Leadership Centre
Curriculum
There was a high amount of anticipation and excitement in the air as the senior students returned to school after an extended time away. Everyone eagerly waited outside the Eugenia Street gate ready to reconnect with their peers and teachers.
The morning session consisted of students spending time catching up on their remote learning experience, sharing their highlights during circle time and settling back into their routine. It was evident that some students spent most of their time away from school growing...and...growing...and growing….so much so that they are taller than a lot of the teachers!
We have continued the debating unit and commenced round two of debates. We focused on delivering quality and strong rebuttals (or counter arguments) and practised this by conducting a line debate. This is where two teams stand in a line facing each other, one arguing for and one against the given topic. When a member of a team presents their argument they step forward. If the argument was deemed strong enough they then chose a member from the opposing team to swap sides. This highlighted that in any debate there are always two sides and you need to be ready to argue either side. Students were then allocated a debating topic, either ‘Gender stereotyping still happens today’, ‘We should become a nude food school’ and ‘We should change our national anthem’. Students spent time brainstorming arguments for and against the topics, deciding on the order of speakers and started drafting their speeches. Groups will continue to develop their speeches this week and we look forward to watching the debates later in this week.
In Maths, students have been measuring, classifying and investigating different types of angles which will then be incorporated into their design of a golf course. Students ruled up to 30 different lines on paper and then had a partner measure all of the different angles. It was soon made aware that interior angles inside a triangle
equal 180 degrees and that vertically opposite angles are equal. At the end of each lesson students self-assessed their progress by marking themselves out of four for how powerful
their learning was as well as their effort. These lessons connect to a real-world context which make the tasks purposeful and engaging. We look forward to combining these concepts and skills when students design their own golf course hole and even have an opportunity to set it up and actually play it!
In Guided Inquiry, students are researching an influential person that has helped shape Australia. These are people that have had an impact with exploration, their involvement with standing up for human rights and representing different groups of people as well as their contribution to medicine, business, industry and enterprise. Students were made aware that a lot of these influential people are found on our bank notes. The Guided Inquiry has two components; the first part where students research their chosen influential person and the second part where they dress-up in character and create a short video summarising their life. This will be done in class in the last week of term.
Last Friday, all classes watched Behind the News and particularly focused on the current world and national issue of racism and equality. Students are commended for the maturity they displayed when watching the student friendly videos as well as when discussing their ideas and opinions. It was highlighted to the students that we are very much a multicultural school and that we need to respect each other’s culture and beliefs.
Have a wonderful week!
Mr Andrew Shaw, Miss Ros Walker, Miss Megan Campbell, Mr Hamish Burrill, Mrs Louise Naismith and Mrs Lisa Jones
Student Voice
Eddie T - “I was really excited about coming back to school because we got to see our friends and teachers.”
Lavinia M - “I was really happy about coming back to school and seeing friends and being able to play with everyone. It was really fun going on the new web”
Reminders
- Please ensure that you are up to date with camp payments and that the relevant forms have been returned to school.
Pupil of the Week
5/6B: Lily H -
For contributing a range of arguments and discussion points during class Line Debates. Your points were well thought out, logical and presented clearly and concisely to your opposition. Well done Lily.
5/6C: Adi A -
For settling back into classroom routines and being an active participant during all our class discussions. Amazing effort Adi, we love hearing your opinions!
5/6SB: Maja A -
For contributing mature and valuable ideas during class discussions that focused on current world issues. Keep up the great effort Maja.
5/6W: Claire S -
For providing valuable insights related to current global events when engaging in class discussions. You spoke with confidence and encouraged your peers to participate. Great work, Claire!