Wednesday June 22

Ms. Mary and I wish everyone a wonderful summer. It has been so much fun learning with all of you this year. We will miss you so much. Please enjoy watching the last Grade 1 LJe video of the year!

Friday June 17

During our last full week in Grade 1 LJe, we took a visit to the Chemistry lab. We were invited by Maddi's dad, Mr. Matt the Science Guy, to be scientists, do real experiments and to observe him performing some amazing chemical reactions that we will not soon forget! It was an incredible experience for the children to learn about chemical reactions and to see up front what they have to look forward to as they grow older and are able to take science classes themselves. We learned that chemical reactions often produce light and sound and are extremely fun to watch from a safe distance. Matt also set up his lab so that the children could do their own experiment exploring acids and bases and changing a liquid from a base to an acid and then to neutral (we learned that neutral is PH 7 - the same number as the children's ages) in order to pour it down the drain safely. Thank you so much, Matt, for taking the time to give the children this experience. It was definitely one of the highlights of our year and was so inspiring and exciting for all of us!

Continuing on with our investigation into sound, the children made their own instruments from recycled materials. They have been learning that sound is created from vibrations and they enjoyed collaborating and being creative with their designs. We ended the week with our LJe music concert. We enjoyed hearing each other play different instruments and talked about how it takes a lot of resilience to learn an instrument.




We also enjoyed a visit from Ms. Jenner and Emily!





Important Reminders


Please return any school books and library books that you might have at home. 

Monday June 20th: 1LJe End of Year Class Party (12:30 in the classroom)

Wednesday June 22nd: Last Day of School (half day: Dismissal is at 11:00am)

Friday June 10

The event we had all been waiting for all year, the Grade One sleepover, was a huge success! The children were excellent self managers and set up their beds in the classroom all on their own! They also managed all of their belongings and were very responsible for brushing their own teeth and hair. Well done, Grade Ones! The evening started off with a walk around the school in the dark with our torches, followed by a 'Story Under the Stars' on the roof of the Infant School. The Grade One teachers performed a favourite story by Julia Donaldson called 'Room on the Broom'. Then it was back to the classroom for pajamas, popcorn ann the movie 'Minions'. Miraculously, all the children were asleep by 10:15 and slept through the night until 6:00! In the morning, after packing up and getting changed, we all headed to the canteen for a pancake breakfast. This was followed by a 'Jump Jam' session led by Mr. Hamish Betts. Ms Mary and I were so proud of all the children in Grade One LJe for showing resilience, independence and for being such good friends to each other!

Another successful event we had this week was the Grade One Swim Gala. All the children participated with enthusiasm and good sportsmanship. Thank you to our parent volunteers, especially Lola and Matt, who spent the entire time in the water making sure the children were going in the right direction! Please enjoy the swim gala video below. 

Important Reminders


Please return any school books and library books that you might have at home. 

Monday June 20th: 1LJe End of Year Class Party (12:30 in the classroom)

Wednesday June 22nd: Last Day of School (half day: Dismissal is at 11:00am)

Friday June 3

Firstly, a big thank you to Grade 1 LJe for the beautiful candle and yummy cupcakes on Friday. I had a lovely birthday celebration with the children! Thank you for the birthday wishes.

On Monday we got to eat lunch in the canteen. This is where the children will be eating lunch when they are in Grade 2. We will practice this again over the coming weeks so it becomes very familiar to the children.

The children also went to their first assembly in the Grade 2 pod without the Grade 1 teachers. They were introduced to the Grade 2 teachers and Teaching Assistants. Here is a link to the presentation they were shown.

 The children were very proud to lead their parents and grandparents at the Student Led Conferences on Wednesday. They were happy to share the learning they have been doing at school. Thank you all for participating and offering your child positive feedback about their learning.

