Learning Updates

- School of Innovation

Fun and adventure at Camp Howqua 

Year 7 students spent three days at picturesque Howqua last week, engaged in a variety of activities including archery, horse riding, flying fox, high ropes, bush walking and Survivor. As you can see from the photos, the camp received a big thumbs up from the students and the staff.

Exciting things planned for Year 8s this term

Welcome back to Term 2! This term in Year 8 we have many exciting things planned. To start us off, students will have two excursions in Week 3. On Tuesday, May 10, the Year 8s will travel to Melbourne Museum to explore the ‘Story of Melbourne’ exhibit. This will give us an opportunity to delve into our Global Learning provocation, ‘Built structures meet the needs of their Occupants’. On Friday, May 13, students will hike up Mt Major to investigate some natural features of our local environment. The Year 8 team is very excited to offer the students these opportunities and we are looking forward to taking the learning outside of school and into our community!

Our English unit this term focuses on informative writing. Students will explore the features that form an informative text. These skills will be put to use as they plan, develop and create their own informative text to educate an audience. 

In Religious Education, students will investigate and understand the Kingdom of God and how we can contribute to this on a daily basis. Students will begin to explore scripture where Jesus shows us how to care for all people, especially those who are oppressed and less fortunate.

In Mathematics, students will begin the term by exploring the topic of Measurement. Students will be able to apply these skills to their Global Learning assessment, which will see them design and lay out a tiny home. We will also continue developing our knowledge of Pattern and Algebra later in the term.

Students have again been offered a Technology selection of their choice this term. They have been offered the opportunity to participate in Woodwork, Food Technology, Jewellery Making or Photography. We look forward to sharing some of their creations in the coming weeks. 

An assessment outline for the term was emailed to Year 8 families earlier this week.

 - Year 8 Learning Mentors Olivia Sorbello, Brooke Allen, Brooke Kelly and Ciaran Hubble 

Year 7s off to a great start 

Welcome back! We have had an exciting start to Term 2 with the Howqua Camp in Week 1. The students were terrific and Camp Howqua complimented us on how respectful the students were. 

This morning the Year 7s had an early start, with a trip to Melbourne Museum to launch themselves into our Global Learning unit which explores how ‘Our lives are richer if we understand our past’. This will be embraced using Ancient Civilisations to explore this provocation. 

Our English learning explores descriptive writing, with students writing about ‘A day in the life . . . ’ of someone from an Ancient Civilisation. It will also allow students to develop their analytical skills in their exploration of the cause and effect of different factors on a chosen Ancient Civilisation.

In Religious Education, students will continue to explore how we belong with a focus on faith, and begin to explore the early church and its impact on the world in the past. Students will critically reflect upon the church today and compare it with life in early Christian communities. 

Students will begin by exploring Algebra in Mathematics this term and this will continue to build on their number and place-value skills, at the same time as they learn to work with pronumerals and unknown values. This topic will be followed up with Geometric Reasoning, exploring different mathematical skills.

An assessment outline for the term was emailed to families earlier this week.

 -  Year 7 Learning Mentors Marian Segrave, Keshia Dean, Cindy Luksch and Chelsea Nicholson

St Anne's College Year 7 student Chase Morgan performed the Welcome to Country at the opening of the Catholic Education Sandhurst youth event, Ablaze, in Shepparton on Thursday. The uplifting two-day event drew students from Catholic schools in the Shepparton area to Eastbank for appearances by Fr Rob Galea and other performers as well as guest speakers.

Flight time tested in science challenge

As a way to get back into learning for Term 2, we had Year 9 students work in groups to create a paper helicopter. They were required to time how long it took for this helicopter to reach the ground when dropped. Students were asked to test this time against dropping a paper ball, as well as making adjustments to their helicopter (adding weight, making the wings smaller etc.) to see if it would speed up or slow down the motion. We had a final tournament with the helicopter that could last in the sky the longest, being the winner! For the remainder of Science this term, students can elect what they wish to investigate and study out of the following options: Chemistry, Earth and Space Science and Brain and Nerve Science. 

 - Millie Nye, School of Innovation Learning Mentor