Important Reminder: Arrival time in the mornings

Parents are reminded that 8.10am is the earliest students and/or parents should arrive (unless students have an early morning schedule co-curricular activity). School commences with the bell ringing at 8.30am.

Teachers are extremely busy prior to 8.10am and are not necessarily in classrooms. Parents who need to speak to staff at length are asked to refrain from doing so in the morning, and to seek an appointment with the teacher. An appointment can be made via your child’s Record Book or by calling Mrs Mary Poulos on 9828 3020 or Mrs Sharon Brinkworth on 9828 3062. Quick messages of importance through a conversation at the drop off time (8.10am-8.30am) are fine.

From 8.10am, classroom teachers are busily engaged with students and cannot hold lengthy conversations with any parents. The Record Book is checked each day by teachers for notes or messages from parents.

A Major Term 3 Focus: Self-Management Skills

In Term 3, we are pursuing with the students a focus on excellence towards their learning, achieving their personal bests and their finest skills of self management.

To be an independent thinker and worker, to make positive choices and to pursue personal self-control when interacting with others and learning is vitally essential. These skills and accompanying advice is emphasised in weekly assemblies and throughout the week in the classrooms and specialist classes. Also, emphatically, by duty staff in the playground.

Students are encouraged repeatedly to look around them and to make sensible, wise choices – even if others are not as enthusiastic in their surrounds about doing so.

Independent thinking, integrity and an understanding of self-worth and the right to make our own choices are key skills towards building a positive pathway.

In later years, the need for these skills and definitely the personal strength required are absolutely essential. The skills must be built from an early age. Prior to driving a car and prior to social opportunities at a later age, where wise choices must be made independent of others’ choices and promptly. When family and School work on these skill building areas early, there is every chance to strengthen key areas of self-management.

Learning from the Year 4 windows

The building site and construction of a new Junior School is very exciting and visibly apparent for the Junior School and Early Learning Centre staff and students.

The progress is astonishing to all of us, and is progressing at the planned schedule.

The Year 4 class, and staff and students who have visited the Year 4 classrooms or the Junior School Library, are certainly excited and ‘learning through the windows’ every day as we observe the amazing work of the builders involved in the construction site.

Year 4 classrooms and the Library are currently very popular places to visit each day, and our Year 4 students are certainly maximising the view and learning opportunities.

For reader enjoyment, we offer just a few quotes from students of Year 4:

“The building site has been an amazing opportunity to learn. It is getting better and better each day. Year 4 have been extremely excited about all the action outside of our window and we are very keen to see our new school grow in front of our very eyes. The building site has given us a chance to find out about how things move and how we use forces such as push and pull to move certain objects. We have been writing and drawing 3D shapes in our books {the bits of wood as well as the columns that has been recently added are rectangular prisms}. We also used the building site to collect soil to study and look at the layers. I’m excited to learn more and to see what our new school will be like.”

Portia Gowrie (Year 4)

“The working site is very interesting and we have been doing lots of observation, since it started. In Term 1, we looked at the dirt layers, documented them and looked at different soil which we brought into school.Ms Schilte retrieved some of the soil from the site and we mixed water into it and documented what happened.

In Term 2, we looked at all of the 3D shapes on the work site and drew them in our books…
In Term 3, we looked at the push and pull. We enjoyed seeing what the workers were pushing and pulling and what the machine was also pushing and pulling.

The whole time there has been something fun happening on the site. It has been lots of fun looking at it all come together. 

Bella Burdett-Moore (Year 4)

“Through the Year 4 windows, we have been spying on the construction site.As well as having fun looking at the sparks fly from the circlular saw, it also helps us with our learning such as pushes and pulls for science and looking for 2D and 3D shapes. It is a great opportunity having the best view in the whole school!”

Elisa Wang (Year 4)

“It is amazing to look out the window and see our new junior school and the progress it has made. Every day it gets better.We have been using the construction site as an extension to our learning (Maths, 3D shapes and Science). We look out our window. In Term 1, we used some of the soil/dirt for our soil solution science experiment. The construction site has really improved our learning and I cannot wait to see what else we can use from this amazing sight for our learning.”

Olivia Nagel (Year 4)

“Each morning, when we come into our room we look down at the construction site. It helps us with our learning. This week, we are focusing on our Science which is the push and pull unit. We are looking at the how the big cranes pull up all the metal and the wood and how they push the dirt out of the way. We are also looking at the 3D shapes. We love looking down at the construction site and I can’t wait to see the finished result.”

Gemma Thorn (Year 4)

Forces outside our classroom window 

“When you look outside our window you can see a lot of forces. In Science, we are studying forces (such as push and pull). Before we started Science we thought the building sight would be a distraction, but it is actually really helpful.

When you look outside you can see pushing and pulling when the builder in the crane machine pushes and pulls the lever. You can see pushing when the builders are doing the welding, and pulling when the builders are pulling the ropes to strap the things they put in their truck. You can see pulling when the builders pull the things they need onto the back of the truck. 

Everyday, we look out the window we see something new and exciting. Ms Stride said that one day we will look out the window and see a huge wall. Unfortunately, it will block our view. Sometimes when we look out our window we see an enormous crane! So far, the building is looking great and I cannot wait to see it.”

Rachel Carton (Year 4)
Request for photographs of Year 6

A reminder that Year 6 Class Representatives are requesting all families to send as many photographs as possible of your daughter involved in Junior School activities from Prep to Year 6.

Photos should be placed in a named paper bag/envelope, in the container just inside the Junior School Office.

This is an important, quite urgent request in order for selected photos to be put in a Year 6 Yearbook of photographic memories.

Berthe Mouchette Finals 2017

On Sunday 6 August, French students participated in the Annual Berthe Mouchette Poetry Finals. The finals are held at the Alliance Française de Melbourne in St Kilda and are open only to students who received a grade of 100% (or 20 out of 20) in the first round of the competition. Our four finalists for 2017, are Audrey Kyriakou (Year 6), Charlotte Rodgers (Year 6), Ava Colosimo (Year 6) and Emma Gregory (Year 6). We congratulate them on their fabulous effort of attaining a place in the 2017 Finals.

Ava and Emma, who were both available to attend the Finals on Sunday, represented Barbreck fantastically as they performed their poems in front of a panel of Alliance Française adjudicators. As you can see, they both enjoyed a chocolat chaud and croissant in the Alliance Française Café to celebrate!

Ava and Emma now have a long wait for the competition results, which will be announced on the Alliance Française website on 20 September 2017. In the meantime, we wish Emma and Ava all the best!

Mr Andrew Gold, Junior School French Teacher 
Mrs Alana Moor, Head of Junior School and ELC