Physical Education

In PE this term, we have an overarching focus on teamwork and sportsmanship. Encouraging students to feel safe, secure, and supported in their environment. A large part of physical education encourages students to participate and give it ago, no matter their skills or ability, reminding students that they might never learn or get better if they don't have a go. Students from each class have come up with a 'classroom agreement.' These are expectations the students have developed for the year. You can see them displayed around the gym.

Foundations this fortnight have been focusing on 'getting to know you' games; this included getting to know Mrs Green. We have played 'get to know' you tag and have encouraged students to get used to the whistle through a game of 'can you make.' We will be moving on in the next couple of weeks to performing the overarm throw.

The Junior classes have also focused a little on getting to know each other and Mrs. Green. Warmup games have encouraged students to become familiar with the whistle. The students loved dinosaur island; this involved students using a scooter and a rope to help their teammates move from dinosaur island to fun land. Students used strategic thinking, teamwork, and aerobic ability to discover the best way to get to fun land and beat the other team.

Middle and senior students have been focusing on the overarm throw. Students at this level will have an idea of performing this skill, with most students successfully being above or at level. We have refreshed the overarm throw steps; Point, Look, Side stance, and Muscles. Students use different language to remember these steps, including superhero stance: this reminds students to stand side on with their back arm showing their muscles and their front arm pointing toward the target. We also tell students to 'put money in their pocket'; this reminds students as they throw the ball, their hand will follow through, placing the pretend money in the opposite pocket. Our warmup games change depending on the focus of the lesson. However, there have been many requests from students to play octopus; this is a fan favourite.

It has been a great couple of weeks getting to know all the wonderful students.

Kate Green

Visual Arts

Welcome to the Art Room! We have had a fantastic start to the year with all students being a part of putting together our classroom agreement. We looked at how we show Excellence, Resilience and Respect while in Art and together, we built our agreement. You will see this displayed around our Art room and hear the students reminded of it while setting up, working, cleaning up, moving around the room and interacting with others.

Please ensure all students have brought an art smock to school. These are very important in keeping our school uniforms clean as we will be working with textas, markers, glue, paint and clay. Art smocks will be kept in classrooms and brought to art each week.

Foundation are focussing on drawing and collage this term. They are working through basic drawing skills and following simple instructions while learning the ropes of the art room. Cutting techniques and glueing will be the focus while working on paper collages later this term.

Junior School are getting their hands messy working on construction and creating paper mache ice creams and fruit inspired bowls. Paper mache is a french term meaning 'chewed paper' which you build up until it is thick enough. Once, dry it can be painted. We can't wait to see what they create!

Middle School are testing out their sculpture skills creating clay tribal masks and coil pots. Using air dry clay, they will work through planning, designing and making their pieces. Using the method of slip and score, they will learn to attach smaller shapes so they do not fall off. By using air dry clay, we do not have to fire the clay, making it ideal for our artroom.

Senior School are using collage artist Megan Coyle as their mentor artist to create collaged animal works of art. The students have begun painting their own papers using a variety of colours in their chosen colour palette. Using simple colours they have experimented mixing them together to create their own individual colours. In the coming weeks, they will cut up their papers to create their collage.

Rebecca Bertrand

Science

It’s wonderful to be back and see so many familiar faces. Science is an exciting way to investigate our curiosity about the world around us, finding questions to our wonderings through the scientific method.

The science hub is already humming as our biology units kicked off the year and it feels as though we have been experimenting away for much longer than what we have.

We spent the first week getting to know each other and what being a scientist is all about. This important work allows us to build strong teacher, student relationships to ensure a strong collaborative environment is formed to optimise our learning.

Foundation

Our unit Staying Alive centres around what we need and what our pets need to stay alive. So far we have identified that healthy food, water, shelter and air are the most important for not only ourselves but also our pet goldfish.

Juniors

Watch it grow sees the Juniors dive into the world of butterflies and in particular the life cycle. We are comparing the life cycle to our own stages of growth. We have 5 very hungry caterpillars in the hub which we hope to be able to observe each week.

Middle

What is a Taxonomist? Not sure? This very question stumped everyone in Middle School. That’s fantastic because this is exactly what a scientist does, finds answers to questions we have through investigations. Our unit Feather, Fur or Leaves? Is all about the world of classifying which is essentially what a Taxonomist does. We will gain a wealth of new knowledge by the end of the unit and be able to describe observable features of living and non - living things and be able to put groups of objects and animals into categories.

Senior

I don’t think the science hub has smelt this delicious in a while. We were able to unleash our 5 senses on various types of bread. Brioche came out in front as the most popular and who could blame seniors for this decision, it is delicious. So why all this talk about bread you say? Well our unit Marvellous Microorganisms is why! This term we will look at Yeast and how this microorganism does it thing under the right conditions. Harmful and helpful microorganisms, hygiene and types of bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Emma Sceberras

Global Studies

Global Studies / Ethics/ Indonesian

Welcome back to another year of Global Studies/ Ethics and Indonesian. It has been great seeing all the students and parents happy, smiling faces in the playground again. I hope everyone is excited for another year of games, discussions and other hands-on activities during my sessions this year.

Foundation Students have been learning about what right and wrong is and how sometimes something can be both right and wrong depending on how we look at it. We will be looking at celebrations around the world in coming weeks.

Junior Students have been learning about how we can communicate with people from other countries. This is taught in a fun way, in which students learn the importance of body language. We are also learning about fairness, what it means and does everything have to be fair?

Middle students have been learning about fairness and is fairness the same for everyone no matter how old you are, if you have a disadvantage etc. Once again, role plays and group discussions is the fun way that we approach this topic.

Senior students have been learning about Singapore. We are looking at the similarities and differences between Australia and Singapore. It looks like an amazing country and some of our students have even been fortunate enough to have been there and to share their experiences with the class.

I look forward to seeing everyone and having a chat throughout the year,

Kym Wallace

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