Welcome

It has been an action packed year in the Upper Primary Section. Some of the highlights include the Camping Program, Electives, Professor Bunsen Incursion, Excursion to the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Presentation Night. We have been privileged to work with an amazing group of students and we would like to thank each and every one for a fantastic year. It has been our pleasure to be part of your learning journey. To the graduating students of 2018 we wish you every success as you move into Secondary School. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the families who have supported our programs throughout the year. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday!

Christmas Concert

Over the past few weeks students in Upper Primary have been busy rehearsing their group item for the annual Christmas Concert. On Monday night classes performed the following items for the school community:

Men in Black: PSP, PCS & PJT

Ghost Busters: PJF & PMB

The Greatest Show: PKO, PDJ & PJT

The evening proved to be a wonderful night of celebration and it was fantastic to see many of our students performing with confidence and enthusiasm.

Electives Program

Each Wednesday afternoon students in Upper Primary participate in an Electives Program. Eight activities are offered across each term covering a range of curriculum areas. The aim of the program is to extend the students skills and address specific learning needs of individuals. Students are involved in the process of selecting activities that they would like to participate in on a termly basis. They are then allocated to one of the electives based on their needs, development of skills and where possible their request.

This year the Elective Program has included the following:

Cooking: The Cooking elective emphasises appropriate food handling practices and developing motor skills through cutting, spreading, grating and mixing. The program incorporates speaking and listening skills through following instructions, building new vocabulary and reading a procedure to make a recipe. Social skills such as turn taking, sharing and table manners are also built into the program. Each week students cook a different recipe using a diversity of ingredients. Students are encouraged to recognise and try new foods. Some of the most popular recipes made this year include: nachos, chocolate balls, muffins and pita pizzas. At the conclusion of each lesson students take home some of the food they have made and a copy of the recipe to share with their family.

Fun Fitness: Fun Fitness is a program run through the Macleod YMCA. Each week an instructor designs activities aimed to develop gross motor skills, coordination, balance, core strength and motor planning. The sessions include a warm up, floor work and circuit activities. The students have enjoyed using equipment such as the trampoline, foam pit, gymnastic rings and balance beam. Motor activities such as fun fitness promote the development of problem solving skills and support the development of ‘ready to learn’ behaviours.

Consumer Skills: This program covers a range of skills required to access the community in a safe and appropriate manner. Students explore road and pedestrian safety, learn to travel on public transport in a safe manner and develop an understanding of bus timetables. When o

ut in the community students are responsible for managing their own belongings, locating and purchasing shopping items in the supermarket, exchanging money for goods and asking retail workers for assistance as required. The Consumer Skills program provides opportunities for students to utilise communication skills and practise appropriate behaviour in the wider community.

Science: The science elective provides the students with the opportunity to challenge their thinking and understanding around different scientific concepts. Students have participated in a variety of experiments based on Chemical and Physical sciences. They have observed physical changes in properties of materials by combining substances for a particular purpose and explored how objects move under force by making gliders, planes and balloon jets. Some of the most popular experiments this year have been: salt crystals, invisible ink, tornado in a bottle and the gravity test.

Bike Education: The aim of this program is to develop road safety and bike riding skills. Students have learnt about the different parts of the bike, how it works and rules around riding safely. They have practised hand and foot coordination when peddling and steering as well as balancing on a bike. Students have ridden in a variety of locations including flat road surfaces, grassed areas and undulating rough surfaces. Bike Education introduces students to a recreational activity that they can enjoy with family and friends.

Outdoor Games: In outdoor games students have enthusiastically participated in a variety of skill based activities and rule based games. The program has focused on developing skills for team sports such as soccer and basketball. Soccer skills have included drills for dribbling, passing and trapping the ball. Basketball clinics have focused on passing, catching, dribbling and shooting. Rule based games have included Gaga, Kick Ball and Knockout. Outdoor games has also covered winning and losing, turn taking, sharing, cooperation, persistence and team work.

Gymnastics: The Gymnastics elective is run at PIT Gymnastics in Mill Park and is coordinated by a qualified Instructor. The program is designed to build self-confidence, motor coordination and promote general fitness. At the commencement of each session students are involved in ‘warm-up’ activities such as stretching and structured games. Following this the students rotate through various stations comprising of bars, beams, rings, ropes, spring boards and trampolines to develop different skills and movement patterns. Towards the end of the session students are allocated ‘free time’ where they choose which apparatuses they would like to explore further under the supervision and guidance of staff.

Construction: Design Technologies underpins the Construction elective. Students are actively involved in designing and creating models using a variety of construction materials. Students have experimented with Lego, cardboard, paper, and magnetic and foam blocks. The students are given a design brief such as building a house for the three pigs or a bridge for the billy goats. As a group students brainstorm ideas before setting off to plan design concepts through drawing. Once students complete their plans they launch in to experimenting with materials to determine which would best suit the needs of the project. This year some of the projects the students have completed include models of bridges, cars and houses.

Focus on Fun

With Christmas just around the corner it is the perfect time to explore patterns. A simple and fun way to make patterns is through paper chains. All you need is paper of varying colours, scissors and sticky tape.

Cut paper into strips
Tape ends together to make a circle
Thread a different strip paper through the circle.
Tape ends together. (This will link the two strips of paper together).
Continue pattern by repeating the above process.

Chris Norman - Upper Primary Team Leader

Kirsten Coulter - Teaching and Learning Coordinator

Dates To Remember

Term 4

2019 Term 1