Specialists Updates and Celebrations

Physical Education (Prep)

Preps have started off Term 2 by practising their throwing and catching skills. They have practised both underarm and overarm throws. We have played various games to practise these skills including "Fruit Loops" and "Tidy the bedroom".  In "Tidy the bedroom" 2 teams have half the gym each (1 bedroom each) and need to tidy it up by throwing their toys (balls) to the other side. When the whistle is blown students must stop tidying and we see who has the tidiest bedroom!

Mandarin (Years 1 and 2)

Over the past two weeks, the students have been learning numbers in Mandarin, including pronunciation, writing and gestures. This Sunday is Mother's Day so this week we have been learning how to say "I love you Mummy" in Mandarin, allowing the students to show their appreciation for the important females in their lives. Next week we will continue our study of numbers and learn how to count from 1 to 99 in Mandarin.

Visual Arts (Years 3 and 4)

The Year 3 and 4 students learnt about a famous Aboriginal Australian artist named Rosemary Petyarre. She loves to paint nature and show her connection to the land through her paintings. The students focused on one of Rosemary’s most famous artworks - Medicine Leaf. This artwork was Rosemary’s way to show her appreciation to the land that has helped her and her ancestors for generations, especially the medicine leaves Rosemary’s ancestors relied on to help them when they were sick. The students created artworks inspired by Rosemary and drew leaves in different colours and patterns and put dots in the spaces between the shapes. Their artworks look so beautiful!

Music (Years 5 and 6)

In the Years 5 and 6 Music Program we have been engaged in the world of rock music with our unit, “Rock Through the Ages!” We have studied how rock began and are gradually working through each decade’s most important artists and songs.

Students have learnt iconic rock riffs on the guitar, and we have even taken guitar riffs to the kalimba. We have just started working on our guitar chord playing skills for this unit too. 

We have resumed whole class marimba items to maintain our skills on the instrument and especially our ability to play music together.

Performing Arts (Years 5 and 6)

Year 5 and 6 students have continued to explore various elements of drama. This week in particular, students learnt about the importance of the relationship between characters and the audience. Students have improved their improvisation skills and stared to perform scripted plays to their peers. There has been a clear growth in their confidence and expressive skills when performing. It will be exciting to see how they continue to blossom, as towards the end of the term they will create their own scripts in group work. 

Library

Term 1 Library Highlights

In Term 1, Years 1 to 6 visited the library every week. During these sessions 1,988 library books were circulated. Classes with the most books borrowed were: 

The top borrowers for each class:

(There were no top borrowers for Year 1 as borrowing was very even across the year level).

The most popular books were: