Term 3, Week 10

Principal Message

As Term 3 comes to a close, we’re delighted to share some wonderful news and reflections from across our school community.

Our recent 4-yearly school review was highly positive, with reviewers describing the school’s achievements over the past four years as “remarkable.” They noted the strong and supportive perspectives from all stakeholders—students, staff, families, and the wider community. This feedback places us in an excellent position for our next four years of strategic planning and growth. While we’ll share more details soon, our future direction will include a focus on deep curriculum knowledge, collaborative planning, and teaching reading through the Australian Curriculum.

Term 3 has been full of highlights. Congratulations to all our primary students who participated in bush poetry, your performances were inspiring and full of heart. Storyfest was another fantastic event, and we were pleased to take our students to experience the joy of storytelling and literature. Our Prep and Kindy Open Days were important milestones as we begin planning for 2026, and we thank all the families who attended and supported these events.  Our year 5/6 students were also able to attend camp at Magnetic Island, along with Mr Clarke and Miss Calcino.  Everyone had a great time, and feedback from the camp staff were that our students were the most well mannered group that had been through in a long time.

We’re also proud to share that Campbell Evans has been shortlisted for a TeachX Award for Excellence in Beginning to Teach, with winners to be announced early in Term 4. This is a wonderful recognition of the dedication and excellence within our teaching team.

During the upcoming Outback Festival, the school will celebrate its 140th birthday. We’ll mark the occasion with a birthday cake, a display of time capsule items, and school tours. We’re also excited to have a dunny entered in the derby, so bring your loudest cheers! Our Year 7/8 class has been busy creating ‘swaggies’ for display, and we will have a tent city set up on the oval to add to the festivities.

Key dates for Term 4 have been published on our Facebook page and are enclosed in this newsletter. Please take a moment to review them and mark your calendars.  We hit the ground running for a busy and short term 4.  We also welcome Campbell Evans back and thank Amanda Sciascia for her leadership during his leave.

On a personal note, our family has made the difficult decision to move on from Winton at the end of 2025. These past two years have been truly incredible, both personally and professionally. We are deeply grateful for the support of the Winton community and will always be proud of this wonderful school. We have made memories that will last a lifetime, and we will definitely be back to visit this wonderful town as tourists. Recruitment for a new principal will begin early in Term 4 to ensure a smooth transition for the 2026 school year.

Thank you once again to our families for your ongoing support. We wish everyone a safe and restful break, and look forward to an exciting Term 4 ahead.

Take care,

Meggin

1/2 Learning Update

This term has a been a very busy one! Yesterday I asked the kids what their favourite part of this term was. The responses were unanimous. There were lots of skateboarding, making their boats in science, and bush poetry.

Skateboarding was so much fun down at the Skate Park with Chiggy’s skateboarding. We had lots of brave students go down some very big ramps and our very own little Tony Hawks in action.

In science we were looking at different materials and their properties. We started by creating a toy that would roll. We had to think about the size, shape, and materials. We had some successful and some not so successful toys. For our assessment we had to make a boat that would float made from recycled materials. We had some very creative thinkers! We tested them and then made some modifications. We then added some marbles to see if they could still float.  We had lots of very successful boats and excited kids!

I am so incredibly proud of everyone and their bush poetry performance. It was very daunting and took a lot of bravery, but everyone got up on the stage and gave it their best go. We also had three students receive a place for their individual poems. Congratulations to Arlo, Mia and Everley!

Arts: P-1-2 focus this semester is on dance with an animal theme. They have learnt locomotor and non-locomotor movements and will combine these and other dance elements to create their own animal dance sequence.

3/4 Learning Update

This term in 3/4 we worked our backsides off! Students completed two math units, one on fractions and one on measurement, and also completed assessment for both. 

In English we presented our persuasive speeches, convincing our classmates to travel to Winton, an Australian State/Territory, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, or New Zealand. 

In Science we grew bean plants in different soils and recorded how well or poorly they grew. We planted them out in the garden today so hopefully we get to eat some beans next term! We also looked at different rocks and their observable properties, and discovered some rocks are used to make everyday items like aluminium foil!

Health and Technology will carry over into Term 4. We have almost completed the prototype for our lunch bag so we will be able to get feedback on it and tweak our design next term.

I am so proud of all of the students who performed at Bush Poetry in the last week of school. It took a great deal of courage to get up on stage in front of such a large audience, but all of the 3/4 class rose to the challenge! Students will receive their Highly Commended certificates next term.

Arts: 3-4 focus this semester is on Celebration through Dance. We have learnt about dance in different cultures, improvised and choreographed short dance sequences using locomotor and non-locomotor movements, and learnt to dance in partners and as a group. Next term, they will combine the elements of dance to choreograph and perform their own dance sequences to represent a birthday celebration.

