School News
THIS IS A BUMPER ISSUE WITH REPORTS FROM LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND GROUPS WITHIN THE SCHOOL ...
NATIONAL DAY AGAINST VIOLENCE & BULLYING
Friday the 17th of March marked the National day against Violence and Bullying and as a school we raised awareness of this day and provided students with classroom and Homegroup activities.
WORLD WATER DAY
On Tuesday the 21st of March we had World Water Day where all staff and students participated in a walk around the back oval to raise awareness of the millions of people who do not have access to clean and fresh water. The day was a huge success and created a lot of conversation and awareness amongst the kids. We had a videographer attend and interview some lucky students and there was even a drone to capture the day.
OPTOMETRIST VISITS
We have had the Optometrist at Collingwood College one day a week this term finishing off the appointments for all students who put in a consent form. The Optometrist sent through some results and it is clear that having them come to Collingwood College has been extremely beneficial. She will be finishing up next term and then Student Eyecare will be returning in a few years’ time to do more Eye tests for students.
For those Students who missed out they can access a local Optometrist who will usually do an eye test for free.
TERM 1 CRAFT
Class 1 have been introduced to sewing by incrementally learning a variety of stitches to create a hessian recorder bag.
Class 2 have been consolidating their understanding of stitchwork and developing their skills using repetition and pattern to construct a craft bag.
Class 3 have been extending their skills and abilities by working with space, rhythm and direction to create a sewn Sunburst design for a music bag.
Class 4 have been working with uniformity, pattern and ‘correct‘ tension to improve understandings of cross stitch in their themed design for their pockets for their Kitchen Garden aprons.
Class 5 have focused on their India Main Lesson Myths to create a design and then embroider it as a framed tapestry.
Class 6 have been basket making using raffia and wool with ancient /traditional techniques and processes.
Pam Tonkin & Meredith Marshallsea
Craft Teachers
PREP - YEAR 2 NEWS
Prep
All the staff have loved getting to know our new Prep students and guiding them through their first term. There is so much to get used to and all our Preps have done a great job finding their way into the new rhythms and routines of the school year. The term has flown past quickly, it is hard to believe the holidays are already here. Some of the highlights of the term have been PMP and Buddies. The Preps love PMP because both classes are together and they get to play with each other. Each Prep student has a Grade 5 or 6 Buddy, they do activities together and develop a strong, supportive relationship with them over the year.
1-2
In Grades One and Two, the classrooms and corridors have been full of colour and adventure, with all students focused on consolidating and extending their reading, writing and number skills. We have also learned many new stories, songs and games.
Other highlights include:
- Welcoming many new students into our classes
- Making Chinese lanterns with Chaney
- Exploring the nearby parks
- Celebrating classmates' birthdays
- Gathering for class picnics
- Finding new number patterns
Campbell Gome
Prep - Year 2 Learning Community Leader
YEARS 3 - 4 NEWS
Class 3
With great excitement and anticipation, Class 3 have finally begun their first year of Kitchen Garden with Desley and Gardening with Ben. All the children of the class have relished these new classes in their week. They love the responsibility and trust of using real cooking implements. They deeply enjoy having the time and space to experience and discuss the smells and flavours of the ingredients and dishes they are being guided to create. Spending the last hour of every week in the Garden with Ben sees the class beaming from being outside, using their bodies and getting their hands dirty! The positive effects of these programs have been felt both in the classroom and at home. Real life activities that involve lots of movements help all children focus and self regulate, setting them up to succeed and do their best in more sedentary academic learning tasks (as well as having real life experiences to draw examples and knowledge from) and experiences helping build a well rounded weekly routine and in the long run, a well rounded, healthy human being.
Katie Kligerman
Class 3 Teacher
Class 4
Class 4 Steiner have been exploring geography and our local area. Children have explored mapping, indigenous culture and the environment through local walks, creating maps and orienteering. In the last week we have been lucky to have Angela from the Merri Creek Management Committee join us to explore the history and geology of our local waterways and catchment.
Tristan Pierce & Gabrielle Stokes
Class 4 Teachers
Year 3-4 MK
34MK have had an adventurous start to the year as our project is based around exploring our community, ourselves and our environment. After an interesting incursion with Angela from the Merri creek management committee, learning about the geological sites that can be found along the Merri creek, the students planned their own excursion. After some experiments to find out just how far we could walk, a map for the excursion was created. We walked along the creek between Rushall and Merri stations, stopping along the way at various sites and land marks. Angela met us at the end of our walk and showed us some water creatures that she found in the creek. We mapped the things that we saw using a variety of different materials on our return to school -check out the display outside our classroom!
Our first camp of the year was at the beginning of March. We camped out under the stars for two nights at Londridge Park in Warrandyte. The students planned all the events and the menu in advance as well as practising erecting and dismantling the tents. The students prepared their own dinner in Kitchen class which left lots of time for play and night bush walks at camp. After busy days of paddling in the river, fishing, panning for gold, spotting animals (wombats, kangaroos and really big spiders!) we sat together around a huge campfire and listened to stories before snuggling into bed in our tents. We returned to school tired and dusty (the sign of an excellent camp) to recover and plan our next adventure.
Katherine Watson & Meredith Blakeney
Year 3-4MK Teachers
YEAR 5-6 NEWS
5-6B Play-doh Talking Brain
These past few weeks our class (5/6B) have been creating a play-doh brain that narrates the Brain's functions.
We have used a device (arduino board) called a Makey Makey. The Makey Makey allows you to turn any conductive object into a key from the keyboard (eg. space, click, up and down arrows).
To program our play-doh brain we have used a website called scratch which allows you to program the Makey Makey (eg. when “space” key is cl