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Newsletter T3W6
14 August 2026
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It was great to see so many of you around the school last night for parent-teacher interviews.
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The Wizard of Oz ran five shows last week in our pop-up theatre in the mini-hall. Well done to all who participated in this extravaganza! From the backstage crew to the leading roles it was a team effort that took months of planning and practice. Sorry to those who missed out on tickets, the level of interest from our community was huge! Watch this space as planning has already started for next year.
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Periodically we find it necessary to revisit the topic of homework. Homework is a phenomenon that seems to polarise parents. If I asked a room full of Glendowie mums and dads who would like more homework, half would raise their hands. If I asked who would like less, the other half would.
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For a long while we have had a relatively simple approach to home learning. We encourage reading (parent and child together or independently) plus a little bit of basic maths facts and learning spelling words. All of this is optional and we recognise that it is not always possible within the busy lives of our community.
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Our approach is supported by best evidence in teaching and learning. In 2009 John Hattie – an educational researcher – looked at over 800 educational studies and ranked those things that had the greatest effect on learning. Homework (defined as academic projects and tasks) has a very low effect size (source). Homework has half the impact of ‘exposure to reading’, the very thing we would really love families to encourage. Reading might take the format of a parent reading to their child (as would be appropriate for our younger students), children reading to their parents, or children reading independently.
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School Based Teacher Education
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For the past three years our school has participated in a school based teacher education programme called APTEC. We currently have three outstanding graduates of this programme working as teachers at our school, with a fourth due to graduate at the end of this year. We are actively seeking those who might be interested in becoming a teacher and who want to learn their craft at Glendowie School. If you or someone you know is interested, please ask them to contact me.
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Paul Crowhurst | Principal
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The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, 18th August from 6.30pm in the boardroom. Anyone is welcome to attend and a copy of the agenda is available from the school office from 3pm on the Friday before the meeting.
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Information regarding student-led conferences will be emailed out next week. Please note these will be held on the following dates;
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- Wednesday 2nd of September - Year 0, 1, 2, 3 , Room 28 (Y1-4)
- Thursday 3rd of September - Year 4, 5, 7, 8, Room 27 (Y 5,7, 8)
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Year 6 students have their student-led conference on a different day as part of the Exhibition process.
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Information regarding this years run-a-thon was emailed home last week. Please see dates, times and sponsor donation instructions below.
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Around the World in Our Library
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During Week 5 of Term 3, we will be hosting Glendowie School’s inaugural cultural celebration: "Around the World in Our Library." This initiative positions our library as a vibrant hub for exploring culture, identity, language, and belonging.
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There will be a week of engaging activities across the school. Each class will ‘adopt’ a country and explore the culture, food, music of their country. In the library at lunchtime, students can participate in interactive experiences, including:
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Launching our giant interactive world map
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"Where am I from?" dot sticker activities and passport stamping
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Greeting stations to learn "Hello" in multiple languages
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Flag crafts, cultural symbol drawing, and world music playlists
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Bilingual storytelling and cultural book browsing
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On Friday, 21st August, at approximately 9:00 am (weather permitting), we will conclude the week with our Cultural Celebration Parade on the astroturf. We invite children to dress in cultural clothing, colours, or symbols that represent their own heritage or the country/culture their class has been exploring throughout the week. Simple and symbolic representations are perfect—the focus is on celebrating our school's rich diversity.
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Families are warmly welcome to stay and watch the parade. Additionally, the library will be open to all families before school from 8:30 am throughout the week. We encourage you to come in, view the student contributions, and explore our multilingual displays.
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Children can remain in their cultural clothing for the remainder of Friday 21st August. The school uniform can also be worn if that is your preference.
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On Tuesday this week the Year 5 & 6 speech finals were held in the mini hall. There were 15 finalists selected from the 7 classes. Each finalist had written, practised and presented a speech that fit within the theme of Our Roots, Our Voice, Our Future, and had successfully presented it to their class before being selected to participate in the final. Our judges Mrs Nathan and Mrs Elisara had the challenging job of selecting a finalist and runner up from the speeches presented in the final. Sofia R, Y6 received first place, and she will represent Glendowie School at our zone competition on Wednesday 19th August, with Sion K, Y5 being selected as the runner up for 2026.
