Bike Checks

A big thank you to all students for bringing their bikes for the bike checks in preparation for Bike Ed. in December. Your child will have brought home a checklist outlining any adjustments required before commencing the Bike Education program. If adjustments were required, we ask that you complete these and send the signed checklist back to school.

Explorer Research and Presentation

We have been very impressed with the fantastic research and presentations by our students on their chosen explorers. Students have created Powerpoints, Sways, posters and timelines about their explorer, and shared their knowledge with their class.

History Box Incursion

Students had a fantastic experience with the History Box incursion. They engaged in hands-on learning and deepened their understanding of the First Fleet and First Australians in a fun and interactive way. Enjoy their recounts below.

On the 30th of October the year 4 had a History Box Incursion in the morning. It started at 9:00am and ended at11:00am. Firstly we had to go in to the BCF space to start. The people who were running its name were Cinder and Barry.

We got to learn about Australia's history like the Aboriginals and the first fleet. We got into our class group and went to the activities. My class went to a game called Ngaka Ngaka its similar to nots and crosses it was really fun.

The next activities my class had was coin writing which is were in 1788 when the convicts wrote love letters on coin to their family when they couldn't see them, we didn't use coins, but we used clay instead.

Then we had to make dolls out of clay like how the Aboriginal use to do for their children. I made a koala and used rocks for the eyes. The last activities we did was we made spices with a musing tool and put it in bag to take home.

We also learnt a lot about the first fleet and the Aboriginals and like how Esther Abraham got transported to Australia for no reason and then she had seven kids. And how 90% of an Aboriginal tribe died from smallpox but now smallpox is extinct. Anyways it was the best incursion ever.

By Aleia R. 4A

On the 30th of October I had.........An incursion!!! The hosts names were Barry and Cynder. I had no idea what is was about but soon found out it was about Australia history.

Some people got up and put on some clothes the aboriginal people used to wear, there was a belt and a small kangaroos skin sash for the boys and the girls had a skirt made out of emu feathers and ladies with children had a bag that is held on their head for carrying their babies around.

Soon everyone started with the activities, my first activity was the Ngaka Ngaka which is a different version of tic tac toe and it was really fun! I designed my rock with something that meant tracks in a purple sharpie, and I started to play.

The next activity was making a coin for someone you love because in the industrial revolution people in jail rubbed off the patterns and engraved some writing in it. My said my family and I decorated it with dots.

Later on, Stevie dressed up to be captain Arthur Phillip and pretended to sail to Australia. When they arrived, the aboriginals were scared at first but then they realized that he was missing a tooth. The aboriginals get a tooth knocked out when they are 18 and becoming a man so they thought Captain Arthur Phillip was an aboriginal but wasn’t sure if they were men or women, so captain Arthur Phillip ordered his men to pull their pants down and they did. The aboriginals had a story about cloud people coming across the sea and saying it was the end of their world.

My favourite part was the coin making.

By Abby L. 4A

On Wednesday, 31st October we had a History Box Incursion with Cynder and Barry. We learnt about the First Fleet and how the Aboriginal people in the First Fleet got down from 100% to 10% because of diseases such as Smallpox.

I learnt some cool stuff like the Aboriginals wore a cloche made out of possum skin that, they would draw when they were born about the weather and where the setting was at. We also learnt about what men used to were, they wore a tutu belt and a kid Kangaroos skin. The woman used to were a big bag for their babies and a dress. We also played a game called Ngaka-Naka it was noughts and crosses it was fun!

By Cameron D. 4A

On Wednesday the 3oth of October grade four had an Australia Day incursion. We played lots of games made and a lot of stuff and here's a document on it The people we learnt about were mostly famous like captain James Cook and captain Athur Phillips. We also learned about Esther Abrahams which you may not have heard about who married a marine solder who eventually became super rich and owned a lot of land so that was a smart choice. Some of the activities that we did where the love coin which is where someone who is going overseas sands down a coin and makes it flat so that they can carve a love a love letter on the coin with a nail it was fun, but it made me sad. And there was one where you got to make Sinnamon powder. My favourite one was where we got to make an Australian animal out of clay.

