Ascot State School

22/10/2026

22/10/2026

19/10/2026

Our Inquiring Gem — Follow Your Wonder

Over the coming weeks, our students will be focusing on our Inquiring Gem — the topaz and its invitation to every learner: Follow your wonder.

Children are naturally curious. They notice things, ask why, pull ideas apart, investigate how things work and delight in discovering something they didn't know before. At Ascot, we don't want that curiosity to disappear as children grow older. We want to harness it as a powerful driver for learning.

Our Inquiring Gem helps children understand that learning isn't always about being given the answer. Sometimes the richest learning begins with a really good question:

What do I notice? What do I wonder? How might I find out? What could I try? What does the evidence tell me? What have I discovered?

Provocations are also an important part of inquiry at Ascot. Rather than beginning every learning experience by simply telling children what they need to know, teachers can use an interesting object, image, problem, experience, question or real-world situation to ignite curiosity and invite children into the learning.

You might hear some of our Inquiring Gem language coming home:

“I wonder...”
“How might I find out?”
“What patterns can I see?”
“What evidence do I have?”
“What could I try?”
“That changed my thinking.”
“What do I still wonder?”

There is a particularly strong connection between this Gem and our BE ASCOT value, Curiosity Creates Connection. Curiosity connects ideas to ideas, children to learning, and learners to people, places and perspectives beyond their own experience. Inquiry also builds Agency and Empowerment because children have opportunities to ask questions, make choices, investigate meaningful ideas and take greater ownership of their learning.

Our topaz is the perfect symbol for this Gem. Its bright golden colour represents energy, light and curiosity, while its triangular shape points forward and outward towards questions, exploration and discovery. And, of course, tucked within our Inquiring Gem is that most important symbol of all — a question mark.

And perhaps the most important message for our children?

Great learners don't just collect answers. They notice, wonder, question, investigate, test, discover — and often finish their learning with even better questions than the ones with which they began.

At Ascot, we want our children to remain curious about their learning, other people and the world around them — and to have the confidence and skills to follow their wonder wherever it might lead.

16/10/2026

Our year 4 Campers are on the bus and on their way home. ETA is 2.20pm on Massey Street. It would be appreciated if parents could help unload all luggage first before we send our students off.
Everyone had a blast.

15/10/2026

Fun day at camp, movie night tonight and still having a blast...

15/10/2026

Our Creative Gem — Dream it. Make it. Share it.

Over the coming weeks, our students will be focusing on our Creative Gem — the opal and its wonderfully simple invitation: Dream it. Make it. Share it.

At Ascot, we want children to see themselves not simply as consumers of knowledge, but as creators. Creativity is the capacity to take what we know, wonder what might be possible and bring an idea into the world in a new way.

And creativity certainly isn't just about being artistic. We see it when a child finds a different way to solve a mathematics problem, invents a solution in Science, creates a story, designs a digital product, experiments with materials, performs, builds, codes or simply asks that wonderful question:

Our Creative Gem helps children move from possibility to expression. They learn to notice and wonder, imagine possibilities, generate lots of ideas, experiment and take creative risks, make

An important part of this Gem is understanding that creativity can be learnt and strengthened. It isn't something that a few “creative people” are simply born with. Children become more creative when they have opportunities to play with possibilities, move beyond their first idea, take thoughtful risks and discover that something not working the first time is often an important part of creating something better.

Our opal is the perfect symbol for this Gem. Unlike a stone of one consistent colour, an opal comes alive with unexpected flashes of colour as you look at it from different angles — a lovely metaphor for imagination, possibility and originality. Its less rigid shape reflects the way creative thinking can move in unexpected directions, while its sparkles capture the energy and joy of bringing an idea to life.

And perhaps the most important message for our children?

Creativity isn't about making something perfect. It's about having the courage to imagine something, give it a go, learn through making, improve it — and then share it with the world.

At Ascot, we want every child to know that their ideas have value and that they have the capacity to turn those ideas into something others can see, hear, feel, use or understand.

14/10/2026

14/10/2026

More camp fun...