Whole School Activities
Rocky River's Got Talent!
At the end of last week, I surveyed our students about their preference for our end of year production. Traditionally, this has been a play or musical delivered after the end of year presentation day assembly, facilitated by the teachers, which all students in the school have a part in. This year, we offered the option to hold a talent show in an attempt to cater to the diversity of strengths and skills our students have to offer. There was a convincing majority for the idea of "Rocky River's Got Talent" which also caters for the students who'd still like to rehearse and perform a play. We kicked off a planning session this week where students began brainstorming and organising their performance. So far, the following guidelines have been set:
- Solo or group items - no minimum or maximum number limit of students
- Teacher approved items only (school appropriate)
- No cost/minimal cost - must be resourceful with materials required
So far, it looks like we will have quite a range of dancing, acting, singing, instrumentals, magic, science and more!
Gymnastics Week 9
We make our final visit for the term to the Armidale Gymnastics Club this Friday for our school sport program. Students have had a wonderful time this term, from the bus ride to the varied activities we have been enjoying each week. We are already looking forward to our Friday sport program next term as announced at our last assembly.
Premier's Spelling Bee
Congratulations to all of our students who participated in their class or division spelling bee last week. We are proud of each and every one of you!
Assembly
We held our final assembly for the term last Friday. Congratulations to all of the merit certificate recipients, and commendations to all students who performed an item or delivered a report on the day.
MHF Fundraiser | PJ & Movie Day
Last Thursday we wore our warmest PJs and rocked our best beanies for Beanie for Brain Cancer day!! We proudly raised $109, donating all proceeds to the Mark Hughes Foundation this year. What a fun and cosy day it was completing our learning in oodies, enjoying a movie and warm pop corn with our friends, finishing off with music and orchestra in style!
Lower Division
Lower Division have continued working hard right to the end of term and are achieving great results. In English, we have been studying the texts "Rosie's Walk" and "The Wall in the Middle of the Book". With these texts, we have concentrated on identifying the sequence of a narrative (the beginning, the middle and the end) and have been practicing our use and understanding of prepositions. Lower Division have been using appropriate language such as above, over, before, on and under in our own writing and have been constructing some impressive sentences.
Our studies in English have complimented our Mathematics unit, where we are looking at describing the location of objects using positional language. Lower Division have drawn maps of places familiar to them, and then used appropriate language to describe how they would navigate from one point to another.
We hope everyone has a safe and relaxing holiday and look forward to seeing everyone again next term.
Upper Division
Dorothy Mackellar Poetry Competition
The Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards invite school students across Australia to unleash their creativity and express their thoughts and feelings through the beautiful medium of poetry. These awards not only celebrate literary excellence but also inspire young minds to explore their inner worlds and articulate their emotions.
For the 2025 competition, students have the option to draw inspiration from the theme “All the beautiful things.” This theme encourages participants to reflect on the myriad of experiences and topics that ignite their poetic imaginations. Whether it’s the tranquility of nature, the warmth of friendship, or the joy found in small moments, students are encouraged to delve deep and let their creativity flow.
Crafting original poems can be a challenging yet rewarding task. One of the key guidelines for the awards is the absence of illustrations, graphics, or decorations. This requirement was a little difficult for students as they are often encouraged to enhance their texts with visual elements. However, this challenge allows them to focus entirely on the power of words and the emotions they convey, honing their skills as poets.
Science
We completed our final science experiment of the term this week, exploring the change of states of matter from a solid, to a liquid and gas. We did this in the most exciting way possible – erupting volcanoes; bi-carb soda and vinegar style! It was exciting to see students applying their understanding of variables to this experiment, and design their own fair test, recording their results in a way that each group thought was most practical.
After the first two rounds, we noticed an underwhelming eruption of gas. A chemical reaction was observed between the vinegar and bi-carb soda, however, not with the height we were hoping for! We discussed what controlled variable could be changed to create a higher, more dramatic eruption and decided enclosing the cup in various forms may trap the gas, leading to an overflow of increased height once the cover was removed. For some groups, their hypothesis failed, however, others achieved a higher result. For dramatic effect, food colouring was added to make the “lava” flow a little more exciting, but students also found this helped in recording the height with an imprint of colour on a nearby piece of paper, which could be measured consistently after all three attempts.
At the experiment’s conclusion, we returned to the classroom to draw up our results, with many students achieving accurate scientific diagrams including annotations with technical labels and an analysis statement or ‘discussion’ outlining what they gathered from their recorded results.
This term has been thrilling in our scientific lab sessions, and I believe we have many young aspiring scientists who have broadened their understanding of scientific concepts as a result!
Stage 2 | Mathematics
During the last few weeks we have been looking at two-dimensional shapes, angles and number patterns. Students have revisited 2D shapes, including triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, and circles. Through hands-on activities, students have explored the properties of these shapes, such as the number of sides, vertices, and symmetry.
Alongside 2D shapes, we are also delving into the concept of angles. Students are learning to identify and measure angles using protractors, as well as understand the difference between acute, obtuse, and right angles.
Number patterns form another crucial area of focus in Stage 2 Mathematics. Students have explored simple number sequences and patterns, learning to identify, describe, and extend them. Activities such as skip counting and using number lines and charts encourage students to recognise relationships between numbers. This exploration not only enhances their number sense but also lays the groundwork for more complex mathematical concepts in the future.
To enrich our students' learning experience, we emphasise the importance of connecting mathematical concepts to real-world applications. Whether it's measuring angles in architecture, identifying shapes in art, or recognising patterns in nature, students are encouraged to see the relevance of mathematics in their everyday lives.
Stage 3 | English
Stage 3 are working hard on finishing our class novel by the end of term. Whilst students are now listening to the end of Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief aloud for enjoyment, they have worked hard this term to study the author's style and apply this to their own writing.
In a final term writing task, we engaged in a morning stroll for some writing inspiration. We paid a visit to the original Rocky River school house in our neighbouring paddock, and wondered what type of eerie story such a setting could inspire. We used the photograph taken of the window, from the perspective of a character peering into the building and describing what they saw, felt or heard. This became our writing stimulus for a creative piece, fostering progressive tension, building up to a climactic moment, followed by a resolution. Students then reflected on their work against the success criteria for the task, and identified what they had achieved, and where to next.
It's wonderful to see such original ideas, crafted through accurate structure and clever use of grammatical features such as varied sentence types and repetition for emphasis. Stage 3 truly are developing their own unique authorial style in writing!