By Declan V. 4A

Today guess what we did!!! We had an incursion it was about the first Australians. First we learnt about the two flags Torris Strate Island and the Aboriginal [that was kind of easy] then some people went up and dressed up with some of the Aboriginal cloths and one of the clothing items was a possum skin cloak and it had symbols on the inside of it of when different parts of their life, and when they died they would rap the body in it.

Then they took us and taught us all how to play ngaka ngaka it was confusing at first it was sort of hard but then I got used to it. Then we made coins and put little messages on them then we sprayed them silver. After that we made Australian animals out of clay [I did a cacabera] then we made a spice and that was really fun. Today was so fun and I think next year that kids are going to love it.

By Emilia P. 4A

Today we had an incursion about Australia's history and about how Captain Cook tried to take Australia's land away from the aboriginals. We also got to learn about the aboriginal’s culture and what they used to do in there generation like what games they used to play. We also learnt about the diseases on the first fleet and how 90% of the aboriginals died in one tribe from the convicts and tried to take their land. They also used to wear stuff that was made with mostly grass they also used to burn the grass so it would make a cool pattern.

We also got to play some games, my favourite game was Ngaka Ngaka it is basically like tic tac toe or knots in crosses, you have three stones and you have to try and get three in a row, and once you run out of stones you have to move it to a square but you can't move the stone to a square that isn't touching the square. Another thing we did was animal making with clay I did a kangaroo, so I used leaves for the ears seed pods for the nose and a stick for the nose.

By Huddy H. 4A

On Wednesday 30 of October, we went to 4C to meet Cynder and Barry! They were the owners of History Box incursions, and they were here to teach us about the first fleet and Australia day! First there was something that surprised me that they taught us. It was a bout a servant girl called Esther Abrahams who worked for her master and one day the master accused the girl of stealing some wool she then got sent on the first fleet and about a day later he found that the piece of wool that he accused her of stealing was just lost somewhere between his couch! Now on the boat that she was on had another man called George Johnston and he LOVED Esther and was very rich. So Esther made the smart choice of marrying him and later the couple had 7 children and lived richly ever after!

Secondly, we did lots of activities such as love coins, clay dolls, Ngaka, Ngaka Aka tic tac toe and knuckle bones. Overall, I'll have to say that this was the best incursion EVER!!!

By Jacob R. 4A

Today we had our history box incursion first we met the people and after that we learned all about Australia's history and what the aboriginals wear I got to wear on of the alpha male shell cape on the front and my friend harry also got to where kangaroo skin and a belt with a fake beard It was very comfortable and cosy what I was wearing.

After all that we got to do some really fun games like Ngaka Ngaka which is a sort of tic tac toe sort of game we also got to make love coins which is a thing that most of the convicts made for their family and friends with a special note to them and a piece of art and we got to do it 😊

After that we got to make little clay dolls out of clay just like the Aboriginals

And our final activity was spice making me and Declan where partners and I got to take some home after that we learnt more about the first fleet in conclusion, I think the box incursion was my favourite.

By Ned V. 4A

Guess what we had today. We had a incursion. The hosts names were Cynder and Barry they were really nice. And when they started I realized It was all about Australia's history. A couple of people got dressed up like my friends Sophie and Stevie. Sophie got dressed in a leaf skirt and Stevie got dressed in a costume of Captain Other Philip. They both looked really funny and cool. And they told us a little bit more about our history. And then we went to Activity's.

My first activity was called Ngaka Ngaka. To play the game you would have to draw a indigenous symbol on three pebbles and then play tic-tac toe but in a different way so you could move your pebbles when you don’t have any left but only in the squares that are in your square. Its really confusing.

The next game we did wasn't actually a game it was like craft. Anyway we made a coin that was sad when they explained it. It was when you do something bad like steal a piece of bread you would go to jail for 7 years and never see your family again. so they would make a coin out of silver metal and write a message on it and send it to there familes so they would remember them. So we made coins out of clay and wrote a message to your family and Barry sprayed it in silver. It was so fun.

Our to next activity's were making Australian animals out of clay and leaves. Because that was the indigenous dolls. I made a possum and I thought it looked really cool. And we made a spice and crushed it to put on a food.

