Specialists

Performing Arts

It's certainly a busy and exciting time in Performing Arts!

Our Prep students have begun their songwriting journey by exploring graphic notation — a creative way of writing music using pictures, colours and symbols rather than traditional musical notes. Students have been using their fingers and bodies to trace and follow along with graphic notation videos, discovering how different images and symbols can represent musical sounds and patterns. They have also let their imaginations run wild, using colours and paper to create their own crazy music pictures! In other exciting news, our Preps have started learning their song and dance for the end-of-year concert. There is lots of musical creativity happening as they begin preparing to share their learning with our school community!

Students in Grades 1–4 have been reviewing their songwriting journey by exploring graphic notation and discovering creative ways to represent music using pictures, symbols and patterns. They have been tracing and drawing along to graphic notation videos before taking on the role of composers themselves! Students created their own rhythmic pieces using graphic notation, then brought their compositions to life using percussion instruments. They proudly presented their musical creations to the class, sharing their ideas and exploring how different symbols can communicate musical sounds and rhythms. Students have also begun learning their songs and dances for the end-of-year concert. It's exciting to see them putting their creativity into practice while preparing for this special event!

Our Grade 5/6 students have been working incredibly hard as they prepare for their upcoming production of Slinky Malinki! There has been so much happening behind the scenes, with students busy learning lines, choreographing dances, blocking scenes, rehearsing stage positions and helping prepare props and costumes. Bringing a musical production to life takes an enormous amount of teamwork, commitment and perseverance, and it has been fantastic to see the time and effort our students are putting into making this performance special. We can't wait to share all their hard work with our school community and see it all come together on stage! And as if that wasn't enough, our Grade 5/6 students have also begun learning their songs and dances for the end-of-year concert. 

Physical Education

Our Prep–Grade 2 students have been developing their teamwork and hand-eye coordination through a range of fun games and practical activities. It has been wonderful to see students working together, practising their skills and building confidence as they take on new challenges.

Grades 3–6 have been working through AFL skills while also revisiting our PE expectations. Students have been focusing on the importance of teamwork, participation, respect and good sportsmanship to help everyone get the most out of our PE lessons.

It's been great to see students continuing to build their skills and work together as we head towards the end of the year!

Looking for a wonderful soccer community to be apart of, come down to Sushine Heights Soccer club 

Spanish

Preps

The Preps began their new unit: La Pequeña Oruga (The Little Caterpillar), using the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to review numbers and colours from Term 1 and begin learning how to name fruit in Spanish. They have begun using the sentence, "La Pequeña Oruga comio mucha fruta," (The little caterpillar ate lots of fruit) and practised the new sentence starter: "La Pequeña Oruga comió..." (The little caterpillar ate...). They made their first sentence with "una manzana" (one apple) and their pronunciation is exquisite! 

Grades 1 and 2

Students in grades 1 and 2 started their new unit: El Jardín (The Garden).

They started using the sentence starter: "En el jardín veo..." (In the garden I see...) and practised new vocabulary including:

-el árbol (the tree)

-las plantas (the plants)

-la flor (the flower)

-las flores (the flowers)

-la mariposa (the butterfly)

-la araña (the spider)

Grades 3 and 4

Students in grades 3 and 4 started their new unit: La Escuela (School).

They started learning items found in ones pencil case and challenging each other to memorise 2 without looking. Students already started succesfully using the new vocabulary when in need of supplies like "el borrador" (the eraser). 

Students also started using the question taught to the grade 5/6s: "¿Cómo se dice..." (How do you say...).

I was very impressed with the focus students displayed in their bookwork, adding detail and showing their creative flair.  Their pronunciation was also very impressive and they learned one of my favourite Spanish words to say: "sacapuntas" (sharpener).

Grades 5 and 6

Students in grades 5 and 6 began their new unit: Todo Sobre Mi (All About Me).

