Hot air balloon inflates the imagination of St Angela’s students

St Angela's students try to figure out how a hot air balloon landed on their oval

St Angela’s Primary, Castle Hill students arrived at school on 20 August, 2015 to find something unusual.

As part of St Angela’s Writing Festival, a hot air balloon that looked as if it had crashed, was placed on the school oval.

The writing festival encourages all students from Kindergarten to Year 6 to write an informative, persuasive or entertaining piece based on the hot air balloon.

Classes came out to examine the scene and its many artefacts and returned to class to plan and begin their writing.

Principal Tony Calabria said the writing festivals are a great way to stimulate students’ imagination.

‘The students were all curious and had their own ideas about what it was and how it got there,’ Tony said. ‘There was a buzz with plenty of talk in every corner of the playground.’

‘We believe initiatives like the Writing Festival are working to improve learning outcomes and are being reflected in our Naplan results, with 80 percent of our Year 3 students in the top two bands for writing’ he said. ‘This and many other strategies have helped our goal of enhancing the children’s writing.’

All written pieces will be published in a special class display folder to be read by others.

What is inside the top secret box?

Written By

Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au

Facebook

26 Sep 2025
From Facebook

26 Sep 2025
From Facebook
2026 Parramatta Diocesan Team Sport Trials are OPEN! 📢 OPEN NOW (Term 4, 2025): Basketball Cricket Tennis AFL (trials in 2026) 📢 OPENING Thursday 27 November 2025: All other sports ✍️Who Can Nominate? Years 5 & 6 (2026): Eligible to nominate for all sports when they open. Year 4 (2026): Eligible to nominate for Basketball, Hockey, Softball, Tennis & Touch Football only. Eligibility & Requirements ✅ Trials are for students who can demonstrate: - Above average ability - High level of skill development - Representative playing experience (for some sports) - Regular competition experience outside of school (preferred) ✅ To be eligible: The 2026 CSPD Primary Sport TEAM Registration Form must be completed. One form per child, per sport. - Schools must approve nominations based on history and criteria. - All fields must be completed, especially Representative Experience where relevant. - No student will be eligible to trial without a completed and school-approved form submitted by the closing date. 👉 Nominate here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScn7SJOotJh1Yk_RuPym9iL8y4HQ3FHVx3v5HN_S1NlYqYKLQ/viewform Closing Dates: Cricket - nominations close 23rd October 2025. Basketball & Tennis - nominations close on 31st October 2025. AFL Boys - trials in early 2026 Any Questions? Please contact your school sports coordinator.