My favourite activity was the coin making because I thought it was really fun and nice to their family's. It was such a fun incursion and really recommend it.

By Piper S. 4A

On Wednesday the 30th we had a history box incursion about Australia and the first fleet. Barry and Cynder explained how they dressed and what their daily lives where like. They also talked about the games and crafting that they did. Barry and Cynder talked about the lives that the convicts lived, they also talked about what the convicts wore and who the captain was and what they were like.

GAMES AND MORE

One of the games was called Ngaka Ngaka, it's basically like tic tac toe but you can move adjacent to where you want to move.

There was also a game called knuckles. You throw up multiple sheep knukles and then try and catch the on the back of your hand.

CRAFT

We made some spices that we could use on meat. We made it out of cinnamon bark and pepper corns. We ground it up with a mortar and pestle.

We also made love coins. You basically engrave your name and a message to a loved one. The convicts did this before being transported.

Finally, we made a clay Australian animal similar to the dolls that the Aboriginal children made.

The incursion was very interesting, funny and overall, VERY FUN!

By Robbie C. 4A

In our history incursion we learned a lot about indigenous people and the first fleet. We did a lot of games, and some people got to dress up as people on the first fleet. Some of the facts were:

There was a tooth knocking out ceremony.

There was a game like tic tac toe called ngaka ngaka but it can't be a draw, and you draw symbols instead of x and o's.

We also played this knuckle bone games.

The people there were called Barry and Cynda. People dressed up with some indigenous clothing like a grass dress, but it looked more like a belt also a possum jacket but looked like a blanket and it told the story of your life by pictures. We made spices I might eat mine with dinner tonight.

I learned that Australia day is actually the 1st of January, but we celebrate it on the 26th. The incursion was really fun.

By Alex McDonald – 4C

On Wednesday the 30th of October, all of year four had an incursion for our unit of inquiry: Where We Are in Place and Time.

These nice people called Barry and Cynda, came in and talked to us about the first fleet.

They had a box of dress ups, and kids got to dress up as convicts, and do a small act!

They first talked about Aboriginals, and different games they played, here are the activities we did:

Ngaka Ngaka*, a game that is like tic tac toe, but once you get rid of all your stones you can move them to try and get 3 in a row, but you can only move your stones from the square its touching.

Knuckle Bones, a game where you get 5 bones, and you throw 5 up and try to flip your hand and catch all of them.

Love Coins, clay that you roll into a ball, and squish it down and make it a circle and draw on it and when it dries, it looks like a coin with a nice message on it.

Clay Puppets, You mould clay in the shape of an Australin animal, and you can add leaves for wings, gumnuts for eyes or sticks for feet and arms.

Making Spices, it's like pepper, cinnamon and some other things, and we mashed it up until it was all crumbled and then you get a nice spice to put on chicken.

*Pronounced: NA-KA NA-KA

They talked about an Aboriginal Tooth Ceremony, when you become an adult an elder gets a bone and slightly hovers it over the tooth and gets a rock and slightly hovers that over the bone, and then they hit the rock into the bone, and the bone hits the tooth,, and the tooth gets knocked out.

They also talked about the Aboriginal flag, here's what it all means:

And then they talked about Captain Aurther Phillip, as he was the first governor of N.S.W.

He was also the commander of the first fleet.

In conclusion the 2 hours was really fun and interesting,

I think everyone enjoyed it.

My favourite bit had to be........

Everything!!!!!

Yes, I thought everything was very fun and new and that

We all definitely learnt something new!

By Izzie - 4C

On October 30th we had a history box incursion. We started on the floor learning some things and dressing up and after a while we did rotations. The 3 things were making clay dolls, crushing weird spices and love tokens we did like 6mins on each activity because we finished early, we got to play a bit of knuckle bone. We mainly focused on the first fleet and aboriginal culture and stuff. My favourite activity was making clay dolls, and I made a bird that I think was good.

I learnt that some aborigines would knock a tooth out when you turn 18 to show they are a warrior.

I also learnt how to play knuckle bone and ngaka ngaka which are really fun games.

Captain Arthur Phillip was the reason most people in the first fleet survived.

