Primary Specialists
Prep Art
What a fantastic last two weeks. In Week 3, our Prep students used their prior knowledge to create a ‘I love you to pieces’ special persons card for Mother’s Day. In Week 4, students continued to learn about primary colours and inquired into the artist: Piet Mondrian who is a Dutch artist best known for his abstract paintings. He often used primary colours – red yellow and blue. Our Prep students had fun replicating a piece of his work.
Prep Art Donations Please
We're excited to align our Art curriculum with the Prep team's third unit of inquiry, exploring how emotions, attitudes, and beliefs shape our actions. In this spirit, our Prep students will be embarking on a creative project, crafting caterpillars using an assortment of materials to connect texture with emotions.
We're reaching out to request donations. If you have any spare, clean long socks (without holes) that your child no longer needs, we'd appreciate one sock per child to make this project come to life. Additionally, if you have any recycled materials suitable for stuffing these socks to help students understand textures better—such as plastic bottle caps, cotton wool balls, newspapers, rubber bands, beads, or soft plastics like clean bread bags or chip packets—they would be perfect for our project. Please note that if you don't have these items, there's no need to purchase them. We'll collectively utilise the resources we receive.
Please send your donations to your classroom teachers by the 24th of May. Your contributions will be shared among the class and utilised in the upcoming weeks.
Thank you sincerely for your invaluable help and support.
Warm regards, Miss Crane
VISUAL ART YEARS 1-6
In-line with Education Week, Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre are hosting an art exhibition with local primary schools, in which they will display pieces of art from participating schools.
Eighteen, Saltwater College students in Years 4 and 5 were selected from Ms Mancini’s extension class to reproduce a Native Australian Flower, to paint on an A5 canvas.
Our dedicated students worked throughout their lunch and recess to complete these works. that have now been collaboratively mounted onto a 900mm square foamboard.
As of Monday, 13 May to Sunday, 2 June, we are encouraging all parents, stakeholders and the wider community to make their way down to Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre, to vote for our collaborative piece, showcasing the artistic talents of the students here at Saltwater College. The display will be set up near the front of the Aldi store.
YEARS 1 & 2
In weeks 3 and 4, Years 1 & 2 created a Mother’s Day/Special person card in the lead up to Mother’s day. Students followed instructions to colour in the wording on the card and consolidated their cutting skills, before pasting onto a coloured paper background of their choice.
Students were also thinking about colours that their mother’s would like and created patterns on the wording within their cards.
Following on from this the students explored the basics of weaving and its significance in creating patterns. They identified different types of weaving patterns, described the purpose of a loom in weaving and named basic weaving tools and materials.
YEARS 3 & 4
In weeks 3 students in Years 3 & 4 students created art in celebration of a Special day. They investigated the history of Mother’s Day and applied their knowledge of collage to create their Mother’s Day/Special person messages.
In week 4, Year 3 students learned how wool is made and processes used and year 4 students
looked into the properties and textures of hessian fabric and learned basic stitching techniques such as running stitch and blanket stitch.
YEAR 5
In weeks 3 and 4, students in Year 5 began working to create a God’s Eye. Students began by looking at various forms of Symmetry and the way artists usedifferent types of symmetry, to express themselves. They focused on the works of Jay Mohler who weaves Ojos de Dios (yarn mandalas) following a visit to see works of Huichol natives of Mexico.
Students were able to identify different types of symmetry and create lines, shapes and colours to their own mandala designs.
YEAR 6
In weeks 3 and 4, students in Year 6 learned about, indigenous cultures and their crafting techniques. They started to create the first steps taken to start a woven basket or coaster.
Students used procedural handouts showing them how to tie knots within Raffia and wrap the raffia around to create a coaster. Students showed enthusiasm as they continued to turn the raffia and weave, their coasters. Some students began to form a small basket.
SPANISH
¡Hola comunidad de Saltwater P-9 College!
Welcome to our Spanish class newsletter where we'll update you on all the exciting things happening in our classes!
