Around the Junior School

Year 1 Scientists

Year 1 has been busy learning about heat, sound and light in science this term. We have been on sound and nature walks, we have used our five senses to eat, taste, smell, see and touch popcorn and we have even melted chocolate in our personally designed and created ovens!  What really took our breath away was our trip to the senior school science labs on 27 June. We were able to explore five different rotations of heat and light. Our favourite rotation was using lasers in smoke machines to practice our ninja moves and look at the reflection of light! We look forward to continuing our learning in science where we will be making soundscapes using different materials in the classroom.  

Maths in Action

Have you ever seen numbers come to life right before your eyes?

On Wednesday 29 May, the students of 2 Lorax and 2 Yindyamarra had an incredible experience learning about multiplication through a fun activity called the 'human array.'

Instead of just using pencils and paper, we went into the Glasshouse and turned ourselves into a living math problem. We arranged ourselves into even rows and columns to create arrays, like 3 rows of 4 students to represent the multiplication problem 3 x 4. Mr Barrett and Mrs Chapman then challenged us to make an array using all the students in our year group. We succeeded!

Working together, we talked and helped each other find the right spots. It was a fantastic way to practice our teamwork and communication skills, and it was much more enjoyable than just sitting at our desks!

We all felt really proud of our accomplishment. Seeing the arrays made it much easier to understand multiplication, and we felt more confident in our maths skills afterward.

We loved this creative way of learning and look forward to more maths in action activities in the future.

Year 3 excursion to Orange Regional Museum

On Wednesday 22 May, Year 3 visited the Orange Regional Museum to explore the Inherit Exhibition. This exhibition was focused on understanding the history of the Central West and looking at how our regional area has developed over time. 

Year 3 learned about the indigenous history of Gaanha-bula, (Mt Canobolas) and the surrounding area. The word “Gaanha” means shoulders, and the word “bula” means two, representing the two mountain peaks that we see in our region. 

Students also learned about the development of the village of Orange, as it grew to become a city. Year 3 talked about how infrastructure and the landscape has changed over time and enjoyed looking through photographs trying to recognise parts of our local town and exploring the changes that have happened over time. 

House Muster

Last Friday Year 6 students had the opportunity to develop their leadership skills as they organised and facilitated the first House Muster for Term 2. 

Students divided themselves into small teams within their Houses and went to each classroom to hold a “board games” afternoon. There was much laughter coming from different rooms as students rolled the dice and moved around the different boards. 

Year 6 thought carefully about the importance of playing age-appropriate games with students as well as how to deal with possible problems. The biggest winner on the day was Twister, followed closely by laughter. Well done to Year 6 on their leadership journey, keep it up!

Merit Awards - Term 2 Week 4 

K Nemo

• Lily Jackson: Making a concerted effort to improve her handwriting.
• Milly Byrne: Trying so hard to blend sounds when reading.                                                                                 

1 Eco-Octonauts     

• Edward Doyle: Maths group rotations-Doubles facts
• Maya Knox: Maths group rotations-Coding

1 Minton

• Betty Stewart: For her consistent hard work in Mathematics and for never giving up after the first go.
• William Lai: Always sharing his ideas with the class and for his creative answers and comments in science lessons.

2 Yindyamarra

• Darby Mullins: Super spelling!
• Thomas Williams: Awesome active listening!

3 Uno

• Jessica MacMahon: Improved focus and perseverance within writing tasks
• Amelia Canning: Her valuable contributions to class discussions across all subject areas. 

4 Kiernan    

• Madeleine Russel: Her Positive attitude and consistent effort that she puts into all classroom activities.
• Phoebe Westcott: Demonstrating neatness and precision in cursive handwriting and for an outstanding achievement in earning her pen license.

4 Goodall

• Morgan Zinga: Showing commitment to learning in our multiplication and division lessons.
• Maddie Geard: Always putting in 100% in all areas of the curriculum.

5 Bear Grylls

• Dylan Cutter: For sharing his wonderful ideas and asking insightful questions during class time. Dylan strives to do his best at all times and his enthusiastic approach to learning is appreciated. Keep it up!
• Isabella Zhang: For always trying her best. Bella is a quiet, independent learner who co-operates beautifully with others. Well done!

5 Seed

• Austin Whittle: Being a bright, enthusiastic young man, who brings a lively and uplifting presence to the classroom environment.
• Claire Gordon: Being a vibrant and imaginative writer, who infuses her work with creativity and originality, making her writing a delight to read. 

6 Rober

• Daniel Kerdic: For his enthusiasm for learning and the insightful contributions he makes to class discussions.
• James Hinks: For his continued commitment to his learning and the resilience he shows in tackling the hard tasks.

6 Dalziel

• Nixie Widauer: Her cheerful and positive attitude toward all aspects of the Canberra excursion and her willingness to ask questions and include others.
• Charlie McDougall: His application and detailed historical account about Nicky Winmar as well as his letter of petition to support Nicky’s fight against racism.