At the end of last term our adolescent students held their annual Cultural Studies Expo which is a culmination of Term 3 work and learning, where students showcase their learning across Humanities, Science, Occupations and the Arts.

It was a wonderful event that enabled the school community to witness the depth of learning, engagement and creativity from our students.

Our Adolescent Program offers a specialised Middle School experience that prioritises academic rigor and personal growth. The program recognises that adolescence marks a significant developmental leap and the middle school years serve as a pivotal time for developing academic habits, social understanding and emotional care.

Through a rigorous curriculum and supportive environment, we embrace the latest educational practises, including integrated learning, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, financial literacy, interpersonal skills and essential life skills.  Adolescent students are mentored and supported by their adult advisor as they progress through the 3-year program.

Recently Pippa Milroy (Adolescent Program coordinator) and I met with Anita Zocchi (Principal of University Senior College). Over the past 14 years of operating the Adolescent Program approximately 50% of our graduates have enrolled in senior secondary colleges to complete their studies in Years 10, 11 and 12.  Of those, 39% of graduates have attended University Senior College (USC) based at Adelaide University.

Anita Zocchi toured Wairoa and spoke with Pippa and me about our unique program highlighting the benefits she has observed in our graduates who enrol at USC.  It is very encouraging to receive this feedback from a Principal who is witnessing first hand our emerging graduates who display a profound sense of self and confidence, are thoroughly prepared and engaged for their senior school years and beyond.

Anita has written a testimonial regarding our Wairoa graduates, she says…….

Students from The Hills Montessori School who transition to University Senior College are well prepared for USC’s adult learning environment. They are independent learners and are ready to take responsibility for their learning in a senior school designed to prepare students for university. They are adept at fostering positive relationships with other students and staff, and model our value of mutual respect. Students from The Hills Montessori School are creative, critical and divergent thinkers who collaborate to solve problems and successfully transition into USC.

Anita Zocchi

Principal, University Senior College

 

We are continuing to develop a strong and reciprocal relationship with USC, their Principal Anita and their staff, being the main senior secondary school that our graduates attend.

I encourage our primary school parents to book a spot and come along to our next Wairoa Open Day on Monday 28th October at 9.30am to find out more about the Adolescent Program in preparation and prior to their children attending Wairoa in Years 7-9.

Cathy France

Principal

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Sammi Rolt, Dave Gleeson and Ryan Lewis for volunteering their time to assist Erin Lewis (Infant Program Coordinator) transform the outdoor space of our Infant Program during the school holiday break. Their efforts aimed to surprise families upon their return, showcasing a strong dedication to creating a beautiful space for the community.

This generous contribution of time and effort from our volunteers aligns perfectly with this year’s school theme of generosity. By modelling such a spirit of giving, they have not only enhanced a physical space but also provided our students with a powerful example of what it means to contribute to the community. The school is deeply grateful for their support and for demonstrating the values we strive to instil in our students.

We were so excited to welcome back our Infant Program families to our new outdoor area which underwent a big transformation during the school holidays. All the children loved the new space and got straight into using the new activities and areas. Together we planted our new garden beds and got right into watering the plants and creating on our  big communal table. Some comments from the children - "It's beautiful", "It looks perfect", "Wow, it's amazing"

This term we welcome three new students and their families to Preschool. We have had a lovely week settling into the routines of our Preschool day and have started to learn about this term's cultural topic of invertebrates.

To follow on with last term's interest in birds, we participated in the Aussie Bird Count, which is coordinated by BirdLife Australia. It is a citizen science event where people across Australia sit still for twenty minutes and observe, count and record on an app, what birds they see in a location of their choice. It is run from the 14th to the 20th of October. We carried out the count twice, once on Tuesday afternoon in the Preschool and then Thursday afternoon in the bush. It was a fantastic way to spark the children's curiosity, identify different types of birds and learn some of the calls that they make. The children spotted little ravens, wattlebirds, blackbirds, galahs, magpies, rosellas, rainbow lorikeets and even kookaburras.

We kicked off Term 4 with enthusiasm, warmly welcoming Jasmine and Tui to our Cycle 1 community. Children demonstrated kindness and inclusivity, helping them settle in. Our first focus area for the term, Privacy and the Body, started with activities promoting positive body awareness and respect for others.

Through the "Stand Up Sit Down" game and a handprint poster activity, students celebrated their unique bodies, recognising both individuality and shared humanity. This essential topic helps children develop a positive sense of identity, respect for others' body image, and essential skills for safe and healthy relationships.

What a busy first week back at school. We embarked on our new cultural studies topic of Zoology and classification of the animal kingdom. We will be exploring the five classes of vertebrates and building our knowledge of the native vertebrates that live in our local bush land. 

We prepared our nature journals and had our first journalling session observing invertebrates in our bush area. Information about invertebrates was recorded through observations, illustrations and notation. Journalling is a great practise enhancing mindfulness and stillness. 

We also got back into the swing of our regular morning work cycle, writing letters with text features and working on maths processes as well as the memorisation of multiplication number facts. Many students chose to make a board game using multiplication facts. We look forward to continuing our studies of vertebrates and researching how we can protect the many native animal species in our surrounding area. 

