Specialist News

PE & SPORT

Good luck to the mixed Netball team that will be competing in the Northern Metro Region Netball Finals next Tueday. They recently competed and qualified in their recent District finals in Thornbury. They drew one game and won the rest.

Our intraschool grades 3-6 atheltics carnival was held last Wednesday at Coburg athletics track and there was some great competitive racing and field events conducted. The children competed in 100m, 200m, 800m, discus, shotput, high jump, long jump and triple jump.

The P-2 students had a mini athletics day at school the next day. They had some sprint races and some modified throwing, jumping and running activities. The children had lots of fun and was well attended by a number of parents. A big thank you to some of the 5/6 students who ran the events.

Summer sports finals will be commencing late in Term 3 with the boys bat tennis and boys softball team competing in District finals. Good luck to both teams.

STEM Term 3

Our STEM lessons in Term 3 are all about Physics. How do things move? How do things work? How can we create movement, light or sound? We also continue our progress with working with the robots (Bluebots for the Preps to Grade 2, Spheros for the Grade 3-4s and Sphero Bolt plus for Grade 5-6s). At each year level, the work builds on what has already been covered in previous years or terms. 

In Foundation (Prep) we will be focusing on how things move (force, friction) and how robots move (programming). The Preps will be introduced to the scientific method and examine the difference between digital software (apps) and digital hardware (Ipad/Chromebook).

In Grade 1 and 2 the students will learn about force, sound and light. How are they created? How do they move? Students will use the Ipads to program the robots and then take on a build challenge to create their own moving robot. At the end of the Term, the students will start their course work on code.org (a free online coding program that they will continue to use throughout their Primary school journey).

In Grade 3 and 4, the students will be investigating the fourth area of force - gravity by completing a series of simple experiments. They will then use their knowledge of force and movement to create a game with working movable elements. In coding they will investigate using coding as well as manual control to compete in the annual Sphero Chariot Race after engineering a visual but practical ‘float/shell’ for their sphero to compete. There will be a stand alone lesson looking at food production and healthy eating.

In Grade 5 and 6 we will be looking at creating movement, sound and light by creating and building various circuits. These circuits will then need to be used in a game, designed and created by a group of students (with a small time frame for making available). Hopefully students will have the opportunity to dismantle various items of technology to look at how they are wired and how they work (dependent on the items available). Students will continue to apply their coding skills by continuing on with their code.org course.

As always, If you ever have any questions or would like to contact me - the easiest way is to drop me an email at stephen.lytton@education.vic.gov.au There may be situations where I may email you about a student’s work, behaviour or if the student seems to be consistently absent.

STEM Donations

As part of the STEM program, when we start crafting and building the students use a lot of materials - many of which can be recycled by donating to the school.

Across the year the STEM program could easily use the following donations:-

• Cardboard boxes that can be cut by scissors (cereal boxes, muesli bars, shapes)
• Shoeboxes or boxes of a similar size (for dioramas)
• Paper Towel cardboard tubes (unfortunately we are not allowed to use toilet roll tubes)
• Straws, pipe cleaners,pom poms or any crafting supplies that are spare and unwanted
• Bottle cap lids
• Unused lego (especially standard building blocks)
• Or anything you think the imagination of a child could use.

I am also still collecting any old electronics that may contain a circuit board (such as old dvd players) for the students in grade 5-6 to dismantle  later in Term 3.

These items can be: -

• dropped off outside the STEM room (portables 1+2), opposite the Theircare building
•  placed in the red tub just inside the doors to the school library 
• Left at the school office for Stephen
• sent to STEM with your child.

Any donations big or small are always appreciated. If you don’t need it anymore and you think we can re-use and recycle it - please consider donating.

Thank you Stephen Lytton, STEM Specialist.