Our classrooms are predominantly composite classes, designed to best suit the needs of our students. This year we have 5 classrooms - a Prep class, a Grade 1/2/3 class, a Grade 3/4 class, a Grade 4/5 class and a Grade 6 class.

Our Prep teacher this year is Angela Stringer.

Over the years, Angela has worked at Paynesville Primary School in a part-time capacity as the specialist teacher in Library, PE, ICT, Art and Kitchen. In 2020 Angela returned full-time into a classroom role, team teaching middle school with Mary Sowa, while Kate Ingram was on sick leave, then continued in Terms 3 and 4 as the Grade 3/4 Literacy and Numeracy teacher, working with small groups. Then in 2021 and 2022 Angela took on the role of Prep teacher, in 2023 she was our Prep/Grade 1 teacher, and we are very lucky to have her again this year as our Prep teacher.

Both of Angela's sons attended Paynesville Primary School and are now in university! As a family, they spend their time on the farm and capturing all the fun the Lakes have to offer. Angela says that Paynesville Primary School has many great programs on offer and she encourages all students to make the most of their opportunities and enjoy life to the max! 

Mary Sowa is our Grade 1/2/3 teacher this year. 

To give you a brief run-down of what we plan to cover this term:

Reading - we will be spending 5 weeks on fiction texts (learning about plot, characters, themes and word-use) and 5 weeks on non-fiction texts (learning about summarizing and subject-specific words).

Writing - our focus will be 5 weeks on narrative writing and 5 weeks on persuasive writing. We are also planning to be creating a weekly 2/3/4 magazine, which will feature student writing. We will do handwriting or touch-typing each week. 

Spelling - we are using the Oxford spelling program this year. Students will also do one day on grammar per week.  

Maths - topics for this term are: place value, addition and subtraction. 

Swimming - Tues & Thurs for the first 5 weeks.

Respectful Relationships & Resilience - problem-solving and managing stress.

Specialist Subjects - Art (with Deanne); Kitchen (with Mrs Clack); and Music (with Mrs Jefferis).

OUR GRADE 3/4 CLASS

Our Grade 3/4 teacher this year is Krystal Lewis. Krystal joined our Paynesville team for the first time in 2023, teaching alongside Jarryd Floyd in our Grade 5/6 area.  We are very excited to have Krystal with us again this year as our Grade 3/4 teacher.

OUR GRADE 4/5 CLASS

Jessica Sargant is our Grade 4/5 teacher this year. Jess is back from maternity leave and we are thrilled she has returned.

Our Senior Team Leader and Grade 6 teacher this year again is Jarryd Floyd. This is Jarryd’s tenth year at Paynesville Primary School.  

Learning in 2024
Term one will see us target a fun and wide range of learning topics.

In writing we will be covering a range of genres including Autobiography, Biography, persuasive and recount.

In reading, we will be covering strategies that will assist students with their comprehension of texts. These include visualising, connecting, asking questions and inferring. We are also focussing on reading stamina, which will see students practice lengthening the amount of time they can comfortably read for.

In maths we will be covering topics such as, shape, line and angles, place value and addition/subtraction. We’ll continue testing through our usual pre/post testing, as well as through essential assessment. 

Inquiry this term will see us all become Brainologists as we study the brain in our science units. By the end of the unit students will have a deeper insight into how the brain changes as we learn, as well as the purpose and function of different areas of our brains. We will also be exploring some of the physical and behavioural features of desert plants and animals, and compare them with plants and animals that live in other environments. Students will pose questions and develop evidence based claims to support their reasoning. Through hands on activities, students will investigate how the features of desert plants and animals will help them to survive in their own natural environment.

This year students in Grade 6 will be learning Japanese. This will include students learning greetings, pets, food, family members, and numbers 1-10.

Feel free to come by the Grade 6 classroom at any time to meet Jarryd – our classroom is always open during school hours!