Australia day is actually meant to be on the 1st of January instead of the 26th of January.

By Spencer – 4C

On Wednesday the 30th the year 4s had an incursion called the History Box where 2 people came in to speak about Australian history and the First Fleet. Barry and Cynda were very nice and they gave us a very informative presentation, after they spoke to us for a bit they showed us the activities we were going to do, the activities were, making Australian animals out of clay, playing tic tac toe but Aboriginal version with rocks, making spice out of bark and leaves and making coins out of clay and silver spray paint.

My favourite was making clay animals - I made a kookaburra, it wasn’t very accurate, but I still loved it. After all the activities finished, we went down to the other end, Barry and Cynda then told us that Aboriginals took one of their teeth out to show they are a strong warier then they got people to volunteer to get dressed into convicts to see the difference between clothes from back then to clothes now. We all enjoyed the day so much and now we know a lot more about history.

By Freya – 4C

On Wednesday the 30th of October the year fours had a History Box Incursion and Cindy and Barry came in to teach us all about the first Australians and the first Fleet. Also we did activities like making animal puppets out of clay, gumnuts and leaves and then we put them on a shelf to dry.

We made another thing out of clay and that was a love coin that we rolled into a ball and flattened it and made patterns on the coin then it has to dry and we give it to someone we love because in the olden days people would make love coins for their loved ones to say goodbye because they would probably never see their loved ones ever again.

There was a game called Ngaka Ngaka and it's like tik tack to or norts and crosses but after all your rocks are gone you can move them around in places that are next to the original spot.

When we all were sitting on the ground Cindy and barry told us about when you half to go through pane if you are Aboriginal to be a warrior. So an elder has a rock in one hand and a bone in the other and then the elder knocks a tooth out of someone so they can be a warrior.

Did you know that Captain Arther Phillip had the same knocked out tooth that the aboriginal people had and the Aboriginal people thought that he was a part of their community.

Today I learnt about the knocked out tooth tradition and how to make clay coin for your loved ones also how to make an animal puppet.

By Hannah – 4C

On Wednesday 30th of October we had a history box incursion. Barry and Cynda gave

a very informative presentation about Australian history with a focus on Aboriginal people.

We learned a lot about Australia a few things we learned were about the land and the first

Fleet and the convicts the first fleet was very overcrowded lots of people died of a disease called Smallpox it killed and affected many people's lives a lot of the people died because it couldn't be cured.

We participated in many different activities such as love coin making, Australian animal clay Making, Naka Naka and spice crushing Naka Naka was a game like tic tac toe but with rocks and the pattens on the rocks told stories.

That wraps the reflection!

By Eddy S 4C

We learned that for the Aboriginals to become adults or worthy soldiers that had to go through a ceremony where they knock out your teeth with a rock it's for you have to take some pain to become a solider.

Ngaka Ngaka is an aboriginal game that sort of like our tic tac toe but has a bit of different rules. Ester Abrahans was a convict that fell in love with George Jhonston later George became the governor and were the wealthiest couples.

Another game that the Aboriginals played was called knucklebone.

By Seb T 4C

In our history incursion we learned a lot about Indigenous people and the first fleet. We did a lot of fun games like Ngaka Ngaka and knuckle bones. People got to dress up in different clothing. Bessie dressed up as Esther Abrahams who was convicted of stealing lace in 1786. An activity we did was make love coins out of clay. People and convicts would give it to their loved ones to remember them by.

Another activity we did was making an Australia animal I made a possum, and it was pretty good. We also talked about the indigenous people and how the British took their land.

We also learned about how small pox's was a really bad disease in the 1950 people had to get a shot to not get small pox's. And how there was a lot of people on the first fleet and how it was really crowed and they had to go to the bathroom in a bucket and there were rats and really overcrowd.

My Favorite part of the day was how we got to play knuckle bones and over all the incursion was pretty good.

There Tooth ceremony where they knocked out a tooth to show that the person is now a warrior 1 indigenous flags and the meanings of the colours 2 captain Arthur Phillp first governor of New South Wales, he was also the commander of the first fleet 3 knucklebones game.

By Evrim - 4C

Japanese