PE

This term we had lots to celebrate in Physical Education. Congratulations to a number of senior students who have achieved great things in the areas of Athletics and Sport.

Firstly, congratulations to Taylor in year 5 who, this term, came first in the high jump at the Southern Metro Region Track & Field finals! She then progressed to the State Finals and came fourth! Fourth in the STATE! Incredible effort Tay!

We also had our senior girls cricket team, who won the district finals in Term 1, win the Division finals earlier this term! Well done superstars! They then progressed to the Region finals where they played amazingly well and came fourth in their pool!

We are so proud of everyone who made a contribution, big or small, to our Inter-school Sport, Athletics and Cross Country programs and Mr Scanlon is looking forward to a big 2024 in PE!

Preforming Arts

On Thursday the 23rd November, Orchard Park Primary held their first ever school show in the gym. Almost all students performed in their classes a song and dance from a musical from the 1930's to now. The backstage crew helped run the show seamlessly and was staffed by 6 responsible grade 5/6 boys.

The gym filled to the brim with eager audience members, and all chairs in the school were filled with supportive family and friends. The staff started the night off with a banger! Time Warp was played live by Mrs Barley and Mr Hayes, and Mr Scanlon and Mrs. Bunker held their own with fantastic solos. We then journeyed from the 1930s until the 2010s, with crowd favourites such as 'Hard Knock life', 'So long farewell', and 'Everybody'!

The dance moves were fine, the singing; sublime. The students' hard work over the last 10 weeks choreographing, learning vocal dynamics and projection, help with props and set painting, all paid off in a tremendous concert. Mrs Downie and I are so very proud of all of you and can't wait to do it again!

A huge thank you to all staff and students for their enormous help setting up, packing up, creating sets, backstage crew uniforms, tickets, etc. You are fantastic!

Visual Arts

During Term 4 in Visual Arts we have been working on many different artworks.

In Foundation we have been focusing on learning how to use different materials to make collage art. They have enjoyed gaining confidence with different tools in the art room and learning new skills. The Preps have made animal masks, paper rockets, collaged rainbows and painting different animals.

In Year 1, we have been learning about the colour wheel and how to determine the difference between cool and warm colours. We have been using cool colours to create under the sea pictures and we used warm colours in our sunset drawings. Students have also continued their exploration of 3 dimensional art and making creations out of clay dough and other materials in the art room.

In Year 2, we have been learning how to make 3 dimensional creations using different textured materials. Students have enjoyed making 3 dimensional houses with 3-4 rooms. They were very creative in making items they could include in their houses. Students also enjoyed making 3 dimensional figurines from wire, pipe cleaners, foil and coloured card. It has been fantastic to see the students embrace their creativity.

In Year 3/4 we have been experimenting with making 3D fictional characters from plasticine. The students worked in groups to create claymation videos using their 3D creations. We learnt how to use ‘Stop Motion Pro’ on the i-pads to animate the characters.

Students have been very creative in their ideas for their videos and enjoyed making connections between art and technology.

In Year 5/6 we have been focusing on learning how to make 3 dimensional creations using different materials. We have also been experimenting with clay and various tools to make clay pots. We used acrylic paints to paint our finished pieces. The students enjoyed the clay making process and being able to make something for their own personal use.

We look forward to creating more exciting artwork in Visual Arts in 2024.

STEM

This term STEM students have focused on their coding skills. Coding is an essential tool in the ICT industry and used in many areas such as graphic and gaming design. They have learnt sequencing, loops and logical forward thinking to solve problems. Students have used block commands or blockly, to demonstrate their thinking and create simple algorithms. If students would like to practice their coding skills at home, www.scratch.com would be great for middle and senior school students, for junior school students parents can download the scratch Jr app for free. In addition to this, www.code.org can also be used free of charge.

Important dates to remember