Spotlight on Learning
Stage 1
1L have made great progress in their learning and I am very proud of their achievements this year. They are all ready to succeed in Year 2 next year!
In English, we read Christopher Cheng's book 'The Imagineer'. The main character in the book created inventions out of household items. She would sketch a plan of her invention before creating it. Students followed this design process and sketched their very own invention before making it using recyclable materials. 1L wrote a narrative about their creation solving a problem in the story.
In Mathematics, we have been learning about data. Students used a table and tally marks to collect data on 1L's favourite playground equipment. We then created a column graph from this information. We discussed the importance of gathering information on people's opinions and how this tells us about people's needs and problems, informing decisions made in the community. 1L designed and created a special playground that our class would love using the data they collected.
Miss Park - 1L Classroom Teacher
Stage 2
Warning: This 4F Spotlight on Learning contains many puns around the word ‘egg’, which the students have been brainstorming!
The reason for this is that we have been reading a class novel called ‘Egghead’ (by Clare Scott).
This has been the catalyst for many of our class activities, including our STEAM Mission to Mars project. Read on and all will be…eggsplained.
The STEAM process is an approach to learning that combines science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, usually through the creation of real-life projects. Our Mission to Mars project involves the students making their own version of the Mars Rover, which will protect an egg when it lands on Mars, or in our case an eggsact spot on the playground concrete!
Our Mission to Mars project will include:
Science - the exploration of properties of materials which remain intact when dropped from a height and which will offer protection to the egg inside so that it doesn’t eggsplode.
Technology - looking at the technology used in the actual Mars Rover so it could safely land on Mars, and working out how to make a ‘capsule’ and what ‘tools’ we need to make it.
Engineering - identifying the problem and then designing, building, and testing our capsules.
Art - for a bit of eggstra eggcitement, we created tiny creatures from plasticine, small enough to fit in our eggshell.
Maths - weighing of materials to make the lightest possible protective container, and later measuring the time taken to drop from a height and comparing this to the weight of the object being dropped. It will also include measuring the distance between where the Rover landed in relation to Mars.
Through all these activities, students will be involved in group work which encourages collaboration, peer feedback, and critical thinking, which are important components of the STEAM process.
We have been using the computer program Book Creator to document our Mars Mission. Students were encouraged to use new vocabulary, such as ‘constraints’, ‘protective’, and ‘cautious’, to write up their information.
How many egg puns did you find?
Miss Fairgrieve - 4F Classroom Teacher
Stage 3
In Stage 3 we are busier than ever! As we approach the end of another academic year, it's a moment for reflection and celebration. The journey through Stage 3 has been remarkable, filled with growth, learning, and unforgettable experiences for our students. Our Stage 3 students have demonstrated exceptional dedication to their studies, tackling challenges with enthusiasm and a desire for knowledge. Our students have displayed determination, resilience, and fair play in various aspects of their learning and in sporting events.
For the past two weeks in maths we were exploring Two Dimensional Spacial Structure, looking at classifying two-dimensional shapes by describing their properties. Students had to identify and draw a two-dimensional shape that have been translated, reflected or rotated, or had undergone a number of transformations. Students practised their skills using compasses for drawing the orbits which the points of their shapes would rotate through.
In English our main focus is poetry. Students are enjoying learning about different types of poems and they are making progress in appreciating and composing poems. We are teaching students to select and use poetic forms to descriptively express their ideas.
On Friday we commemorated Remembrance Day. Our students understood the sense of occasion and respectfully participated in our Remembrance Day event. In class, we studied ‘In Flanders Fields', learning about the historical context and significance of Remembrance Day. Our discussions paved the way for critical thinking, analysis of literary devices and a personal reflection of the poet’s message. Students reflected about the poem and why it’s important to remember and honour veterans and soldiers, the heroes who sacrificed for their country. Thank you to Ms Pendergast for organising this event.
In history we continue to learn about colonial Australia in the 1800s. Students look at the founding of British colonies and the development of a colony. They learn about what life was like for different groups in the colonial period and examine significant events and people, political and economic developments, social structures and settlement patterns. Students were intrigued by Shaun Tan’s animation – The Arrival, explaining the challenges and opportunities the Chinese migrants faced. In The Arrival, we followed how a young man packs his bags and leaves his family to go and start a new life in another country. We experience his journey, his struggles to communicate, find accommodation, a job and food, as well as following the stories of other immigrants.
We are proud of our students who are part of the debating team this year. Thank you Ronika, for putting this together on behalf of the debating team:
At the Epping Community Centre on October 23rd, our Year 5 debating team, consisting of Ronika M, Regina C, Kate P, Chole F, Aniya J, and Sophie A, competed against North Rocks in the final of the Epping Rotary Debating competition. The topic was ‘Each Stage 3 student should have to do 2 hours of community service each week.’ Our team took the negative side of the debate, and after a very close competition, We came home with the win, getting our school name engraved on the trophy. Our debating team would like to express a big thank you to Mr. Love for getting us this far in the journey. Without you, we wouldn't have won the grand finals! Thank you, and we're looking forward to another great year next year!
Mrs Janssen - 5J Classroom Teacher