Dear JPS Community,

Week 5 has been one of our quieter weeks on the calendar. However, with staff off unwell and on leave, it has still felt just as busy across the school. 

HPGE Science Program

Congratulations to the students who completed the program. They demonstrated tremendous effort and commitment, spending many hours both in and out of school creating their digital magazine. Mrs Lando and I worked closely with students to support them in preparing their final presentation. A sincere thank you to Mrs Peterson and Mrs Behl-Shanks for supporting students during their Killalea sessions.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics continues to be a highly valuable program for our students. We changed providers this year, and I am so pleased to say we have found the perfect fit. Tuesdays are buzzing with energy, and staff feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, much to the delight of our instructors, Ryan and Josiah.

Walabi

I also had the pleasure of teaching Walabi today while Mrs McCormack attended the SIMF teacher information session. We participated in sport through fundamental movement skill groups, some energetic paper, scissors, rock exercise battles, and a Grow Your Mind lesson. Thank you, Walabi, for being such a wonderful group of learners.

Years 3-6 School Sport

Elective school sport is now well and truly underway, with students participating in golf, handball, and Oztag. After many conversations with local schools, this remains a unique and valuable opportunity for our JPS students.

Postponed Clean Up Australia Day

Unfortunately, we didn't participate in Clean Up Australia Day today due to the wet weather. We will postpone to Monday, although I did hear on the radio that the wet weather was continuing into the weekend. 

Next week we are excited to launch a new lunchtime initiative for our Stage 3 boys called Big Boy Builders (BBB) – Junior Tradies. The name was chosen by the Stage 3 boys themselves, as it is important that students have ownership and pride in the program. This lunchtime club will focus on developing practical life skills, with an emphasis on areas such as the trades, agriculture and hands-on problem solving. We are very grateful to Ash.W, who has generously offered to help support the program and has already signed up for multiple sessions. Based on the success of this initiative, there may be opportunities in the future to expand the program.

We are now seeking parents or community members who have a trade, run a business, or have skills in a trade-based area (including agriculture) and would be interested in coming to school on Thursdays between 11:10am and 11:50am to run a short activity. If you are able to volunteer for even one session, please click the link below and we will be in touch. Where possible, materials can be organised ahead of time.

Please click here to sign up to be a mentor for the BBB Club

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to connect students with real-world skills and role models. Thank you again to Ash.W for the fantastic idea and ongoing support.

We also saw great success with the Sisters Speak club for Stage 3 girls in previous years and are actively exploring ways to provide similar opportunities for our girls. With the expected return of Mrs Turner next term, this may be able to recommence, subject to staffing availability.

SIMF Choir - Years 3-6

Thank you to the 22 students who have already expressed interest in the program. The program will commence on Monday morning at 8:15am with Mrs McCormack. If you have not yet completed an Expression of Interest but would like your child to participate, please contact the school office.

NAPLAN 

NAPLAN for Year 3 and 5 is happening on the 11th and 12th of March. Students should bring in a pair of headphones that are non-bluetooth. Please contact Mr Ross if you have any questions about NAPLAN. 

Wishing everyone a happy weekend, and we look forward to seeing you all on Monday.

Kind regards,

Katie Louttit

Rel. Principal

Our Eco Detectives continued their immersive learning experience at Killalea, engaging in rich, hands-on environmental science alongside expert educators from the Illawarra Environmental Education Centre.

Day 2 focused on investigating the key threats impacting the Minnamurra ecosystem. Students began the day by walking to the Minnamurra River, where learning came to life through a series of targeted fieldwork rotations.

Students conducted weed species identification and abundance surveys, strengthening their understanding of invasive species and biodiversity loss. A highlight for many was the canoe-based pollution survey, where students paddled the waterway to collect data on visible waste and water quality indicators, building awareness of human impacts on aquatic environments.

Well done to everyone involved! 

Mrs Peterson 

Ten enthusiastic young scientists headed to the Killalea Environmental Education Centre on what proved to be a less-than-ideal day for outdoor learning — but that certainly didn’t dampen their spirits.

