Year Level News

Foundation News

Werribee Zoo

On Monday, 26th August, the Foundation students embarked on an adventure to Werribee Zoo. The day was filled with excitement, discovery, and lots of fun.

We were thrilled to witness some very active lions, the gorilla roaming around its habitat, and hippos in the water as we wandered around the zoo. The animals captivated us with their lively antics.

The adventure continued as we boarded the safari bus, which took us deeper into the zoo to explore even more incredible wildlife. We spotted seven giraffes, many zebras, and some powerful rhinos, getting up close to these magnificent creatures.

Another highlight of the day was the ranger workshop, where we learned fascinating things about African culture. We were introduced to traditional songs, stories, and ways of life, gaining a deeper appreciation for the people and traditions of Africa.

It was a brilliant day filled with learning, laughter, and unforgettable experiences. 

Shapes

In Foundation this week, we have looked at 3D objects. We have revised 2D shapes and discussed different types of shapes and their features (sides, corners, etc). Students went outside with a range of sports balls and some hula hoops, place markers and cube shaped objects. They had to choose an object that would roll and with a partner decide which object they would choose and why.

Students made observations about:

• spheres rolling easier than cubes because they have no straight edges/sides
•  their sphere rolling faster on an inclined surface
•  a connection between a circle and a sphere, identifying that they both have curved sides

Some wonderings discussed were:

What things can you think of that are a cube or sphere shaped?

What would life be like without cubes or spheres?

What things do cubes and spheres make possible?

What can a cube do that a sphere can’t do?

Book Week Author Visit

During Book Week, Year One and Foundation students were thrilled to welcome Valanga Khoza, a storyteller and musician from South Africa. 

Valanga captivated us with stories of his childhood, accompanied by traditional South African instruments like the kalimba, marimba, and shijororo, many of which he made himself. He also sang in English, Zulu, Shangaan, and Xhosa, creating a magical experience for all.

Valanga also shared his book, Dumazi and the Yellow Lion. His visit left us inspired and deeply touched by his music and storytelling.

Year 3 News

On Friday our Year 3 students were treated to a wonderful exhibition of techniques for creating character illustrations by Manga artist, Kenny Chan. Kenny Chan has been spreading the love of Manga, the Japanese style of comic drawing for over 20 years. He shared his work in comics, animation, video games and movies.

Kenny shared his quick and simple ways to draw original characters in a Japanese comic style. Students learned techniques on how to add personality and humour to their drawings to enhance their texts through illustrations. Kenny taught the students how to create the eyes of their character to help tell the story through image. 

   Kenny Chan- Manga Artist

Sam-”I really enjoyed learning how to draw faces because he showed us how to start with the shapes.”

Sarsha-”Kenny was a very good drawer and I think we should have more illustrators come to our school.” 

Ike-”It was fun learning how to start with a potato shape to create a person. 

Quinn- Watching Kenny was a fun way to learn how to draw Anime.” 

Matilda- “It was fun, I had never drawn Manga characters before.”

Freya- “I learnt an easy way to draw new characters and their features.”

Edie- “It was creative and easy drawing simple shapes.”

Raf- “I liked it because you could turn vegetables into people.”

Thongophones at Newport Lakes

Building the thongophone at school was such a great opportunity for us. You will be able to see it in the yard shortly. 

We, and some of the other boys in Year 5 and 6, will be making more for everyone to be able to enjoy. 

If you don’t know what a thongophone is, it is a musical instrument that is made of pipes that are different lengths so when you tap the top ‘with a thong’, they make a different sound.

We got a lot of the materials for the thongaphone by writing a letter to Bunnings who kindly donated the wood, pipes and screws. Before building, we planned out the thongaphone to make it the size it is. We might make the next one a little smaller for the younger students to play.

By Archie & Max