Room 1 Years 3 -6

First of all, thank you to all Cowwarr families for making arrangements to allow all staff to attend a professional development day around Disability Inclusion. We were able to analyse, modify and implement our teaching and learning strategies to ensure all children, here at Cowwarr, have equitable experiences that allow them to achieve their goals. Our end goal of this process, is to potentially gain greater resources from the department to meet the needs of our kids. If you would like more information about the this process, please visit the link below: 

Another BIG thank you to Robyn and Libby for stepping in on behalf of myself and Chanae on Tuesday, as we attended the seminar; 'Understanding the Science of Teaching and Learning' led by Judi Newman. We were taught that our brains can referenced using three parts; the social brain (RELATE,) the emotional brain (REGULATE) and the thinking brain (REASON.) I am looking forward to showing students how these parts communicate with each other and how this affects our thinking, learning and ability to remember things. 

Unfortunately, we missed out on Science last week BUT.... we still got to do STEM. I gave all students two challenges: 

Challenge 1:

Make a protective barrier for an egg so that it stays intact when dropped from the bridge on the playground. 

Materials: 

• 1 piece of cardboard 
• 4 cotton balls 
• Newspaper 
• Scissors/Tape 

This activity was so much fun! The designs were very inventive, and really showed the students' imaginative side. Students worked well in pairs to complete the task, negotiating roles and contributing equally to the construction. 

Even the juniors gave it a crack (not literally!) 

Challenge 2: 

Build a bridge out of paper that is strong enough to hold a glue stick. 

Materials: 

• 6 pieces of paper
• 20 cm of sticky tape 
• Scissors 

Although this task was slightly more difficult, all students persevered and completed the task successfully. 

In other news, there has been an ongoing hunt at recess and lunch. What are the students hunting, you may ask? Skinks. Hunter has really put the 'hunt' in his own name, alongside Atti who has brought the determined 'ATTI-tude'. These students have dedicated many hours to investigating the movements of these creatures and have even brought in their own catching devices. Read the excerpt below to find out more! 

Thank you for another great week TEAM!