The Score

Junior School Report 

Junior School News

We are now well and truly at the halfway mark of term three and all students are busy within our school community. On Friday 11 August, Brainstorm Productions presented the ‘Wired’ performance. 

 

The production was an interactive theatre experience that tackled some of the big issues affecting Australian students, including social isolation, anxiety, stress, depression, (cyber)bullying, online safety, school stressors and pressure from social media. It addressed barriers to help-seeking and provided strategies for resilience, problem-solving, goal-setting and positive mental health.

 

The students were motivated to consider these issues and participated constructively. We do hope that your student discussed the issues that were raised, with you. Further questions that we can discuss with our students;

 

You saw a show called ‘Wired’. What do you think this show was about? 

 

The first character we met was Zoe. How was Zoe feeling at the start of the play? 

 

What was going on in Zoe’s life that might make her feel that way? 

 

It's important to remember that anxiety, stress and depression can affect anyone. Zoe may have looked like she was okay on the outside, and her friends, family and teachers might have thought she was okay, but she was actually really struggling. 

 

What did Zoe do to improve her mental health? 

 

Then we met a character called Lucas. How was Lucas feeling at the start of the play? 

 

What was going on in Lucas’ life that contributed to how he felt? 

 

Theatre allows us to experience things that we might not see or hear in real life. In 'Wired' we had the chance to hear some of Lucas’ negative thoughts, presented as pre-recorded 'voice overs'. Can you discuss some of the negative thoughts Lucas had when he was alone in his room? 

The production was an excellent lead into The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence that is coming up on Friday 18  August. This is a great opportunity to talk about bullying and to work together to stamp out bullying in all communities.

 

Leading into The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence, we can remind ourselves that bullying is not to be tolerated. Bullying comes in many different forms and can be;

Verbal bullying which includes name calling or insulting someone about physical characteristics such as their weight or height, or other attributes including race, sexuality, culture, or religion.

Physical bullying which includes hitting or otherwise hurting someone, shoving or intimidating another person, or damaging or stealing their belongings.

Social bullying which includes consistently excluding another person or sharing information or images that will have a harmful effect on the other person. 

 

We say ‘NO’ to bullying and we encourage our community members to be ‘upstanders’.  An ‘upstander’ is someone who takes positive action against bullying. When an upstander sees someone being bullied, they do something about it. They help to stop the bullying from happening, or they support the person who’s being bullied. We do not tolerate bullying of any kind. As a community we support and protect each other, we are kind and respectful, we are accepting and strong – We are resilient. Please talk to us if you notice any bullying in our community – we have many supports to help.

 

Challenge Program

Please be reminded that during this term, students in Years 8 and 9 will be participating in the Respectful Relationships / Challenge Program. The RRRR (Resilience, Rights, Respectful Relationships) program focuses on issues of gender, respect, violence and power, and educating students on respectful relationships and violence prevention as well as supporting others.

The program also offers a range of activities designed to challenge students physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. This year, students will participate in the following activities:

  • Ninja Warrior: An obstacle course which tests student’s physical strength whilst developing teamwork, coordination, discipline and focus.
  • Team Building skills: A variety of problem- solving skills which aims to improve communication between students and develop trusting relationships.
  • Yoga Mind and Body: An opportunity to practise mindfulness, flexibility, strength and posture. 
  • Circus skills: Learning a variety of skills which creates a sense of achievement and boosts self- esteem. 
  • Operation Energize: Encourages students to develop an understanding and enjoyment of exercise through group exercise. 
  • Cartooning: Allows students to be creative whilst testing their observation and motor skills. 
  • African Drumming: An opportunity for students to immerse themselves in a different culture, whilst learning the importance of teamwork in order to achieve a shared goal. 

This year the program will take place in the final week of Term 3: Monday 11 September – Thursday 14 September. 

More information as well as consent forms are provided to students and parents via Compass. 

 

Children's University

There many activities and learning destinations for our Children’s University members to have fun, fun, fun and learn at the same time. Here are some activities for our members to participate in;

It’s never too early to start Celebrating Science Week! The 2023 schools’ theme is INNOVATION : Powering Future Industries, so in honour of this, over 10 hours of Projects have been developed where members will get a chance to develop solutions to make our future a brighter one! And of course, it’s a chance to put your inventors cap on!

 

CU SWINBURNE FLYER.pdf

2023 Book Week Activity @Mandy Foot

Zoo Food for a Panda! @Adelaide Zoo

FREE EXHIBITION - The story of the moving image. BOOK your tickets to see The Story of the Moving Image exhibition at ACMI for a 3 hr stamp in your passport.

 

These are just a few of the learning activities and learning destinations that I find quite interesting. Visit the CU Swinburne portal to participate.

 

Mrs Kiriaki Caracasidis

Head of Junior School

 

Year 9 Health 

Term three sees Year 9 students learning all about sexual reproductive health, where they will have the opportunity to learn about the male and female anatomy and reproductive systems. 

 

Students participated in a hands-on activity that involved constructing the female and male reproductive systems out of anything they could. They utilised coloured paper, ribbons, sponges, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, scissors, and lots of glue. 

 

The students really enjoyed this task, and it provided them with an opportunity to use their creativity. 

Every group's creation was different, and it allowed for lots of discussion within the health classroom. 

 

Once completed, the students went back to their pre-test that they sat in the first week and were able to label the systems with no assistance, demonstrating the power that creative tasks can have in the classroom. 

 

Ms Shianne Marsal

Health