Students created a list of information about themselves in Spanish, including:

-Nombre (Name)

-Edad (Age)

-Comuna (Area/Suburb)

-Escuela (School)

-Nacionalidad (Nationality)

-Cosas Favoritas (Favourite Things)

They then used this information to create full sentences about themselves and presented to the class. I am very pleased with how hard most students worked and engaged actively to follow instructions in Spanish.

STEM

Visual Arts

Preps: Exploring Egypt: Pyramid Landscapes

This week in Visual Arts, our prep students travelled to Egypt in Africa to explore the fascinating art and visual culture of Ancient Egypt.

Students were inspired by the pyramids, desert landscapes, the Nile River, the sun and Egyptian patterns to create their own colourful artworks. They experimented with lines, geometric shapes, colour, repetition and pattern to build their own Egyptian-inspired landscapes.

Students particularly enjoyed creating pyramids using triangles and adding bright, repeated bands of colour and decorative details to their artwork. Through this activity, students discovered how artists can use shapes, colours and symbols to represent a place and communicate ideas.

Grade 1/2:European Still-Life

This week in Visual Arts, our Grade 1/2 students explored the European tradition of still-life painting. Students discovered how European artists have painted everyday objects such as fruit, flowers and household items, carefully observing their shape, colour, texture, light and shadow.

Inspired by traditional European still-life artworks featuring lemons, students created their own beautiful lemon and leaf paintings. They experimented with colour mixing, creating different shades of yellow and green, and used brushstrokes and highlights to make their lemons appear rounded and three-dimensional.

Students also explored how artists make choices about composition by arranging their lemons and leaves in interesting and balanced ways.

Grade 3/4: Exploring Indigenous Australian Art

Grade 3 and 4 students have been exploring the rich visual language of Australian Indigenous art, learning about the importance of connection to Country, community, culture and storytelling.

Students were inspired by the use of bold colours, organic shapes, repeated patterns, line work and symbols found in contemporary Indigenous Australian artworks. They experimented with a variety of mark-making techniques, using drawing, painting, scratching and layering to create texture and movement within their artwork.

For this project, students created colourful hand-inspired forms, filling each shape with their own carefully developed patterns and marks. They explored how lines, dots, symbols and repeated motifs can communicate ideas and create visual interest.

The final artworks are vibrant, expressive and full of personality, showcasing the students' growing confidence in combining colour, pattern, texture and symbolism.

Grade 5/6: Greek-Inspired Architecture & Mosaic Art

Grade 5 and 6 students have travelled to Greece through the world of art and architecture! 

Inspired by the iconic blue-and-white buildings of the Greek Islands, students explored how artists and architects use colour, shape, pattern and repetition to create visually striking spaces.

Students designed and constructed their own 3D architectural artworks, creating a miniature Greek-inspired scene complete with a building, doors, windows, pathways, gardens and decorative details. They also explored the beauty of mosaic art, carefully arranging colourful geometric shapes to create patterns and pathways inspired by traditional Greek mosaics.

This project encouraged students to think like both artists and architects, considering how colour, proportion, shape and composition can transform a simple structure into an inviting and imaginative environment.

The finished pieces are a wonderful combination of art, design, construction and creativity, with each student putting their own unique spin on their Greek-inspired scene.

STEM

Welcome back to Term 4! For this final term of the year, students will be working on ‘materials and technologies specialisations’, which is part of the Design and Technologies curriculum. Students will investigate a technology and will be planning, testing and prototyping a designed solution. 

This fornight , the Preps and Grade 1s have begun learning about algorithms. They're learning that algorithm is a set of sequenced instructions and have been ordering steps in a sequence. 

The Grade 2s and 3s have been finishing off data and spreadsheet block from last term and have been learning how to use formulas and create column graphs and pie charts within the spreasheet applications. 

The Grade 4s, 5s and 6s have been working on the same topic, with some slight adjustments to suit their year levels. We've begun investigating the components, rules and player experience of board games and have learnt about the United Nations Sustability goals which they will later use to link their boardgame designs to an evironmental or social issue.