Cultural Studies and Library

It has been wonderful to be back in the classroom after my Long Service Leave in Term 3. The students have been very happy to see me back, and keen to continue learning about the cultures of the world.

During my Long Service Leave I travelled to Singapore and London, then drove in a camper van from Rome through Italy, Germany and France, finishing up in Paris. It was an amazing experience for my whole family, and basically a working holiday as I can now share all I experienced with my students during Cultural Studies sessions 😉 

Prep: This semester, the Preps have continued to learn about Cultures of our School. So far we have learnt about China, Iran, India and Korea. The joy that students express when they find out we are discussing their culture is wonderful. They love sharing their stories and traditions with thier classmates. We read stories  about the culture and discuss the foods, sports and celebrations.

Level One - Six: This term, the rest of the school have been learning about Celebrations of the World. Level Four to Six were able to use their student voice to vote on the celebrations they wanted to learn about. 

Some of the celebrations we have learnt about so far include:

Harben Ice Festival - China:A festival in Northern China where huge structures are carved out of ice and lit up in an icy colourful display. There is also a huge Ice Wheel and ice slides to ride on.

Songkran (Water throwing festival) Thailand: A celebration for Budhist new Year where people participate in water activities to clean their soul before starting their new year feeling fresh and happy. It culminates in a huge country-wide water fight!

Samhain (Halloween) Scotland and Ireland : A 2,000 year old celebrations where the Celts used various strategies to protect their homes from evil spirits. These are traditions we still do today, including leaving out an offering of food to prevent any ill-will (trick or treat), dressing up in scary costumes to trick evil spirits and putting out Jack-O-Lanterns.

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Mexico :A 3,000 year old festival which celebrates and comemorates the dead over 3 days. They welcome back the spirits of their relatives by picnicing at the cemetery and decorate using smiling skeletons to reduce fear and laugh in the face of death.

Level Four to Six also created a slide show of their favourite Cultural Celebrations. They were excited to share their favourite traditions, foods and decorations with their classmates.

Library Update

Just a reminder to remember to bring a library bag for your library sessions each fortnight so you can continue to borrow. 

Overdue notices have gone home to relelvent students to prepare early for the end of the year. Please look for these and let me know if there are any issues so I can fix them. If you can't find the books please let me know and I will delete it from your child's list. 

Thank you!

Ms Foster