Prep Classes:
- This two weeks prep students have been learning about "días de la semana" (days of the week) and "tamaños" (sizes) such as grande, mediano, and pequeño. They've been having fun exploring these concepts through interactive activities and games.
Grades 1 and 2:
- Grades 1 and 2 have been diving into the world of animals! They've learned about fascinating creatures like jirafa (giraffe), elefante (elephant), león (lion), mono (monkey), cocodrilo (crocodile), hipopótamo (hippopotamus), pájaro (bird), cebra (zebra), and more. They've also been practicing expressing their likes and dislikes with "me gusta" and "no me gusta."
Grades 3 and 4:
- Students in Grades 3 and 4 have been exploring "edificios y lugares en la ciudad" (buildings and places in the city). They've learned vocabulary words such as iglesia (church), parque (park), plaza (plaza/square), hospital (hospital), banco (bank), colegio (school), tienda (store/shop), biblioteca (library), zapatería (shoe store), tienda de ropa (clothing store), panadería (bakery), cine (cinema), gimnasio (gym), and more. They've enjoyed watching videos to remember the words and then engaging in fun activities related to "lugares en la ciudad."
Grades 5 and 6:
- In Grades 5 and 6, students have been learning about "pasatiempos" (hobbies and pastimes). They've explored activities such as correr (running), montar en bicicleta (riding a bike), escuchar música (listening to music), jugar fútbol (playing soccer), jugar tenis (playing tennis), practicar deportes (practicing sports), dibujar (drawing), escribir cuentos (writing stories), ver la tele (watching TV), ir de compras (shopping), pasar tiempo con amigos (spending time with friends), nadar o esquiar (swimming or skiing), bailar (dancing), beber (drinking), cocinar (cooking), hablar por teléfono (talking on the phone), leer o viajar (reading or traveling), and more. They've also been practicing agreement with "a mí también" (me too) and "a mí tampoco" (me neither).
We're so proud of all our students for their enthusiasm and dedication to learning Spanish. Keep up the great work, and let's continue exploring the beauty of the Spanish language and culture together!
¡Hasta luego!
Spanish Team, Saltwater P-9 College.
dedication and hard work of our Spanish language learning community. Each one of you brings something unique to the table, enriching our collective learning experience.
So, here's to a term filled with growth, discovery, and endless possibilities. ¡Adelante, amigos! Let's make Term 2 a journey to remember.
Adios..
Media, with Mr. Brendan Howarth
It is time for our final week of our Media Unit! Classes are wrapping up, publishing and celebrating their learning.
Year One:
After an eye-opening lesson about how things like the planets, shoe brands and even jewellery are named after the Greek and Roman gods, we concluded the unit by watching Hercules.
Year Two:
Students were creative and engaging learners, using their photography and literacy skills to publish print advertisements for cans of tomatoes, complete with catchy slogans.
Year Three:
Having extended their knowledge of framing shots for still-image photography, the Year Three students are experimented with basic shot types for filming. This includes camera movements, such as pan, tilt, dolly, etc.
Year Four:
Students concluded the unit by wrapping up their viewing and analysis of Indigenous Australian kids show, Thalu. This has been an engaging unit, with students developing their understanding of Australia's history.
Year Five:
In our final Media lesson, students presented their short films to the class, showing their creativity and editing skills.
Year Six:
For our final session in Year Six, students presented their art pieces based on a personal, societal, or school value.
DANCE.
In dance we have been focusing on attention to detail in various exercises, following set out instructions, expanding creative ideas, and all the while staying within the guidelines provided. This has seen some great results displayed by students and classes throughout, and has also seen it’s challenges along the way. These team building exercises were created to build communications skills between students, providing insight to other elements such as problem solving, listening skills, compromise, time management, openminded and creative output, risk taking and building confidence, while working collectively as a team to achieve a common goal in the time provided.
Students were placed in teams with classmates they don’t always associate with, in order to help break down any unfamiliar grounds or barriers, in return creating new class working relationships between students moving forward. Team work and team building are an essential part of any professional and personal journey we all have, and is such a vital part of everyone’s development.
