Prep

Wow! It has been an amazing two weeks in Prep! We LOVED participating in an investigation at the frog pond. We learnt that frogs eat flies, slugs and snails with their long, sticky tongues. Using nets, we were able to catch some incredible tadpoles. We know that taking care of God’s creation is important, so we ensured that the creatures were carefully put back in their home. It was so fun bringing our favourite teddies to school. We enjoyed using our persuasive skills to explain why our teddy was the best! Hmmmm, I wonder what learning adventure we will have next.

Year 1

We have been investigating the attributes of 2D shapes. We participated in an activity where we needed to give clues so our partner could determine the shape. So, we thought you might like to play What Shape Am I? with us.

I have 4 straight equal sides, 2 sets of parallel lines, 4 corners, 2 horizontal lines, 2 vertical lines and 1 face. What am I?

In Integrated Studies we have been learning how to be a scientist. We are learning to undertake scientific experiments, make predictions and write down our observations in detail. We are also learning to pose questions like, ‘Who was the first scientist?’ and ‘Who found germs first?’. How interesting are our thoughts? What question would you ask?

Year 2

We have been learning how to solve addition and subtraction mathematical word problems. We have been solving challenging problems and creating our own for others to solve. A highlight was creating a poster to demonstrate how to turn a worded problem into a number sentence and draw a representation to help us solve it. It has been interesting to see how Maths problems can be embedded into storytelling.

Year 3 and Year 4

On Monday 6 May, we went on an excursion to the National Sports Museum, complete with a tour of the MCG. Here are some reflections from the students. A fantastic day was had by all.

It was a nice day at the MCG. We walked along the boundary line, up all the levels, checked out some famous footy players and enjoyed the Game On section.

Lachlan Ramus (3M)

It was a really nice day going to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. We found out a lot about some sporting heroes. We learned a lot about the Melbourne Cricket Club, which started a long time ago! My favourite part was Game On. It had a lot of exciting things to visit.

Janim Cai (3M)

I loved when we went into the Game On area so that we could persevere to get our goal and earn as many points as we could!

Hannah Jacob (3D)

I was amazed by the cricket field because there were so many chairs – there were thousands of them! I had never seen the MCG before.

Kim Kim Dim San Kim (3D)

I really liked the evaluation of the baggy green cap and how they changed over the years. I really enjoyed learning about the bell that came from a ship and how they don't use it now to show the end of the game.

Shiloh Bailey (4W)

My favourite thing I did on the excursion was that we could go on to the MCG grass and learn about how some people work on the grass, even in weekends. It's a workplace!

Dinara Dissanayake (4W)

I enjoyed seeing how the history of sports changed. I also learned that women are also involved in sports. They play a role more than men and play more than volleyball.

Sianna Sween (4T)

I really liked stepping out into the field because I didn't think we would get to. The games in the Game On area were really fun like the rock climbing.

Joey Lynch (4T)

It was really fun and a great experience where we got to learn lots of new things. My favourite thing was Game On, playing all the games and learning new stuff.

Maia Cheng (4R)

I loved seeing all the timelines of the Olympic Games. It had every single Olympics! I liked all the clothes they wore over the years.

Kai Martin (4R)

Year 5

Reflections of St Alipius

The Sovereign Hill Camp was an enjoyable experience. We really enjoyed going to school there. The teachers were very strict, but it was all just pretend. We had to call the adult ladies ‘Ma’am’ and the adult men ‘Sir.’ When we were walking around, we had to walk in a certain way, and the boys and girls walked in separate lines. The adults called us ‘Miss’ followed by our name for girls and ‘Master’ followed by their name for boys. For example, at Sovereign Hill, our names were Miss Charisma and Master Joshua. At school, we learnt a poem that was called The Faeries. We also had to learn our 12 (so we could work with shillings – the money of the time) and 16 times tables (so we could work with the units of measurement of the time). There were some different things we did during class time, including gold panning. We had to sit up straight and tall. We all think our backs are permanently straight now. We also had visits from different people like Mr and Mrs Brown the owners of Brown’s Confectionary (Mrs Brown looked a lot like Mrs McDonald!) and a very funny priest. Mr and Mrs Brown chose two people to become apprentices at Brown’s Confectionary. They were Nadia and Riyan. Ma’am told them that because of their new job, they would improve the lives of their whole families. Overall, we had such a fun time with the funny, a little school version of schooling.

Miss Charisma Gray and Master Joshua Connelly (5M)

Reflections of St Peter’s

At St Peter’s, we wore old-fashioned clothes, and our teacher had a leather belt and a wooden cane. We learnt that in the 1850s girls became engaged at 13, married at 14 and had babies at 15! All the girls are glad we live in 2024. We also learnt that girls got less education because the boys were supposed to be smarter than the girls. In our class, the girls learnt how to stitch, and the boys had to make a house of cards. However, the boys were not allowed to do anything else with cards because it could lead to gambling. Mrs Reeves (aka Mrs Taylor) was looking for a new delivery boy who had an eye for detail and was bold. The lucky person who got selected was Master Ari. Mrs Wesley (aka Miss Driessen) was the wife of the postmaster and was having her 14th child very soon, so she needed a housemaid to help. The lucky girl who got selected was Miss Mohi. When we were walking around, we were told to have our chins up, shoulders back, and straight backs. This was because we were the most privileged school on the gold field, so we had to represent our school well. Also, the boys had to walk on the roadside (the most dangerous side) to protect the girls. Camp was the best! Just don’t be late for school.

Miss Deetya Vivek, Miss Eden Wilson, Miss Hope Law and Master Noah Gonzales (5D)

Year 6

Going to Sovereign Hill was an amazing experience, from gold panning, watching real gold being poured, where the smelters man, (the person who makes gold bars) said the gold would be worth $350K, to being a part of the living museum. Going gold panning, first of all, was a once in a lifetime experience. The adventurous aspect of thinking you might find gold was such a thrilling experience! During the camp, we went underground into the mines for a real look at the second biggest gold nugget in Australia, the Welcome Nugget, worth approximately $8million.

Ma'am, the Sovereign Hill teacher, was awesome at teaching and showing us how the Wesleyans (the religion of our costumed school) behaved. Thanks to her, I will always remember the phrase, ‘children should be seen, not heard’. Furthermore, we also sang old hymns, practised our handwriting and played with olden day toys in the streets. At the end of the camp, I (Jocelyn) was one of the fortunate children to be chosen to be employed to work in the undertaker's office. It was such a memorable camp!

Aryan Bhat and Jocelyn Duan (6G)

About the Ragged School

Our school was for orphans, so the priority was to teach us a trade, which would mean we could earn a living in the future. The uniforms were donated by rich people, and there were patches all over them. We also learnt that there were toys that only boys could play with and other toys that only girls could use. As a class, we went gold panning. We also went into groups to do community duties. It was a really educational experience to learn what life was like in the 1850s.

Aalia Shaik and Ewan Girishmon (6B)

Year 5 & 6 Sovereign Hill Camp

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