HEAD OF SCHOOL UPDATE Melanie Woods
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are certainly in the swing of Term 4 with lots of learning and events!
Some students face fears and anxieties at times. It’s common for students to feel these things throughout their life. Please let your classroom teacher know if this is the case, as we have school counsellors working with our students everyday. They can help bring comfort, find truth and equip the students with skills to help them quell their worries. This can be particularly helpful as students begin their transition into 2025. They will have an opportunity on Tuesday 19 November to engage with their 2025 year group. We hope this activity will be an exciting and anticipatory morning.
For ALL correspondence for Primary Student Hub, please use the following email: primaryhubmp@acc.edu.au. You can continue to email teachers directly if you have a specific question for the class teacher.
2026 KINDER TASTER DAY
On Tuesday we welcomed prospective Kinder 2026 students to ACC. We had a wonderful time sharing our College with these families and getting to know them well. It was very exciting for the ‘little ones’ as they spent the morning in ‘big school’. There was singing, storytelling, craft and play-dough. If you are an existing family at ACC Marsden Park and have not yet completed an enrolment application for Kindergarten 2026, please head over to our website and apply, so we can make contact with you!
KEEP IN CONTACT
Last week we sent out our Year Group Letters for Term 4. They included an overview of what is being learnt in the class this term, topics, important dates and other relevant information. Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher with any relevant information, highlights or concerns. Your communications assist us with the day-to-day support of your children.
KINDER EXPERIENCE AND EXPLORE - 2025 KINDER ORIENTATION
One of our Primary School values is ‘Love and Nurture’. We believe it is critical that each child has opportunities to maximise their potential, in order to provide the key building blocks early, which will underpin their success.
As part of the Integration Program for our future Kindergarten 2025 students, we have thoroughly enjoyed three orientation events over these past few months. They have welcomed our 2025 Kinders and their families with warmth and fun! The highlights were seeing the children make connections with their peers, with the teaching staff and with their new environment. Seeing our parents making connections with other parents, with our staff and with the Australian Christian College community at large was also rejoiced in.
We are so excited for all the Kinders and their families to begin their journey with ACC next year!
The final event is:
Event 4 - Tuesday 5 November, 2024 - Kinder Parent Evening 5.30 pm - 6.30 pm in the Tech Centre Lecture Theatre (Parents only)
K-6 SWIM SCHOOL
All K-6 students have enjoyed the past 3 weeks of Swim School. There are numerous reasons why swimming lessons are very important, it is even a part of the school curriculum. It is a lifelong skill, it’s fun and there are health benefits through keeping our students active. Increasing social skills, using teamwork and boosting confidence are all attributes that come from participating in swimming lessons. We look forward to seeing their growth with their remaining weeks of Swim School!
YEAR 6 CAMP
This week our Year 6 students embarked on their last Primary School camp. This camp is part of their celebration of Year 6 and we enjoyed the sights and sound of all that Canberra has to offer! Old and New Parliament House were a real treat and honour to visit, and the students also enjoyed Cockington Green, the Australian Institute of Sport and Questacon. Moments in between, like bus travel and hanging out at our accommodation, was a load of fun and an opportunity to connect. Please enjoy the photos of the memories that have been made.
PREPARING FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL: YEAR 6 REFLECTS ON THEIR JOURNEY
This term in English, our Year 6 students have been exploring the beauty of poetry, using it as a way to reflect on God’s blessings in their lives and express their thoughts and feelings as they prepare for the next chapter of His plan for them. The culmination of their learning was a special free verse poetry activity, designed to help them reflect on a major milestone—leaving Year 6 and stepping into the new opportunities God has in store for them in secondary school.
In this creative journey, students wrote poems that captured their unique experiences and emotions, while also considering how God has guided and provided for them. From nervous excitement about meeting new friends, to heartfelt reflections on the friendships and memories they've made in Primary School, each poem became a personal window into their thoughts about this change. Some students penned lines about the fun times they’ve shared, while others expressed a bit of sadness about leaving familiar faces and routines behind, trusting that God will walk with them in this new season.
But it wasn’t all about farewells! The students also explored their dreams for the future, sharing their goals for Secondary School, and how they trust God to lead them in these new endeavours. Our budding poets learned that poetry doesn’t need to rhyme or follow strict rules to be powerful—free verse allows them to be true to themselves, to express what is on their hearts, and to remember that God is always with them on this journey.
YEAR 1 SCIENCE EXPLORING LIVING THINGS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS
This term, our Year 1 students are diving into the fascinating world of living things. Through hands-on experiences and observations, students explore the external features of plants and learn what makes them unique.
