School News
Prep
Did you know that when water droplets get too heavy in the sky, gravity pulls them from the clouds as rain drops?! We had a great time conducting an experiment to test this science. We used a cup with water, foam, and food dye. We put the food dye on top of the foam (cloud) and watched it get pulled down like rain. We have also been learning about the water cycle. We made a water cycle in a bag to show how the sun’s heat will cause the water to evaporate, cool and then condense into small rain-like droplets.
As part of our Inquiry this term we have been learning about butterfly life cycles. Each Prep classroom has had their very own chrysalis and we have been observing the changes over the last 14 days. And as of yesterday, we have one butterfly! We look forward to more butterflies and having a butterfly release early next week.
We also had a great catch up with our Buddies this week. We read a story about the weather then made a season wheel together, discussing the months that relate to the seasons. It is always lovely to see our Buddies chatting away and spending some quality time together.
We hope you have a lovely weekend and look forward to sharing all the wonderful learning in Prep.
The Prep Team
Alarna Creed, Elyce Munnecke, Allie Harrison and Sally Newton
Grade 1 & 2
Dear Level 1/2 Families,
We have been very busy with our learning over the last couple of weeks! Students have completed Learning Tasks to show how much they’ve learnt, and they can’t wait to show you at the end of the term.
Science has been a highlight so far this term. We are learning about Earth and Space Science and have loved looking at puddles and clouds – which there have been a lot of recently! The Grade 2s have participated in experiments and practised recording their findings in a science journal. We’ve also learned about how clouds form and even made our own cloud in a jar!
In Reading, Mo Willems has been the focus of our Author Study. We have loved reading his books and seeing is sense of humour in different characters.
Have a great weekend!
The Level 1/2 Team
Llinos Poole, Kayla Hartrick, Ashleigh Wilson, Emma Wright, Sam Younes & Daena Hailey
Grade 3 & 4
Thank you to those of you who participated in the SSGs this week. It was great to catch up, set goals and share the progress of our students.
We’re almost at the end of our learning task period. The students have put in their best efforts and should be really proud of their work this year.
We’ve recently been joined by Lilydale High students for sports sessions on a Tuesday. The students have loved having activities run by this group. They have participated in cricket, continuous soccer, chookball and teeball. The relationships and interactions between the two groups of students has been wonderful to see.
Please make sure that students have their hats and drink bottles at school and labelled clearly with their name. There have already been a few lost and misplaced hats, resulting in students having to play in the shade at break times.
The Level 3/4 Team
Carolyn Allan, Tim Wilson, Hayley Peirce & Sarah Jones
Grade 5 & 6
The Grade 5/6 students have had a big fortnight of completing the Term 4 Learning Tasks and have completed these admirably. It’s always a busy but important time of the term, and the students have knuckled down to finish these tasks to a Personal Best standard.
Reading
We finished our unit of work around comparing and analysing persuasive texts, such as speeches and opinion pieces. The students showed off their knowledge of persuasive devices and author perspectives, to complete the learning task about the topic of ‘Artificial Intelligence’, or AI as we have come to know it! This week has been tightening our skills and knowledge around comprehension strategies with reading of a variety of written and digital texts.
Writing
Linking with our Reading and learning about strong persuasive arguments, we completed our unit on debating. The students loved learning about the structure and roles required within a debate. They were put into debating teams and given a topic which they had to argue their points in a well-written and strong persuasive speech. The topics were linked to real world scenarios and issues, including video games, use of plastics, global warming and technology. Students had to deliver their speech with the use of strong emotive language, modality words and persuasive devices – all within a time limit of 2-3 minutes. Students will be assessed on the written component and the delivery of their speech. Some students even provided rebuttals during the debates!
Maths
In Maths, we have completed our 3-week unit on Chance & Probability, which culminated in the written learning task last week. This included listing outcomes of chance experiments and representing probabilities as a fraction, decimal and percentage. They were showing their skills in representing chance on a probability scale (between 0-1) and understanding the difference between dependent and independent variables of events.
This week, we have begun learning about volume and capacity. This has included understanding the correct units of measurement, linking volume with capacity, and calculating the volume of prisms using the formula of Volume = length x width x height.
Inquiry
The students have enjoyed working through market research of a chosen product that they could sell. They used their time to research market competition, completed a cost analysis and a written pitch for their product. They have also investigated what resources are needed to make their product, including human, natural and capital resources. Students completed the learning task to show off their skills in some of the areas mentioned.
Science
In Science, the Grade 5/6 students have investigated changes to materials in their everyday lives as a part of the Chemical Science unit. They were put into teams, each with roles to play, and observed everyday materials and the changes that could occur and whether or not they are easily reversable. There will be more experiments and investigations to come throughout the term!
Seniors have also been enjoying training in their chosen sports for inter-school sports Fun Day on November 17th. Check out this action shot from ultimate frisbee!
The Level 5/6 Team
Damien Smith, Megan Pepprell, Brendan Van Haaster and Millie Pinney