Classroom News 

Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2

Excursion to Cooper's Settlement at Bundoora Park Farm! 

Last Thursday, the Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 students had a fantastic adventure at Cooper's Settlement at Bundoora Park Farm. They stepped back in time to experience a day as students in an olden days school, explored a charming historic cottage, and saw a vintage printing press in action. The highlight of the day was a fun ride where they got to see kangaroos and emus up close! It was a wonderful opportunity to explore how life has changed over the years and connect with history in a fun and engaging way. What a memorable day of learning and discovery!

I enjoyed playing on the playground and I liked going on the minibus and seeing all the animals. I liked having a buddy in Foundation. I learned that people in the olden days didn't have pencils, they used ink. It was cool having Mr Wiffle as our olden days teacher! I liked that we got to see the printing press. We got to stamp our initials. - Abigail

I enjoyed playing in the park and I discovered new things. I saw lots and lots of animals and it was very fun. I got to see how the toilet used to work in the olden days and how the gramophone worked. I loved it! I liked how we rode on the minibus and I got to almost touch a kangaroo's ear. - Ruan

I liked seeing the olden times music player. - Scarlett

I liked when we used the ink pens in the olden days school and I liked seeing the kangaroos and emus. I learned that in the oldens days the toilets used to be outside. - Aiden

At the cottage we got to churn butter. It was fun. - Elena

We used a carpet cleaner to practice cleaning the carpet in the old cottage. - Coleen 

It was a really fun day. We had a very strict teacher at the olden days school named Mr Wiffle. In the olden days they didn't write with pencils, they wrote with ink and a quill that didn't have a feather. We went on a buggy ride and we got to see male kangaroos and female kangaroos. We even got to see a joey in the pouch. We also got to see emus and horses. - Ezra

Stella's Fundraising

As mentioned earlier by Mark, Stella (Year 1) will be taking part in '100 Skips a Day in August' as part of the 'Jeans for Genes' initiative, raising money to help 1 in 20 kids facing a birth defect or genetic disease. Every dollar goes to the Children’s Medical Research Institute and helps find treatments and cures that will save children’s lives. We are very proud of Stella for taking part in this great fundraising cause. Well done, Stella!

100 DAYS OF SCHOOL! 

In just 5 more sleeps, we will be celebrating a significant milestone—our Foundation students reaching 100 days of school! We can't wait for a day packed with fun activities, special projects, and excitement as we reflect on everything we have learnt and achieved! 

Year 2/3

Hello Families,

We had such a great time last week taking some of the children to Cooper’s Settlement. This excursion was planned for our Inquiry topic this Term. The children had a great time and a big thank you to the parent helpers who were able to make it. We greatly appreciate your time and effort. 

Year 3/4

During the first 2 weeks of term 3, the students have been learning about The Royal Flying Doctor Service and The School of the Air. Initially, the School of the Air used the same radio for students learning as well as using it to call the RFDS for medical help when needed. 

Students have been writing about what they have learnt about these services. (See below)

The RFDS is the Royal Flying Doctor Service that goes around the outback and helps anyone that can’t get to the hospital fast enough. It was created by John Flynn to get people to medical support faster than a camel or horse, if they used a horse the person would probably have died before they got there.

The Wireless Pedal Radio was created by Alf Trager made for telling the flying doctor service what was wrong and what happened. They used the Body chart to know exactly where the problem was and whether it was an emergency or not and whether to send the plane or not.

The first plane used was on loan from Qantas, back then Qantas was just a small bush company. The first plane was made on 17 May 1928 and lives could be saved because the plane is way faster than a horse. 

The way the RFDS gets money is by donations given to them. 

Sometimes it takes a while to get to the patient because just Melbourne to Sydney is  1 hour long by plane!!! Melbourne to WA is going to be SOOOOOOOOOOOOO long.

By Chloe & Arvin

The Alice Springs School of the Air started in 1951. 

The first school of the air was in Alice Springs and maintained by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Alice Springs School of the Air was started by Miss Miethke. The School of the Air was made because children in the Northern Territory and Western Australia were far away from schools. The oldest School of the Air teacher is Anges Zhelesnick.

