The Girton eLink

Junior School News

From the Head of Junior School

 

We have had 3 very busy weeks with International Day, Junior School Ensembles and our Junior School Festival of Literature including our Book Week activities. It has been wonderful to see how each event has been embraced with such enthusiasm by staff, students and by our parents. We were very thankful for the number of parents who volunteered to run cultural activities for our students for International Day. It was also great to see how many of our students were willing to get up on stage and present to our International Day assembly. The cultural sharing was a joy to be involved with. 

 

At our Junior School Assembly last Friday we hosted two guests, Kieren Noonan, Head of Innovation and Learning from Independent Schools Victoria and Flossie Chua, Principal Investigator from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Kieren and Flossie have been working with Dr O’Reilly for Harvard’s Project Zero – Ideas into Action research and were touring the school as part of our involvement. Both have extensive experience in schools within Australia and around the world and they were amazed by the respect, energy and enthusiasm shown by our students during the assembly, from the reading of our shared RULER story to the “big reveal” of the Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award Winners, the announcement of our newest school member and for the individual student announcements at the end of the assembly. We know that we have a great program but it is always good to have external affirmation, particularly when it comes from educators with the breadth of experience of Kieren and Flossie.

 

Finally, the part of the assembly that got the biggest response from our students was the announcement of a new member of our school community who will be commencing with us once he has completed his induction training. Our students were very excited to hear that the Junior School will soon welcome Murphy, an F1 Standard Groodle, who will join us as our Junior School Wellbeing Dog. Murphy is 11 weeks old and is being cared for by Mrs Vernon and her family. We have partnered with Dogs Connect to assist us in the training of Murphy, staff and students in preparation for Murphy’s arrival. Murphy’s profile information can be found later in the eLink but students and parents can keep up to date with Murphy’s progress on his Astra page here:

 https://astra.girton.vic.edu.au/homepage/25752

 

 

 

Mr Donald Thompson

Head of Junior School

 

 

Ensembles Evening

 

Last week saw the annual Ensembles Evening return to the stage. It was wonderful after two years of to see the students perform to an audience in the impressive Ulumbarra Theatre. Congratulations to all Year Three to Six students who were involved in the evening.  All students were involved in the first and last item of the evening and some students had many other performances in between.  It was lovely to see everyone supporting each other and coming together for an amazing performance of ‘I am Australian’ at the end of the evening.  We look forward to future opportunities, where students can showcase their talents.  A gallery and videos of the night's events can be found in an article further on in this edition of eLink.

 

International Day Thank You

Thank you to all our families who contributed to making our International Day Celebrations such a success. It was wonderful to see the talents of our Junior School families at assembly.  The afternoon was a diverse display of international games, craft, cooking and dancing.   Thank you to the following families for their contributions to our International Day activity rotations:  Natsuko Lee, Erin Cullino, Richa Grover, Bhumica Dua, Jyothi Tadamakadla, Anne Leung, Nelly Anwyl, Shamila Dhanapala, Deepshinka Rao, Rebecca Ciancio, Kate Mahony and also the senior school students who came along to assist with the rotations. 

 

 

Book Week and the Festival of Literature

The Junior School was abuzz with all things book related this week as we celebrated both ‘Book Week’ and our very own ‘Festival of Literature’. 

 

Book Week is traditionally a time when the entire school community comes together to highlight the joy that reading brings to our lives. The theme for Book Week this year was ‘Dreaming With Eyes Open’.  We marked this special week with literature activities, fun lunchtime experiences in the library, storytelling and the much anticipated ‘Book Character Parade’.

 

Thank you to our Senior School students who joined Junior School classrooms on Monday to read their favourite storybook.  Jessica Fraser (8 Aherne), Maggie Walmsley (8 Aherne), Imogen Stewart (8 Millward), Hayden Foster (8 Aherne), Hamish Knight (8 Aherne), Eva Thackray (10 Aherne), Monique Reid (10 Aherne) and Bailey Dolan (10 Aherne).

