Primary School Update - 8 August 2025

HEAD OF SCHOOL UPDATE Melanie Woods

We want to thank you for supporting your children to arrive at school this term with excitement and a sense of warm familiarity. The children have settled in well: in the classroom they are getting back into a routine filled with rich learning and embracing skills; outside of the classroom they are using every available space to engage in valuable play! Every lesson is deliberate and intentional to keep the pace of learning moving forward. Please save the dates at the end of this article in your diaries as there are many activities to enjoy this term. Congratulations on such a great first few weeks of Term 3 - let’s celebrate all that has happened!

Science Week 2025 at ACC Week 3 in Primary is all about science and technology as we engage in National Science Week for 2025. The theme for this year is ‘Decoding the Universe – Exploring the unknown with nature's hidden language’. Mr Jordan, our Primary Science & Technology Teacher, has carefully prepared science experiments for our children to enjoy and encourage wonder about God’s creation. We will be doing so many experiments that we will certainly assist our students to become scientists! We would love to see our parents also attending your child's classroom to enjoy what each year is discovering in Science Week.

• Kindergarten - Tuesday 12 August: 1.15 pm - 2.30 pm 

• Year 1 & Year 2 - Wednesday 13 August: 1.15 pm - 2.30 pm

• Year 3 & Year 4 - Thursday 14 August: 1.15 pm - 2.30 pm

• Year 5 & Year 6 - Friday 15 August: 1.15 pm - 2.30 pm

Please park off site and make your way to the classrooms. Please do NOT park in the Car Line.

Book Week 2025 We are so excited for Book Week in Week 4 of Term 3! This year, the theme is ‘Book an Adventure’. Our Library team and Primary staff have a number of activities planned throughout the week to challenge and inspire all our students in their love of literature.

On Friday 22 August, we are asking every student and staff member to dress up as their choice of book character. This is one of our favourite traditions at the College and we can’t wait to see what our students come up with, whether they come as a standalone character or as part of a group costume with their classmates.

The College will be holding a Book Fair outside the Library for all of Week 4. This is also an opportunity for parents to purchase a book to donate to our ACC Library.

Look out for more information soon about all our Book Week activities!

Borrowing Books at the Library Speaking of the Library, it has been all a flutter as the borrowing of books becomes a weekly highlight for our students. There is nothing more exciting than reading a book and knowing you can get another new book filled with adventure the following week. Our desire is for our students to have a love of reading and we certainly appreciate all that our Library offers to our students.

Year 3 Camp at Wedderburn Our Year 3 students and staff returned today from an overnight camp to Wedderburn Christian Campsite - what fun was had! It was jam-packed with fun and eventful activities! Bullseyes were hit in archery! Dizzying heights were climbed to build crate towers! Students zoomed through the air on a flying fox, with screams of delight heard the whole way down! 

Students then completed a bush craft activity where they foraged through the bush to make creations out of raw material - many with an Australian twist. They even got to feed the resident Emu called Stanley. We were so proud of how our students conducted themselves, making new memories and growing in confidence. Please enjoy some photos of our time away!

Athletics Carnival and Zone Carnival We were pleased that the weather held off last week for our Years 3-6 students to compete in the Primary Athletics Carnival. Running and moving is so good for our students' development and for their social and emotional growth, and overall health. Team spirit and a ‘can do’ attitude was evident and each class diligently cheered on their peers as they ran down the race track, long jumped through the sand or hurled the shot miles away. Thank you to Mr Parsonage and other staff who worked to make the day run smoothly. Recently, our students also attended the Zone Primary Athletics Carnival. We can’t wait to hear from Mr Parsonage in our next newsletter about how our students fared!

Assemblies and Chapels  A reminder that our Assemblies and Chapels are held every Monday at 9.00 am during term time. We encourage our parents and families to attend and join in the celebrations with us. We have lovely class performances and Marsden Bear videos to enjoy! Assembly is a time where we get to see our students shine. We also love to present awards and credit the children on their learning and personal growth milestones. This term, Assembly and Chapel in Weeks 5, 7 and 8 will be online - a link will be emailed to families and classes to watch. 

Please see the schedule below for more information about class performances: 

• Monday 18 August Chapel - ONLINE ONLY - to be confirmed (6T Class Performance)

• Monday 25 August Assembly - ON CAMPUS (1A Class Performance)

• Monday 1 September - ON CAMPUS (6S Class Performance & K-2 Signing Choir)

• Monday 8 September - ONLINE ONLY - to be confirmed (1P Class Performance) 

• Monday 15 September - ONLINE ONLY - to be confirmed (2Z Class Performance)

• Monday 22 September - ON CAMPUS (4G Class Performance & Years 3-6 Signing Choir)

Uniform We love our College uniform and encourage students to take pride in how they are presenting themselves at school. Parents and carers, please ensure all apparel is labelled, so that we can return lost items to their correct homes! We appreciate when students hand in clothing they have mistakenly taken as their own. I so appreciate how diligent our staff and students are in ensuring they return lost items. 