DANCE...WAKIKIRRI
Wakakirri rehearsals are well with all students working hard as we move forward in this journey. Moving forward we will be breaking up the cast into seperate groups for different sections of the performance as we create more layers and depth for the storyline. The teamwork and support the cast has for each other has been amazing and so positive, creating a stronger bond between students off stage which will also filter out onstage to make for a more impactful and powerful performance. Tickets will be on sale soon to see them perform soon.
DANCE...VSSS
Our VSSS dancers ventured out on their second combined schools Hub rehearsals last week for another full day of dance rehearsals. They spent the first half of their day revisiting past routines learnt and going through any changes or adjustments that had to be made. Following this the students then went on to learn another two new routines to add to the repertoire of songs they will be performing to in September for the VSSS.Our Saltwater dancers we professional in their approach and behaviour and represented our school to the highest level as always. Saltwater dancers you’ve done us proud yet again! :)
Mandarin With Miss Xiong
Year 1-2
Our class is embarking on an exciting journey of Chinese language learning, centered around exploring Chinese through the five senses. It is a good opportunity for students to know representative body part and facial parts in Chinese. The students are encouraged to participate in video learning, classroom discussions and art activities, which can express their imagination and feelings, further reinforcing their understanding of Chinese vocabulary and expressions.
Year 3-4
Our class is currently immersed in the exciting world of Chinese language learning, focusing on Chinese fruits. We have been utilizing various online learning platforms such as Wordwall and Kahoot! to make learning Chinese fruits interactive and fun for the students. By writing out the names of Chinese fruits in both Pinyin and characters, we've been incorporating writing practice into our lessons to strengthen the students' connection with Chinese characters and Pinyin.
Year 5-6
The enriching learning experience our class is currently undergoing, as we delve into the fascinating world of Chinese traditional culture. From exploring the dynamics of different Chinese dynasties to learning about traditional Chinese attire and even diving into the inspiring story of one of China's most iconic heroines, Mulan, we're immersing ourselves in the rich tapestry of Chinese heritage. One highlight of our cultural exploration is the viewing of Disney's Mulan, students engage in discussions and worksheet activities to reflect on Mulan's character and the cultural themes portrayed in the Chinese community.
Physical Education
Throughout the last two weeks in P.E we have been busy practicing our throwing and catching skills. This will lead us into our winter sports program, that will include AFL, Soccer, Netball and Hockey.
This week we have been lucky enough to have AFL Victoria join us and run clinics with all year levels. It has been very pleasing seeing all students engage in these clinics and taking risks to improve their skills. We may even have some future AFL stars on our hands!
Stay tuned for our next newsletter that will include a report and photos from our year 5 and 6 Athletics day.
Also a reminder to all year 3 and 4 students that your Athletics carnival is fast approaching and to get your payment and approval done on Xuno as soon as possible.
Music
Dear Students and Families of Saltwater P-9 College,
As we approach the end of our first music rotation, we’re thrilled to share the exciting progress and accomplishments of our students. From exploring rhythmic patterns to composing melodic masterpieces, each grade has embarked on a unique musical journey, fostering creativity and collaboration along the way.
In Prep, students have been delving into the world of “Sound Stories,” using symbols and shapes to visualize and create their own musical expressions.
Grade 1 students have been honing their rhythmic skills, crafting original pieces and challenging each other to perform using traditional notation.
In Grade 2, budding composers have been experimenting with melody, creating simple yet captivating tunes and sharing their creations with peers.
Grade 3 students have been exploring music through hands-on experiences, from playing glockenspiels to refining their own melodies based on feedback and reflection.
Meanwhile, Grade 4 students are putting the finishing touches on their melodic compositions using ‘Noteflight,’ showcasing their musical prowess on School Box.
In Grades 5 & 6, students are embracing the world of sound loops, crafting dynamic soundtracks for dramatic videos, showcasing their versatility and creativity.
As we reflect on the achievements of this first cohort, we’re inspired by the passion and dedication our students have shown for music and learning. Let’s continue to nurture this enthusiasm as we embark on the next phase of musical exploration.