Around the Junior School

Stage 3 Debating Workshop

In Week 9, Stage 3 attended an 'Introduction to Debating' workshop run by Ms Morris. It was an opportunity to learn more about what debating is, the role of each of the speakers and how adjudication of a debate works. Throughout the session games were played to practise rebutting with a partner and speaking confidently. 

Teamwork and collaboration skills were also built when preparing for a debate on the topic of 'Pets should be allowed at school.' This culminated in a large format debate with each group of four presenting an argument for the affirmative or negative side. There was lots of eager rebutting and debate to finish off the session.

Interested students have been encouraged to sign up to be considered for the Debating team in Terms 2 and 3. 

Kindergarten Literary Tea Party

Kindergarten have been studying Nick Bland's "The Very Hungry Bear" as part of their literacy program. Students have explored new vocabulary, developed a deep understanding of the text by considering both literal and inferential comprehension questions and finally, planned a menu for a hungry bear. This culminated in a tea party where the menu was linked to our vocabulary study. Students were excited to bring their teddy bear along to join in the fun. There were definitely no hungry bears left after the devouring of 'shrinking' icebergs, teddy bear pancakes, polar bear cupcakes, honey sandwiches and much more!

Year 6 Excursion

On 13 March, students in Year 6 visited the Bodangora Windfarm in Wellington. The full day excursion allowed students to take a closer look at wind turbines - learning many facts about how they are built, how they function and how wind turbines generate renewable energy. The purpose of this excursion was to delve more deeply into the Science unit of Energy & Electricity. Year 6 were fortunate enough to watch a functioning turbine switch off and stop to a halt – this was fascinating and happened much more quickly than expected! 

Some fun facts that Year 6 learnt on the day: 

How quickly does the tip of the blade move during a revolution? 

Nearly 300 km per hour!

Where are the turbines made? 

In Turkey and China

How long is each blade? 

Approximately 68 meters long!

How many revolutions does the wind turbine make per minute? 

12 revolutions per minute

Merit Awards - Term 1 Week 9 2023

K Paddington

• Georgia Flynn: For excellent concentration and application to her work.
• Charlotte Elder: For taking pride in all her work.

K Plume

• Alessandra Volkofsky: For being a conscientious and helpful member of our class.

1 Elmer

• Fergus Sinclair: Informative writing about emus
• Abigail Westcott: Great work in Maths work

1 Simba

• Elsie McLaurin: Always taking on challenges in her learning.
• Gurbani Mor: Working hard to learn more about numbers in Maths.

2 Jack Berne

• Elke Sawtell: Her “as wise as an owl” contributions to all class SEL Lessons.
• Tom Haydon: working “like a Trojan” over the course of Term 1! Year 2 Jack Berne are very impressed with your efforts.

3 Watson   

• Cerys Thomas: Being a motivated and independent student with a great love of learning. Well done, Cerys!
• Nick Rourke: His positive attitude and the consistent effort that he has put into all classroom activities. Well done, Nick!

3 Armstrong

• Phoebe Westcott: For creative writing ideas
• Elizabeth Milliken: For diligent application to all areas of schooling

4 Einstein   

• Lachlan Hunt: Being a helpful and considerate member of the 4E class.
• Sophia Martin: For showing commitment to implementing feedback in her persuasive writing.

4 Pitt

• Olive McLaurin: For her perseverance and effort with persuasive writing.
• Lucy Austen: For your amazing group work and for having a positive attitude towards change.

5 Mabo

• Angus Triggs: Working hard on growing his mindset and seeing what he can achieve when he applies himself to all areas of learning.
• Daniel Kerdic: Enthusiastically embracing new learning experiences and relishing challenges.

5 King

• Charlotte Gurr: Her expressive writing in literacy.
• Henry Sawtell: His improvement in reading fluency.

6 Mandela

• Adelaide Swift: Her wonderful biography on Jackie French and for showing great maturity within the classroom. 
• Aston Lett: Showing great leadership this week and for his contribution during class discussions. 

6 Brockman

• Louis Blyth: His great work in science
• Janette Proudford-Nalder: Her amazing biography writing
• Caityn Long: Her incredible dedication to all her schoolwork