Specialist Happenings

Visual Arts

The year 6 have finally started their sustainable fashion/wearable art project. During the rest of this term, in between some other important activities like sail decorating and mural making they will develop their own wearable art. They will be cutting, sewing, redesigning, embroidering, decorating and everything in between. This project has started in a flurry of excitement and I can honestly say, it has something for everyone wherever their interests may lie. We are aiming to culminate in a sustainable fashion parade at an assembly in term 4. It's wonderful to see everyone so motivated, and not only learning some art skills and design skills but learning all about why sustainability in fashion is so important. 

A big thank you to all who donated unwanted items for the kids to repurpose. We ended up with quite an array. 

At the same time as this we are continuing with the whole school project and decorating a sail for an upcoming sail by celebration through Brighton Yacht Club

Keep creating!

Ms Hemmings and Ms Van Etten

Mandarin

This week, our Grade 1 and Grade 2 students had a fun and interactive way to learn about weatherby playing games with weather flashcards!

During the activities, students had to read out a Chinese word for the weather and match it to the correct picture or use it in a sentence. This playful approach helped reinforce their understanding of key weather vocabulary while building confidence in both spoken Mandarin and sentence writing.

It was fantastic to see students engaged, collaborating, and supporting each other, while having fun and practising their language skills.

Well done, Grade 1 and Grade 2, for making learning about the weather both meaningful and enjoyable!

This week, our Grade 3/4 students had a fun and interactive way to learn about telling time in Chinese! Students practised reading clocks and saying the time in Chinese aloud. They also worked on writing the time in Chinese characters, combining their speaking and writing skills to express hours and minutes accurately.

Their curiosity and confidence in telling time in Mandarin really shine through. Keep up the great effort, Grade 3/4!

This week, our Grade 5/6 students explored animals and colours in Mandarin in a lively and interactive way, by playing memory games with flashcards with their peers!

During the activity, students practised reading the Chinese words aloud and matching animals with their characters. They also learned how to describe animals using colours. 

It was wonderful to see students thinking creatively and using Mandarin to paint vivid pictures of animals. Their enthusiasm for combining vocabulary to make colourful descriptions really stood out this week!

You are all amazing!

你们真棒！(Nǐmen zhēn bàng)

Miss. Low

Physical Education 

Students across the levels have enjoyed consolidating their skills in striking and fielding, with the main focus being striking a ball off a tee with a softball bat. They have also honed their fielding skills, aiming to “stay on their feet” and return the ball as quickly as possible. Fielding has also sparked important conversations around working together and communicating in teams.

Moving forward, our lower-year students will be focusing on cricket skills, while our Years 3–6 students are looking forward to exploring striking and fielding game sense through games like Danish Longball, Wakey Baseball, and Chuck the Chicken.

District Athletics 

Congratulations to the students who have qualified to represent our school at the District Athletics Competition on Monday, 1st September at Duncan McKinnon Reserve. COMPASS permissions have now been sent to those who qualified. We require a few parent helpers for the day, so if you are available, please let Mrs Foster know via the COMPASS permission form or by email. 

Students in field and hurdle events will have opportunities to train at school over the next few weeks, with the proposed training schedule displayed on the Specialist Office door. Students participating in running events are encouraged to visit their local athletics track for additional sprinting and running practice. 

Science - Mesozoic Mysterium

The Age of the Dinosaurs

Have you had the chance to come into science, to see our amazing Mesozoic Mysterium?

Our young scientists have been learning about the three eras of the dinosaurs, the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous eras. We have learned about the changes in the geology and climate which lead to the evolution of the dinosaurs. We have also learned about the classifications of dinosaurs into 4 main groups - sauropods, ornithopods, thyreophorans, and theropoda.

The students have focussed on: -

Foundation

Our littlies have continued their exploration of movement by studying dinosaur prints.

Level 1 & 2

Level 1 and 2 have discovered fossilised footprints (which they made in clay).  And by the way, have you bought your Snack chocolate bar

Level 3 & 4

Our middle school students have practised their dexterity making paper models of dinosaurs.

Level 5 & 6

Our senior students are creating a toy for their buddies.

Wilko, Safety Sue and Ms Cullen