Saltwater College Newsletter

Primary Specialists

Visual Art

Prep 

In Week 5, our Preps enjoyed learning about the celebration of Halloween while continuing to explore 3D paper techniques. These skills were first demonstrated for the students, who then had the opportunity to experiment with the techniques and practice creating them on their own. In Week 6, in honour of Remembrance Day, our Preps reflected on the question, "How do we remember those we miss?" As a symbol of love, peace and hope, students created doves honouring the occasion. 

Grade 1

Students in Grade 1 have been finishing of their 3D construction skills and completing their rocket ships. They have also learned about the stars and planets as they coloured and cut 2 dimensional shapes and images that they will stick onto their space background. 

 

Grade 2

Students in Grade 2 continued developing their paper sculpting techniques as they created designs for their Dias de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) skulls. Students created paper flower crowns, fringes and curls to decorate their skulls. Students also commemorated Remembrance day and the fallen soldiers by creating artwork with poppies.

 

Grade 3

Students in Grade 3 are continuing their masks and have learned the skills of decoupaging. Many have chosen flowers and patterned paper whilst some have chosen words to decoupage on their painted masks. Some students have also used posca paint pens to create intricate lines and drawings and some have been adding jewels, sequins, feathers and glitter to add some finishing touches to their pieces. 

 

Grade 4

Students in grade 4 have been creating painted paper to use for collaging their landscapes. They have created tints, tones and shades of landscape colours using black, grey and white acrylic paint. Students have mixed a variety of coloured papers that they are also using to collage their mountains, lakes and rivers. 

 

Grade 5

Students in grade 5 have finished their sketch of their portraits and have now moved to using sustainable and recyclable materials to create the base of their artwork. This week students have cut out cardboard to create their head and shoulders and some are using brown paper and newspaper to create hair. Once facial features have been added, student will then being creating frames for their portraits. 

 

Grade 6

Students in Grade 6 have been developing their modelling skills in plasticine. They have learned to create a variety of coils, twists, textures, spheres and flats to create a dragon eye. This is a practise for their final project using paper magic clay where students will create intricate dragon eyes and will then use dry brush painting skills to add depth and dimension.

 

 

Music

Prep

This week in Prep, students began creating unique “Sound Stories” by designing patterns of sounds. Using shapes like stars, squares, and triangles to represent different sounds, they composed their own pieces and shared them with classmates, even trying to play each other’s creations. This activity helps children explore symbolic representation as a way to communicate in a musical context.

 

Grade One

Grade One students started creating rhythmic patterns using formal musical notation introduced in a previous unit. They practiced drawing rhythms with familiar symbols, such as crotchets, minims, quavers, and rests. As a class, we’re sharing these rhythms and bringing them to life with untuned percussion instruments, enhancing our understanding of musical timing and structure.

 

Grade Two

In Grade Two, students experimented with using the music staff to represent pitched notes. They composed short melodic ostinatos and played them for each other on pitched percussion instruments, such as the glockenspiel. This activity is helping them connect visual notation with sound.

 

Grade Three

Grade Three has been diligently practicing the recorder, which has given them a solid foundation in reading music on the staff and understanding the treble clef. Building on this skill, they’re now excitedly working on writing their own pieces for the recorder, applying what they’ve learned.

 

Grade Four

Grade Four students are becoming proficient with Noteflight, an online notation tool, where they can experiment with how musical notation translates into sound. Their current challenge is to create an original melody of at least eight bars, an exercise that deepens their understanding of note duration and pitch.

 

Grades Five and Six

In Grades Five and Six, students are working in small groups to create simple three-chord songs on the ukulele. They’re also preparing for an exciting new project: composing a short soundtrack for a movie clip using GarageBand. This mix of activities allows them to explore both live and digital music-making.

 

Mandarin with Miss Xiong

For Mandarin, a combination of the Accelerative Integrated Methodology (AIM) and traditional teaching techniques is keep employing to facilitate students' exploration of both the language and cultural nuances of China. The curriculum is strategically designed with distinct focal points:

 

Year 1-2

In Years 1-2, students concentrate on the fundamental topic of family members. They learn to articulate basic familial relationships utilizing fixed sentence patterns ‘This is my… (family members)’, bolstered by the incorporation of unique gestures representing each family member. Through the creation of finger puppets and drawing of family members, students deepen their comprehension of familial dynamics while also developing proficiency in writing Mandarin pinyin.

 

Year 3-4

As students’ progress, students delve into the body parts and facial parts. Utilizing engaging resources such as the Mandarin rendition of the "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" song, students not only memorize specific body parts but also refine their pronunciation and character recognition skills. Supplementary activities, including labelling exercises and pinyin word searches, serve to consolidate students' understanding of the targeted vocabulary.

 

Year 5-6

The curriculum transitions towards linguistic expression of personal preferences, particularly regarding colours. Through activities cantered on colouring words and employing expressions such as "I like" and "I don't like" in Mandarin, students articulate their individual colour preferences. Interactive games like "Simon Says" and "Magic Word" complement these linguistic exercises, providing opportunities for oral and written practice. Moreover, tasks involving the creation of colourful bookmarks and Chinese character word searches further reinforce students' writing and recognition capabilities.

 

Spanish Language and Cultural Connections in the Classroom

It has been wonderful to see our students continuing to develop their adaptability and demonstrating the attributes of the IB learner profile. In our Spanish classes, students are building confidence in their language skills through daily routines, such as the "Good Morning" greetings and afternoon farewells, creating a welcoming environment that encourages language practice both inside and outside the classroom.

Throughout our weekly lessons, students have been revisiting and expanding upon key areas, including:

  • Números (numbers)
  • Colores (colors)
  • Saludos (greetings)
  • Partes del cuerpo (parts of the body)
  • The alphabet in Spanish

In addition to these fundamentals, students have been broadening their vocabulary with some of the most used verbs and daily phrases for school and home life, as well as practicing how to ask and respond to questions in Spanish. These skills lay a strong foundation for meaningful communication in the language.

To bring a cultural aspect into our lessons, students have been learning about the history and significance of the piñata in Mexican culture. Through ICT, they have researched how to make a piñata and explored its role in various celebrations. This cultural exploration has allowed some students to draw connections between the traditions of Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America and their own heritage. Learning about the piñata has sparked excitement and curiosity, deepening our students’ understanding of the rich diversity within the Spanish-speaking world.

We look forward to continuing this journey of language and cultural learning with our students as they grow in confidence and global awareness!

Adios!

The Spanish Team.