Specialists Wonga Weekly

Performing Arts

Prep

Students are continuing their learning on tempo (fast and slow). They will be also be experiencing and categorising the pitch of music/sounds as high or low. Students will explore the sounds/music through listening and movement. Throughout all of their learning they will continue practising the skill of keeping the beat.

Grade 1 and 2

Students are continuing to learn about beat and rhythm. Grade 1 students are learning to recognise and perform the rhythm pattern taa taa ti-ti taa over a steady beat using body percussion and instruments. Grade 2 students are working with a variety of rhythm patterns to learn, sing and play short rounds to investigate how multiple rhythms can fit together in an arrangement. 

Grade 3 and 4

Students are continuing to learn about the ukulele. Students will continue to practise open notes and the C-Chord. They will also be introduced to another single finger chord in Am.  Students who are confident in this will practise moving between these chords. They will play along to music using the open notes and chords they know. 

Grade 5 and 6

Students will compose an ostinato (a repeated musical phrase) on the treble staff using a glockenspiel. They will notate this ostinato using the staff to show pitch and rhythm. Students will revise rhythm patterns and note values to help with this. They will work towards adding another percussion instrument to their composition (e.g. a tambourine). 

Physical Education

Prep

Students will continue to learn the routines of a Physical Education lesson and how to use new equipment safely. They will participate in whole class activities which promote cooperation and teamwork and continue to use Fundamental Motor Skills such as running, skipping and hopping in minor games. 

Grade 1 & 2

Students will consolidate their learning of the overarm throw, focussing on throwing for power and using the skill in minor games. They will continue to build their endurance running in preparation for our Whole School Cross Country.

Grade 3 & 4

Students will continue to focus on the skills of batting and fielding in our Striking unit. They will continue to build up their endurance running in preparation for our Whole School Cross Country.

Grade 5 & 6

In our Cricket unit, students will strengthen their skills of the game while participating in modified matches and small group activities. They are continuing to build up their endurance running in preparation for our Whole School Cross Country.

Visual Arts

*All artwork created in Terms 1 and 2 by all year levels, will be collected and stored at school until our artshow later in the year (excluding a gift from each child for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day).

Prep

Students will participate in rotating stations involving drawing a self portrait, painting rainbow stripes for a background and experimenting with coffee filter and ink absorption.

Grade 1

Students will be continuing to look at ‘Steampunk’ art and using their work from last week, they will sponge metallic paint over the top. They will then choose their favourite print and frame and name it ready for the art show.

Grade 2

Students will begin a piece of work inspired by Australian artist Ken Done. They will look at the Great Barrier Reef coral and use paint sticks and pastels to create their own under the sea drawing. 

Grade 3 and 4

Students will be learning how to holepunch card and thread through slip knots to make tassels for a beach towel art work. They will also decorate their towel using paint markers in a fun and bright design.

Grade 5

Students will continue their textiles unit around Australian artist Pete Cromer’s bird art. This week they will finish adding details and glue them to their base shape before learning how to blanket stitch the perimeter.

Grade 6

Students will continue their textiles unit based on Australian landscapes. Last week they laid their background, middle ground and foreground colours. This week they will begin to add detail to their design. 

STEM

Grade 1 & 2:

Students will handle and observe real plant specimens, notiving roots, bulbs, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits. They will then create groups based on the observable features of these living things. 

Grade 3 & 4:

Students will explore the seed dispersal strategies of a range of plants, and conduct exploding seed pod experiments.

Grade 5 & 6:

This week, students will begin building a model of their chosen habitat, which could be a miniature version, a diorama or poster, or a digital version. They will consider how they will display the environmental conditions of their habitat and the living things within it. In the following weeks, students will learn about how living things have adapted to survive in specific habitats.

Last week, we noticed a challenge in our seed experiments; not many students remembered to water them! Scientists do not just give up - this week we will also look into self watering systems as a solution to our problem.