Student Voice 

Student Voice : Springvale Campus

We can’t believe it’s already the end of Term 3 with school holidays just around the corner! 

And what a term it has been, with so many highlights and extraordinary special events. The activities include: SLC swimming, Excursions to the City, Book Week Celebrations, Author Visits, Maths and Reading Learning achievements, Interschool Sports, Father’s Day (or Special Person’s Day) and many more!

MCG EXCURSION

Just recently the SLC students on both campuses (Springvale and Heights) went to the MCG! They got to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity! This included meeting an Australian Olympian for the sport curling and having a personal tour of the MCG. To get there they took the train down the Pakenham line, which was a 34-minute trip! When they arrived, they were greeted with the beautiful sight of the MCG! The MCG is a sports ground that holds 100,024 people, making it the largest sports grounds in the southern hemisphere. The SLC students got to participate in many different activities, meeting an Olympian (Dean Hewitt), playing in the Game-On room, having a tour of the MCG, viewing the ASM (Australian Sports Museum) and having a picnic under the beautiful sun. Dean Hewitt told us about his inspiring experience in the Beijing Winter Olympics and how his partner was almost kicked out of the Olympics because they tested positive twice in a row. 

Before the excursion we had a Metro person teach us on how to stay safe on the train and be aware of the rules including NO FEET ON CHAIRS, STAY BEHIND THE YELLOW LINE and BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS.

They taught us who we could ask for help and how the different staff members were there to guide us and to help us. These staff members include Protective Services Officers, Police Officers and more. These people are there to help us in any situation or when you're feeling unsafe. We interviewed some SLC students about their experience in the MCG. Here is what they said.

"I had an excellent time looking at the Hall of Fame because you could look at the history of the MCG!"  - Nana 5/6D

"I loved the Game On room because I got to try many sports and activities I never tried before."- Cindy 5/6D

"A highlight for me was when my friends had a picnic together in the sunshine!" - Ameera 5/6D

AUTHOR VISITS

Did you know that we met an author? We certainly did! We met Kirstie Murray, an author who has written exemplary stories and books. She read to us some of her amazing books and shared what inspired her to become who she is today! She told us to use our head, (imagination), life and body to make up a story. She inspired us to read books and create our own! Some students were even lucky enough to receive an autograph! OOOH how exciting!!!!

As well as this, we engaged in a WebEx session and met another talented author! Bet you are wondering who…It was Andy Griffiths; one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors. He has collaborated with Terry Denton and created some very funny books that now include the 169-Storey Treehouse! Wow! He must have a very big creative mind. It was very emotional seeing this series come to an end. But we know that Andy Griffiths is an amazing author and will make a lot more engaging book series. He has inspired people to be creative and to use their imagination to make an engaging and exciting book! 

BOOK WEEK / PARADE 

As you may know, not long ago our school celebrated Book week! Everyone engaged in entertaining activities that included the bookmark competition, door display, book parade and so much more! Both teachers and students came dressed as their favorite book character and we were SUPER THRILLED to see what their imagination produced. We even had some parents dress up and join in the parade fun! It was EXCELLENT to see everyone not only having fun but demonstrating determination, collaboration, inspiration and building their creativity when it comes to thinking outside the box. Wow! Our school has some great minds...! Just let me say... the teachers REALLY ROCKED their costumes and went all out this year! A big thank you to Mrs. Hasey and our SLC team for putting this special event all together. And we can’t forget Mr. Kullar or should we say ‘Stacey the Fairy’ for being an amazing MC! 

MATHS ACHIEVEMENTS

The SLC students have been learning to add and subtract fractions by playing fun games such as ‘Connect 4’. They have used the algorithm to solve real life problems with mixed numbers and applied their fraction knowledge to rename improper fractions and equivalent fractions. We have some very clever students in the SLC who are up to the next step in their learning…solving problems with related (like) fractions. The students have shown one of the school values (Excellence) by achieving the success criteria and their personal best. We are very proud of the growth they continue to make each week. 

READING ACHIEVEMENTS

In Reading, the students have been reading a health-related text to support both their project and writing achievements. They have been learning to use information from a text to explain literal and implied meaning and building their schema around consuming healthy foods, the impact the choices we make have on our lives and so much MORE! We’ve learnt that if you consume high sodium sugary junk food it will have a very bad impact not only on your body BUT your lifestyle and as the ULTIMATE MIGHTY Mrs A said, “You only have one body, you can't go to the shop and buy another one.” We’ve noticed our students making healthier choices by bringing more foods that contain everything that your body needs minerals, vitamins etc. They are currently structuring a fact file on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and we are FLABBERGASTED on the effort and how much they are growing as learners. The success criteria the SLC is demonstrating is using text clues and prior knowledge to draw conclusions and by the end of the term I guarantee that we will SMASH these learning goals. We are SO proud to hear that our SLC students are writing more exemplary Readers Notebooks! Go SLC!

Wow…What a term! Once again, all learning centres have engaged in many thrilling activities; with many more events to come! It’s wonderful to see everyone’s bright smiles while at school with their peers and can’t wait to see everyone again Term 4!

Keep up the great work in class and at home. Remember the more you practise the smarter you get!

Enjoy the holidays everyone! Make sure you do some fun things with your families and stay safe. 

         Springvale Campus School Captains