Head of Primary

Term 1 Reflection

It has been wonderful to welcome our Primary students and their families back for Term 1 of 2025. Our theme for the year ‘Real Hope’ and scripture from Isaiah 40:31 “those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength”, is a reminder of where our truest hope should lie, which is in Jesus! This scripture has been a great encouragement, as we have launched into Term 1, to keep our eyes focused on the Lord in all that we do.

Term 1 started with our annual Parent Information Evening, which was a great opportunity for parents to meet their child’s teachers to find out about the year ahead. Following on from this, several classes have enjoyed events including the Prep teachers hosting a Prep Picnic and Year 1 teachers hosting a Teddy Bears Picnic. Both were a huge success allowing for students and parents to connect and further develop their friendships and sense of belonging to the St Andrews community. There have been many excursions and incursions for particular year levels which have enriched the learning program, including a trip to the Botanic Gardens for Year 4 and a visit to the Imax for Year 3. Most recently, Year 6s ventured out to Canberra for a week and returned with fantastic stories and experiences that have further developed relationships, character, resilience, knowledge and understanding. It was a pleasure to join in and observe every student step up to try new things and learn more about our amazing country. We are grateful for all of these experiences and the dedicated staff that make learning so rich.

Primary have enjoyed some combined events as well, including Cyber Safety and Lego Masters Brickulum incursion. Our visiting Lego Master, Ryan, wowed St Andrews students with engineering feats and gave the students interesting challenges that defied gravity. In our final week of Term 1 students have been stretched in new and creative ways with E³ Week. With the theme, Unveiling God’s Cosmic Story, students have created comic strips, poetry and journal articles. They have gone on virtual missions, explored heroes, cultural views and have engaged in galactic debates. E³ stands for 'Engage, Enrich and Empower' and we have certainly seen this unfold in our final week!

As the term concludes, we encourage you to read the many feedback pieces that have been released to you via the Hub. Our hope is that they provide you with feedback on how your child is progressing in various subjects and importantly share with you your child’s next learning step.

Please continue to keep the College in your prayers. We are thankful for His provision in all things and the love of Jesus which we get to share with our students every day.

Every blessing for the holidays,

Prep News

Tea'n'Tissues

Prep Tea'n'Tissues is a wonderful way for prep parents to connect on the first day of school for our prep students. Parents enjoyed some fellowship over tea & coffee and had the opportunity to make meaningful connections. Some of our staff members were also available to meet with the families. Our aim is to foster a strong sense of community within St Andrews College.

Preps & Year 6 Buddies

It was with great excitement that the Prep students met their Year 6 Buddies! Prep S students will work with Year 6LG and Prep L students will work with Year 6C. The students will meet once a fortnight and do lots of fun activities together. These include, playing games outside, doing craft activities inside, reading stories, doing puzzles, playing games inside and more! We are so thankful for these special experiences we can share and always enjoy saying “hi” to our Year 6 Buddies when we see them at school.

Year 1 News

Teddy Bear Picnic

Our Year 1 students had a delightful time at the Teddy Bear Picnic incursion! With their favorite teddies in tow, they enjoyed a classic Monty Mouse puppet show, full of laughter and excitement. The event was made even more special by the wonderful conversations shared between students, families, and staff. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect, celebrate, and create lasting memories together. Thank you to everyone who joined in and helped make the day so special!

Year 2 News

Humanities & Science

Our Year 2 students have had a fantastic term of hands-on learning across a range of subjects! They’ve been getting to know the new comms box and developing their social skills in exciting ways by playing board games on Friday afternoons. As part of our Humanities unit on Exploring the Past, students examined artefacts, discussing how they were used long ago. In Science, they explored the properties of different materials, using snack lollies to test how they stretch, break, and change shape. It’s been a wonderful term of discovery and fun!

Year 3 News

NAPLAN

The students did such a FANTASTIC job of completing their first NAPLAN tests. Thank you so much for your prayers for our classes, we are so proud of the students and the 3 long days of superior effort in focus they have put in! Each student showed great perseverance and focus. We prayed that each student would give their very best to God and they certainly did!

