December
Tuesday 1st - Prep Transition #3 9.15-11am
Monday 7th - School Council Final Meeting
Tuesday 8th - Prep Transition #1 9.15-12.30pm, Statewide Transition
9th  - 11th - Whole School Camp – Urban Camp, Melbourne
Saturday 12th - Romsey Christmas Carols - Evening
Tuesday 15th - Grade Six Day Out (planned date)
Thursday 17th - Last Day of Term Four - Graduation Brekky 

January
Friday 29th - First Day of 2027 School Year

• Woodend Lions Club
• Mary-Anne Thomas MP
• Bendigo Bank
• Lancefield Romsey Lions
• Rotary Club of Woodend
• 1860 Romsey Raffle
  
• Zonta Club of Kyneton

Last week in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), in the Senior & Middle classrooms we looked at different friendship styles. They included Group, Bouncy Ball, Two Peas in a Pod and Just Me. None of them are better than another, but they all had advantages and disadvantages. Students discussed how these styles might be expressed and when they have noticed each type being a positive factor with friends, and when it might be a negative experience. This week we also looked at the self-regulation method across all the grades with Kimochis. When we are dysregulated we may not feel calm and we may not respond to the people around us calmly. We used these practices to help us find a way to help ourselves. Name it, Shrink it, Redo it and Share it are the practices that assist us to regulate ourselves. We are using the Kimochis and the Feelings Wheel to find the right words to describe how we feel, because finding the right words to describe our feelings is the start to expressing ourselves clearly. We role played scenarios where a redo was required in a situation and we practised how they might look. This may be a tool that you can use at home when times might be escalated too. It is important to remember that “All feelings are okay, all behaviours are not.”

At Hesket, we read aloud a range of rich literature/novels to our students, linked to Inquiry units where possible. We know that exposure to a range of texts supports comprehension of a broader range of books. In last week's newsletter we heard about the books our Senior and Middle grade are reading. Here's a little about the books our Junior grades are reading.

Somebody's Land - By Sidney C
This term our grade is reading and learning about Aboriginal people from thousands and thousands of years ago. We have been learning about the different houses they had compared to the houses we live in now, the languages they spoke, how they made medicines from fruits, what they ate, how they hunted for food, and that they only killed animals to eat or to make clothes.

We have also learnt about what happened when white people came to Australia and how they said that Australia was Terra Nullius which means it was nobody's land. We know that this wasn't true and that Australia will always be Aboriginal Land.

"I liked learning about this book because it's about nature and I love nature. Uluru is one of the places Aboriginal people lived and one day I'd like to visit there." 


Jimmy Cook Discovers - X Marks the Spot - By Emily and James J
Our grade is also reading and learning about Australian history this term, so Mr Williamson has chosen this book for us to read. 

The story is set at a school and a student named Jimmy Cook finds a map with a giant X on it. He is convinced that this X means treasure! He's determined to find the treasure but the problem is, he's not quite sure which way the map goes and some places are out of bounds.

In the classroom, we've also been learning about the first sailors to Australia, different things about Australia's states before and after Federation, interesting features of each state, the Gold Rush and bushrangers, how Canberra became our capital city and big things around Australia.

We know that Captain James Cook was a famous explorer but Jimmy Cook from our story is desperate to become even more popular.

"It's a really funny book and the pictures are silly too!" Emily
"It's really funny when Jimmy is so bored on the weekend and makes science experiments!" James J