Guildford West Public School

All of our students across the school have been learning about the history of the Olympics and the sports involved in the Olympics. The Olympics are a special time when people from all over the world come together to play sports and celebrate our shared love for competition and teamwork.

One of the most amazing things about the Olympics is how they show us that we all belong to one big global family. Athletes from different countries, who speak different languages and have different cultures, all come together to support and respect each other. This reminds us that, no matter where we come from, we can always find common ground and work together.

Here at our school, we learnt a lot from the Olympics. We learnt about the importance of belonging. Each one of us is a valuable part of our school community. Whether we’re in the classroom, on the playground, or at home, we should always make sure that everyone feels included and valued.

Supporting each other is another big lesson from the Olympics. Just like athletes cheer for their teammates and help them do their best, we can support our friends and classmates. When we see someone struggling, we can offer a helping hand or a kind word. When someone achieves something great, we can celebrate with them and share their joy.

So, let’s remember the spirit of the Olympics in everything we do. Let’s make our school a place where everyone belongs, where we support each other, and where we work together to achieve our dreams. Together, we can create a community that shines as brightly as the Olympic flame.

Our Olympic Open Day was led by an amazing team of staff, who I would like to thank: Miss Adams, Miss Foley, Miss Clement, Mrs Clement and Mrs Turner. These staff worked so hard to organise and make the day the best, and I would like to on behalf of everyone to thank them. I would also like to acknowledge all the teachers and their classes who did an amazing job at learning about their class town, the traditional owners and then creating their own flag that represents their class. I know parents, you can ask any of your children and they can tell you lots of facts and reasons why they chose to represent their flag of their class town.

I hope we can all remember the Olympic spirit even after they are over, which is supporting each other and belonging to not only your class but our school.

Ms Weston

Principal

Olympics

Classes have been learning all about the Olympics and the NSW town they are named after. Students have loved exploring the history of the Olympics and stories behind some of the Australian athletes competing in Paris. We have enjoyed learning about all the different Olympics sports and trying them out ourselves during sport lessons. After researching our class towns, we enjoyed creating a class flag for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics day. We loved watching the Olympic highlights each morning showing our Australian athletes competing. We now can’t wait to watch the Paralympics. Good luck to Miss Clement who will be in Paris coaching. We are so proud of you!

What a busy start for Stage 1 this term with students engaging in the wonderful world of Walker Learning, an approach that encourages student-led learning through hands-on experiences and personal interests. Our curious students embarked on an exciting investigation into forces of push and pull. As part of their science exploration, students engaged in hands-on experiments to discover how these forces affect the movement of objects in our everyday lives. Collage and dramatic play stations have been buzzing with students creating props and enacting different scenes.

Students have also been learning about the importance of looking after the places around them, whether it’s our classroom, playground, or the wider community such as famous landmarks around the world. Students have used this knowledge to build different landmarks around the world in our construction areas using legos and blocks. We will continue to learn how we can contribute to keeping our environments clean and safe for everyone.

Stage 3 has had an incredible start to Term 3 and engaged in a variety of different learning opportunities.

Students have been highly active during our English unit this term. They learned about the traditional custodians of their class town. Students explored symbolisms and connotations associated with these places and their Indigenous populations. They connected this learning to themes of belonging, national pride and global events such as the Olympics. Students created class flags to represent their class's identities and held these flags with pride during the GWPS opening ceremony. S3 Corowa furthered the theme of belonging by collectively writing to the Princess of Wales wishing her a speedy recovery and to our delight, we received correspondence back.

Students have also engaged in STEM lessons as part of our science and technology unit this term. During these lessons, students explored the different parts of simple machines. The students will continue to learn and apply their knowledge of simple machines towards their group projects.

In Physical Education, students have had the opportunity to learn the skills required to play various games such as table tennis and hockey. Students have begun to practise skills such as passing the ball using a hockey stick and serving over nets. This term we have also had the opportunity to participate in Lifeskills Blended Learning sessions. These sessions occur once a week and provide a safe place for students to explore concepts such as empathy and resilience. Students participated in different games and learnt to hold different positions and regulate their breathing.