From the Head of Junior School

It has been a busy week, with many events bringing our school community together. Last Sunday, Booralee House hosted its annual Chapel Service and our Kindergarten to Year 5 assembly. Thank you to everyone involved, and to all who supported the Great Book Swap as part of our Book Week celebrations. It was a wonderful success. Thank you also to the Kindergarten parents and carers who took the time to attend their daughters’ Celebrations of Learning this week. 

As we celebrate Book Week and this year’s theme, ‘Symphony of Stories’, we are reminded that one of the most powerful ways to nurture a child’s development is also one of the simplest: sharing a book together. Research consistently shows that regular reading aloud supports children’s language, vocabulary, comprehension and future academic learning. It also strengthens attention, imagination and empathy, while creating a calm space for conversation, connection and shared enjoyment. For our youngest learners, stories build the foundations for literacy long before they can read independently. 

The benefits do not stop when children learn to read independently. Primary-aged children continue to benefit from hearing richer and more challenging books, discussing characters and ideas, and discovering new words with an adult. Whether you read a whole story, take turns, revisit a favourite or simply share a few pages, what matters most is making reading a regular and enjoyable part of family life. Let your daughter choose, pause to wonder and predict, and show her that reading is something to enjoy. These small moments help children become confident, curious readers and create treasured family memories along the way. Happy Book Week! 

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This has been an extremely successful week for our Junior School RoboCup teams. They competed in several RoboCup NSW State competitions and returned with an impressive collection of awards: 

• 4th place: Maisy Maze (Overall)
• 4th place: Ollie Onstage (Overall)
• 3rd place: Novice Primary (Tuesday)
• 3rd place: Open Onstage (Overall)
• 2nd place: Intermediate Maze (Overall)
• 2nd place: Open Onstage (Overall)
• 1st place: Novice Primary Onstage (Overall) 

These are outstanding achievements. We are very proud of all our Junior Robotics students and deeply appreciative of the guidance and support provided by our STEM teachers, Bede Schofield and Marie Cassar. 

IPSHA Athletics Carnival 

A number of girls represented MLC School at the IPSHA Athletics Carnival at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre. Congratulations to each student on her selection and participation. Please see our Sport Report for further details. 

Father’s Day Raffle 

Each year the P&F organise a Father’s Day raffle to raise funds for the school, to purchase equipment and resources for our girls that are not in the school’s direct budget. Last year the P&F helped fund the new Junior School play equipment, and this year a new cubby house will be purchased for the playground.

Father’s Day Stall  

All students from Pre-K to Year 6 will have a designated time to purchase a gift for their father, grandfather, uncle, another significant person or someone special to them at our Father’s Day Stall. Cash and card payments will be accepted. If you would prefer that your daughter not participate, please inform her class teacher in advance. The stall schedule is as follows: 

Tuesday 1 September 2026 (during the school day) 

• Pre-K
• Year 5
• Year 6 

Wednesday 2 September 2026 (during the school day) 

• Kindergarten
• Year 1
• Year 2

Thursday 3 September 2026 (during the school day) 

• Year 3
• Year 4 

Thursday 3 September 2026, 8am – 8.30am 

The stall will be open to all students and parents. 

Father’s Day Breakfast – Friday 4 September 2026 

All students with their fathers or significant other are welcome to attend the School’s Father’s Day Breakfast at the Bird Bath Quad on the Senior School campus from 7.15am to 8.15am. You can RSVP in this article.

Paper Plane Challenge – Friday 4 September 2026 

8.30am – 9.30am (8.15am for Year 6) 
Junior School Playground 

Kindergarten to Year 6 parents and carers are invited to join us on the Junior School campus after the Father’s Day Breakfast for our Paper Plane Challenge. 

Fathers and other significant people are invited to work with their daughters to make a paper plane and participate in the challenge. Please go directly to your daughter’s studio after the Father’s Day Breakfast. Every student will make a paper plane and participate in the races; instructions will be provided. 

If you have more than one daughter in the Junior School, you may collect them and go to one classroom to make a family plane. Please let the class teacher know if you are taking one of your daughters to another studio, and go to the youngest child’s studio. 

For the flying competition, Year 6 will walk across to the Junior School campus when ready. Pre-K will stay upstairs and have their own paper plane event in their studio. Pre-Kindergarten students with an older sibling are an exception, they will join their family on the lower playground with the rest of the Junior School.  

The Father’s Day raffle will be drawn at the end of the Paper Planes Challenge.

I look forward to seeing many of you at our Father’s Day events next week.