On Friday we ended the week with our last trip to Happy Lodge. This time we took a group of K2 students with us so that they will be familiar with this service activity when they are in Grade 1 next year. Not only did the children do a great job with the residents, but also of encouraging the K2 students with interacting with our Happy Lodge friends. Thank you to all the parent volunteers who have helped to make our service visits to Happy Lodge this year possible.

Important Reminders

Please send in a working torch/flashlight with your child
Please return any school books and library books that you might have at home

Tuesday June 7th: Grade 1 Swim Gala (8:30-10:00 at the big pool)

Thursday June 9th: Grade 1 Sleepover (drop off of kids is at 6:30pm)

Friday June 10th:  Pick up at 8:30 am. NO SCHOOL FOR GRADE 1's

Monday June 20th: 1LJe End of Year Class Party (12:30 in the classroom)

Wednesday June 22nd: Last Day of School (half day: Dismissal is at 11:00am)

Friday May 27

On Monday we had a visit from our boarder buddy, Liesan. She has finished her exams and is off to University in America. The children presented her with three decorated elephants and she loved them! Good luck, Liesan, we will miss you and wish you all the best for your future!

We have had a successful start to swimming. The children are reminded to bring their swim suits, swim cap, goggles and towel each Monday and Friday.


We participated in a fun Grade 1 to Grade 2 transition activity with Grade 2RCo.  We went on a scavenger hunt with some friends from Grade 2. The children in Grade 2 showed us all the special places that they visit around the school during their week. When they had found each location they took a selfie with an ipad!

On Wednesday we had a wonderful Kids Up Front presentation by Felix. We learned all about American Independence Day and all the different celebrations that happen on July 4th. We decorated a bicycle for a parade, coloured a flag, drew fireworks and sampled some special Fourth of July treats - hot dogs and popsicles! Well done, Felix!

On Thursday we wished our Kuma Ambassadors, Conrad, Harrison, Milo, Rocco, Ava and Maddi, along with their parents, safe travels as they departed for Cambodia to see our friends at Kuma. We look forward to hearing about your adventures upon your return.

One of the project that we worked on as a class was a video that our friends from Kuma had requested that we make. They wanted to see what a day in the life of a Grade 1 student was like at UWCSEA. So we are proud to present the finished movie here on our blog!



Please note that we have a lot of special events coming up. Please could you take note of the following:

Wednesday June 1st: Student Led Conferences (Children to come to school with parents at a designated time)

Tuesday June 7th: Grade 1 Swim Gala (8:30-10:00) Parents welcome!

Thursday June 9th: Grade 1 Sleepover (drop off at 6:30pm)

Friday June 10th: pick up from G1 Sleepover at 8:30. NO SCHOOL FOR GRADE 1 CHILDREN 

Wednesday June 22nd: Last Day of School (half day: Dismissal is at 11:00am)

Friday May 13

On Tuesday the children participated in the “Love Your Lungs” event which was organised by the PE teachers. It was a successful event and the children worked hard to complete as many laps as they could in the pool, on the bikes and climbing and running around the playground. Well done, LJe for collectively, as a team, completing 88 laps! 

The children had a wonderful time at our Character Morning Tea. It was lovely to see and hear the children acting “in character”. Our Grade 5 buddies were excited to meet the characters and enjoyed all the special treats that the characters had prepared. 

Book and Bake Sale Update: After counting our “IOUs”,  more donations and the change donated by LJe families to practice counting during our money unit, LJe has raised a staggering $869.70 for Kuma Cambodia’s Book Book Tuk Tuk! 

We had another fabulous visit to the Art Room with Mr. Betts. This time we created animals out of plastic bottles! We all enjoyed being creative and using all the materials in the art room. 

Next week, we will be celebrating Service Week across the Infant School. The children will explore what Service means and why it is important to have a commitment to care, as well as how we can all be of Service to others. We will be refocusing on our ongoing Service initiatives as well as thinking collectively about the upcoming Infant Service Trip to Kuma Cambodia. 

We are hoping to take some specific donations to the school which will be given out in the local communities. If you have any of the following items we would love to take them to Kuma where they will be gratefully received. 

