Doncaster Primary School

🍂👫 Grade 6 & Prep Buddy Activity 🍂
Inspired by Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert, our Grade 6 students guided their Prep buddies in creating imaginative leaf characters using natural materials, coloured paper and googly eyes. 🍁✨

This creative activity encouraged teamwork, storytelling and leadership while building wonderful connections between our older and younger students. We loved seeing their creativity come to life! 🌟

Bringing Science to Life in Level 5!
Earlier this term, our Level 5 students had an exciting opportunity to learn alongside passionate Deakin University science pre-service teachers.

Our visitors designed and delivered engaging, hands-on science lessons that sparked curiosity, encouraged critical thinking, and supported our students to explore scientific concepts in new and meaningful ways. From investigating ideas to collaborating on experiments, the energy and enthusiasm in the room were fantastic to see!

It was a valuable experience for both our students and the future educators, and we are incredibly grateful for the partnership with Deakin University. Thank you to the Deakin Science team for inspiring the next generation of scientists and thinkers!

This week we acknowledge Reconciliation Week in Australia, held from the 27th of May to the 3rd of June.
Reconciliation Week is a time to learn about Australia’s shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to think about how we can build a more respectful future together with our first nations people.
This week is a reminder that reconciliation is something we all play a part in every day through respect, understanding, and listening to one another.

Last week, our Level 5 students took part in the Deakin Science Program. Pre Service Teachers from Deakin University visited and worked with small groups of students across a range of science topics including light, natural disasters, earthquakes, static electricity and more. It was great to see students so engaged, asking questions and getting involved in the activities. Thank you to the Deakin team for spending the day with us!

The Level 4 students have had an exciting start to the term as they explored the world of persuasive advertising in Writing.
They have been learning about persuasive devices and how advertisers use language and design to influence audiences. Using their growing skills and knowledge, students have created and designed their own imaginative products and developed engaging advertisements to promote them.
It has been wonderful to see their creativity, teamwork, and confidence shine throughout the process!

News from Level 3

We are so proud of the determination all of our Level 3 students demonstrated this week during the annual Cross Country event. Running three laps of the school is an excellent effort! Congratulations to our Level 3 students who will be going on to District in a few weeks’ time.
In the classroom students have been enthralled with our novel studies unit, based on the Australian text Brindabella. Students have learnt how authors include key messages, such as friendship, courage and freedom in their texts, and have been sharing their opinions about key events in the text.
In Maths, students have been spending time developing their understanding of fractions and exploring formal units of measurement for length and capacity.

We have had a great start to the term in Level 3!

Our talented Level 2 students have been busy creating amazing masterpieces to celebrate the special mothers in their lives. Wishing all our wonderful mums a very happy Mother’s Day filled with love and treasured moments 💐

Raising Kids in a Digital World

Doncaster Primary School is pleased to invite parents and carers to an upcoming online cyber safety webinar designed to inform, empower and support families in managing the challenges of today’s digital environment.
The session will explore practical strategies and current issues relevant to primary-aged children, including:

• Cyberbullying
• Social media use
• Online gaming
• Exposure to explicit or adult content
• Artificial Intelligence
• Managing devices and screen time
• Building strong family communication around technology

The webinar will be presented by Martin McGauran, a primary school teacher and eSafety educator, alongside Carley McGauran, a psychologist and parent, offering both professional expertise and real-world parenting perspectives.

📅 Date: Thursday 14 May
⏰ Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm
💻 Location: Online webinar
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Audience: Parents and carers only

This is a valuable opportunity to gain practical advice and confidence in supporting your child’s online safety and wellbeing.

✅ Register via the link below:

Raising Kids in a Digital World Martin and Carley share insights, tips and tricks to help your family navigate the online world.

LOTE (Chinese) News (by Miss Su 苏老师）

As Term 1 wraps up, students across all year levels have been exploring the cultural traditions of the Chinese Spring Festival (also known as ‘Lunar New Year’).

Prep to Year 2 learners inquired about the Lantern Festival (元宵节), they made ‘Year of the Horse’ lanterns, and the native speakers also wrote 元宵节 on their given template. Year 2 students also challenged themselves to write the Chinese character of ‘马’ (horse) as well as their 1st Chinese idiom '马年大吉’ (Happy Year of the Horse).

Students from Year 3 and 4 designed creative and authentic horse lanterns, with Year 4 learners beginning their online research task about the Chinese New Year Fact File. Year 5 and 6 students investigated the Chinese New Year timeline and the seven traditional customs for celebrating the Spring Festival in China.

It has been a fun and engaging term, and I look forward to continuing our cultural learning of this most significant festival next term！

Term 1 EAL Program
It has been a productive term in our EAL classes, with students learning new routines while developing their speaking and listening, reading, and writing skills.
In Years 1 and 2, the focus of the second half of the term has been on building phonics knowledge and immersing students in practical learning experiences to support spelling and sound recognition.
While In Years 3 and 4, students have been working with their spelling words, practising reading aloud using fluency texts, and exploring narrative texts such as Aesop’s fables.
Additionally in Year 5 students have also been developing letter-writing skills by corresponding with students from a nearby primary school.
Finally in Year 6, the focus has been on analysing narrative structures and engaging with non-fiction texts, including studies of notable Australian figures.
I look forward to Term 2 and continuing to support students in their English language development.

Maria Scopas