Book Your Tickets: Rock Quiz, Woodleigh School Parents and friends, it’s time to Rock the 90s!
To Read: The endless debate about evidence-based teaching and learning peaked again recently. When evidence is only as good as the question it answers, what is the question being asked? Read Evidence for What?
To Apply: Woodleigh School Adventurous Minds Scholarships close on Friday 7 August.

Minimbah, Exceeding Expectations, again!

Interactions between educators and children were warm and nurturing and educators were attuned to children’s varying abilities, needs and strengths.
— Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA)

Minimbah Early Childhood Centre has done it again. Following a recent assessment by the Victorian regulatory authority, we’ve been rated Exceeding the National Quality Standard. This one belongs to the people who do the work every day – Lisa, Rachelle, Emma, Belinda, Kellie, Heather, Erin and Abby. Your warmth, skill and professionalism carried this result and we couldn’t be prouder.

Assessors looked closely at three areas: our educational program, our relationships with children and our leadership and governance. Minimbah was rated Exceeding, across the board, on top of Exceeding ratings already held in every other quality area.

Educators demonstrated skill and knowledge to extend children's learning, following their lead.
— Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA)

It’s the heart of what happens in our Minimbah classrooms every day: children’s curiosity leading the way, with educators skilfully alongside them.

Well-established governance arrangements and administrative systems consistently supported the operation of a high-quality service.

Congratulations to the whole team. Thank you for everything you do, every day, for every child who walks through the Minimbah gate.

WSC07061 — When the little ones came to Senior Campus and met the Pied 'Mr Colcott' Piper.

ECC at Senior Campus

You little ripper.

Scarlett competed in the State Cross Country Championships last week, the first Penbank student to progress to this stage of such a challenging competition – ever. Scarlett is nothing if not determined (she hasn’t missed a day of school!). Congratulations Scarlett, the entire Woodleigh community is proud of you.

Little Scientists at Minimbah

Years 1 and 2 have been exploring how living things grow, change and survive.

The big highlight was revitalising the Frog Bog. On Discovery Day, students built bug hotels and butterfly feeders, planted vegetation, pulled weeds and cleared rubbish. Sam Turner, parent, alumni and leader in regenerative farming on the Mornington Peninsula, joined them to talk all things frogs, insects and butterflies – and the ways our actions shape the world around us. From there, it was life cycles, classroom investigations, more Frog Bog visits, an excursion to Senior Campus farm and Reserve and finally Moonlit Sanctuary for a crash course in Australian wildlife. Plants were tracked, data was collected and growth was celebrated.

It all came together in an assembly where these young stewards of the natural world shared what they’d discovered. Curiosity, enthusiasm and a genuine sense of responsibility were on full display.

Sovereign Hill

I only want to hear about it if it’s blood, death or vomit.

Talk about hitting the right audience. That’s how an 1850s-costumed teacher set the tone on day one of Minimbah’s Year 5 study tour to Sovereign Hill. And really, who doesn’t want to hear the adults in charge talk about vomit.

Complaints went unheard on the goldfields; the children worked! The itchy wool and heavy boots said more about resilience than any worksheet could. Dressed in period costume, students panned for gold, worked the diggings and lived the daily grind of a goldfields family. They came home with mud on their boots and a fresh appreciation for light switches and school shoes. It’s exactly what our Year 5 unit, Where We Are in Place and Time, is built for, understanding history not just reading about it.

Thank you to Sandy, Zara, Jo and James for making it happen, and to our Year 5s for diving in. Blood, death and vomit stories, notably absent (so far).

Book Your Tickets:
Rock Quiz, Rock the 90's

Tickets Tickets!

Musicale

The last couple of days of Term 2 were full of the Musicale-buzz. Its a real thing. There were some repeat performances at the whole school Assembly on the last day just to fill the void.

The sellout 'Challenge Me' audience were treated to a sensational celebration of creativity, courage and talent with students from Year 7 to Year 12 rocking, jazzing, bashing, warbling, fluting and otherwise weaving their orchestral ways into our hearts.

To our incredible staff who make it all possible, thankyou!

Side Hustle

Interval had its own economy running at Musicale, courtesy of the Woodleigh Snack Bar. Students turned the short break into an opportunity to fundraise for their MYP Community Projects; connecting with a local cause and taking real action to solve real problems.

Ivy and I decided to base our MYP Project on youth mental health, and we know that we can both crochet, so we thought that it could be good to each make some toys and plushies to sell. We used yarns and wools that we already have and so, because we didn’t have to spend much if any money on the materials, we decided that we’ll donate 100% of the proceeds to KidsHelpline.

We chose this organisation because we both have older siblings that have dealt with quite harsh mental health issues, and therefore it’s quite a personal cause for the both of us.

Considering the success of our first stall, we are hoping to run a second stall later this term. We managed to raise roughly $440 when we sold at musicale. We only had two items left out of around 50 or so, which was an incredible outcome and more than we were expecting.
— Erin and Ivy, Year 9

Henry and Raph in Year 9 raised money for the Food Bank, and we will share updates on their progress soon. Real initiative coming from our teens, this is what we want and need more of.

To Read:
Evidence for What?

Read article here

The Swiss Army Knife of Digital Media

As you may know, the Activities Program is one of the most fun parts to the curriculum and has been running since the earliest days of Woodleigh. Students learn new skills from expert teachers. So, what happens when the tables turn and our students are the experts?

Raph, in Year 9, has been using Blender since Year 7, 3D modelling, 2D animation, the swiss army knife of digital media. He uses it for his own small animations, quick tests and side experiments. So when he asked Mr Barnett if he could bring Blender into a Media Skills Activity, Mr Barnett said no - but for a good reason. Are you any good? Why don’t you teach it? And Raph looked forward to it ever since. He ran his Activity in Term 2 over the six week block. Watching beginners go from nothing to actual textured animations, some picking it up faster than he did, taught him that everyone learns differently and that troubleshooting is a team sport.

Would you run the Activity again, Raph? Definitely. Better be quick.

Student Experts

To Apply:
Adventurous Minds Scholarships close 7 August

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The River Derwent

Young athletes from all over Australia came together for the national team sailing championships. The competition also has a strong focus on female participation and Woodleigh was there to represent!