Team Foundation News
Fur and Feathers Galore!
Over the last few weeks, Foundation students have been having some fun, learning experiences with different animals at school.
In Week 3 the Foundation students took part in the Aussie Bird Count. The Aussie Bird Count has run in Australia for the last ten years. Bird Life Australia is the organisation that first started this initiative. This organisation is Australia’s largest bird conservation charity with the core purpose of stopping the extinction of Australia’s birds.
The Aussie Bird Count is an activity that involves observing and counting birds that live in local environments. This count had to be done on any day between the 16th and 22nd of October, 2023. During this week, Foundation students were asked to carefully observe and record the different types of birds that were moving through the school grounds, within a 20 minute period.
To begin, students were introduced to the vast variety of local birds that frequent our school community. They learnt the names of many birds such as: Rainbow Lorikeets, Noisy Indian Miners, Wattle birds, Currawongs, Swallows and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos.
Students were also taught how to use tally marks to help with their record keeping.
The children had a great time searching and recording the birds that lived in our local neighbourhood. At the conclusion of the 20 minute period, everyone returned to the classroom and shared their results. All information was recorded and then forwarded on to Bird Life Australia, through their website.
At the end of the set week to count birds, almost 4 million birds were recorded in Australia! That’s a huge total! We hope this numbers continues to increase in the years to come!
Guinea Pigs meet and greet
In Week 5, the Foundation students were given a chance to meet and greet the four school guinea pigs. This invitation was handed out by the Grade 5 students who are the primary guinea pigs carers. A roster was created and the students were told the day that they would meet these little bundles of fluff!
To begin the session, the grade 5 students asked the visitors to go and pick some fresh grass to feed the guinea pigs. The older students then directed the young visitors to the animal enclosure, the home of the little creatures. Information was then shared such as: how to feed the guinea pigs, how to behave around them, the best way to hold these animals and where they like to be patted. The students also were told the guinea pig names - Fee (Fiona), Shrek, Sugar and Spice. Students got a chance to cuddle these squeaking balls of fur and were overjoyed when they nibbled on the grass that they picked. It was a lovely moment of discovery and I am sure the Foundation students will have fond memories of the first time they met the BPPS guinea pigs!
Foundation Stars Term 4 - Weeks 4 and 5
In Week 4 our Foundation Stars were Zen (FKJ), Yining and Soren (FSR) .
Zen (FKJ) proudly shared his talent with us on Friday morning. His talent was to share some complex karate moves. Zen has never had an official karate class, however, he often watches his older brothers when they go to their lessons and has learnt these moves by carefully watching! We were all impressed as Zen: kicked, punched, spun and blocked invisible enemies! The Foundation students also had a quick karate lesson and learnt some of these moves as well! Great job Zen! We can all tell that you are going to one day be a karate master and end up with a BLACK BELT! Thank you for sharing this impressive skill with us all!
Yining (FSR) shared her interesting Show Bag of goodies. Inside some of the items that she shared were: a swan shaped lolly-pop that she bought in China, a funny Dr Seuss book called, 'Reading is Fun!' We agree with you Dr. Seuss - reading can definitely be a FUN pastime! Yining amazed us all when she chose to read her favourite page to us.
Thank you Yining for sharing these lovely special items with us all. It was so lovely to get to know more about you this week!
FSR were very lucky in Week 4 because they had two Foundation Stars to share interesting information! The second Foundation Star was Soren. Soren decided that he wanted to share his personal talent on Friday morning, which was to speak in Persian. Soren shared with us some Persian words and he even taught us how to speak a few Persian words in the process! Great job Soren for clearly sharing these interesting words with us all! You are so clever to know how to speak more than one language! Truly remarkable!
In Week 5 the Foundation Stars were: Dilmaan (FKJ) and Xander (FSR).
Dilmaan (FKJ) chose to share his Show Bag items. Inside this bag Dilmaan shared some lovely objects. One item was a t-shirt that he decorated with colourful designs when he was in kindergarten and lived in New Zealand. Another interesting object was a butterfly pen that helped him to write lovely stories. Dilmaan also shared a photo of his kindergarten class and pointed to a few of his dear friends. Well done Dilmaan for choosing such interesting objects to share with us all! It was wonderful to find out a bit more information about your life in New Zealand!
The last Foundation Star for Week 5 was Xander from FSR. He chose to share his colourful Personal Timeline. Xander carefully explained each picture in full detail and with great enthusiasm! We all enjoyed hearing about the giant fish that he caught, his adventures at the Collingwood Children's Farm and about his dear little baby brother. Thank you Xander for your fabulous presentation! It was wonderful to learn more about you!
If your child was a Foundation Star in the last few weeks, we want to thank you for supporting them to complete these enjoyable presentations!
Upcoming dates for your Foundation diaries
- Lego Land Excursion - Monday 20th November
- Whole School Expo - Friday 8th December
- 2024 Transition Day - Tuesday 12th December
Warm regards,
Team Foundation Teachers.