Independence Centre

Curriculum

Selamat siang!

The highlight of our week last week was definitely our incredible music and art excursion on Thursday. We started the day off at Hamer Hall where we saw the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra present Carnival of the Animals. The animals were brought to life through incredible music and puppetry. The students and teachers were captivated throughout the whole performance. What an incredible experience! After the MSO performance we walked down Southbank towards the Melbourne Exhibition building to view the LUME exhibit. To say that we all enjoyed ourselves was an understatement. We walked through the fully immersive experience as the walls of the gallery came alive with Vincent Van Gogh’s artwork. Thank you so much to Mrs Andrews and Mrs Gill for organising the day for us all. It was one to remember!

In Guided Inquiry last week students chose an explorer that they would like to learn about. Over the next few weeks, students will research and write an information report about their chosen explorer, and will present their findings to their classmates at the culmination of our unit. In Mathematics sessions last week, students explored different strategies used to solve addition problems including vertical addition and using place value to partition and rearrange numbers.

We have begun looking at non-fiction text types in Reading sessions, particularly focusing on the different layout of each text type and noticing similarities and differences between the different styles of writing. While all these text types' purpose is to inform the reader, there are many different ways that the information can be presented. Some of the text types we explored last week were biographies, autobiographies and websites. Students had the opportunity to read a variety of different informational texts over the week, in particular reading about the life of Vincent Van Gogh before heading to the Lume exhibit.

This tied in nicely with the text type we have been focusing on in Writing sessions across the week. Students have been exploring procedural texts, another form of informational text. On Monday, we began by following procedures to make our own tea stained paper and writing secret messages using invisible ink. Students then collaborated to write procedures to match these experiments. For our Big Write last week, students wrote procedures for a skill they could teach someone. It was excellent to see the amount of students participating in the Home Talk with their families. This is a fantastic way for students to brainstorm ideas before they need to write, so that they can feel prepared and confident on the day. We will continue to work with these procedures this week in Writing sessions, to make something fun for our Open Night. You don’t want to miss out!

To finish off the week, the students participated in their first session of the Investigate, Create and Express (ICE) program. We haven’t been able to run the program successfully over the last two years, so it was so lovely to see students joining with other students across the senior school for new creative experiences!

Have a wonderful week,

Miss Chooi, Miss Richardson, Miss Wang, Mrs McCoy, Miss Tillotson and Miss Honan

Student Voice

Johanna C - “My favourite thing about the excursion was sleeping on the bus because I was so tired afterwards. I also liked walking around the LUME.”
Ryan M - “I liked that we got to learn about Van Gogh and what he did in his life.”
Liv Y - “I liked getting to draw my own art and seeing the Van Gogh car!”

Reminders

Open Night Thursday 26th May
Bring back ICE money if required

Pupil of the Week

3/4C: Mackenzie D -

For demonstrating kindness and leadership when supporting her peers to farewell another classmate. The empathy and understanding you showed was highly valued and set a positive example for others. You should be very proud of yourself Mackenzie!

3/4H: Emily J -

For consistently demonstrating a love of learning and curiosity when exploring new topics and skills. It is wonderful to see you using a Growth Mindset by putting in your best effort and seeking out feedback. Keep up the amazing work, Emily!

3/4M: Jason J -

For demonstrating kindness and responsibility in your role as ‘Tech Wizard’. I was really proud to see the way you readily assist your classmates with their devices and show them how to solve problems. Excellent work, Jason!

3/4T: Jude P -

For demonstrating kindness and leadership on our excursion. I was so proud to see you assisting your classmates and helping to answer their questions in a kind and understanding manner. Brilliant work, Jude!

3/4R: Julia N -

For showing a love of learning and patience when following writing procedures. You did well to work with you peers and collaborate on the task. Wonderful work, Julia!

3/4W: Ava M -

For demonstrating perseverance when practising your handwriting goal through the 'Pen Trials!' You took pride in your work and consistently sought feedback to improve. Great work Ava!