Junior School Update
How quickly this term has sped by! Our Junior School students have well earned their spring holiday after participating in so many exciting events not least of which include representing Shelford in Chess at Korowa Girls’ Anglican School and at the Anglican Girls’ School Service at the Cathedral; participating in a range of joint events with Caulfield Grammar School, Malvern; and their sensational production of Matilda! We wish all our students a restful and happy holiday and look forward to all the excitement that Term 4 promises.
Glen Eira City Council’s Schools’ Sustainability Festival
On Thursday 5 September, seven Year 6 environment warriors attended the annual Schools’ Sustainability Festival run by the Glen Eira City Council. After the Official Opening and Welcome to Country, and speeches from visiting Mayors and Councillors, the Shelford students delivered a workshop using the Kids Teaching Kids methodology. In the afternoon, they participated in adult-led activities from environmental educators from the Port Philip EcoCentre. Here are some reflections from the attendees:
The sustainability festival was an amazing experience I got to meet many different people and learn about our environment. I really enjoyed learning about others perspectives on how to help our environment, I especially enjoyed our own project, less waste living space, and to learn and present to others about the environment. - Scarlett C
The sustainability festival was an amazing opportunity, and I am very grateful to have been a part of it. I really enjoyed learning about others perspectives of the environmental crisis and especially our own project, less waste living space. It was really fun to both learn and teach others about the environment. In summary the school sustainability festival was a fantastic experience, and I learnt a lot about the environment. - Luisa R
The sustainability festival was an amazing experience for the younger generation to learn about the environment and learn to protect it. I know all the girls who went thoroughly enjoyed the other activities and running our own activity. We talked about deforestation and out stall's goal was to teach people to cut down less trees and try to build up to save them. We did that by using Lego. We spent lots of lunches building trees, lakes, shrubs, and rocks all in an effort to teach the kids and let them have lots of fun. They had to cut down some trees and remove some shrubs and rocks but to do that they had to spend the money we gave them. They had a budget of $1500 and each tree was lots of money to cut down. The winning team had the least money spent, the best house and had to make sure the house could fit at least 3 Lego mini figures. Overall, I am glad Shelford allowed us to have this amazing experience and I am certain that everyone who went is now very educated about our planet and environment and had a blast there. - Misha P
The Sustainability Festival was such an eye-opening experience. Everyone learnt so much and I enjoyed every second of it. It was all really fun, from the scrumptious morning tea to the engaging tasks. All the activities were really informative, we learnt about paleontologists, the importance of plants and how blowing bubble is much better than balloons. Our own activity was called ‘less waste living space’ how it worked was that each group was given the same amount of Lego blocks and that had to build a house in a forest of Lego trees. The house had to house three mini figs and they were trying to remove as few trees as possible. It was very interesting to see all the different approaches to the challenge. In the end, the group that won was the one that took up the least space and cut down the least trees. Some things that I learnt about sustainability was how little changes can make a big difference and that creative thinking can be very helpful when trying to think of ecological solutions. Overall, every part of the festival was incredible, and I am so glad I was able to have such a wonderful experience. - Ariana F
The other week we went to the schools sustainability festival it was really fun! I really enjoyed running our workshop, we made a presentation about deforestation and how if we built up, we would take up less space. In our presentation people had to use Lego to build their house and it was really good seeing how they all enjoyed it so much. The other workshops were really great too there was one where we had to design a dinosaur when only given the information about what it might look like we also got to plant a plant and bring it home mine was carrot (I think). All in all, it was an awesome day though I especially liked running our workshop. - Grace N
New Junior School Parliamentarians
Congratulations to our Junior School Parliamentarians for Semester 2:
Year 3 – Myra P
Year 4 – Olivia S
Year 5 - Zehra A
Year 6A – Miranda S
Year 6B - Misha P
It’s lovely to have two sets of sisters in the final Shelford Junior School Parliament!
Wellbeing: Building Kindness
At the end of a busy term, our students’ tiredness can sometimes manifest in their behaviour and relationships with their peers. This is when they will need more than ever to draw on their skills of empathy and self-regulation. Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, is a learned skill that shapes students’ interactions and relationships. Developing empathy not only enhances children’s social skills but also fosters emotional intelligence and compassion.
We can help children by encouraging perspective-taking and prompting them to consider and understand other people’s emotions and appreciate different viewpoints by asking questions like, “How do you think your friend felt when that happened?” or “What might someone else be experiencing in this situation?” Another tactic is to help them choose age-appropriate books that delve into diverse experiences and feelings and having discussions about the characters’ emotions and actions with questions such as, “How do you think the character felt?” or “What would you do if you were in their place?” These conversations help children connect with others’ experiences and deepen their empathetic understanding. Acts of kindness, such as helping a friend or volunteering, can also reinforce empathy by reinforcing the value of caring for others and contributing to an empathetic outlook.
Vicky Gemmell
Head of Junior School – Student Wellbeing and Development
Jacqui Sidaway
Head of Junior School – Teaching and Learning