A reminder to also follow our College’s Uniform Guide to ensure only the correct uniform is worn (please note that ‘extra’ clothing items may not be in line with our guide). If you are unsure, please feel free to contact the Primary Student Hub and we can happily assist with answering your questions. Additionally, black leather lace up shoes are required all year round (Mary Jane buckled shoes are not permitted). Lastly, Term 3 continues to be formal winter uniform and winter sports uniform.

Every Day Matters: Encouraging Strong School Attendance At our College, we believe every child deserves every opportunity to grow, learn, and thrive - and that starts with being present. In Australia, missing just one day of school a fortnight equates to a whole month of lost learning across the year. As the NSW Department of Education says, “It’s not okay to be away.” Regular attendance is not only essential for academic progress, but also helps children build friendships, confidence, and strong routines that support lifelong success. When families prioritise attendance, they send a clear message: school matters, and you matter too. By working together, we can help every student thrive - one school day at a time.

Kindergarten 2026 If you are an existing parent and have not completed an enrolment application form for your child for 2026, please contact our Enrolments Department ASAP.

‘I See You, Star’ Morning Tea Every Face has a Place at ACC! We continue to encourage students that we know them and that we see them. We want the students to know that we see when they are kind, showing respect, being willing to learn, make Christ-like decisions and when they make wise and safe choices. To celebrate their hard work and efforts, nominated students are invited to attend an I See You, Star Morning Tea each week, hosted by Mr Parsonage, the Stage Coordinators and myself (Mrs Woods). This is an opportunity to spend quality time with them, thank them, and congratulate them for their good work!

The following students have been given an I See You, Star Award and attended the Morning Tea over the last two weeks: 

​​Adelaide B, Adelaide B, Amalia T, Antonia S, David L, Elijah A, Elliotte K, Ellyza E, Elsa P, Emily J, Emma A, Evelyn L, Everley E, Ian L, Isabella M, Julina M, Keziah B, Krisha G, Krisha G, Max G, Nadar V, Nadar V, Naomi O, Nathan O, Shlokansh D, Skylar G, Tiana Z, Youhana S, Zara W.

Term 3 Important Dates

Week 3

• Science Week: 1.15 pm - 2.30 pm in your students’ classroom

  • Tuesday 12 August: Kindergarten

  • Wednesday 13 August: Years  1 & 2 

  • Thursday 14 August: Years 3 & 4

  • Friday 15 August: Years 5 & 6 

Week 4

• Book Week 2025: ‘Book An Adventure’

• 22 August: Book Week Dress Up (more information to come)

Week 6

• 5 September: Father’s Day Breakfast (more information to come)

Week 8

• 18 September: Year 2 Excursion (more information to come)

• 18 September: Market Day for K-6 (more information to come)

• 19 September: Year 1 Excursion (more information to come)

Week 9

• 26 September: Last day of Term 3

KINDER FARM EXCURSION Amy Gruszka

Kindergarten students had a wonderful time learning all about farm animals: where they live, what they do, the food they help produce, and some fun facts too! We had the chance to meet and gently pat a variety of animals, and it was incredible to learn more about God’s amazing creations up close. The day also included exciting highlights like a whip-cracking show and a live dog herding demonstration. It was a fun, hands-on learning experience we’ll never forget!

FLUENCY IN 1L Lara Dikha

Term 3 marks half way through the school year. Specifically, for our Year 1 students, it marks important milestones in their reading journey. In Year 1, we have a strong focus on learning sounds, blending them to read, and breaking them apart to spell - all so we can write words to form written sentences. As we continue to learn and consolidate our sounds, we are also building the skill of reading fluency. One part of reading fluency involves using our voices to make our reading sound interesting with appropriate expression indicated by punctuation. 

This includes our voice going down at a full stop, up at a question mark, adding volume for phrases with exclamation marks, pausing at commas and using character voices when speech marks are used in stories. Year 1 is having a blast learning how to read not only with appropriate expression but also with increasing speed and accuracy, which is another component of reading fluency. Students work in pairs with a targeted levelled reader to time each other using their iPads, reading and rereading the same text. Students record the time it takes to read the book and rate their partner's expression out of 5 stars. Every time the book is reread, students try to beat their previous reading time of the book and improve their expression. Here are some photos of 1L practising their reading fluency in pairs with their targeted levelled texts. 

4W LEARNING ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY Anaïs Woods

4W has turned into a buzzing hub of creativity, cardboard, and clever ideas! As part of our Geography unit on The Earth’s Environment, students took on the challenge of designing something new out of old, specifically recycled household items. The results were wonderful to see! 

The project was based on sustainability, which focuses on how we can make small changes to care for the creation that the Lord has blessed us with. Students were encouraged to reduce waste, reuse materials they already had, and recycle creatively. From milk carton flowerpots and tin can pencil holders to cardboard thongs and egg carton veggie planters, no two creations were the same.

It wasn’t just about the craft: students also reflected on the process of creating, explaining what they made, how they made it and why recycling is important. Their responses showed thoughtful consideration and a growing awareness of how everyday choices can impact the environment.

This project reminded us all that sustainability starts with the simple things. When we reduce, reuse, and recycle, we’re not just helping the Earth that God has given us the task to look after, we’re sparking creativity too!