On Wednesday 23 August we celebrated Book Week with a dress up day at the school. The students dressed up in some fantastic costumes and enjoyed the activites in the afternoon. 

Faction Carnival

Congratulations to all students who competed on the day. The sporting spirit displayed throughout the carnival was a highlight. There were some amazing races with tight finishes (that came down to a half a foot in front) to decide the winners. All students gave it their all in their races and team games, which was pleasing to see.

I just wanted to say thank you to all students for their efforts leading into the carnival throughout their physical education lessons.

Congratulations to Red, who narrowly defeated Gold, to be crowned the winners of the carnival.

Special Thanks for Faction Carnival

A special thanks to Matt Evans from Woolworths Joondalup, who kindly donated fruit for the kids to snack on throughout the day.

Camp Australia also donated their time to judge the team games. Thank you to these volunteers, who helped the day run smoothly.

Interschool Basketball (Slam Series Cup)

On Thursday 7 September, our school participated in the Basketball Slam Series Cup at HBF Arena. The day was a great experience with all students and staff enjoying themselves. The results did not go our way throughout the day, but we held our heads high and fought until the end. The experience for some of our year 5’s should bode well for next year!

Thank you to Mr Easther, who coached throughout the term and on the day.

Tabloid Day

Friday 15 September will see a sports tabloid day held for the upper primary school students (years 4-6). The students will compete with their factions in numerous sports and activities. Good luck to all!

Mr Morrey

Physical Education Teacher

Ensemble Performances in Upper and Middle Primary 

In our music program, students have fully embraced ensemble performances. During these sessions, they transformed spoken rhymes into multi-layered musical compositions. At the base is a "Bordun," serving as the anchoring bass line. On top of this, they incorporate "Ostinati," which are short, repeating musical phrases that provide rhythmic and melodic continuity. Finally, they layer a melody over the ostinati and bordun, culminating in a rich, full musical arrangement. 

As students progress through the grades, they perform increasingly complex musical tasks. By Year 6, they are capable of performing up to four concurrent musical parts, showcasing an advanced understanding of musical composition and coordination. 

To make these ensemble pieces even more harmonious, we've physically removed bars from the instruments, thus configuring them to pentatonic scales. Pentatonic scales are made up of five notes that naturally sound good together, which allows for a more forgiving and harmonious playing environment. Upper Year levels have been further challenged with La minor pentatonic tone sets to explore the minor sound. 

Of special note is our focus on improvisational techniques. Students have been divided into instrumental groups—metallophones, marimbas, and glockenspiels. Where each group takes turns performing two-bar solos, after which the class reunites to the central melody. This process supports improvisational skills whilst reinforcing the musical concept of form. 

Junior Primary Activities 

For our younger students in Junior Primary, the focus has been on fundamental musical elements such as pitch direction, maintaining a steady beat, and cooperative movement activities. These foundational skills have been reinforced using a new, unique resource: a stretchy elastic band handcrafted by Ruth Galt from Education Support called a cooperative band. The cooperative band serves as a helpful resource in supporting students coordinate movements and internalise musical concepts whilst working together as a group. 

Thank you for your continued support of our music program. 

Last week, the Year 5 students had the opportunity to participate in a sleep over at the school, in preparation for their leadership campaigns. The students spent Thursday night at school, sleeping in the classrooms (or did they sleep?). This allowed students to identify who amongst them attributed the best possible leadership qualities. The Year 5s also participated in several leadership games focused on communication, teamwork and problem solving. An emphasis was placed on leadership qualities to ensure the most informed decisions will be made in the upcoming leadership campaign in Term 4. The students all had a fantastic time and showed great leadership skills, the lack of sleep was definitely worth it. 

Here are some things the students had to say about the event: 

Students have been busy demonstrating confidence, curiosity, imagination and enjoyment when engaged in their visual arts projects. I love these Koalas! The Year ones drew these cute pastel Koala portraits using oil pastels, exploring different techniques to create texture. The year six’s have Clay Gnome waiting to dry. How magical do they look?

Ms Thornton 

Art Teacher

If you know that your child is moving schools at the end of this year, please complete the form below or email the office at joondalup.ps@education.wa.edu.au