In this unit, students learn about the external features of living things. They describe the features of various plants and understand why plants are classified as living things. As budding scientists, they investigate how living things can be grouped according to their external features—what makes a plant different from another?
As students explore nature, they are learning that God made everything in creation for a purpose, and we have been given the responsibility to care for it. By tending to the plants in the garden and understanding the balance of nature, students are developing a sense of gratitude for God’s provision. We encourage them to thank God for nature's beauty and take action by being responsible stewards of His creation, ensuring that we protect and preserve it for future generations.
One of the most exciting experiences for students this term is visiting our beautiful school vegetable garden - The Good Soil Garden. Students are encouraged to explore the garden, ask questions about the plants, and observe their features. This week’s garden visit was an absolute hit, with students thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to get their hands dirty, explore different plant types, and see how each plant is suited to its environment.
We’ve included some photos from this week’s lesson. The hands-on experience truly allowed them to engage with the science concepts we’ve been discussing, and they loved the creative task of drawing their plants and labelling the parts.
YEAR 2 MUSIC - EXPLORING THE NUTCRACKER
This term in Year 2 Music, we are embarking on an exciting journey into the world of classical ballet through The Nutcracker, composed by the legendary Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to explore how music tells a story and creates vivid characters through rhythm, melody, and dynamics.
We are focusing on several key movements from The Nutcracker, each representing a unique scene or character from the ballet.
As we explore these famous pieces, students will consolidate several vital musical concepts essential to understanding how music enhances storytelling. These concepts include:
Rhythm: How beats are organised to create patterns.
Melody: The tune or sequence of notes in the music.
Dynamics: The music's volume, whether loud or soft.
Tempo: The music's speed, whether fast or slow.
Timbre: The unique sound quality of different instruments.
To help students connect these musical concepts with their creativity, we engage in various listening activities where they actively listen to different movements, identify the musical elements, and discuss how these elements affect the story being told.
This unit is about understanding and appreciating classical music and encouraging students to develop their creative voice through composition and performance. We aim to build their confidence in expressing ideas musically, whether they are listening, composing, or performing.
We look forward to sharing the students' work with you at the end of the term and seeing how they bring The Nutcracker to life through their musical creations. Stay tuned for updates on our performances!
I SEE YOU STAR MORNING TEA
Every Face has a Place at ACC and we continue to embed into the lives of all our students that we know them, that we see them. We want the students to know that we see their kindness, we see them being respectful, we see when they are learners, we see when they make Christ-like decisions and when they make wise and safe choices. To celebrate their hard work and efforts, students are invited to attend an ‘I See You Star’ Morning Tea each week, which is hosted by Mr Parsonage, the Stage Coordinators and Mrs Woods. This is an opportunity to spend quality time with them, thank them and congratulate them for their good work.
Week 1 & 2, Term 4 - ‘I See You Star Awardees’
Alaria S, Willow N, Willow N, Cayden T, Samuel T, Elliotte K, Thea T, Sebastian D, Judah W, Maysa K, Hudson M, Aaradhya B, Braydan S, Nivin B, Agam S, Saachi S, Tnushree R, Saimone T, Olivia L, Alannah-Rose E, Mauritz K, Jeremy N, Cassandra T, Divit S, Riyansh P, Aarnavi, Amaira G, Harrison D, Aquilla C, Tanish V, Shannon G, Ethan W, Ify E, Tane T, Shlokansh D, Aadhya B, Isabel H, Luke W, Danielle S, Isaac T, Angus B, Sahasra Y, Joseph E, Shyelle V, Kavin K, Mehraz B, Yohan C, Joshua S, Jairus A, Aarav G, Nathaniel M, Deyaan G.
TERM 4 SUMMARY OF EVENTS
Every Monday at 9.00 am: Assembly or Chapel (Parents and carers are welcome to attend. Please arrive no earlier than 8.50 am to allow for morning Kiss N Drop traffic to be over and parking spots to be available. You can then walk down to the MPC and be seated by 8.55 am).
Tuesday 5 November: Kinder 2025 Parent Information Session
Tuesday 5 November: Kindergarten Excursion to Calmsley Hill
Wednesday 6 November: Primary Encounter
Wednesday 20 November - Friday 22 November: Year 5 Camp (updated)
Friday 22 November: Year 6 Celebration Event
Monday 2 December: Primary Presentation Assembly
Tuesday 3 December: K-6 Swim Pool Funday
Wednesday 4 December: Semester Two Academic Reports
Wednesday 4 December: Last Day of school for students