Term Four: A Time to Savour the Moments

As we begin Term Four, it’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of the weeks ahead. With exciting events, celebrations, transitions and the anticipation of summer holidays, this term always seems to fly by! However, Term Four also presents a wonderful opportunity to focus on an important aspect of wellbeing: savouring. Savouring is the practice of slowing down, noticing and appreciating the positive moments in our lives. Research in positive psychology suggests that taking time to savour positive experiences can strengthen our sense of happiness, gratitude and connection with others.

For our students, Term Four is filled with moments worth savouring. It might be the excitement of a school event, the pride of achieving a learning goal, the laughter shared with friends or the realisation of just how much they have grown throughout the year. As adults, we can help children develop this important wellbeing skill by encouraging them to pause and reflect. Simple questions such as “What was your favourite moment today?”, “What are you most proud of this year?” or “What is something you wish you could do all over again?” can help children recognise and appreciate the good things happening around them.

Term Four is also a time of change. For some students, it means preparing for a new year level, saying goodbye to a much loved teacher or, for our Grade 6 students, preparing to leave primary school. Savouring helps children appreciate the present rather than always looking ahead to what comes next. At GIPS, we want our students to finish the year not simply counting down the days, but recognising the friendships, achievements and experiences that have made their year special. So, as we head into this busy final term, I encourage all our families to celebrate the little things and make time to savour the moments. After all, these are the memories our children will carry with them long after the school year ends.

Class Requests for 2027

Considerations for 2027 class placements are now open for exceptional circumstances. In Term 4, students will nominate six learning partners, and we guarantee that at least one partner will be honoured.

Please note:

• Parents may not request specific teachers or specific learning partners for their child

If you have an exceptional circumstance that you would like us to consider when structuring 2027 class groupings, please email the front office at glen.iris.ps@education.vic.gov.au:
Attn: Maddie Witter – Class Request

Whilst every request will be carefully considered, not all can be honoured. This is due to the complex nature of creating balanced classes that meet the academic, social, and wellbeing needs of all students. Please note the deadline below.

Deadline: Friday 23 October

In our classrooms

In our prep classrooms

This week in Prep, we have been learning about recounts. The Preps wrote a recount about their holiday, focusing on retelling events in the correct order. We also practised adding details about what happened and how we felt.

Try it at home: Ask your child to retell a recent family activity. Can they tell you what happened in the correct order and explain how they felt?

In grade one

Grade One Poetry

Recently, the Grade Ones have been having lots of fun exploring the wonderful world of poetry! Over the past few weeks, they have discovered how poets use rhyme, rhythm and interesting language to bring their ideas to life.

Students experimented with different types of poems, including diamanté poems, using nouns, verbs and adjectives to create vivid descriptions of Australian animals. 🦘

We also enjoyed reading the much-loved mentor text One Woolly Wombat. Inspired by its structure and language, the students worked together to create their own class poem, One Wild Wallaby. Through this experience, they became familiar with how authors use a model text to inspire and shape their own writing.

Along the way, students strengthened their understanding of the writing process starting with an idea, developing and refining their writing, and finally publishing their finished work. It has been wonderful to see their creativity, enthusiasm and growing confidence as young poets and authors! 🌟

Try it at home: Ask your learner about our class poem, One Wild Wallaby!

In grade two

This week our Grade 2 writers have been exploring opinions and persuasive writing. We have been learning to clearly state our opinion and give strong reasons to convince our reader. We have loved hearing the different opinions in our classroom and seeing our students elaborate with reasons to support their ideas.

We are also learning about the structure of a persuasive piece - beginning with an introduction that clearly states our opinion, followed by reasons and examples and finishing with a strong conclusion that reminds the reader of our point of view.

What you can do at home : Encourage your child to share their opinions at home and explain why they think that way. Try some topics such as : Which is better - summer or winter?, Which are the best animals to keep as pets?, Should we have homework? You might even have a family debate and see who can be the most convincing!

In grade three

We love Choice Writing in Grade 3! It is a wonderful opportunity to practise our writing skills and share our personality and knowledge.

The students have spent their first writing sessions for Term 4 reflecting on their Choice Writing from Term 3. They have looked at what they are doing well and what they would like to improve on. Using checklists, they have chosen their writing goals for Term 4 and they will refer back to their goal during Choice Writing time each day.

You can support this at home by asking your child:

• What goal have you chosen for Term 4?
• What text types have you explored in Term 3 and what would you like to write in Term 4?
• Who is a great writer that inspires you and who you would like to model your writing on?
• 
  

In grade four

At the end of Term 3, students showcased their learning about First Nations and Torres Strait Islander Peoples by completing a ‘Gallery Walk’ to share their biography lapbooks, timelines, and newspaper articles about a historic event. The quality of the work was incredible, truly reflecting the effort and learning gained over the past term. Students were able to talk about a First Nations person, their challenges, traits, and success in their careers, as well as write a carefully sequenced biography sharing their early life and accomplishments. As we look forward to the final term in Year 4, we are reiterating our expectations of our students and learning self-management behaviours and student agency. We look forward to more exciting topic studies ahead with our unit on Australia, ‘Holiday Here this Year’, for this term.

