Specialists
Auslan
Term 3 Week 4
Grade 1 and 2
This week, Grade 1 and 2 students will revisit numbers in Auslan (from week 3) before learning how to ask and respond to simple questions using high-frequency signs, gestures and facial expressions. Through fun, interactive games and partner activities, students will practise answering questions using signs or simple yes/no responses while communicating about themselves and their classmates.
Grade 3 and 4
This week, Grade 3 and 4 students will build their conversational Auslan skills by learning how to ask and respond to simple questions about their personal worlds. Through interactive partner activities, students will find out about their classmates' likes and preferences while practising asking and answering questions in Auslan. These activities will help students develop confidence communicating about themselves and others.
Grade 5 and 6
This week, Grade 5 and 6 students will develop their conversational Auslan skills by learning how to ask and respond to questions about themselves and their classmates. Through interactive signing activities, students will gather information by interviewing one another, practising how to initiate and maintain conversations, respond appropriately, and show understanding using visual communication strategies. These activities will help students build confidence communicating in Auslan while strengthening their ability to interact respectfully and effectively with others.
Performing Arts
It's a big week in Performing Arts! On Wednesday, our Grade 5/6 students will have the opportunity to audition for Beauty and the Beast Jr., and on Friday our Victorian State Schools Spectacular Mass Dance team will attend the MEGA HUB Rehearsal at Maroondah Nets, where they will rehearse their dances in full costume.
In the classroom...
Prep:
Students are continuing to explore drama through imagination, storytelling and role-play. This week, they will use their expressive skills to bring a magical flying carpet adventure to life as they become characters in an imaginative world.
Grade 1 and 2:
Students will begin rehearsing songs from Beauty and the Beast Jr.. They will also continue developing the characters for the sock puppets they made in Art before working with a partner to devise and perform a short puppet scene.
Grade 3 and 4:
Students are continuing to develop the characters for the sock puppets they made in Art. They will then begin storyboarding an original puppet performance to create in groups, with stories told through dialogue, song or even as a short movie.
Grade 5 and 6:
Inspired by Bunraku puppetry, students are bringing their life-sized paper puppets to life by recreating everyday actions and choreographing movement to a song of their choice. As they work collaboratively, they will continue developing their understanding of the puppetry principles of breath, focus and weight to create expressive and believable performances.
Visual Arts
Art Club
Last week the Art captains lead the Grade 3/4 students in a flower making frenzy! Each student decorated a vase with posca paint pens and learnt how to create a posy of pipe cleaner flowers.
In the classroom this week...
Students in all year levels will be drawing and painting a picture for a Christmas card fundraiser coming up in Term 4. They will focus on creating a large colourful image around the theme of Christmas.
STEM
Grade 1 & 2
Students are exploring animals and the habitats in which they live, building on their understanding of how living things depend on their environment to meet their needs. They are investigating a range of habitats including forests, deserts, ponds, oceans, grasslands, and rainforests, and identifying the features of each environment. Through hands-on sorting tasks and class discussions, students are matching animals to suitable habitats and explaining how these environments provide food, water, shelter, and space.
Grade 3 & 4
This week, students are investigating the impact of introduced predators on Australian ecosystems. They are exploring examples such as foxes and cats, and examining how these animals affect native species and food chains. Through case studies and discussion, students will create 'Wanted Posters' that considerwhy introduced species can cause imbalance in ecosystems and what strategies are used to manage their populations.
Grade 5 & 6
Students are developing their understanding of evolution and how species change over time. They are exploring how inherited traits that improve survival and reproduction can become more common in a population across generations. Through examples and modelling activities, students are examining how environmental pressures influence which traits are passed on to offspring. This learning supports students to understand that evolution is a gradual process that explains the diversity of living things on Earth.