Specialist News

ART/AUSLAN (ARTLAN)

The first few weeks has seen all children coming through the Artlan room and setting up our expectations for the year around being safe, being a learner and being respectful. We have practiced using oil pastel and watercolours to make an ocean themed painting to get us back in the swing of things. Over the next few weeks Preps are studying colours, Grade One is looking at families and Grade Two is learning about Australia and bird's eye view maps. 

In Grade Three we are discovering all about Australia's neighbours, this week looking at New Zealand and traditional Maori artwork. Grade 4's are discovering the amazing Deaf street artist Gonketa and the 5/6's are investigating the colour wheel by mixing their own paint. Here is some great work so far this week...

STEM

Our STEM learning adventures are off to a fantastic start! Over the first few weeks, every student has visited the STEM room, where together we’ve set clear expectations for the year, with a strong emphasis on safety, curiosity, and respect for one another.

In the coming weeks, our Preps and Grade Ones are exploring the wonders of weather, while our Grade Twos dive into the mysteries of the Solar System. Grade Threes are hands-on with the different States of Matter, and Grade Fours are investigating packaging and its impact. Meanwhile, our Grade 5/6 students are experimenting with reversible and irreversible changes in states of matter.

It’s shaping up to be a cracking year of discovery and innovation in STEM!

PERFORMING ARTS

Performing Arts is back and what an amazing start our students have had. We have started forming consistent routines that help us to be safe, be respectful and be a learner. 

We have begun learning about the elements of music beginning with "Beat." Students have practised listening for the beat and tapping the beat. 

Students will continue exploring the elements of music throughout this term using body percussion, instruments, voice, and movement.

Students in Prep, Grade One and Grade Two have applied their understading of beat to body percussion and explored combinations of patting, clapping and stamping to the beat of the music. They have used their voices moved their bodies and explored dance.

Students in Grades Three, Four, Five and Six have applied their understanding of beat to body percussion and have begun to learn this year's Hand Clap Challenge. Students will have the opportunity to compete in class heats and winners will progress to the year level finals held later this term.

Students from Grades Four, Five and Six had the opportunity to audition for the Victorian State Schools Spectacular team. We have an extremely dedicated group of students who learnt choreography, practised and auditioned. The successful students will perform alongside other Victorian Schools at the John Cain Arena on the 29th of August. The show will also be recorded and televised in December. 

LIBRARY

All grades have had one or two library sessions now. 

We had fun with some alphabet activities to remember where to put our books on the library shelves, and thanks to Pierre most (older) students now know that you don’t need to be eaten by a lion to CARE for the books and for the library. (Ask them!)

Most grades have had the chance to borrow books from our school library.

On that note, here are some library rules that parents may want to know: 

The students can borrow a maximum of 3 books. These will be recorded under their name in the computer. 

In the next library session, they need to return them. If the student needs a little more time, the borrowing time can be extended once. 

If the book is not back in the library before the due date, the student cannot borrow until the old book has been returned.

Please remember to send a library bag with your child on their library day, to keep the books in good condition. 

In the next Newsletter we will talk about the computer part of our lessons.