How you can help at home:

• Ask your child to share what they have learnt about Australian history and First Nations and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, including any people or events they found particularly interesting.
• Ask questions and get your child talking about any trips they have experienced in different Australian States and facts they can bring to the classroom!

In PE

Over the next couple of weeks, we have plenty of exciting sporting opportunities ahead! We have 18 students competing at Divisional Athletics, our Hot Shots final, and Regional Hoop Time competitions for our Grade 5/6 girls and Grade 3/4 boys. We wish all students the very best of luck and look forward to hearing how they go!

Looking ahead to the term, students will develop their skills in net and wall games such as volleyball, while also practicing striking and hand-eye coordination through sports such as cricket. We look forward to another exciting term of learning, participation, and sporting success at GIPS!

Australian Mathematics Competition

During Term 3, over 100 students from Grades 3-6 participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition. The competition is run across hundreds of Australian schools from Grades 3-12 and is designed to challenge and extend students’ problem-solving skills. It was fantastic to see so many GIPS students embrace this opportunity while doing their very best at finding creative ways to find solutions to problems. Students received certificates at the end of last term to recognise their achievement within the competition. We look forward to even more students participating in the competition next year!

In Spanish Class

As we begin Term 4, students in Years 3 and 4 are continuing to demonstrate their understanding of the stories they have been reading in Spanish class by creating comic strips. Through this creative activity, students identify and illustrate each story's main ideas, showcasing their reading comprehension while reinforcing their Spanish vocabulary.

In Art Class

Welcome back for a busy term 4 in the Art room. Preps, Year 2, 3 and 4 are going to be busy working in textiles. Learning sewing and threading techniques, tying knots and really developing their fine motor skills and hopefully a love of sewing! Year 1 are going to be painting and collaging, whilst Year 5/6 will also be painting with the Year 6 students working on their legacy piece for the school. If you are interested in helping out in your child’s art class, please send me an email.

In our staffroom

Wellbeing: Berry Street Education Model – Understanding and Responding to Adverse Behaviours

Our teachers have been continuing their Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) training, with a focus on understanding and responding to challenging behaviour. The training is built on one simple idea: behaviour is communication. When a student is struggling, there is often an unmet need underneath. That might be physical (tiredness, hunger, sensory overload), emotional (feeling unsafe, disconnected or unsure how to name big feelings), cognitive (work that feels too hard or too easy), or a need for belonging, culture and connection.

Teachers have learnt to look for patterns by asking what the behaviour is, where and when it happens and who is involved. This helps them work out what a child is trying to get or avoid, so they can respond to the cause rather than just the behaviour.

What this looks like in our classrooms

• Movement breaks, fidget tools, calm spaces, water and snacks when needed
• Predictable routines and clear expectations, so students feel safe
• Two simple choices, giving students a sense of control and avoiding power struggles
• Explicit teaching of social and emotional skills, including naming and understanding feelings
• Connection before correction, with calm, kind and consistent adult responses
• Celebrating culture, strengths, gratitude and belonging

We are fortunate to take part in high-quality BESM professional learning that deepens our understanding of why students behave the way they do. This course has built our confidence in using practical, proactive strategies throughout the school day, which help GIPS students feel safe, calm and ready to learn.

Megan Lillingston, Acting Leading Teacher

In our community

Recent upgrades

Thanks to the generous donations to our buildings and grounds fund, we have been able to repaint our two portables and bring our coloured squares back to life. Later this term will see improvements to our main building with fresh paint. We are also improving the bench seating on our oval. Thank you to all families for your generous donations.

Fun Fair Countdown

Congratulations to 2TL who brought in the most donations this week!

Fun Fair Advertising Board

If you would be happy to have this beautiful advertising board outside your home to help us increase community attendance at our Fun Fair, please email the front office by end of day on Monday.

Calling for Book Loving Helpers!

Hundreds of wonderful books continue to arrive to our school library. If you are available to help with book covering, general library tidying, or helping us decide which books to retire, please consider joining our Parent Book Volunteer Group.

If you’re interested, please see Alicia King or contact the school via email at glen.iris.ps@education.vic.gov.au attn: Alicia King.

Halloween Disco 30 October

We would like to inform you of the upcoming annual Halloween Disco on the 30th of October. Students will have the opportunity to wear and show their Halloween costumes. The costumes need to be school appropriate. We are encouraging students to have fun and dress up in their costumes to get in the Halloween spirit. Please do not wear costumes that cover up your eyes or face because then it will be hard to learn and play. Please do not wear costumes with fake weapons.

Not sure what is school appropriate? Our best advice is not to be too scary as that might upset our preppies. If you prefer not to wear a costume, you can come in your school uniform, dress up as yourself, or wear a fun accessory in your hair. We will be presenting examples of what you can wear or not wear at assembly on Friday. Have questions? Please reach out to your classroom teacher.

Session times:

Prep – 10:00 am-10:30 am

Grades 5 and 6 – 11:10 am- 11:40 am

Grades 1 and 2 – 11:40 am-12:10 pm

Grades 3 and 4 – 12:10 pm - 12:40 pm

The Halloween disco will be a fun event that students can attend during school time.

From our Third Party Providers

Register now for soccer!

Soccer registrations through SportsX