Specialists 

PE

🚴‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Attention all students, parents, and staff! Let's Get Moving! 🛴🚌

We're thrilled to announce the launch of our initiative to promote active travel within our school community. Start the day of our Harmony Week Block Party with an energy boosting ride or walk to school on Friday, March 22nd, 2024! Join us for a day of fun-filled activities and our special debut event where we celebrate riding, scooting, walking, and taking public transport to school.

Event Details:

📅 Date: Friday, March 22nd, 2024

🕒 Time: before school

📍 Location: Sunshine Heights Primary School

Event Highlights:

• Start your day right with our special Breakfast Club! All students who ride, scoot, walk, or take public transport to school are invited to enjoy a Breakfast Club treat.
• Breakfast Club running as usual for ALL students.
• Get together with your friends and participate in group walks, bike rides, scooting, or skating to school.
• Learn about safe travel practices and discover new active travel routes.
• Discover the benefits of taking public transport and explore alternative transportation options.
• Find out which house colour will get the most points as we tally up the number of students riding, walking, and scooting to school.

How You Can Get Involved:

• Encourage your friends and family to join us and participate in active travel.
• Bring your bikes, scooters, or skateboards for a morning of riding to school.

Let's make this inaugural event a memorable one as we ride, scoot, walk, and take public transport to school together, contributing to a healthier and more sustainable future! 

For more information or to volunteer for the event, contact Aasta 

( aasta.dearnaley@education.vic.gov.au ) or Dane ( dane.barun@education.vic.gov.au ).

Let's move towards a greener tomorrow, one step, scoot, or pedal at a time!

PS: If you need extra space to park your bike please follow staff instructions on the day.

STEM

Welcome back, young scientists! Term 1 has already kicked off with a whirlwind of exploration and discovery in the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). This term we are learning about Physical Sciences, students are gaining understanding of a range of concepts through hypothesising, observing, testing and analysing! 

Prep:

Our Prep students have been busy bees in their STEM lessons! They've been diving into guided investigations, making predictions about familiar events, and identifying push/pull forces. Over the next few weeks, they will draw ideas for a toy they can push/pull and bring them to life using various materials. It's been amazing to see their imaginations take flight!

Science concepts:

• Forces can be thought of as ‘pushes’ and ‘pulls’.
• Forces can make things move, stop or hold things up.

Grade 1/2:

In Grade 1/2, the excitement for STEM learning has been palpable. Students have been participating in guided investigations, making predictions, and using informal measurements to collect and record their observations. They've been getting hands-on with push/pull forces, discussing how objects move, and even delving into the importance of 'fair tests.' Last week students made a ‘car launcher’ to investigate how a ‘big’ push or pull can change the speed or direction of a force. It was wonderful to see students testing and discussing their findings.

Science concepts:

• Forces can be thought of as ‘pushes’ and ‘pulls’.
• Forces can make things move, stop or hold things up.
• A 'big' push or pull can change the speed or direction of an object.

Grade 3/4:

Our Grade 3/4 students have been taking their STEM learning to new heights this term. They've been identifying and posing scientific questions, making predictions based on prior knowledge, and conducting investigations following 'fair test' practices. Using formal measurements, they've been collecting and recording observations, comparing predictions with results, and suggesting reasoning for their findings. Exploring the fascinating world of forces, they've been exploring friction on different surfaces, and diving into the forces of attraction and repulsion between magnets.

Science concepts:

• Friction is a common force that stops things moving or slows things down. 
• Magnets act on objects made of iron or steel only. 
• A magnet is surrounded by a magnetic field, of definite shape. 
• Magnets push and pull through some types of matter but not others. 
• Friction is a common force that stops things moving or slows things down. 

Grade 5/6:

Last but certainly not least, our Grade 5/6 students have been tackling STEM challenges with gusto. Students have been delving into light and its properties, classifying materials based on their transparency, and exploring the reflection of light using mirrors. They have conducted a range of tests to explore shadows, make rainbows and investigate how refraction can make objects appear like they are in a different place!

Science concepts:

• Light is an entity that travels through space in straight lines. 
• We see when light is reflected from objects into our eyes. 
• Shadow shapes are areas of no reflected light 
• Some surfaces reflect more light than others. Black surfaces reflect the least light. 
• Light can change direction going into or out of water or glass, which results in an image of the object that may be a distorted shape when compared with the object. 

Visual Art - Official Welcome to our New Preps

As we reflect on the remarkable progress made by our young artists in their fourth week, it's heartening to see how they've settled into the routines of our studio, eagerly immersing themselves in the world of artistic exploration. Their growth and development during this time have been truly remarkable, and we are thrilled to share some highlights of their journey with you.

In these initial weeks, our focus has been on fostering their innate creativity and providing them with opportunities to freely explore the diverse realms of artistic expression. From the moment they first picked up their brushes to experiment with paint, to the captivating swirls of colour as they mixed and blended on their pages, their enthusiasm for discovery has been infectious.

Through engaging in art play, they've been able to delve into the how paint works and its movement, discovering the magical interplay of colours and textures along the way. Whether it's experimenting with different brush strokes or exploring the effects of layering and blending, each artistic endeavour has been a step forward in their creative journey.

Beyond traditional mediums, our young artists have also been introduced to the sensory delights of unconventional materials. From the fascinating patterns created with salt and dye to the tactile wonders of rainbow rice, play-dough, and kinetic sand, they've been encouraged to engage their senses fully, fostering a deeper connection with their artistic explorations.

However, what truly sets this group of emerging artists apart is the sense of community and collaboration that has flourished within our studio walls. Through shared experiences and mutual support, they've formed bonds that extend beyond individual expression, fostering an environment of inclusivity and creativity