Around The Rooms
Senior Team
Making Rain Gauges
As part of our Inquiry lessons we are currently looking at weather patterns and climate. To support this understanding we will be constructing our own rain gauges at school and observing and recording the data over the coming weeks. We are asking students to please collect any large plastic bottles (washed pleased) that would be suitable for the project. Thanks for your support.
Zoo Excursion
To support our Term 2 Inquiry unit about sustainability and environment, students from 5/6L, 5/6M and 5/6P will be visiting Werribee Open Range Zoo to participate in the Environments, Cultures and Human Influences education program. Students will engage in hands-on activities and explore the unique adaptations and life cycles that allow our Australian wildlife to survive in diverse habitats. All three grades will also enjoy the safari bus tour of the zoo on the day.
Date: Monday 3rd June 2024
Time: Departing 9am returning prior to end of school day
Cost: $25.00 per student (to be paid at office or via Xuno)
Electives
Beginning Monday, the Senior team will begin enjoying the electives program. This is an opportunity for our students to challenge themselves and participate in activities they may not have tried before and is a fantastic way for our older members of the school to prepare for the transition to secondary school where they will be offered similar programming. This term we are offering Cooking, Sewing, Art, Sport and Technology (coding) and all members of the senior team have been advised of their group.
Cyber Safety Information Session
Please have a look at the attached flyer for the upcoming cyber safety parent evening. This will be an informative event not to be missed for parents and carers.
Middle Years
Term 2 is now well underway and the children are keen to be back in their garden and kitchen lessons. The grade 1 & 2’s have had a little ‘taste’ of a cooking lesson, by participating in an Anzac biscuit making session. Lots of enthusiastic tasting of their biscuits….. jury is still out on whether crunchy or chewy is best, but all agreed that they were delicious.
The grade 3 & 4’s have been having lessons on indigenous vegetable ingredients and this week we have had Warrigal Greens and Potato soup. Delicious was the general verdict. Whilst preparing the soup, lots of knife skills were used to chop up all the ingredients. We now have quite a proficient crew of little masterchefs. It’s great to see how the children’s confidence in the kitchen is progressing.
Our new outdoor garden bed area, complete with teaching deck is now in use and the plants are thriving. It is a great space for our garden lessons. Thank you to the Ballan Bendigo Bank for their generous support that allowed us to build this addition. Also, a HUGE thank you to Lori and the Ballan True Value Hardware team. They have generously donated wheelbarrows and watering cans more suited to the children in grades 1 & 2 and this will help make our garden lessons easier. The larger equipment was a bit difficult at times for the smaller children. Thank you Lori!
Finally, we are slowly having some new enquiries re volunteering in our lessons. The adults that have come to assist have all reported how enjoyable their sessions have been. So, if you know of anyone who may have some time on their hands and is willing to help us in our Program, please get them to contact the school for more information.
Kind regards,
Mary Giannakopoulos
Kitchen Garden Specialist
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Middle Years excursion to Geelong Gaol: 27th May⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes and information will be coming home soon for our exciting excursion. Students will be visiting the Geelong Gaol: National Crime and Justice Museum, which is Victoria’s longest-running colonial gaol. They will be exploring our nation's convict past with the help of costumed guides who take on a character who once lived or worked at the gaol.
Junior Team
As you would have seen from the Inquiry progress reports that were made available on Xuno on May 2nd, the Preps, Ones and Twos have been doing a lot of work around different feelings and strategies we can use when we are having big emotions.
Within all of the P-2 classrooms we have areas that students can access when they are feeling overwhelmed, upset, frustrated or just need some time to themselves. Having open discussions with the students about their feelings and talking about what helps them to feel better has been extremely helpful and this will be an area that we continue to focus on throughout the year.
We know that these conversations might be helpful to have at home with your child as well so here are a few links to some of the resources we have used in the classrooms this year.