5/6 Learning Update

Grade 5/6 has had a fantastic end to the term! Camp at Magnetic Island was a highlight, with students taking on activities that pushed them outside their comfort zones, including abseiling, sea kayaking and snorkelling. They were respectful to camp and school staff and represented Winton State School and their families with pride. It has been a wonderful term of learning and adventure. We are looking forward to Term 4 — the final term of primary school for some students, and the last at Winton State School for others

Arts: This semester, the 5-6s are learning the art of story-telling through documentary making. Students have learnt about the four basic documentary techniques of using narration, interview, archival material, and observational footage and had some practice scripting and filming themselves doing some piece-to-camera. Students will use their iPads to create their own short films about their primary school experiences in celebration of the Year 6 graduations

HASS: 5-6 focus was on geography, exploring diversities and interconnections between Japan and Australia. Due to other school activity disruptions this term, students will complete their HASS assessment in the first two weeks of Term 4, and end the semester looking at making informed consumer choices.

7/8 Learning Update

DIG, English and HASS: In DIG, students have explored the process of using algorithms to solve everyday problems that teenagers face. In English, the class has investigated how gender roles and societal expectations have been defied in the Disney film Mulan and how through this process, Mulan becomes a hero. In HASS, we have taken a deep dive into the Middle Ages, exploring the continuity and changes experienced, as well as exploring the weird, whacky and outrageous practices of the time period.

Science:  By the end of Term 3, the Year 7/8 class completed all work on the Earth and Space Science Unit of the Science Curriculum (Curriculum v8.4). The Year 7/8 Science class submitted a poster and multimodal presentation related to an assessment task aimed at examination of their knowledge of the Earth, Sun and Moon interactions. Additionally, at the end of Term 3, the students completed an exam which aimed to assess their knowledge and skills in relation to Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources of the Earth. The Yr7/8 Science class will be working on the Chemistry unit part of the Science Curriculum during Term 4.

Math: The Year 7/8 class continued work on the Algebra Unit of work (Curriculum v9.0) in Term 3. Considerable progress was made on the Algebra unit which encompasses a significant portion of the Maths curriculum. By the end of Term 3, two exams related to various but distinct parts of the Algebra unit were undertaken. The Year 7/8 Math class will commence work on the Statistics and Probability section of the Maths Curriculum at the start of Term 4.

DAT: 7-8 designed and constructed ‘Yard Swaggies” for the Outback Festival Competition to celebrate 150 years of Winton. They also designed and constructed cardboard replicas of items that swagmen might have carried with them in the 1800s including guitars, billies, and mugs.

9/10 Learning Update

English: Students have explored how Australian culture has been represented and characterised in the iconic Australian Young Adult novel Tomorrow when the war began. Their study into this famous novel will continue next term when they evaluate the film adaption and identify how film techniques influence a viewer's understanding of a film. 

Science: By the end of Term 3, the Year 9/10 class completed all work on the Earth and Space Science Unit of the Science Curriculum (Curriculum v8.4). The Year 9/10 Science class commenced work on the Chemistry unit portion of the Science Curriculum and by the end of the Term 3 had increased their knowledge in relation to how acids and bases react during chemical reactions. An exam was completed by this class at the Term 3 focussing on assessment of their skills and knowledge on acids and bases. The Chemistry Unit will be completed during Term 4.

Math: The Year 9/10 class continued work on the Algebra Unit of work (Curriculum v9.0) in Term 3. Considerable progress was made on the Algebra unit which encompasses a significant portion of the Maths curriculum. By the end of Term 3, two exams related to various but distinct parts of the Algebra unit were undertaken. The Year 9/10 Math class will commence work on the Statistics and Probability section of the Maths Curriculum at the start of Term 4.

Visual Art: Students transformed masters into contemporary 2D artworks.  Together, they studied Da Vinci’s, Mona Lisa, and transformed her into a contemporary 2D artwork.  They completed activities to show their understanding of art elements and principles. Then, using this knowledge, they analysed the work of another master painter of their choice, transforming an ‘old’ artwork into something ‘new’. Next, they will learn 3D relief techniques to create their own relief artwork.

11/12 Learning Update

11/12 Sport and Recreation: Students are nearing the completion of their Coaching and Officiating Unit, where they have demonstrated practical application of their coaching and officiating skills, while evaluating their performances in a reflective manner. 

Yr 11 General Maths: Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the General Maths curriculum were completed during Term 3. An exam which aimed at testing knowledge and skills for Unit 1 and Unit 2 was completed  during Term 3.

Yr 11 Biology: Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the Biology curriculum were completed by the end of Term 3. Two assessments were also completed during Term 3: a Research Investigation (FIA3) and an exam (FIA4) covering all Unit 1 and Unit 2 work.

Senior Essential English: Students have explored how texts are used to relay human experiences. They read Saroo Brierley’s memoir, Lion – A Long Way Home, and analysed the film, Lion, to present an opening night film festival speech. Next term, students will write their own memoirs.

Senior VAP: Students have focussed on transforming and extending another artist’s work for their final project. They have investigated an artist of their choice and created an experimental folio of transformational artworks inspired by the works of their chosen artist. Their final project will be to create a resolved artwork inspired by their chosen artist.

Upcoming Events- Term 4