Kinross Wolaroi Family Bulletin

Around the Junior School

Year 5

Year 5 were fortunate to experience a walking, talking, human encyclopedia on anything to do with Space when Rod Somerville came to captivate and engage them for their Science Unit, Earth’s Place in Space on Monday 1st May.  Rod is; the author of “One Star by Day Six Thousand By Night – Discovering the universe”, is often heard on the radio, has worked as an educator at the Sydney Observatory and is involved in the plans to get a planetarium here in Orange. Students were mesmerized by Rod’s presentation and were able to ask many intelligent questions. Rod was so impressed by their knowledge and is hoping to return at the end of their unit. 

 

 

Prue McCarthy and Grace Townsend from Social Futures gave a fabulous presentation to the Year 5 students on Monday 15th May. “Different on the outside but same on the inside”. Students had fun trying to write their name with their ‘other’ hand and tried to read the ‘colour’ words were written in rather than the word. They learnt about the different types of disabilities and were fortunate to have Prue and Grace shared their own disabilities and stories with the children. Children learnt more respectful terminology to use and found out about the words and phrases we no longer use. The children will complete Part 2 of Prue and Grace’s presentation next week. 

Students from Year 10 Brown House reading to Kindergarten

Writing in 6 Mandela! 

This term, Year 6 have been working on writing a detailed, informative explanation. In light of World Bee Day, students researched facts and determined the range of processes in which a bee undergoes in order to make honey! Students explained in detail the process of bees collecting nectar, the production phase of making honey in a factory or on a farm and any additional information such as the medicinal purposes honey has. 

 

A few students in 6M have their own bee-hives on their farm. These students brought in their honey. 6M was lucky enough to try and compare the honey on some delicious pikelets!

Learning at Windermere with Kindergarten 

A recent visit to the Windermere farm by Kindergarten students proved to be an excellent opportunity for them to learn about the importance of family from an indigenous perspective. The school invited Corey McLean, a local Wiradjuri man and Indigenous Learning Support Officer at Kinross Wolaroi School, to teach the students about his culture and share his knowledge.

 

The day began around the Yarning Circle with Corey introducing himself and teaching the students some basic Wiradjuri language. The children were fascinated by the new sounds and enjoyed practicing saying new words. Corey also shared some of the meanings behind the words and explained how language is an important part of Wiradjuri culture.

Next, Corey showed students different hunting and gathering tools and weapons used by his ancestors. The children were amazed at the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the tools, such as the boomerang and the spear. Corey explained the purpose of each tool and how they were used to hunt and gather food in the past. 

 

After the tour, Corey taught the children some traditional Indigenous dance moves. He explained the significance of each dance and how they were used in ceremonies and celebrations. The students were enthusiastic about learning the new dance moves and enjoyed practicing them with Corey along to the sound of clapping sticks. They were excited to learn that dance is an important part of Indigenous culture and can be used to tell stories and convey meaning.

 

Overall, the visit to the Windermere farm was a valuable learning experience for the kindergarten students. They were able to learn about the importance of family from an Indigenous perspective, gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture, and connect with their local community. Corey McLean together with Lee Taylor our Head of Indigenous Education, did an excellent job of sharing their knowledge and making the experience engaging and fun for the students. The school will continue to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into their curriculum and providing opportunities for cultural learning.

Pre-Kinder at Hillside Harvest Orchard

We have been learning lots about transport in Pre-Kinder. How they move something from one place to another and whether it belongs on the ground, in water or in the sky. We decided to take the children on a bus trip to the Hillside Harvest Orchard to look at some farm machinery and pick some apples. We saw a truck, tractors and a forklift and went inside the cold store to see where the apples are housed after they have been picked. Next, we picked our very own apples from the tree. Nothing tastes better than an apple straight from the tree. They were delicious and when we arrived back at Pre-Kinder we made apple crumble, yum!

Junior Journalists

Hi, have you missed us? 

 

We have returned from our extended summer vacation and are back writing on a Friday lunchtime down in the Junior School during the colder months. 

 

This year the Junior Journalists will once again bring to you a variety of tips, tricks, updates and news items from around the grounds of KWS. 

In the coming weeks, we will bring to you our first publication for 2023 – Keeping it Kinross: Winter Edition. 

 

We look forward to connecting with our community. 

Make sure you follow us on the Hub for the latest updates (Kinross Media). 

 

For now,

KWS Junior Journalists. 

Year 2 and 3 Friday Fun!

On Friday 12th May in Period 5, Year 2 and Year 3 joined together in our first of many Vertical Grouping Peer Support gatherings. 

 

First, we broke into House Groups to complete ‘get to know me’ icebreaker activities. It was magnificent to see such great leadership from the Year 3 students and exciting for the Year 2 peers to broaden their social networks within the formalised learning environment. 

 

Next, students continued to complete their drama learning for Term 2 and linked these experiences with URStrong friendship and emotion scenarios. There were some great acting skills displayed and even better links made and represented on the Year 2 life-size ‘Friend-o-Meter’ by all students. 

 

To finish off the collaborative time together, students joined forces to dance into the weekend with a crowd favourite - the ‘Crab Rave’. 

Merit Awards 

K Paddington

  • Michael Chan: Outstanding contributions to class discussions.
  • Suvi Vohra: Improved organisation in the mornings.

K Plume

  • Edward Doyle: Always taking his time to produce beautiful book work and his bravery when facing new and challenging situations.
  • Maya Knox: Continually working hard to perfect letter and number formations and for always being a kind and considerate friend.

1 Elmer       

  • Hugh MacMahon: Counting in tens and ones.
  • Henry Volkofsky: Fabulous reading fluency
  • Anvi Bohra: Spelling Word Work

1 Simba

  • Grace Keir: Her impressive informative writing passage after researching Emu facts.
  • Thomas Williams: Taking on maths challenges using addition and subtraction skills.

2 Jack Berne

  • Fatehjit Singh: Making connections as wise as an owl when reading and responding to class texts.
  • Ivy Chapman: Being a kind friend like a ‘Friendship Ninja’.

3 Watson   

  • Edith Triggs: Her application and effort in all areas of school life and developing her perseverance and time management skills. Well Done!
  • Nikhil Prasad: His seamless transition to Kinross Wolaroi and for being a motivated and independent student with a great love of learning. Well done!

3 Armstrong

  • Lulu Widauer: Consistently applying herself in all areas of learning. Keep up the great work!
  • Mezan Jalal: Always showing kindness and helping others.

4 Einstein   

  • Kimberley Williams: Sharing her creative ideas during narrative writing.
  • Thomas Gibson: Applying his knowledge of the mechanics of cars to a Science experiment based on friction and gravity.

4 Pitt

  • Winona Wade: For using a creative simile in her writing.
  • Nick Strahorn: For writing a captivating hook in your orientation paragraph.

5 Mabo

  • Hugh McDouall: Always being an eager student to share his ideas in classroom discussions.
  • Mason O’Toole: Consistently demonstrating a diligent work ethic.

5 King

  • Reg Caskey: Always demonstrating kindness towards others.
  • Samuel Dunlop: Using figurative language in his writing.

6 Mandela            

  • Isabelle Provost: Always being so positive in 6M and for her detailed explanation on ‘how bees make honey’
  • Nick Balcomb: His detailed historical biography and for always looking out for the wellbeing of his peers.

6 Brockman

  • Cassandra Philippe: Her constantly displaying leadership and the values of the school.
  • Asher Jones: Her dedication to her learning in Mathematics.