Specialists

Performing Arts

We've had a creative and fun two weeks in Performing Arts.

Prep and Grade 1 students have been working in small groups to plan, rehearse and perform their own versions of familiar fairy tales. Students have been putting their creativity to work as they developed characters, told stories and brought their ideas to life on stage. Along the way, they have been building important skills in collaboration, communication, creativity and storytelling. It has been fantastic to see students working together and confidently performing their ideas for the class!

Grades 2–6 have been diving into the world of fractured fairy tales, where there are no rules about how the story is supposed to go! Students have experimented with reversing good and bad characters, changing the outcomes of familiar stories and adding modern twists to traditional tales. There have been plenty of unexpected characters, surprising endings and very creative ideas!

Students have performed their fractured fairy tales for the class and have also practised giving and receiving constructive feedback. It has been wonderful to see students take creative risks, collaborate with their peers and have the courage to think outside the box.

Physical Education

Last Friday, our students had a fantastic day representing our school at the Athletics Districts. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to compete against other schools across the district in a range of track and field events, including running, jumping and throwing. 

Throughout the day, our students demonstrated fantastic sportsmanship, resilience and determination, giving their best effort and supporting their teammates. It was particularly wonderful to see students cheering each other on, celebrating personal achievements and encouraging one another, whether they finished first or simply gave an event their very best. 

The day was filled with excitement, laughter and plenty of proud moments, and our students represented our school exceptionally well. We are very proud of the way our students conducted themselves and embraced the opportunity to compete, learn and have fun!

Week 1 of our Prep - 2 swimming program went well with our Prep A and B students having their lessons.

Week 2 of swimming will be held Week 9 with 2A, 2B, 2C and the rest of 1B students attending from the 7th to the 11th of September.

Parents are allowed to come watch their child, the location is Sunshine Leisure Centre. If parents would like to assist their child in getting changed they will need to do so in the public change rooms.

Students are to have the following for the week:

- Bathers on under their uniform at the start of the day

- Seperate bag for swimming items (Please bring a bag big enough hold all items including shoes, thongs, etc..)

- Fresh Towel and underwear everyday

- Plastic bag for wet clothes

- Goggles

- Asthma Pump (If needed)

- Beanie for wet hair

- Clothes to change into

Please ensure all clothing and items have names clearly labelled on it. If any questions please contact Adriana at the front office.

Sunshine Softball Association are having some open days in September. Please scan QR code to join.

Spanish

Español en Prep 

Students in Prep begun learning the first part of our weather song "¿Cómo Está el Día Hoy?" (How is the Weather Today?) using actions to learn how to say "hace calor" (it's hot) and "hace frío" (it's cold). As a class we discussed ways to keep cool when "hace calor" and ways to keep warm when "hace frío". Students practised "escribir" (to write) the new vocabulary on a "doble pagina" (double page) and worked on their fine motor skills drawing pictures from the board with guidance from the teacher.

Español en Grados 1 y 2 

Students in years 1 and 2 begun our Term 3 unit: "Bajo el Mar" (Under the Sea).

Students were introduced to the topic watching the "Bajo el Mar" (Under the Sea) clip from The Little Mermaid in Latin Spanish and practised the new "tema" (topic) name. Students learnt "pez" (fish), "peces" (fish plural), "medusas" (jellyfish) and "estrella de mar" (sea star) and created a "doble pagina" (double page) "bajo el mar" artistic masterpiece with bubble writing.

Español en Grados 3 y 4 

Students in years 3 and 4 begun our Term 3 unit: "La Hora" (The Time).

Students were introduced to the time using a big, class clock and learned the difference between 1 o'clock and the rest of the hours. Students learnt to respond to the questions "¿Que hora es?" and "¿Que horas son?" telling the time from 1 o'clock to 12 o'clock to the hour responding with "Es la..." or "Son las...".

Español en Grados 5 y 6 

Students in years 5 and 6 begun our Term 3 unit: "Español en Conversación" (Spanish in Conversation). Students in years 5 and 6 were introduced to linguistic meaning through cognates and realised they already know about 1000 words in Spanish that they do not realise they know. Students identified cognates through the romantic languages and learnt about Latin origins. Students learnt about a pattern that emerges in language creating Spanish-English cognates where most - but not all - words ending in "tion" in English are usually translated to Spanish by changing the ending to "ción". The students were so engaged that I had to give them extra words to translate!

