Specialists

Performing Arts

What a busy time it has been in Performing Arts!

Prep students have been putting their rhythm knowledge into action through a range of fun, hands-on activities. They explored musical concepts with a music note sand dig, music-themed play-dough, water mat note drawing, and creative music building blocks.

Preps have also begun learning about the musical stave, identifying the lines and spaces. To bring this learning to life, we used a floor ladder to represent the stave, allowing students to step or jump on the lines and spaces to help visualise and understand the concept in an active and engaging way.

There has also been plenty of time for our much-loved nursery rhyme sessions, along with opportunities for instrumental exploration and creative play.

Grade 1–6 students have wrapped up their rhythm unit by composing their own four-beat rhythms, playing them for the class, and doing a fun “guess the rhythm” challenge with their peers. 

They have now begun looking at the musical stave, exploring the difference between lines and spaces and learning helpful patterns to identify notes more quickly and accurately. Students in Grades 1–4 are focusing on the treble clef, while Grade 5/6 students are extending their knowledge by working with both the treble and bass clefs.

In addition to their work in music theory, all students have been putting great energy and effort into learning and practicing the songs and dances for our upcoming Harmony Day performance.

As with previous years, the VCE student band at Sunshine College will be accompanying our students as they sing. As part of this wonderful collaboration, we have begun taking small groups across to rehearse with the band. This collaboration provides an exciting opportunity for students to experience performing alongside live musicians.

Physical Education

Our Prep students have been enthusiastically learning the expectations of P.E. through a variety of fun and engaging collaborative games. As they participate in team-based activities, students are developing their understanding of important routines such as listening carefully to instructions, responding to start and stop signals, using equipment safely, and moving respectfully within shared spaces.

Grade 1–6 students have been developing their skills and understanding through our Hockey unit. Now they move to gameplay scenarios and how to use their skills and teammates to score goals.

Spanish

Students in Prep have continued to learn colours and practise choral counting 0-10 in Spanish. Students have practised singing the class greeting song "rapido" (fast) and "lento" (slow). They have also learnt 3 ways to respond to the question, “¿Cómo estás?" using actions to help recall the language. Preps have continued to use their cuaderno de español and used new vocabulary to follow instructions to complete their book work. 

We have been practising taking turns when speaking and showing kindness when sharing resources. We have also been practising stopping for instructions so we can listen to the whole instruction carefully. Students have also enjoyed watching Spanish song-videos including vocabulary they have acquired throughout the term.

Students in Years 1 and 2 have learnt 3 new ways to respond to the question, “¿Cómo estás?" using actions to help recall the language.

Students have extended their weather vocabulary throughout the unit “¿Cómo está el día hoy?” (How is the weather today?) adding to the class weather song using actions. 

Students have continued to use their cuaderno de español and followed instructions to record new vocabulary using modelled drawings on a “doble pagina” (double page). 

Students also created craft clouds to consolidate new vocabulary and are excited to display them in the school.

Students in years 3 - 6 have been working on using verbs to create sentences about their personal likes including activities, places, food and drinks. 

Students have used prior knowledge from weeks 4 - 5 and visual aids to use verbs "comer" (to eat) and "tomar (to drink) in full sentences and practise using these in conversations. Students have continued to follow classroom directions in Spanish, following actions to make meaning of new vocabulary to complete work in their workbook transferring literacy skills from English to Spanish. 

STEM

This week in STEM we've continued our Physics science block across all year levels. 

The Preps and Grade 1s have been continuing their learning about physical forces. This week we conducted some experiments using big and small forces. We made predictions and then observed how different force strengths affected the distance objects travelled, testing with soccer balls!

The Grade 2s continued learning about sound energy. We learnt about volume and pitch, testing and exploring how sound travels through different materials with objects in the yard. This week we observed how sound is produced at different pitches when glasses are filled at different levels with water, and made predictions about the pitch of sounds in cups of different materials.

In Grade 3, we kept exploring heat energy! We learnt about the different types of heat energy like combustion and geothermal energy, and this week learnt about measuring temperature. We observed how heat is transferred differently in different materials and used a digital thermometer to measure the temperature of sand, clay and water. 

The Grade 4s continued learning about forces! We were introduced to non-contact forces like magnetism and gravity. This week we observed and measured the distance objects travelled when different strengths of contact forces are applied and recorded our observations using force arrows. 

In Grade 5, we continued learning about light energy! We tested a range of materials, observing how light passes through in different ways. We classified the materials and objects as either transparent, translucent or opaque. This week we learnt about transmission, refraction and dispersion of light. We conducted experiments using glasses of water and observed how objects inside or behind the glass look different compared to how they looked outside of the glass. We also observed how laser lights bend (refract) when they pass through glass at an angle!

The Grade 6s this week continued to look at electrical energy! We built and experimented with some circuit kits, building our very own functioning circuit car! We connected batteries to switches and into motors with wires and troubleshooted our circuits when they didn’t work or didn’t work exactly as we intended! 

Visual Arts

What an amazing start to the year it has been in Visual Arts! All students have returned with enthusiasm and creativity, ready to explore and create wonderful artworks. With our BIG IDEA set for this year’s Art Show, we have begun our exciting artistic journey around the world, exploring identity, home, and culture through art.

Prep

Our Prep students have settled beautifully into their Art sessions. They have been learning about having a growth mindset and understanding that there is no right or wrong in art , there is simply creativity, effort, and personal expression. We read the beautiful story The Dot, which teaches us that even a small mark can be the beginning of something amazing. Inspired by this message, students created their own special mark and transformed it into a unique self-portrait. They showed wonderful confidence and creativity. What a fantastic start for our youngest artists!

Grade 1/2

Grade 1/2 students have begun exploring the theme of “Home.” They discovered that homes around the world can look very different and reflect unique cultures and environments. Using watercolours, students painted imaginative backgrounds and then used collage techniques to design their dream homes. Their artworks are colourful, creative, and full of personality.

Grade 3/4

Grade 3/4 students began their journey around the world by first exploring themselves and their own identity. Using a range of materials and techniques, they created vibrant and expressive self-portraits with a creative twist. They also started their next project by closely examining globes and continents. Using coffee filters, drawing, texture, and water techniques, students created beautiful globe artworks that represent our diverse and connected world.

Grade 5/6

Grade 5/6 students have been working on their Self-Identity Jars, filling them with symbols, colours, and images that represent who they are and what is important to them. This week, 6's havebegan developing ideas for our exciting library mural project. Students explored themes inspired by Australian flora, fauna, and identity, and were encouraged to express their ideas creatively. Their designs are now being compiled and will help inspire the final mural, which will be unveiled at our Harmony Block Party. We cannot wait to see their ideas come to life!

It has been a fantastic start to the year, and I am so proud of the creativity, effort, and enthusiasm shown by all of our students. I look forward to sharing more of their incredible artistic journey as the year continues.

Lauren Jamieson

Visual Arts Teacher