Specialist Team
Physical Education
This term in Physical Education we are focusing on gymnastics! The students have been excited to learn about and practise lots of different gymnastics activities, from walking the beam in junior school to vaulting in senior school.
I am super proud of how responsible and safe all students are during PE while learning new skills and using new equipment.
Also, congratulations to all selected students who will compete at District Athletics in Week 7. We have been busy training at school to make sure we are ready to take on students from other schools in our district. Good luck in your events legends!
Performing Arts
Welcome to Term Three in Performing Arts! Mrs Banfield & Mrs Downie have been so excited to launch Dance this term. Students from Prep to Year Six have been exploring where they can find dance within their local community and have discovered that quite a lot of their peers dance with local dance companies, learning cheer, tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop and bhangara.
We have also discovered an amazing local indigenous boys dance group called ‘Bandok Tati’ which translates to ‘Small Ant Brothers’. Bandok Tati are a group of cousins aged between 8 & 23, who stay connected to their culture through traditional song and dance. We really enjoyed learning more about them and watching their performances when learning about Indigenous Australian dance.
Students have enjoyed collaborating in small groups to choreograph their own dances that communicated an idea to an audience. They recorded their choreography and performed their pieces for their peers. We really enjoyed watching everyone’s performances and guessing the theme of their dances.
Whilst having fun in this space, we have also been exploring safe dance practices, including warming up before dancing and ensuring that we are aware of each other when dancing.
All students have also taken part in researching other dance genres of their choice such as ballet, hip-hop, tap, jazz, haka, Irish dance, Latin, highlander and many more. They explored the origins and characteristics of their chosen genre and some associated moves.
For the remainder of the term, all students will dive a little deeper into the jazz, musical theatre and tap dance styles, learning given choreography and the associated techniques. Mrs Banfield and Mrs Downie are incredibly proud of how resilient and respectful all of our students have been when dancing and performing in front of their peers.
The VSSS choir have been loving learning all the songs and choreography at the Mebourne Town Hall. We will next be rehearsing at John Cain Arena, where we will be performing on Saturday the 9th of September. Some students will be featured in the Pakenham Gazette, advertising the spectacular.
Visual Arts
During Term 3 in Visual Arts we have been working on many different artworks and preparing for the upcoming Art show.
In Foundation we have been focusing on learning how to make 3 dimensional creations using different materials. We have also been experimenting with clay and various tools to make animals.
In Year 1, we have been learning about minibeasts. We have been learning how to draw minibeasts, create them from magiclay and making them into a collage.
In Year 2, we have been working on how to paint a sunset and learning about African animals.
In Year 3/4 we have been experimenting with making 3D creations from clay and learning how to paint the finished product.
In Year 5/6 we have been investigating a local Artist called Pete Cromer and learning how to make an Australian animal collage.
We are super excited for the upcoming Art Show and showcasing the amazing work the students have done this year.
STEM
The past few weeks have been very busy in STEM. Some of our talented students participated in the Robocup Competition, where they had to design and program their own robots. They competed in two events: Simple Simon Soccer and OnStage.
The Soccer team faced tough opponents and learned a lot from their losses. The OnStage team showed great resilience and creativity when they encountered technical difficulties. All students had a wonderful day and enjoyed the experience.
