Assistant Principal 

Sharon Lomas 

Assistant Principal

Gifted and Talented Program

Dear parents/carers,

In Term 3, G.A.T.E.WAYS, kicked off their partnership with our school to provide  additional support to enrich our high achievers.

The day focused on Maths and Science and the 42 students from Years 1 to 6 had an amazing time.

The First workshop for the  Years 1, 2 and 3 was  on 'what do Mathematics and Art have in common?'. Beautiful patterns of course! The patterns found in exquisite medieval Islamic mosaics are regular, they follow mathematical rules, but they never repeat themselves.

Then in workshop 2, students learned about what makes your computer tick … beep, buzz, whirr, and on all the important tasks we rely on them to do.

In the first workshop for Years 4, 5 and 6, students learned that electricity is an amazing form of energy, but combining it with electronics gives us our modern world. In this workshop, students figured out how electronics come together to make a computer ‘think’ to complete all the vitally important tasks we rely on them to do.

In the 'Show Me The Proof' workshop, students discovered proof is more than an explanation; they are watertight mathematical arguments that contain no logical leaks. However, if you build them on loose foundations, they simply do not stack up!

In Term 4, 24 of our Year 3 to 6 students will be taking part in the G.A.T.EWAYS  National Challenge.

The G.A.T.E.WAYS Challenge is a national team event for primary school students.

The challenges are interdisciplinary and designed to extend student’s leadership and problem-solving abilities through a series of original, creative, and exciting real-life or hypothetical scenarios. They cover areas including Science, Language, and Mathematics. Students will use creative and critical thinking skills to innovate and work collaboratively in the search for answers.

Competition Day is made-up of two parts. In the morning students will practise the skills and knowledge needed to complete the four Challenges. In the second half of the day, they will compete in each Challenge during an action-packed afternoon that will extend their thinking and allow them to put all the skills they have learned to the test.

During term 4, students will undertake training activities to develop their skills, prior to participating in the competition.