By Lawrence 

School Of the Air is very important for kids in the outback who can’t go to school in towns or cities. This is because they have to travel a long long distance to reach a school, like Julie who is 5 hours plus away from Alice Springs. 

School of the Air has been around since 8 of June 1951. There are Schools of the Air in Darwin, Alice Springs, Port Macquarie, Dubbo, and Broken Hill.

What technology did they use? They used a radio, computer or maybe an ipad. They now also have connections through satellite instead of a radio.

Fun Fact

Since 2003 over 30,000 school students have entered the a new era online.

By Laura

        The School of the Air is a school for children. Some students or children stay 6 hours away from the school and do online school. The teacher is in Alice Springs. The school started in the 1950s and Julie is 480 kilometres away from the school. 

        Julie, a girl who lives 6 hours away from Alice Springs has to be ready for online class with her friends by 8:30am. Before this, she has to feed the chickens and collect the eggs. She also picks the ripe fruit and vegetables. Then she has breakfast with the family at 7 am. She doesn't go to shops to buy food because they grow their own food.

By Aisha

Alice Springs - School of the Air  

I learnt that Julie uses computers to learn and she has a garden to get food. Her closest friend is 200 miles away. I found the whole story interesting.  

A question I have is why don't they make more houses for more people to live there? 

By Eva

The School of the Air started in the 1950s. They started the school to give education to kids in the outback because there was no school within hundreds of miles. 

By Amy 

School of the Air

          The school of air is a school for students in the outback who can’t come to the school nearby like us. So they use computers and the radio to talk with their teachers from home, so that's why it’s called School of the Air. This is a bit like when we used Google Classroom and Google meets during our lockdowns to study.           

          This is a story about a day in the life of an 8-year-old child living in Australia on a Cattle Farm 300 kilometres from the nearest school. He leads an active life learning hands-on skills from interaction with his family and station workers. He is enrolled in the ‘School of The Air’.

By Sai

Year 4/5

Today we help Rosetta to rearrange the Library. It was really fun but carrying the books was really tiring. When we finished doing this, the Library looked spectacular! Rosetta was also very grateful that our class and the Year 1s had helped her do this.   By Brenton

Today when we went to the Library, we had to sort the books into piles of different categories, for example, fairy tales, legends and fables. Then when we were finished, Rosetta was really proud of us and all the work we had done.   By Cody

It was Library time this morning and we helped Rosetta sort out books into different types of tales. Then we helped to rearrange a bit of the Library with Sandra too. It felt exhausting but also fun and quick at the same time.   By Lauren

At Library time, we help Rosetta to organize the Library books and shelves. I felt really happy that I had done this when I saw what the Library looked like. By Azariah

Today we went to the Library and we got the chance to help Rosetta change the way the Library looked. With the year 1s, we took all of the picture story books off the shelves. Then Rosetta and Sandra moved the shelves around and then we put the books back. I felt happy because I got to participate in changing the look of the Library.   By Allie

Today in the Library, we helped Rosetta clean it up by sorting out the books and putting them into assorted piles. Rosetta was really happy with what we did and very grateful. 

By Natalie

Year 5/6    

The Olympic Games 

The Games are on....not just in France but in Preston too! 

The Year 5/6 students wanted to get into the spirit of the Games and before you knew it, teams were chosen, events were decided and competition began!

Netball, basketball, badminton, volleyball, soccer and tennis (amongst others) are all games the students are engaged with over the next two weeks. They are having a ball and enjoying the Olympic spirit of participation and respect for each other.

Numeracy 

A big shout out to our wonderful Deputy Principal, Antoniette, for providing every student at our school with a valuable learning tool, the mini whiteboard. In Maths,  we use them to 'chin it', 'bin it' and check in for understanding. Thanks Antoniette!!

Wellbeing

Students have spent some valuable time over the past week or so reflecting on their classmates and what makes them a valuable member of our group. As adults,  we all enjoy being told how valuable we are to others.....kids are no different. Enjoy!