STEM

This fortnight in STEM, the Preps have continued learning about data. We’ve learnt about different types of data and the ways that the same information can be shown with different representations, like numbers, words, pictures and symbols. We practised grouping data by their types, and matched data that represented the same meaning. 

In Grade 2 & 3, students have been using spreadsheet applications to read data to answer questions and have begun creating their own tables. They’ve been giving suitable headings to their columns, and organising data in the correct places on their tables. 

In Grade 4 & 5, have been working on creating their own user interfaces on Google Slides. They’ve added navigation links to certain elements on their designs and have created some brilliant layouts that achieve their allocated user goal, such as ordering lunch on a school canteen app, or buying a movie ticket. 

The Grade 5s were lucky enough to be able to do their catch up Science Week session and we ventured out to the oval to plant some new plants in the garden bed behind the tennis courts. I’d love to say that we had the chance to do so because of the weather, but that was not the case! It rained the whole time, but we still got the plants in the ground! 

The Grade 4s will have their catch up day coming up next week and will be planting some plants at the front of the school and doing a lesson on environmental habitats and native species. 

The Grade 6s are busy working on their 2D games on scratch. We’ve learnt some new skills this fortnight, like setting a ‘broadcast message’ code and using code that changes how sprites move, or how they can visually change across levels. 

This fortnight, STEM club for grades 4-6 has been great! We’ve had a wonderful bunch of students attend and work together completing some puzzles. The students have been calm, collaborative and respectful. Shout out to the STEM leaders Oscar and Teddy, for doing the announcements, setting and packing up, and for helping set up the culture of the club so far this term. 

Visual Arts 

Preps:

Claude Monet: Lily Pads 

Foundation students have been exploring the beautiful water lily paintings of Claude Monet. Students created their own colourful lily ponds using paint, texture and layering techniques, before adding delicate water lilies and leaves to bring their artworks to life. Through this activity, students are developing their understanding of colour, texture, shape and nature, while experimenting with different ways to create artwork inspired by an artist.

Grade 1/2:

Australian Sun 

Grade 1 and 2 students are exploring the Sun and its role in life in Australia, while making connections to First Nations Australian cultures and their relationship with the Sun and Country. Students first created their own textured paper using paint and a variety of texture tools, experimenting with colour, pattern and mark-making. They then transformed their beautiful textured papers into vibrant Australian Sun artworks, using shape, pattern and colour to bring their designs to life.

Grade 3/4:

Andean Weaving

Grade 3 and 4 students are exploring the traditional art of Andean weaving from Peru. Students will investigate colourful geometric patterns, symbols and designs inspired by nature, before creating their own Andean-inspired artwork. Through this activity, students are developing their understanding of pattern, colour, repetition and cultural storytelling while learning to appreciate art traditions from around the world.

Grade 5/6:

Under the Bridge European Canal Artworks

Our Grade 5/6 students explored the beauty and culture of famous European canal cities such as Venice and Amsterdam through a stunning perspective drawing project called Under the Bridge.

Students learnt about how artists use one-point perspective to create the illusion of depth and distance in artworks. They carefully constructed canal scenes viewed from underneath a bridge, focusing on realistic perspective lines, textured brickwork and reflective water effects.

Using a combination of drawing, shading and colour blending techniques, students experimented with warm sunset skies contrasted against cool blue waterways to create dramatic and atmospheric compositions. They also explored how architecture and waterways are important cultural features throughout Europe and how artists capture place, light and movement in their work.

The finished artworks demonstrate impressive creativity, patience and attention to detail, with every piece showcasing unique colour choices and flowing water textures. We are incredibly proud of the way students applied new artistic techniques and embraced the challenge of perspective drawing.

Do you want to come in and be a classroom helper?

Are you able to do some framing of work for the art show? 

If it’s a yes, please come and have a chat with me at school pick up, I am always out on yard duty at this time. 

Also I am looking for artists, performers and musicians within the school community please, please reach out if you are one as I really want to involve you in this year's artshow. 

Thank you very much 

Lauren Jamieson

Visual Arts Teacher