The day began with a review of the previous day’s learning. Students consolidated their understanding of important fieldwork skills, including testing water salinity levels and using nets to safely collect and identify aquatic creatures. They also explored the fascinating world of animal forensics, identifying native wildlife through observation of tracks, nests and scats left behind overnight. We were fortunate to be joined by two National Parks guides who brought along taxidermied models of Australian native animals. Students were excited to see and learn more about species such as the spotted quoll and the sugar glider, gaining insight into their habitats, behaviours, and conservation needs.

Raincoats on (for some), it was then time to head outdoors. Despite the drizzle, the Jamberoo students enthusiastically mucked in to remove invasive lantana weeds and plant native trees. Their teamwork and determination ensured they left a positive environmental legacy in the area.

The day concluded with a creative and reflective session. Students produced beautiful watercolour environmental artworks.

They then prepared and practised their conservation campaign presentations which they had been working on for several weeks. They confidently shared their recommendations with the visiting school and National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) rangers, demonstrating both passion and purpose in their advocacy. A memorable day of science, sustainability, and service — rain and all. Congratulations to our attendees.

Mrs Behl-Shanks

Calling all thinkers, speakers and quick-on-your-feet responders!

Debating training will commence on Thursday mornings at 8:20am in the library, starting Thursday 19 February.

We warmly invite all interested students in Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 to join us — whether you’re an experienced debater ready to sharpen your skills, or simply curious and keen to learn what debating is all about. If you enjoy sharing ideas, thinking creatively and working as part of a team, then debating may be for you!

Please bring:

• A notepad
• A pen
• Your quick thinking
• Your teamwork skills

Let the debating begin!

It has been a wonderful and busy week in Kindergarten.

We have loved meeting with our Year Six buddies. They have been so supportive and kind, helping kindergarten feel confident and settled in their new routines. It has been lovely to see the friendships already forming. We also attended our very first whole-school assembly and were incredibly proud to receive Class of the Week! The students are very excited to sit on the seats next week. 

In literacy, we have been learning how to blend two sounds together when reading. We are practising the sounds s, m, a, t, p, i, n, g, c, r and o. Parents, please continue to support your child by practising these sounds at home. Regular revision really helps build confidence and fluency. Each student has also brought home a new reader this week.

In sport, students have been learning sprinting skills, focusing on quick starts and strong running technique. This will be great preparation for the cross country in a few weeks. We have also had great fun during our gymnastics sessions, developing coordination, balance and strength.

In music, students are learning the French folk song ‘Frère Jacques’. They are practising echo singing and safe singing techniques while exploring how songs connect people and express culture.

I am so proud of the positive start our Kindergarten students have made and the enthusiasm they are showing towards their learning.

Mrs Galea

This week in Year 1 Bimbala, our learning has been buzzing with excitement and discovery! In English, we have been exploring the model text Under the Southern Cross. Students are practicing using interesting adjectives to create vivid noun phrases in their writing. We’ve also been focusing on spelling rules for double letters, and it’s been wonderful to see those “Ah-huh!” moments when students grasp and apply these new skills.

In Mathematics, the focus is on counting large numbers in groups as we introduce emerging concepts of multiplication. The learning comes alive with hands-on materials and plenty of movement – a highlight was using a giant 100s chart on the playground, where students combined physical activity with maths in a fun and memorable way.

Our Geography lessons are taking us around the world as we learn about different types of weather. Students are comparing weather conditions in various parts of Australia with our local climate here in Jamberoo, building their understanding of how diverse our world can be.

It’s been a fantastic week of learning and fun in Bimbala!

Mr Reed

Walabi students are continuing to grow into their new Year 2 routines and I am proud of them. Students now have their partner spelling routine mostly down pat. We are hoping to get our parent helpers into the room during literacy activities very shortly.

As part of our place value learning in maths, students have worked on how to efficiently count collections (e.g. count by 2s, 5s or 10s and make groupings we they can go back and recount when needed). They also learnt how to represent the counting of their collections in their maths book. See the photos below to see how some students sorted their selections.

We had an exciting lesson in history on artefacts last week. After watching a video about the creation of a skate park in WA, and seeing photos from that time, I showed them some photos from the early days of Jamberoo Action Park, in the 1980s. Students wrote about what the photos showed them, that people used to do grass skiing there and that most of the rides weren't there yet. They were quite excited to discover this!

Mrs McCormack