Specialist Team

PE

This term has been massive for Physical Education! 

We held our whole school House Athletics Day which consisted of grade 3-6 students competing in athletic events to earn ribbons and hopefully a spot on the District Athletics team. We also had our Prep- grade 2 students competing in some fun novelty activities to experience a little bit of what athletics is all about!

I am super proud of everyone's efforts in PE, learning all of the events and activities and applying them on the day! Well done superstars! 

 STEM

This Term lots of fun and learning was had in STEM.

We had the STEM morning, thanks to all the families for attending and making it a huge success! This term all year levels learnt how to use and program different types of robots. They built courses which the robots had to navigate. 

Some other highlights were that four students worked on a project that included submitting a grant application to create a frog pond with native plants and a river behind the Art room. The goal is to increase indigenous biodiversity… fingers crossed that we are successful!.

We recently entered the Day of Artificial Intelligence - a video competition with an idea of how to use AI to increase our school's environmental sustainability. You can see the video here - 

Three more rounds of Student Excellence finished and they were all amazing!

We worked on a mural displayed in the STEM room and other Indigenous-inspired art pieces with Sam Richard a local Bunurong artist. 

I wish everyone a wonderful holiday and look forward to seeing everyone in Term Three!

Visual Arts

In Term 2 in Visual Arts, Preps have been focusing on learning how to draw animals and using watercolour paints for making textures and patterns. In Year 1, we have been focusing on learning about Textiles and collage. We have been making dreamcatchers, collaging insects and using air dry clay. In Year 2, we have been learning how to make a toy using lots of different materials. In Year 3/4 students have been learning how to use air dry clay to make 3D objects and using watercolour paints to make shapes and patterns. 

In Year 5/6 students, have been learning how to make secondary and tertiary colours and  mixing paints. They have also been experimenting with drawing lines and patterns in geometric shapes. We can’t wait to see what Term 3 brings in our Visual Arts space! 

PA

In Performing Arts this Term, we have been busy rehearsing for our upcoming school show “We Belong; Celebrating Diversity”. It is being held at Rivergum Performing Arts Centre on Friday the 30th August and we are so excited to be showcasing all the wonderful cultures we have at Orchard Park. Some classes are learning new languages, others, dances. It has been excellent to see the pride that representatives of those cultures are taking in sharing their customs with their peers. As a bit of fun for the end of term, some classes played dress ups with some pretty hilarious outcomes.