Specialist Updates
Art
Our students have been working enthusiastically on a wonderful range of artworks in preparation for the upcoming Art Show.
Prep
Students have been busy assembling their Georgia O'Keeffe flower artworks and carefully gluing their busy insects onto them. They have shown great creativity and care while creating these colourful masterpieces.
Year 1 and Year 2
Students have been applying vibrant pastels and white highlights to their creative Jean-Michel Basquiat-inspired collaged artworks, bringing their bold designs to life.
Year 3 and Year 4
Students have been designing and assembling their Frida Kahlo-inspired shadow boxes, adding the finishing touches as they prepare for the Art Show.
Year 5
Students have successfully transferred their Howard Arkley-inspired house designs and are now ready to begin adding their bright, bold colours.
Year 6
Students are busily painting their self-portraits, carefully developing their skills with colour, detail, and expression.
We are excited to see these incredible artworks come together and look forward to sharing them with our school community at the Art Show!
Get Ready for the Art Show!
STEM
Prep, Year 1 and Year 2
Students have begun their new unit of work, "How Can We Make New Toys Without Buying New Things?" This engaging unit encourages students to think creatively about reusing and recycling everyday materials. Last week, students were challenged to design and create their own toy using recycled materials. They showed wonderful creativity and problem solving skills, and photos of their fantastic creations were shared on Seesaw. This week, students have been exploring "Where Does Our Rubbish Go?" They have been learning about the different types of waste and how to sort rubbish correctly into recycling, green waste, and general waste. These activities are helping students develop an understanding of sustainability and the importance of caring for our environment.
Year 3
Students have put the finishing touches on their Ozobot paths and are looking forward to next week, when they'll get to explore and test each other's creative designs. It's a great chance to see different ideas in action and celebrate everyone's hard work!
Year 4
Students have completed their Scratch coding games and can't wait for next week's game showcase! They'll have the opportunity to play each other's creations, discover new game ideas, and celebrate their coding achievements together.
Year 5 and 6
Last week, students put the finishing touches on their Scratch coding games after weeks of creativity and hard work. This week, they're excited to showcase their finished projects! Everyone will have the opportunity to play each other's games, celebrate their achievements, and experience the unique ideas and coding skills their classmates have brought to life.
Italian
Prep
Students have been practising responding to the question Quanti anni hai? (How old are you?) by saying Ho … anni. The Italian room has a display of their completed sentences and a birthday cake decorated with candles showing their age. We have listened to the story Ecco Pinocchio which will teach us the names of body parts in Italian.
Year 1
Have been practising asking for different foods by quantities to 10 in Italian using the term Vorrei. They have enthusiastically sung the song and completed activities on ELLA App 4 which gives them different experiences to name and ask for fruit in a Zoo setting. They are confidently joining in the singing of our Italian days of the week song.
Year 2
Students have listened to the story L’Orto del Nonno (Grandad’s vegetable garden). Using the language from the story they have practised asking for and following a request for a particular number of vegetables, e.g Vorrei due pomodori ( I would like two tomatoes). They have enthusiastically sung the song and completed activities on ELLA App 4 which gives them different experiences to name and ask for fruits in a Zoo setting.
Year 3 & 4
The students in Year 3 and 4 have learnt about the artists Leonardo Da Vinci and Donatello. As they have continued to practise expressing their opinions on their work, they have also practised giving some reasons for their opinion such as: Perche` e` colorato (Because it is colourful). They have practised writing a simple report format that states the name of the artwork, the artist and why they like it. They have also been introduced to how to give a negative opinion with a reason e.g Non mi piace perche` non e colorato. ( I don’t like it because it is not colourful).
Year 5 & 6
Year 5 and 6 students have continued to practise describing their eye and hair colour and this week have learnt how to describe their height.
They have had their first attempt at writing a short description of themselves which have been read out as part of the game Guess the Student.
Performing Arts
Prep
Foundation students have been combining basic ta and ti-ti rhythm patterns with movement and actions, building confidence in rhythm through engaging and interactive music activities.
Year 1
The Year 1 students have now been introduced to all 5 notes and rests used in music. They have learnt about percussion instruments and used them to accompany songs such as BINGO The Dog which include these notes. Students have continued to take turns to lead the class in keeping a beat as we sing the song Dipidu at the start of each lesson.
Year 2
The Year 2 students have now been introduced to all 5 notes and rests used in music. They have practised clapping different combinations of these notes to form a 4 beat rhythm. This week they have created their own rhythms and are currently presenting them to the class accompanied by a percussion instrument. We have also worked as a team to keep to the beat of the Addams Family theme song as we pass cups along in time. We began with a partner and slowly increased the group number until the whole class was able to complete it successfully.
Year 3
Year 3 students have begun to explore what an Ostinato is and listened to some well known ones such as the theme from Jaws or the pattern in We Will Rock You by Queen. They have played along with one and are currently creating their own Ostinato with their peers. Alongside this the students have revised the notes in the treble clef and will try to use these notes to give the rhythm of their ostinato a tune or pitch.
Year 4
The Year 4 students can now play 3 notes on their recorder: A G B. This week they were offered a selection of songs that contain these notes to practise and eventually present in class. Students have been asked to provide a small strip of cloth from home that can be used to clean their recorder.
Year 5 & 6
The Year 5 and 6 students can now play the C and Am chords and tune the two strings C and G. This week the students spent the lesson individually practising these chords and short songs that include both those chords.
PE
Prep, Year 1 & Year 2
Students in Prep to Year 2 will be completing their Soccer Skills Unit and participating in games and activities which will utilise the skills of passing with the inside and outside of the foot, shooting at goal and moving with the ball, which they have been developing over the past weeks.
Year 3 & 4
Years 3 and 4 Students participated in Hoop Time, displaying team work, basketball skills, sporting behaviour and resilience.
In the next two weeks they will be completing tryouts for the District Athletics carnival to be held later this term. All students will be given the opportunity to try out for field events such as discus, all jump events and shot put and there will be a focus on learning the Circular Relay Handover.
Year 5 & 6
Year 5 and 6 students will complete the Soccer skills unit with games and activities which will showcase their development in the foot and ball skills together with the social/team skills they have been working on.
Students will prepare for the upcoming District Athletics Carnival by trying out for some field events and practising events they have already qualified for. All students will participate in the learning and practising of the Circular Relay handover.
Library
The classes are busily preparing decorations for our Stella Maris ‘Jungle’ Book Fair. On the 18th of August the Bunjil Building will be transformed into a Jungle! The students will be able to view a range of books and will take home a Wish List for their parents to approve. Then during the week of the 24th - 28th of August our Jungle Book Fair will be open to our parents, grandparents, carers and younger siblings to purchase books.
Our Stella Maris Jungle Book Fair coincides with our Book Week Celebrations, with our dress up parade on Monday the 24th August, where our students and staff will come dressed as our favourite book characters.
Louise Moore,
Library Technician