SCHOOL OF WONDER
Fairy tales, creative response, and leaps forward in numeracy
Bustling with energy and enthusiasm, Foundation students along with their friends in Grades 1 and 2 have enjoyed a fortnight of engaging learning and creativity.
Enthralled by the magic of fairy tales, children explored aspects of the genre, practised their handwriting and forged links with their creative and problem-solving skills by reconstructing scenes in dioramas, while also taking the time to provide peer feedback.
In numeracy, children also proudly made leaps forward applying the function of subtraction, while Bec's Grade 1/2 class made the most of a sunny afternoon locating and exploring examples of fractions in the front yard. Armed with clipboards the budding mathematicians recorded their findings before sharing and discussing their learning as a group.
Fire Safety Education visit - Foundation
On Monday, September 11 our Foundation students met with Firefighter Andrew, Firefighter Rob, Firefighter Damian and Firefighter Mark for a Fire Safety Education session.
The students learnt the difference between good fires and bad fires, learnt where we should have smoke alarms, what to do when there is a fire, what to do when a room is full of smoke, where and how to evacuate a building, who to call and when to call.
The firefighters then showed the students their firetruck including tools, breathing tanks and hoses. The best part for many was being able to use the hose!
Parks Victoria
In furthering their understanding of native habitats and life cycles, Grade 1 & 2 children welcomed Greta and Hilda from Parks Victoria, who presented a fascinating talk about the care and importance of maintaining the health of local waterways and its inhabitants.
Beginning with an acknowledgement of the Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways and their inherent practice of care and respect for unique animal or plant totems, Hilda and Greta went on to explain more recent conservation and research practices undertaken by Parks Victoria to ensure the future health of Kaiela (Goulburn River).
The children were fascinated to see various turtle shells brought along by Hilda and Greta and were intrigued to hear that Kaiela means 'Old Man', perfect for the river that is one of the state's oldest.
On the last day of term a representative from Goulburn Valley Water arrived at the college to judge the short-listed entries for this year's Water Week competition, 'Every Drop Counts.'
The shortlisted entries from F-2 were: Alexa, Aria, Dheeran, Dhairya, Anhad, Mia, Adele, Hannah, Saanjh and Neeva.
The shortlisted entries from 3/4 were: Sophie, Lucy, Millie, Ana, Japji, Fateh P, Seamus, Isabella, Hely and Xavier W.
The winners of the final adjudication will be announced in the very first il giornale in Term 4, alongside some smiling photos.
Congratulations to all the learners for the care and effort that was put into their beautiful creations. All the work was highly commendable.
R U OK? is a public health promotion charity that encourages people to stay connected and have conversations that can help others through difficult times in their lives.
Thursday, September 14 was R U OK? Day, a day where students learnt to understand the importance of checking in with others and themselves. We had a range of activities over the day including a lunchtime BBQ, which was run by students from the School of Possibilities.
Term 3 Visual Arts wrap!
Foundation
Students looked at the artwork of Giuseppe Arcimboldo and his famous portraits conveying the four seasons series he created. Cementing his place in art history in the mid-16th century, Archimboldo managed to fuse two of the most popular painting genres: portraiture and still life. Students drew and painted on A4 paper what they thought Arcimbaldo’s portraits might look like with all the seasons depicted using fruit and vegetables. The students further explored the seasons utilising colour theory and by drawing and painting landscapes.
Students also investigated and discussed the theme of human sculptures inspired by the artwork of Alberto Giacometti. Students created their own figure sculptures by manipulating wire and foil.
Years 1 and 2
1/2s have had so much fun discovering and exploring the changes that can occur with paint throughout the term. Throughout the term we have been inspired by the big idea “materials are chosen for different purposes based on properties and people's needs.” We explored how we can use a variety of materials to paint with and discovered the different textures, shapes and patterns various materials make. We were inspired by the work of Giuseppe Arcimboldo who painted fruits and vegetables to create faces. We had a go at creating a Giuseppe Arcimboldo piece, using various materials to paint fruits of specific seasons.
