10 am start. Staff will be posted at all significant road crossings. $5 Kids $10 Adults tickets at Humanitix.com. In Maindample,we will have a picnic, handmade spinach and ricotta rolls will be available to purchase.
Our school, in connection with efforts by ‘Friends of Venilale’ to sustain relationships with Mansfield’s sister town, has long had a Venilale-based sister school Uai Laco Junior High School. In the past, students have raised money for school supplies, traded postcards and held a number of annual fundraising bike-rides. In efforts to reinvigorate this relationship the Year 11s, some of whom last participated in this bike-ride when they were in primary school, have organised a community bike-ride to happen this month.
IB DIPLOMA YEAR 11&12 Saskia Schultz
This last weekend during Spring Fair, Ethan, Reef and I held our CAS project. Ours was the first of two CAS projects held by the Year 11 cohort this year. We had the school community assist us with assembling the bird boxes that we had cut out and drilled in advance. We had planned for the bird boxes to be donated to Vic Parks to be put up in our surrounding forests in order to house the threatened and endangered bird life and possums.
As part of the CAS program, IB Students work in groups to complete a “CAS Project” engaging at least two of Creativity, Activity, and Service elements. Our CAS project engaged all three, as we had redesigned the bird boxes and cut the pieces, and had the school community assemble some of them before we eventually donate them to our state forests for the good of everyone who uses those spaces.
