Maddingley

Year 5 Excursion to Alliance Française Melbourne

Our Year 5 students recently enjoyed a fantastic excursion to Alliance Française Melbourne, where they immersed themselves in the world of la nourriture (food) and discovered that French is not just a subject in the classroom, it’s a living language spoken by people every day!

Highlights of the day included a hands-on food-tasting workshop featuring baguette avec confiture, croissants and pain au chocolat, lively memory games using French vocabulary, creative food-art activities and a fun shopping and food-sorting challenge, all conducted entirely in French. Students also demonstrated our school values as they navigated the Melbourne CBD with responsibility and pride.

Student reflections were equally positive, with comments such as “I spoke a lot of French today,” “I can use the French I learned to talk to a French person and understand what they are telling me”, and “I thought it was great, especially when we got to try the French baguette avec confiture, the croissants and pain au chocolat.”

The excursion was not only educational but also inspiring and the students left with a deeper appreciation of French culture and the confidence to use their language skills in real-life situations. It was truly an awesome day of learning, discovery and fun!

Diana Szabo – Teacher

Year 6 Celebration

Our Year 6 Maddingley Celebration Day was an unforgettable highlight of the year and a remarkable way to celebrate our 2025 cohort, a cohort that has worked hard throughout the year to achieve amazing things within the school community.

The morning began with a warm and welcoming atmosphere as families joined us for a ceremony, bear signings, photo opportunities, and catch ups. Students proudly collected signatures and messages on their celebration bears, keepsakes they will treasure for years to come. This led to morning tea shared with families, creating a relaxed moment to acknowledge the growth, achievements, and friendships that have shaped their primary years.

From there, the energy of the day only grew. Students rotated through a series of exciting, hands on activities, including Clay Sculpting, Minute to Win It challenges, and painting sessions. Classrooms were a buzz as students worked together, encouraged one another, and threw themselves enthusiastically into each activity.

The celebrations ended on a high with an afternoon party session complete with a DJ and a photo booth. Students enjoyed time on the dance floor spurred on by crowd favourite tracks, and the joy of celebrating together for the final time as a Year 6 cohort. The photo booth was constantly filled with friends capturing memories and non-stop smiles.

The day was the perfect blend of sentiment, celebration, creativity, and fun, a true reflection of the vibrant, resilient, and connected group our Year 6 students have become.

We wish our Year 6 students all the best as they continue to move through the middle school and set their sights on the future and the opportunities it holds for them.

Click here to see all the photos from this event.

Jordan Kirk – Head of Year 6 (Maddingley)

 7/8 JumpStart Program

Throughout Semester Two, Year 7 and 8 students have been working together to discover their full potential in Jumpstart. Students were encouraged to self reflect on their career goals, values and aspirations.

We participated in many activities such as a workshop session involving career and goal setting and a day at Staughton Vale.

Crazy Ideas College ran a workshop and students worked in groups to design an imaginary person, complete with a job, appearance and personality – this helped us to reflect on our career goals.

Team skills included a competition in which teams attempted to build a tower with pasta, cups and tape with the goal of putting a marshmallow on top and seeing how high it could go.

Students started a ‘my future account’ where surveys were completed and recommendations for ideal job positions were provided including earnings and statistics based on our traits and qualities.

At Staughton Vale, we took part in several activities including teamwork games, and we worked in the garden where we planted sunflowers, potatoes and basil, picked peas and removed weeds.

To finish the program, Mr Knipe worked with us to design a logo for the program, updated our My Future accounts, and reflected at photos from Staughton Vale.

This program opened our eyes to our future potential when it comes to jobs and taught us to identify our values and to believe in our dreams.

 Anabelle T – 7A

Wintar T – 7B

Dylan C – 7B

Luke W – 7E

Middle School House Music

The Middle School House Music event was a tremendous success among our students, creating an atmosphere filled with enthusiasm, teamwork, and school spirit. Throughout the day, students proudly demonstrated our core values of courage, respect, and kindness, both on stage and behind the scenes. Their willingness to perform, support their peers, and celebrate one another’s achievements was truly commendable.

The Disney theme added an extra layer of excitement, with many students singing along to their favourite songs and showcasing impressive creativity through their choreography and costume choices. It was wonderful to see students stepping outside their comfort zones, collaborating with their houses, and contributing ideas that made each performance unique and memorable.

A heartfelt congratulations goes out to all Middle School students for their hard work, dedication, and positive attitude. Events like this highlight the strength of our school community, and I am already looking forward to continuing and growing this tradition in the years to come.