"There are mainly four kingdoms; plants, fungi, animal and bacteria." - Dolina 

"Our journals are where we draw and write about things we see." - Soraya

"Vertebrate comes from the word joints." - Emilio 

"The 'in' part of invertebrates comes from a French word which means without" - Albie 

"There are two main groups in the Animal Kingdom, vertebrates like mammals and birds and invertebrates." - Indie

"We made our own games with maths about multiples of two." - Alinta 

This year in Sam and Christine's class we have been focusing a lot on visual art.

We have experimented with colour, textures, depth, line and optical illusions as well as examining some different artists such as Keith Haring and Pete Cromer. 

In our lessons we have also practiced the virtue of resilience when encountering tricky techniques or when mistakes are made. We have had a large focus on trying our best and giving art a try even when we find it hard. The results have been excellent and the students have produced some wonderful pieces. Our most recent art piece focused on lines and patterns.

"I started by using a ruler to make my block letter A, and then broke up the background into different patterns. Then I put my name in the middle and used black for the background and bright red for the A." -A'isha 

"My favourite art piece this year was the squeegee art. It was fun using so much paint and they look really cool." - Olivia

"There has been a lot of art this year, but my favourite is the one we just did. I liked how we only used three colours and it made the letter pop. I put water down first and then used red, yellow and orange watercolour paint." - Maggie

"The optical illusion art was cool, fun and it was a lot easier to do than it looked. You used a ruler to put the page into four quarters, then you made like ice cream cones in each corner and then you used squiggly lines and sectioned it out with sharpies and chalk." - Elise 

Our Cultural Studies Expo was the exciting culmination of Term 3, where students proudly showcased their learning across Humanities, Science, Occupations (our hands-on program that goes beyond traditional STEM), and the Arts! 

Students presented their work to the school community, with a special highlight being the RICH project presentations. RICH—standing for Research, Interaction/Interview, Communication, Home—gave students the freedom to explore topics they’re passionate about. 

In a TED-talk-style format, students shared their term-long research projects, demonstrating independence, forward-planning, and engagement with experts. 

Some standout topics included: Dopamine and cortisol in the brain, Using physics to improve swimming technique, Baking the French way, Training a dog, Developing a board game, Understanding combustion engines, and Making a dress from scratch.

We also congratulate all the Cycle 4 participants in the AMT’s Australian Maths Competition and to the Year 9 students participating in the Illuminate Enterprise Challenge and their many stand out successes.

Term 4 is coloured by transitions and celebrations with opportunities to connect, reflect, plan, create and collaborate as we look to welcoming transitioning Year 6 students to Wairoa for the 2025 school year, and preparing for our culminating event: the end of year Exhibition of Work and Learning and Year 9 Graduation. 

BUT! Not before our rich academic learning in Maths, English and Indonesian; and Physics, Globalisation, and WW1 in Cultural Studies. AND! Our outdoor building and landscaping projects, bee-keeping, riverland camp, plus many delicious shared meals.

Cycles 1, 2 and 3 have been outdoors in the fresh air working on their skipping skills. We’ve started with long rope run throughs and basic individual skipping steps. Skipping is a fantastic way to improve fitness and assists with developing coordination.

During PE we are learning about rounders games such as tee ball, baseball and softball. Students are participating in modified versions of the game to increase their participation. Rounders games involve throwing, catching, batting and running.

Wairoa students have been refining their skills for lacrosse and cricket. Students are developing their individual techniques and playing modified games to increase participation and success. 

Grace and Courtesy

Wednesday 30th October 9.15am @ Yultiwirra in the staff room

Personal development in Montessori early childhood settings revolves around the lessons of grace and courtesy, the Montessori lessons designed to ensure the needs of everyone in the setting are respected and to promote social harmony. These lessons are given to individual children, small groups or to the whole group. The lessons can be given:

• at point of need
• to prepare children for social situations they will experience in the future
• in response to children demonstrating they need more knowledge about how to manage a social situation, but at a later time so not to embarrass the children or make them feel self-conscious

Come along and learn about this important area of our Montessori curriculum.  

An essential online workshop for all caregivers and educators!

An enlightening session to empower parents and educators with crucial insights into safeguarding children online. As an ex-child abuse detective and specialist child interviewer with over a decade of experience, Kristi brings a unique perspective to the table.

Meet Kristi

Kristi spent ten years in the police force as a Specialist Child Interviewer and a Detective Senior Constable. When she retired from the force, Kristi believed there was a better way to help children and families. By taking a proactive approach, rather than a reactive approach of 'locking up' the bad guy after it was done, she could help prevent child abuse and break the cycle of trauma that victims are so often subjected to. 

In addition to her experience in the force, Kristi has appeared on TV as a Child Safety Expert and was an Online Safety Specialist. During this role, she presented to schools’ students from years 3-12 about staying safe online and has also presented to many parents and teachers during this time. More than just a presenter, Kristi is a facilitator - driving the message and bringing experts together. 

We encourage parents to attend the upcoming online workshop Guiding Kids to be Safe Online presented by Kristi McVee. The workshop will be held on Wednesday 30 October at 7.30pm – 9.00pm ACST (Adelaide time), and is being presented by Montessori Schools and Centres Australia (MSCA). Purchase your tickets here.