 

Incorporated into the celebrations, as an adjunct programme, was the ‘Festival of Literature’. Preparatory to Year Six students were immersed in literature-related experiences each day of the week, such as the interactive ‘Book Speed Dating’ activity where beloved texts were introduced, shared and discussed with peers. Another favourite was the Cross-Aged session where older and younger students worked together on a collaborative book-related project.

 

To inspire our students’ creativity, we welcomed Chris Kennett to our school. Chris is an illustrator/author of picture books and junior fiction, working on series such as ‘Crossbones’, ‘The Nerd Herd’, ‘School of Monsters’ and the’ Star Wars’ Golden Books. Chris delivered engaging workshop presentations to the Junior School students. He demonstrated how a few initial ideas can act as a spark to produce a character sketch, which in turn can become the stimulus to fashion a fully developed plot- along with character motivations, a dilemma to be overcome and a satisfactory resolution for the reader.

 

In addition, Chis conducted a sketching masterclass with a small group of students chosen from across the year levels. He generously passed on many excellent tips and techniques for creating illustrations and discussed how he produces art using pen and paper and digital applications.

 

What a wonderful week to motivate and nurture our collective love of literature!

 

 

Daffodil Day

On Thursday 18th August, Junior School students wore a ‘Splash of yellow or purple’ in honour of Cancer Council research.  Traditionally the Junior School students have walked laps at the Relay for Life event but this year, they took a different angle and raised money by dressing in a splash of colour and creating a beautiful Wall of Hope.  Together the Junior School raised over $500 in donations and sale of Daffodil Day items. 

 

 

PMP

 

Over the course of the past 4 weeks, as part of the 2022 Physical Education Program, the Preparatory and Year One classes have been involved in a Perceptual Motor Program (PMP). The program aims to develop children’s perceptions and understandings of themselves and the world through movement & motor experiences and challenges. Through participating in the program, the students are given the opportunity to improve their fitness, balance, hand-eye coordination, gross motor skills, and self-confidence.  Another benefit of the program is that it allows students to build an understanding of spatial concepts such as in, on, under, over, through, behind, in front of, and between.

 

Physical activity enhances children’s cognitive and emotional development, not just their fitness. A Perceptual Motor Program enables children to develop in all areas: body, mind, and soul. Below are some interesting facts that outline the benefits of such a program:

  • Research shows that children with adequate perceptual motor skills have more self-confidence, greater body awareness, and improved coordination.
  • Physical activity builds neural pathways which are the connections by which information travels through the brain. A child whose brain has more neural pathways will learn more easily.
  • Perceptual Motor Programs strengthen bilateral coordination. This is the ability to coordinate both sides of the body at the same time in an organised way. 
  • Bilateral coordination is a necessary skill at school. Students write their names with one hand while stabilizing the paper with the other. They hold scissors in one hand while turning the paper with the other. They guide a pencil with one hand while keeping a ruler steady with the other.
  • All communication skills, including speaking, reading, writing, and gesturing are motor based.
  • New research in education and psychology shows a close relationship between a child's perception (ability to process what they take in through their senses) and their motor (movement) skills.

 

In order for the Perceptual Motor Program at Girton Grammar to operate smoothly, safely and for it to be ‘educationally sound’, helpers were required for each of the sessions. Mr Doherty designed and facilitated the sessions and then enlisted the support of our students from Years Three, Four, Five and Six. During the sessions, the Preparatory and Year One students were placed with a senior student helper who would lead them through the activity stations ensuring they were safe and were completing the challenges accordingly. Not only did the little ones benefit from the experience but it also gave our older students the opportunity to be mentors, giving them valuable leadership opportunities.

 

Quality Physical Education is a vital part of any school curriculum and students need the opportunity to be immersed in as much physical activity as possible. We look forward to offering the Perceptual Motor Program again next year.

 

Mr John Doherty

Junior School Physical Education Teacher

 

 

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