Excursions to Melbourne Museum & IMAX

Our Year 3 students also recently visited the Melbourne Museum and IMAX. Students were treated to seeing the fascinating 'Bugs Alive' and 'Dynamic Earth' exhibitions together with a wonder-filled walk around the Forest Gallery. 'A Beautiful Planet' was showing on the big IMAX screen which came alive when students donned their 3D glasses! We were so grateful to God for blessing us with wonderful weather and a fabulous day out.

Year 4 News

Botanic Gardens Excursion

Our Year 4 students had a fantastic excursion to the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens, blessed with beautiful weather for a day of hands-on learning and fun! They explored Aboriginal tools, learned how to make paint using water and ochre rock, and even got to taste lemon myrtle tea. The adventure continued as they discovered fascinating native plants, before wrapping up the day with plenty of fun at the playground.

CSEN Primary Chess Championships

In what was a hard-fought battle to try and retain the prized shield, St Andrews, together with our longstanding revivals WCC Wantirna, came in at third place. First place going to new kids on the block WCC Narre Warren, and second going to Lighthouse. There was only 1 and a half points between the top 4 teams.

Special shout-out to Nourah who ranked equal first amongst the girls. Nourah had lost her first game in record time, due to being beaten by the 4-move checkmate. I asked Nourah to ask one of our players about the strategy so she would not lose by it again. She then went and talk to her opponent, who after receiving a chocolate from the teacher for his first win (questionable), then proceeded graciously to explain the strategy. Nourah then used this strategy to win her next three matches. Impressive!

E³ – Engage, Enrich and Empower

Brickulum Incursion

On Feb 20th, we welcomed Ryan Evans from Brickulum back to St Andrews Christian College to run a day of Lego building and enrichment activities. Ryan is a past Lego Masters contestant and brings a wealth of enthusiasm and experience (not to mention Lego bricks) when he comes. 

Students from Year 1 to Year 6 were challenged in a variety of ways—from inventing wearable Lego, creating Lego food, building structures that could hang, cantilever or bridge as well as designing cars to compete for speed and distance. Collaboration, creativity and reasoning were the order of the day with a lot of fun and laughter mixed in.

The day ended with an after-school build session for any interested families. It was a great time, and we look forward to inviting Ryan back again next year

Year 6 Camp

Our Year 6 Canberra camp was an unforgettable experience filled with exploration, learning, and plenty of fun.

The adventure began with an early 7 a.m. departure on Monday 24th March, as students eagerly set off for the nation’s capital. The long journey was broken up with several rest stops, allowing students to stretch their legs and enjoy some food. After arriving at camp, they ended the day with a Minute to Win It competition, where laughter and friendly rivalry set the tone for the days ahead.

Day 2 took students to the Australian War Memorial, where they participated in a wreath-laying ceremony and had the privilege of speaking with a war veteran. Their understanding of Australia’s democracy deepened with visits to the Electoral Education Centre and Museum of Australian Democracy, followed by hands-on scientific discovery at Questacon. The day concluded with a relaxing movie night.

Day 3 was packed with adventure, starting with stunning views from Mount Ainslie and an orienteering challenge at the National Arboretum. A major highlight was witnessing Question Time at Parliament House, where students saw Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, and other politicians engage in heated debate—including one moment where a senator dramatically unveiled a giant fish! They also had the unique opportunity to meet Mary Doyle, Victoria’s Member for Aston. The afternoon included a guided tour of the Australian Institute of Sport, finishing with an entertaining trivia night.

Our final full day was spent enjoying outdoor activities, including Bush Cooking, GPS Navigation, the Vertical Challenge, and a scenic bush walk. The evening wrapped up with a campfire under the stars, complete with marshmallow roasting and solving mystery riddles.

We are incredibly proud of the students’ camaraderie, enthusiasm, and resilience throughout this fun-filled week and thank God for His protection and the beautiful weather we enjoyed.