In the latter part of the term, we have been exploring colour, mixing colours and building an understanding of warm and cool colours. We created an ombre style artwork to show how warm and cool colours can be shown. We then used the thinking from our inquiry to add material structures that are "based on people's needs" such as cityscapes and beach umbrellas.
It has been a wonderful term full of creative energy!
Grade 3/4
Students completed their pinch pot that was bisque fired in the kiln. Students designed their pot and drew a rendered illustration of their pot. Students annotated the areas that did not work well and the changes they made.Students brushed on the glaze to be glaze fired.
Students were asked to draw multiple Australian Botanical plants on an A3 piece of paper by being analytical and creating scientific drawings. Students used their best drawing to copy onto watercolour paper to complete a finished watercolour illustration. Students established their composition by making decisions about how they wanted to present the plant in their painting.
Term 3 Italian wrap!
In Italian this term, children have been practising conversational phrases such as Come stai? - How are you? and Come ti chiami? - What is your name? They have learned the names of different animals - gli animali - through games that have allowed them to practise the Italian language. The children have also learned about different types of pasta and other Italian food to develop their understanding of Italian culture. Foundation children have revised numbers and colours in Italian and learned how to say the names of family members. All groups learned about La festa di Sant'Anna (St Anne’s Feast Day) with a focus on their grandparents - i nonni - and special people in their lives.
Term 3 PE wrap!
Emma and Kasey are very proud of the resilience from SOW students during the cold winter months, especially in the lead up to the St Anne’s athletics carnival. During the term, all SOW students practised the events that were held at the carnival, and it was great to see the sportspersonship and teamwork from students.
In Term 4, we look forward to the sunny and warmer sessions outdoors, as well as our swimming program kicking off in weeks 2 and 4.
We are also looking forward to seeing our grade 3/4s participating in the interschool athletics carnival early next term.
Term 3 Performing Arts wrap!
In Term 3 during Performing Arts the focus for the Foundation students has been children's songs. Students have been using movement, actions, words, costumes and props to express themselves and to tell a story. One example of this was, There Was A Princess Long Ago.
Students in Grade 1/2 have been focusing on children's stories. They have been working to create puppets, sets and props to retell familiar stories such as The Three Little Pigs.
1/2s have had so much fun discovering and exploring the changes that can occur with paint throughout the term. Children have also been inspired by the big idea, ‘materials are chosen for different purposes based on properties and people's needs.’ We explored how we can use a variety of materials to paint with and discovered the different textures, shapes and patterns various materials make. We were inspired by the work of Giuseppe Arcimboldo who painted fruits and vegetables to create faces. We had a go at creating a Giuseppe Arcimboldo piece, using various materials to paint fruits of specific seasons.
In the latter part of the term, we have been exploring colour, mixing colours and building an understanding of warm and cool colours. We created an ombre style artwork to show how warm and cool colours can be shown. We then used the thinking from our inquiry to add material structures that are ‘based on people's needs’ such as cityscapes and beach umbrellas.
It has been a wonderful term full of creative energy!
Students in Grade 3/4 have been working on a Music Inquiry. They have been developing their researching skills in finding out about music genres, where and when they originated, their instruments and what they typically sound like. They also explored making songs in these genres on GarageBand.
Assembly
Our assemblies throughout Term 3 have been a wonderful celebration of our students and their learning achievements. Thank you to everyone who has attended and celebrated with us! We look forward to our assemblies in Term 4. The more, the merrier!
Footy colours / Sports persons Day
We were excited to celebrate the end of Term 3 with a dress up day. We all looked forward to a special guest and a lovely day of celebration with our learners.
End of Term
Thank you to all of our amazing learners, staff and families for an amazing Term 3. We wish everyone a well deserved break and a wonderful, relaxing time with friends and family.
SOW leaders email contact:
Megan Shiner - mshiner@sackialla.catholic.edu.au
Emma O'Keeffe - eokeeffe@sackialla.catholic.edu.au
Megan Shiner & Emma O’Keeffe- School of Wonder Leaders
