Somerville Rise Primary School

History and Writing – Life and Land Inquiry

This term, students have been exploring history through our inquiry unit, Life and Land: The Impact of Colonies on People and the Environment. To integrate our learning in writing with inquiry, students researched an important woman from the colonies or a significant person involved in the colonisation of Australia.

Students worked hard to gather information and write a biography using the subheadings: Basic Information, Early Life, Main Achievements, Contributions and Impact, and Interesting Facts. This task encouraged students to develop their research, note-taking, and informational writing skills while deepening their understanding of historical figures and their influence on Australia’s past.
Students were then able to choose how to present their work, either through a poster or a PowerPoint presentation, and were encouraged to include multimodal elements such as images, visuals, and design features to enhance their presentations.

To conclude the task, students confidently presented their biographies to the class, developing their speaking and listening skills while sharing their knowledge with others. It has been wonderful to see students build confidence in public speaking and demonstrate their creativity, effort, and historical understanding throughout this unit.

🚲Our lunchtime Bike & Scooter Club has quickly become a favourite part of the week!

The kids absolutely love getting outside with their friends, practicing their skills and enjoying some extra movement and fresh air during the school day🛴

🔴💛⚫️NATIONAL INDIGENOUS WEEK INCURSION⚫️💛🔴

As part of our acknowledgement and celebration of National Reconciliation Week, we are excited to welcome Sean Choolburra to our school on Wednesday June 3rd for a special free incursion in the school gym.
Born and raised in Townsville, Sean’s ancestors are Gu-Gu-Yalanji, Kalkadoon, Kandju and Bwgcolman peoples from around Townsville and Palm Island. Sean is a charismatic, vibrant and captivating performer who combines humour, storytelling and cultural knowledge to create an engaging experience for students.
Through dance, stories, painting, fire creation and didgeridoo playing, students will have the opportunity to learn about Aboriginal culture and traditions in an interactive and meaningful way. Students will also be encouraged to sing, dance and participate throughout the performance.

We look forward to sharing this exciting cultural experience with our school community.

🌸✨THANK-YOU✨🌸

Without wonderful business donations, schools like Somerville Rise would struggle to raise money to better the school.

This is a big shout out to Studio B and Devilbend Golf Club who graciously donated substantial vouchers to our 2026 Mother’s Day Raffle.

Thank-you so much for the support. 🤍

Walk to school day today 2026🚶🏼🚶🏻‍♀️☀️

It was wonderful seeing so many families and excited students walking alongside their friends this morning. The vibe was amazing, with lots of smiles, chatting and energy to start the day!
A huge thank you to Victoria Police for joining our walk and making the morning extra exciting by showing students the police car, lights and sirens at school 🚓
The students absolutely loved it!
What a great way to promote healthy habits, community spirit and fun before the school day even begins!

📚📖👓

Foundation A students have been working incredibly hard as they continue learning their Stage 4 sounds and building confidence in their reading skills!
It has been wonderful to see so many students excited about moving up reading levels and becoming more independent readers. During our literacy sessions, students have been practising blending and segmenting sounds, building their phonemic awareness skills and applying their growing knowledge during independent and partner reading activities.
Students have also been enjoying reading decodable texts, practising heart words, tracking print carefully and supporting one another during partner reading time. It has been fantastic to watch their confidence, fluency and love of reading continue to grow each week.

We are so proud of the effort Foundation A students are putting into their learning!

👟🚶‍♂️WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY🚶‍♂️👟

Tomorrow, Friday May 22nd is Walk Safely to School Day.

Those who wish to participate with teachers, members of Victoria Police and other peers, are to meet at Clarendon Drive Playground/Reserve at 8:10am with a parent or adult guardian.

On arrival at school, Breakfast club will be available to all students to fuel you back up before the school day begins.

🌊🐬iSEA iCARE WORKSHOP🐬🌊

On Tuesday, Somerville Rise were excited to host the Term 2 iSea iCare workshop.
40 student ambassadors from nearby schools came together in our
Library to learn about our local marine environment. They learnt about
where marine debris comes from and it’s pathways to the ocean.

Ambassadors then went on to teach what they’d learnt to our very own
Year 1/2 classes. This required a lot of confidence and clear communication
skills. We are so proud of our Ambassadors- Evie, Annabelle, Mia, and Nate. Big thanks
to Miss Mayor and Elisha for helping to organise and host the day.