Holly Marsland–Kelsey – Head of House: Pykes (Maddingley)

Woodlea

Year 6 Woodlea Celebration Day

Our Year 6 Woodlea Celebration Day was a wonderful success and a fitting way to honour our 2025 cohort. This group holds a special place in our school’s history as the first group to begin their journey in both ELC Woodlea and Prep Woodlea and continue right through to the end of primary school. Their Celebration Day marked not only the end of Year 6 but the completion of a significant chapter in their schooling.

We began the morning with a special assembly attended by families. During the assembly, we were privileged to welcome the Honourable Ms Alice Jordan Baird, Federal Member for Gorton. Ms Baird presented the Gorton Young Leader Award to Aishnoor K (6WD), recognising her outstanding leadership as the Kangaroo bus leader throughout the year. Aishnoor has consistently demonstrated initiative, kindness and responsibility, supported younger students and assisted staff to ensure everyone travelled safely and on time. This recognition was thoroughly deserved.

Following the assembly, families enjoyed a catered morning tea, creating a warm atmosphere to reflect on the students’ achievements and growth. Midday festivities included students signing their celebration bears, playing ball sports and enjoying giant Jenga. It was heart-warming to see all Year 6 students mixing, laughing and celebrating one another as valued members of the Woodlea learning community.

The afternoon disco and photo booth were definite highlights. Students danced confidently, sang along to their favourite songs and embraced the joy of the moment. Many commented that it was the best day they had ever had and expressed their gratitude for such a memorable celebration.

Some of our students shared their reflections:

Gursanjog G (6WA): “I liked the disco because of the songs and how everyone was together and dancing. Nobody was excluded.”

Sabir V (6WB): “Yesterday’s disco was so exciting and full of energy that I danced non-stop, laughed with my friends, and had the best time ever. I was having so much fun that I got completely exhausted. I also really liked the songs the DJ played.”

Lily V (6WC): “Yesterday was very energetic and joyful. We enjoyed all the activities planned for our celebration. I enjoyed the disco most because it was very nice to dance with our friends for the last two periods.”

Shanuki K (6WD): “The Celebration Assembly was fun as we got to see other people speak and Aishnoor got an award. We loved signing our bears and every student was so excited to sign them. We were even more excited to get icy poles! After the disco everyone was very tired because that was the most jumping around we have ever done.”

Our Year 6 Woodlea Celebration Day was a truly meaningful event. It was full of pride, gratitude and joy. We congratulate our Year 6 students on their achievements and wish them all the very best as they prepare for the next exciting stage of their learning journey.

Click here to see all the photos from this event.

Elle Pelly – Head of Year 6 (Woodlea)  

The Spooky Sculpture Competition 2025

The Spooky Sculpture Competition, which was held from 15 October to 14 November, was a resounding success! From promoting our event, participating and putting up posters, we all thank you for making this event possible. This event was proudly brought to you by members of the SRC and was championed by Aashvi K and Yana P.

We were absolutely blown away by the number of entries as well as the outstanding craftsmanship displayed by everyone who took part! This made the judging process very tricky for our SRC Leaders and Visual Arts Leaders who worked hard to judge each entry equally and with fairness. After much deliberation, our student judges, Yana P, Aashvi K, Sarika S and Janella M, finally made their decisions.

Here are the winners for 2025:

1st Place: Akein P 7WE

The tree was extremely well sculpted and had lots of texture which made it very realistic. Their use of white for snow tied together the mood of his piece very well and fitted the theme. Using twigs for the front area was extremely creative and showed a good use of different media as well. The best part that ultimately led us to select them was the outstanding creativity to make the tree hollow light up. Another part we noticed was using wax to create ghosts to add to the setting of the piece.

2nd Place: Chelsea K 7WE

Coraline’s idea was a classic yet interesting take on the Halloween theme which immediately drew us to the piece. The intricate details of her arms, legs and facial details were very skilfully crafted, and we loved the use of fabric for her leggings and sleeves. There was a plant pot which was the tunnel in the door from the movie, and it was creative to see the dimensions made through almost an illusion of using the wider end of the pot at the front. The colours in the tunnel were also very well blended and true to the movie.

3rd Place: Parini M 6WA

The pumpkin patch with a dragon was well-fitted to the theme. We loved the adorable portrayal of the dragon and found the material used for the hay as a nice touch. The colours went well together, and the best part was using candy corn for the spikes on the dragon. It was clear that a lot of thought and effort went into making this piece.

Honourable Mention: Ritvik P 7WD

It was enjoyable reading all the text around the graveyard, and we loved the interactivity of the piece. The haunted house was measured perfectly and all the pieces fitted well together, giving it a rough-looking exterior that suited the Halloween theme. It was rather impressive that only cardboard was used to make this structure.

Overall, this event was a great experience for all involved. Thank you again to everyone who took part!

Yana P – 6WA

Sarika S – 8WC