Specialist News

ART/AUSLAN (ARTLAN)

It's all been happening in the Artlan room this term. In the 5/6's we have started a unit about impressionism and have started investigating landscapes. We have looked at Streeton, McCubbin and Roberts, famous Australian impressionists for inspiration.  We headed outside as the impressionists were known to do and did an "en plein air" sketch in charcoal of the yard.

The grades fours must be commended for their impressive safety skills in learning to use a hammer and nails to make a string art piece. We investigated constellations and students painted an enchanting galaxy background onto a woodblock. They then hammered nails for the stars from their chosen constellation and wrapped string around the nail heads. They look amazing, and I was so proud of how hard everyone worked on this project. 

The grade threes have been inspired by Pete Cromer and have made their own bird collages with paper that they painted themselves.

Grade two's have made the most amazing landscape paintings on canvas paper of Uluru whilst learning about  Aussie icon Ken Done.

Our grades ones are learning about the First Nations story "Rainbow Serpent" and made their own clay snake. I was really impressed with the creativity shown.

                       Fun across the school!

It’s been a busy (and very hands-on!) few weeks in the science rooms. Here’s what our budding scientists have been up to:

• Foundation & Grade 1: Our youngest learners have been mixing things up—literally! They’ve discovered how mixtures like gelatine can magically change over time and found out that some things (like oil and water… or oil and milk!) just refuse to mix, no matter how hard you try.

• Grade 2: Our clever creators have dived into packaging and recycling and tackled their first STEM challenge: the famous Paper Chain Challenge! The competition was fierce, with the longest solo chain stretching to a whopping 2.15 metres, while two friends teamed up for a massive 3.4 metre chain. Well done, legends!

• Grade 3: These curious minds have been investigating conductors and insulators. They’ve tested all sorts of materials to see which ones keep the heat in - plenty of surprises along the way!

• Grade 4: It’s all about forces! From sliding blocks to racing magnets, our Grade 4s have explored friction, gravity, and magnetism, putting different materials to the test. Who knew science could be this exciting?
• Grade 5/6: With torches and light boxes in hand, these future physicists have been experimenting with light. They’ve investigated everything from refraction and absorption to the magic of reflection, testing out their predictions and discovering how light really works.

It’s brilliant to see so many smiling faces in the labs and classrooms. Stay tuned for more science adventures next week!

PE

What an incredible few weeks it has been in PE! We have had our annual Athletics Day take place at the IYU Recreation Reserve. We could not be any more proud of the efforts made by the students as they cheered on their peers throughout the day. Ribbons were given out to students as they competed in events such as discus, shotput, longjump and 100m sprints. Special praise goes to our volunteers who have been so amazing throughout the year with all the different events that have been taken place.

This also includes our 5/6 Hooptime. Our students competed against other schools in a Basketball competition. It was a fantastic day for everyone as the students represented the school so well on and off the court. The teams showed their skills and sportsmanship, with some dramatic wins for Pakenham Hills.

In Performing Arts, students are revising the elements of music. We have learnt most of the choreography for the whole school concert dance  next term and will begin working on class dances in the next few weeks.

Students in years 3-6 have participated in the semi-finals of the Hand Clap Challenge. The grand finals will be held in the next two weeks.

Our fantastic Victorian State Schools Spectacular Team had their second training day. I am so proud of the hard work and effort these students have demonstrated.

3-6 dance group has started their concert item and are working hard to learn challenging Lyrical choreography.

3-6 Choir is exploring a number of musical themed songs in order to prepare for concert.

P-2 Glee club runs on Tuesdays for junior students to have fun singing and dancing.

LIBRARY

In the library we are continuing our lessons on being safe and responsible on computers. 

It is amazing to find that so many students already know so much about computers, programs and games.

Preps have been taught how to use devices reponsibly.

Grade 1 and 2s now know about computer input and output. 

Grade 3 and 4s have been identifying and collecting data.

and the 5/6-s can explain what hardware and software is. They can also give real life examples of how some information moves through the computer.