Around the Junior School
National Simultaneous Storytime
The Truck Cat - Wednesday 21 May
Pre-K to Year 5 met in the DPA for the reading of The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel and illustrated by Danny Snell on Wednesday 21st May. The event was National Simultaneous Storytime where all students across Australia and New Zealand are invited to hear/read the same book at 12 noon.
After the students heard the story of the Truck Cat, they heard the engine of a semi-trailer start up outside. The curtains were drawn back, and the students were very excited to see Yacoub had come to visit them and deliver some pears and apples.
Thank you to Jesse Pittman (an ex-Junior School student from Pittman Transport) for bringing his truck and Hillside Orchard for supplying the apples and pears for us to enjoy.
Year 6 - Art
In Art this term Year 6 have been learning about the artist William Kentridge. As the term progresses they will be creating a series of artworks inspired by Kentridge's artistic practice. Drawing from the theme of shadow and silhouettes, Year 6 created 'portraits' of each other using butchers paper. We were lucky that the sun came out just for us and we could strike some fun poses for the artists to trace.
Year 2 - Clouds in a jar
On Monday, our curious Year 2 students had the exciting opportunity to visit the Senior School Science Lab for a hands-on learning experience. Under the guidance of Mrs Gibson, our Senior School Science teacher, students explored the fascinating world of the water cycle through a "clouds in a jar" experiment. Using simple materials, students observed how clouds form and how condensation and precipitation work—bringing to life what they’ve been learning in class about the Earth's water system. The visit sparked lots of thoughtful questions and awe-filled moments as students saw science in action. A huge thank you to Mrs Gibson for her engaging presentation and for nurturing our budding scientists.
Orange Inter-schools Debating Competition
Last week we hosted Orange Christian School and Orange Anglican School. The Junior School Debating team were very well-prepared and loved debating on this week's topics Popular tourist islands should implement restrictions to protect their environment. Both teams made some great arguments for their side of the debate. We congratulate our Year 5 of first-time debaters on their win. We look forward to our next debate at Orange Christian School in Week 7.
Year 5 Inclusion Awareness Program
To complement Year 5’s study of the book Wonder by R.J Palacio, Prue McCarthy and Merrilyn Mendham from Social Futures gave a fabulous presentation to the Year 5 students on Monday 19th May. This was the first of two presentations. The program is titled, “Different on the outside but same on the inside” and is an inclusion awareness program.
In Session 1, students had fun trying to write their name with their ‘other’ hand and tried to read the ‘colour’ words were written in rather than the word. They learnt about the different types of disabilities and were fortunate to have Prue and Merrilyn share their stories. Children learnt more respectful terminology to use and found out about the words and phrases we no longer use.
In the next session, students will continue to learn about disability awareness and think about the different modifications and technologies to assist people. Students will continue to foster empathy and understanding. This learning experience will also allow students to deepen their insights and reflect on the themes of kindness and acceptance within Wonder.