-children’s clothes (baby to age 12)

-new underwear

-pre-loved (but in good condition!) shorts, t-shirts, skirts, dresses, light sweatshirts, sandals and swimmers

We will also be making up packs of toiletries/stationery for the children, so, please feel free to send in any of the following:

- soap, facecloths, combs, hairbrushes, toothpaste, hair ties, clips

- new pencils, pens, small rulers, small erasers

All donations can be brought the Grade 1 pod. 

Important Reminders

Please make sure you keep Wednesday 1st June free as you will be allocated a slot for your child's STUDENT LED CONFERENCE (SLC) during 8am-3pm. Your exact time slot will be given to you soon. The SLC will have stations set up on the day and cannot be postponed or repeated another day. 

Thank you!

Thursday May 19th: G1-G2 Transition Meeting for Parents (8:15-9:15 Conference Room 3)

Friday May 20th: PD Day for Teachers (No school for kids)

Monday May 23rd: Swimming starts again for PE

Wednesday June 1st: Student Led Conferences (Children to come to school with parents at a designated time)

Tuesday June 7th: Grade 1 Swim Gala (8:30-10:00) Parents welcome!

Thursday June 9th: Grade 1 Sleepover (drop off at 6:30pm)

Friday June 10th: pick up from G1 Sleepover at 8:30. NO SCHOOL FOR GRADE 1 CHILDREN 

Wednesday June 22nd: Last Day of School (half day: Dismissal is at 11:00am)

Friday May 6

Firstly, a huge “Thank You” to all the parents and children in grade 1LJe for your support of our Book and Bake sale to raise money for Kuma Cambodia. Without your support of baked goods and used books it would not have been nearly as successful. As it was, due to the fantastic planning by the children and their enthusiasm for the event, our book and bake sale was tremendously successful raising, on the day, $818.85 to support the Book Book Tuk Tuk. We continued to receive “IOU” money throughout the week so we will be announcing our grand total next week. It was amazing to watch the children at the sale. They were confident, organised and independent. They learned a lot about selling, counting money, making change and providing helpful and polite customer service. I was so proud of all of them. As one of the children said after the event, “I feel so happy because we were so responsible and we have made a big difference to the kids at Kuma!” Congratulations, Grade 1 LJe families. You have all made a difference! 

On Tuesday morning parents are welcome to join us for “Love Your Lungs”. From 11:05–11:30am, 1LJe will be working as a team to see how many laps they can complete of the course. The session will involve running, swimming and cycling around the Infant playground and pool. Please make sure you send their swim suits and a towel. Please apply sunscreen before you come to school that day.

We are looking forward to our Character Morning Tea next Wednesday. The children are invited to come to school dressed as a favourite book character and bring along a plate of snacks (please remember our no nuts policy when preparing snacks) to share with their classmates and their grade five buddy. The children have been encouraged to chose a character from a book as opposed to a movie. Some of the children will be coming as a character that they themselves have written a story about! We are looking forward to meeting all the characters from books and our imaginations. 

Important Dates:

Wednesday May 11th: G1 Character Morning Tea

Tuesday May 10th (11:05-11:40): Grade 1 “Love Your Lungs” Morning-Infant School Playground/Pool. (This was postponed from our MY BODY UNIT in Term 1 due to the haze) Parents are welcome to watch!

Thursday May 19th: G1 to G2 Transition Meeting for Parents-8.15-9.15am - Conference Room 3 (followed by the Principal’s Forum)

Monday May 23rd: Swimming starts again for PE

Wednesday June 1st: Student-Led Conferences - children to come to school at designated times

Tuesday June 7th: G1 Swim Gala-8.30-10.00am-Main pool. Parents are welcome to watch!

Thursday June 9th: G1 Sleepover! 6:30 drop off. 
Friday June 10th: pick up from G1 Sleepover at 8:30. NO SCHOOL FOR GRADE 1 CHILDREN