Student News

Foundation 

In phonics, we have learned all the letters of the alphabet and the most common sounds they make!! We have been writing about all things winter, including the rain and lovely open fires. Look at our writing!

In maths, we have been learning about addition. We rolled two dice and added their values together. We then created addition cities! 

Grades 1 & 2

Last week, the Grade 1 and 2 students headed off on our first excursion for the year. We spent the day at Melbourne Museum, exploring, learning and having lots of fun! This excursion linked with our History unit, and we attended a session called ‘My Grandmother’s Toy Box’ where we learnt about how toys have changed over time. Turns out technology has had a massive impact on this – who knew?!

We also enjoyed looking at the Dinosaur, Bug and Melbourne Story exhibits as well as taking a walk through the Forest Gallery. We are so proud of all the students for representing Kalinda and our Kalinda values so well!

Grades 3 & 4

As part of our Inquiry into Australian Identity, local history and celebrations, Grade 3 and 4 students have been learning about the history of the Australian Aboriginal Flag. We have practised taking notes from different sources and summarising that information to write factual recounts. 

This was very challenging work even for our teachers, and we revisited the concept of the Learning Pit from Term 1. When you are in the Learning Pit, you feel frustrated and confused. You are trying to understand something new, and it takes perseverance and making mistakes before you start to climb out. On the way, there are lots of problem-solving and building of new neural connections before you emerge successful, having learned something and gained a deeper understanding of it through the struggle.

This week, we are writing a factual recount of our excursion to the Melbourne Museum. We revisited photos taken on the day to remind ourselves of what we did and saw. Next, we will follow the text structure we used while learning about the Australian Aboriginal Flag to plan and write about our excursion. We are looking forward to sharing our writing with our families.

Grades 5 & 6

Market Day is just around the corner, and the buzz is growing as our 5/6 students get ready to launch their stalls on Wednesday, 18 June. Over the past few weeks, they’ve been hard at work finalising business plans, learning the ins and outs of budgeting, managing inventory and designing eye-catching advertising campaigns. Keep an ear out for some incredibly creative radio ads coming soon over the loudspeaker - you won’t want to miss them!

In Maths, we’ve been diving into the world of statistics and data. Students are learning how to interpret information and create effective data displays - all while enjoying a fun, hands-on activity involving Skittles and M&Ms to bring the learning to life!

We also celebrated our first Winter Gala Day on Friday, 6 June. It was a fantastic day full of energy and team spirit, with students proudly demonstrating our school values of resilience, respect and kindness as they competed against other local schools.

Art

A wide variety of art processes are being explored in the Art Room this term.

Our Open Night Collaborative Community Mosaic Mural is complete and making a striking statement in the main corridor. Our students love knowing that their families helped to create this colourful piece.

The senior students have been investigating artworks featuring symmetry. The unit began with a bilateral mirror drawing activity. Using both hands and following the lead of a partner sitting opposite was a fun and challenging process. The students then went on to design and create a symmetrical coloured paper collage.

Meanwhile the Grade 3 and 4 students have taken symmetry a step further. They used a template to draw a simple design of lines and shapes. This was traced onto a piece of printmaking foam, and a ringed background piece painted with bingo dabbers. One corner of the foam was marked with an asterisk. The student made sure to keep that mark in the centre as they rolled the foam with black paint and printed it in the four corners. The result is radial symmetry: symmetry in a circle.

The Grade 1 and 2 classes have been sharing presentations about changing technology, so we used sticky-backed textured paper to create robot collages. The students identified and named shapes and traced these cardboard pieces to design their robot.  Small details were added with white pen and eye stickers made the finishing touch.

Our junior students in Foundation have been learning to sew a simple running stitch. They printed a couple of autumn leaf stamps onto a piece of calico and then used a needle and thread to follow lines, creating small stitches. In their second lesson they added sequins for a bit of bling and to develop fine motor skills. We were so lucky to have some parents, grandparents and our Art Monitors to help with the tricky aspects of tangles, knots and tying off.