Week 12: Lights, Camera, Learning

Welcome to Week 12

As we come to the final week of the term, it has been wonderful to reflect on everything the students have achieved over the past months. There is a real sense of excitement around the school as projects are completed and we prepare to celebrate the children’s work at our End-of-Term Showcase.

School will reopen for the new term on Monday 4th May 2026.

This Week

• Showcase Event: Movie on the Lawn (6:30–7:30 p.m.) Please do join us for our end-of-term showcase on Thursday evening. Feel free to bring food and enjoy the evening together. Please note that pick-up time on Thursday will be 3:30 p.m.

• Graduation Circle (Thursday) We will hold a special Circle Time to say goodbye to students who are leaving us at the end of the term.

• End-of-Term Trip: We will be visiting Black Mountain Water Park or Vana Nava Water Park. Students will meet directly at their chosen location.

• Go-Kart Testing (Tuesday)The Silver Sharks and Penguins will be testing their go-karts. Please ensure students bring helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, and any other safety equipment if they have them.

Highlights from Last Week

• The school shop has been wonderfully run all term by Amanda and Toa, who were joined by Ping An to also run the café. They dressed in kimonos and sold rice balls and shaved ice drinks, while Pohn supported the shop.

• A huge thank you to Prin, who has been a fantastic teaching assistant in Project Paddock all term. He also brought in his electric go-kart to support filming.

• The Crystal Tigers, along with Luca, spent a full day filming on location for their showcase. They showed great professionalism and commitment.

• A group of Hummingbirds visited Wat Bo Fai to film for their documentary, which will be shown at the showcase.

• The Silver Sharks and Penguins completed their homemade go-karts and are ready for their race down the hill.

• Art Club visited a capybara village to paint the animals, which was a calm and inspiring experience.

Circle Time Highlights

• Alisa introduced a new tax system to develop financial literacy across the school. This has already sparked some meaningful and interesting discussions.

• We received a generous donation of a new table tennis net, which Willow presented in Circle Time.

• Calvin and Alhena played a song they created for Project Y, with thoughtful and meaningful lyrics. The songs will be played during our showcase event

• The Hummingbirds performed a dance from Dance Class to the whole school, showing great confidence, enthusiasm and ability.

• Kacie and Laura led a fun end-of-circle-time song, getting the whole school involved in a silly call-and-response dance.

• Milin presented her Legacy Project, focused on promoting sports in school and designing a new multi-purpose court for our field.

Relationship Education

Agent Owls

In Relationship Class, the Agent Owls learned about “greed” through storytelling, exploring behaviours and the consequences of wanting more than necessary. Students developed a clearer understanding of the difference between “wanting,” which is natural, and “greed,” which can negatively affect both themselves and others. They also shared their ideas and gave real-life examples, helping to deepen their understanding. In addition, they discussed the importance of sharing and thinking of others.

Hummingbirds

In Relationship Class, the Hummingbirds explored friendship and inclusion, a topic that arose from students’ own experiences. They discussed feelings of being left out and why some may hesitate to join others, reflecting on how group activities and games can be adapted to include more people. To apply this, students were placed in new groups and encouraged to spend time together throughout the week to build connections and strengthen friendships.

Sabertooth Group and Silver Sharks

The Sabertooth Group and Silver Sharks explored how to respect differences and handle disagreements in a positive way. Through an interactive “agree or disagree” activity, they recognised that people can have different opinions, and that this is completely okay. We also discussed what respectful disagreement looks like, including listening, staying calm, and using kind language.Students then worked in groups to create and perform role plays. Some groups found it challenging to agree on their ideas, which provided a valuable opportunity to practise communication, compromise, and empathy. We will continue this learning with a reflection activity in our next lesson.

Penguins

In Relationship Class, the Penguins took part in a reflective review of the term. Students discussed key highlights, challenges, successes, and areas for improvement. We explored their goals and ambitions moving forward, as well as what they have learned this term academically, socially, and personally. Students were then encouraged to think about how they can apply these reflections to support their continued growth and development.

Ninjas and Crystal Tigers

In this week’s Relationship Class, the Ninjas and Crystal Tigers explored how boys and girls can experience social expectations and relationships differently, particularly during puberty. Through a structured listening activity, they practised reflecting each other’s perspectives using “What I heard you say is…”, helping them move beyond debate towards genuine understanding. The session supported students in building empathy, communication skills, and respect for each other’s experiences.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Warm regards,

Mr. Vincent and The Halio Team