Term 4 in the Junior School has certainly commenced in it’s usual busy way. Our girls right across the Junior School have engaged in a wide variety of excursions, incursions and showcases, as well as preparing for our ever nearing end of year celebrations.

Celebrating achievements

We were able to share and celebrate some significant and wonderful awards at our assembly this week, including our AMEB Exam for Speech and Drama results. Tutored by Coach Louise Borgo, the girls undertook their exam at the end of last term and received outstanding results ranging from Credits to High Distinctions. Speech and Drama has become a valued addition to our Co-curricular program and one for which we see many benefits for our girls, including developing their confidence, flexible thinking and presence when public speaking.

We also celebrated exceptional results in the Australian Mathematics Competition, with many girls in Years 3 to Year 6 achieving wonderful results. The Competition provides an opportunity for our girls to think flexibly and apply their mathematical skills and knowledge across a range of problems. As always, we are very proud of their efforts in this area.

Our Year 5 students attended the ‘Writer’s Festival’ at Immanuel College on the 31 October. Participating in a range of workshops and author talks across the day, the girls were able to gain valuable insights into the life of an author, the things authors consider when writing and how they become published. In preparation for the day, the girls also entered one of their written pieces in the ‘Impress Writing Competition’. I am very proud to share that Mae Meng was the 2024 Year 5 and 6 Category Winner, with her story ‘A Mystery of Murder’ in the competition and had her piece printed and displayed at the festival. Please see Mae’s writing below

A Mystery of Murder

Mae Meng, Year 5

Village of Willowbrook had always been a picture of serenity, where neighbours exchanged pleasantries over white picket fences and children played freely in the fields. That came to an end one foggy autumn morning, when the lifeless body of Edwin Thorne, the local author, was found in his study.

Detectice Clara Hayes came in; her eyes coursed around the room; bookshelves lined the walls, packed to their breaking point with dog eared and worn volumes, a half-manuscript sprawled across the desk. The only struggle seemed to be from an overturned chair, it’s leg splintered, as if someone had pushed it out of their way in urgency. Clara observed fresh ink stains on Edwin’s fingers, to show that he was working just before his untimely end.

The murmurs of suspicion wafted through the air as people began to congregate outside the house. There was Martha, the librarian from the village, who had once engaged in a very public row with Edwin regarding the plot of one of his stories; Thomas the writer, who for many years had envied Edwin’s successes; even his sister, Lila, who would be set to inherit everything he was worth. Each wore a mask of grief tinged with unease.

Clara continued to investigate further, interviewing each one of the suspects. It was only when she discovered a hidden compartment in Edwin’s desk drawer that the pieces finally fell into place. Inside, a diary revealed years of pent-up jealousy and betrayal, naming a fierce rivalry with no other than Thomas.

However, when Clara arrived at his house with many police officers, Thomas was nowhere to be found. The group interviewed the neighbours, both saying that Thomas had moved to a different country, taking all his belongings with him. Where he went was not identified and Thomas was never found.

World Teachers Day

Last Friday 25 October was World Teachers Day and I would like to acknowledge our teachers in light of this event. Your daughter’s teachers show enormous kindness, dedication and commitment to ensuring that the girls in their care are known. They each put such careful consideration into planning the learning opportunities and then next steps in learning for their students and, alongside your daughter’s being a joy to teach and nurture, their teachers are also high quality and connected professionals. I would like to extend gratitude to each of them for all they do.