For all upcoming events please see the Penguin District School Calendar

Today our staff participated in a series of focused Professional Learning opportunities that allowed us to reflect on practices and processes that support student wellbeing and academic achievement across our school community.

As part of our School Improvement planning annual review, we:

• Reviewing our Parent Satisfaction and Student Wellbeing data to better understand the experiences and needs of our learners and families.
• Analysed our PAT (Progressive Achievement Tests) data to identify trends and inform targeted teaching opportunities.
• Conducted our own Staff Wellbeing Survey to ensure we are supporting our team as best we can.

The insights gained from our annual review process will help us shape a more responsive and inclusive learning environment for all our learners.

After reviewing our student wellbeing data (Yr 4-10) we are excited to share a snapshot of our Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey data.

Next Steps:

• Targeted Support: We will identify students and cohorts who may benefit from additional academic or wellbeing support.
• Staff Wellbeing Initiatives: Feedback from the staff survey will inform upcoming wellbeing initiatives and adjustments to support structures.
• Ongoing Monitoring: We continue to track progress and revisit data regularly.

 Thank you to all staff for your high level of engagement and commitment to continuous improvement. Together, we’re building a stronger Penguin District School community.

Have a fantastic long weekend!!

Yours in partnership

Adrian Beard

Primary Assistant Principal (Monday – Thursday) and Principal (Friday)

We had our first meeting for Term 4 on Monday. As always there was lots to discuss, including uniform items, breakfast club funding, the upcoming Palooza, and school capacity. 

We have created a new form to make it easier for staff and students to apply for Association funding/small grants. You can find the form here 

We are excited that fundraising from the Palooza and this year's Christmas raffle will go towards a bus shelter - provided we can find a design that is suitable and approved by Facilities. It isn't as straightforward as it looks!

We have some amazing prizes lined up for the Christmas raffle. A huge thanks to Nicole Davern who has been an incredible help finding donors. If your business would like to offer a prize, please let the office know. We will be selling tickets at the Palooza, and for the rest of November. 

Lots of classes are still looking for parent helpers for the Palooza class stalls. Please offer an hour if you can - you need a WWVP card and a Safeguarding video certificate. If you don't have these things, why not start getting them organised so that you can be involved in 2026. 

Our next meeting will be in week 7: Monday 24th November at 5:15pm. Everyone is welcome. 

We can't wait for the Palooza in the meantime!

Sheila (Association Chair)

Students from our school have recently undertaken, an education tour of the national capital. Students participated in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government contributed funding to our school in the amount of $900 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

This contribution allows the school to offer the 5 night, 6 day excursion at a cost that is more affordable for more students in our Penguin District School community.

Canberra 2026

Planning has commenced for the 2026 Canberra Excursion. An information letter and expression of interest slip will be distributed to current Year 5 students in the coming weeks.

In 3/4A writers' workshop, we were asked to imagine a magical door appears in the classroom. What could we smell, hear, see, feel, and taste? This prompt started our creative journey and took each student somewhere new and imaginative. Here is an image of our magical doors after we finished our stories. 

This term in HaSS, 3/4C have been learning about biomes and why their environments are important. Students explored the climate, vegetation, natural features, animals, and threats found in different biomes. Each student chose a biome to research—such as savannahs, deserts, or mangroves—and created an artwork to showcase what they discovered. It’s been a creative and insightful journey into the diversity of our planet!

In 3/4D we have been learning all about forces. Students have carried out a range of experiments that have allowed them to observe and investigate the effects of push, pull, gravity and friction. The students have enjoyed working collaboratively and have done a great job at discussing their findings. Their highlight from the unit was making their own catapults

Hagley Farm School Excursion

Last Wednesday students in Year 3/4E went on an excursion to Hagley Farm School to participate in some history activities. It was a great day of learning and fun. Here are some of the things they did:

• Churning cream into butter, and tasting it, on a biscuit.
• Examining historical school artefacts ( over 100 years old) such as mortar boards, inkwells, slates, marbles, cursive handwriting posters, a cane. The students had to guess what each object was and what they had been used for.
• Dressing up in old fashioned clothes and visiting the old school classroom where they were taught by Mr Grumpy. Here they had a go at chanting the alphabet, answering simple number sentences and cursive handwriting/printing with an inkwell and dip pen. They also learned about the consequences for speaking out of turn, writing with your left hand or making a mistake.
• The Historical Household Items Museum- The students learned how clothes were washed, wrung out and ironed 100 years ago. They then had a go at washing clothes in a copper, scrubbing them on an old washboard, rinsing them, and putting them through a mangle. They then hung them on a line and ironed them with a very heavy (cold) flat iron. Students also had fun playing in an old shop and examining  many other historical objects such as a wheat grinding mill, pianos, candle making tubes, a singer sewing machine and many other kitchen items.
• The Farming Museum- Students enjoyed examining, holding or working historical farm tools and machines and patting some tiny, newly hatched chicks.

Overall, it was a fantastic day!

Year 5/6 have started working on constructing faces out of card this week and they are looking fantastic.

Mrs King 

Families may be interested in exploring Waitmate.org.au — a not-for-profit Australian website created by parents to support delaying smartphone use until high school.

Waitmate encourages collective action among parents to reduce the pressure children feel around owning smartphones during their primary school years. The initiative is inspired by similar movements overseas, such as Wait Until 8th in the United States and Smartphone Free Childhood in the UK.

The website offers:

• Research on the impact of early smartphone use
• Resources for families considering alternatives to smartphones
• A voluntary pledge for parents who wish to delay smartphone access
• Opportunities to connect with other like-minded families

Waitmate’s goal is to help children enjoy a longer, play-based childhood and reduce risks associated with screen time, such as distraction, anxiety, and social comparison.

To learn more or explore the resources, visit www.waitmate.org.au.

November Calendar