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The finalists for Year 5 and 6 for 2026 were:
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Room 13 - Sion K, Amelia G, Pyara S
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Room 16 - Kyle R, Jude I, Willow M
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Room 15 - Jessica R, Amoré L
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Room 25 - Daragh K, Ella P
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Room 26 - Borja S, Oscar J
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Room 27 - Sofia R, Sean L
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Well done to these students, along with all of the year 5 and 6 students who wrote, practised and presented their speeches this year.
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What an epic week for Year 2!
Not only did we perform our class assembly, but the very next day we tackled our Cross Country race.
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We kicked off our assembly by introducing a visitor from Mars, "The Marrog," through a poem. We taught him all about the human digestive and respiratory systems, as well as how Earth creates day and night. In return, we learned that Mars does the exact same thing—just taking an extra 37 minutes to "spin across the spacey floor"! We also shared the story of Matariki, explaining the meaning and traditions behind its nine stars.
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The next day was Cross Country! Luckily, the rain cleared and the sun came out just in time. The track was wonderfully muddy, leaving flecks of mud up our backs as our feet squelched through the course. Every class ran an exciting race, filled with great effort and enthusiastic cheering from the side lines.
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What a super week of effort and learning!
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Year 5 Celebrates Maths Week
Maths Week is underway, and Year 5 has really embraced the inquiry process. It’s been great seeing students engage in morning activities before the bell, jump into group problem solving during class, and explain their thinking to their classmates.
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Throughout the week, students have been working through open-ended challenges that require them to test different strategies, listen to other perspectives, and reflect on how they approach tricky problems.
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It is inspiring to know that our classes are part of a massive nationwide community of roughly 280,000 students and teachers all diving into mathematics together this week. Thank you to all of our Year 5 learners for showing such great curiosity, persistence, and enthusiasm for problem solving!
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Parents' Association
Disco Night – Red Carpet
We can’t wait to see you all dressed to impress for tonight’s Red Carpet-themed disco! Tickets are just $5 at the door, so everyone is welcome to come along and join the fun. The tuck shop will be open, there’ll be face painting, and our DJ will have everyone entertained with plenty of great music! We’ll see you tonight for a fantastic evening!
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Runathon
It’s Run-a-thon time again! Get ready for plenty of running, music, bubbles, fun and prizes! Parents and caregivers are welcome to come along and support on Tuesday 25th August.
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Years 0–2 will be running laps around the school AstroTurf.
Years 3–8 will be running in Glendowie Park, using the concrete pathway near Colchester Ave.
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It is a non-uniform event with an athletic/sporty theme. Running shoes are compulsory, especially for Years 3–8. The class raising the most money in each group will win a shared pizza lunch! So lace up, get fundraising and let’s run our way towards an awesome new school pool!
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For more details please check the information earlier in the newsletter.
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Parents’ Quiz Night
We’re excited to invite all parents and caregivers to our Parents’ Quiz Night, to be held at the Churchill Club on Friday 18th September. It promises to be a fun-filled evening with a great quiz, plenty of laughs, and an exciting silent auction.
We’re currently seeking donations for our silent auction and would love your support. Whether you’re able to donate a product, service, voucher, or another fantastic prize, every contribution helps us raise valuable funds for our school. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to showcase your business to our school community. If you are interested in making a donation please email glendowieprimarypa@gmail.com.
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Next PA meeting
7pm, Thursday 27th August, staffroom, all welcome.
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- Disco - Friday 14th August (tonight!)
- Runathon - Tuesday 25th August
- Parent's Social Evening - Friday 18th September
- Expert Speaker - date TBC
- Colour Run - 4th December
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Upcoming Events
- Tuesday 18th August - Board Meeting, 6.30pm - Boardroom
- Friday 21st August - Cultural Celebration Parade, 9am - AstroTurf
- Friday 21st August - Y0 Pet Stock Trip
- Tuesday 25th of August - Runathon
- Thursday 27th August - Parents' Association Meeting, 7pm - Staffroom
- Friday 28th August - Second Hand Uniform Shop, 8.30am
- Monday 31st of August & Tuesday 1st of September - School Photos
- Wednesday 2nd of September - Year 1, 2, 3 Student Led Conferences
- Thursday 3rd of September - Year 4, 5, 7, 8 Student Led Conferences
- Friday 11th September- Second Hand Uniform Shop, 8.30am
- Friday 18th September – Parents’ Association Quiz Night
- Friday 11th September- Second Hand Uniform Shop, 8.30am
- Friday 25th September – Last Day of Term
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Community Notices
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