Whole School & Year Level News
TuTu Day
On the August 23rd, the SRC Team held a fundraiser to commemorate people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. We raised a total of $776.25. A big thank you to everyone who donated money, all of it will go to the men and women with the disease. In honour of these people, Ormond Primary made a tree with all the student’s and teacher’s fingerprints on it. We thank you all for your contributions and participation.
Special thanks for Grace, Austin, Alice and Ms Pirotta (student teacher from Deakin University) for taking the time to paint and ensure the day ran smoothly.
Foundation News
In Literacy, the words of the fortnight are FORK, THUMB and WHEEL. The new digraphs are OR, MB with B being silent, and WH and EE. Every Friday we practise writing a new sentence we have learnt over the previous week. Here, the students are introduced to writing other frequently used words such as, from, been, some. For instance, the sentence for the introduction of the word WHEEL is - Some of us have been looking at a big truck wheel. The children practise spelling the main words over the week to write the whole sentence by the Friday. This practice also assists the children in their daily creative writing. The Premier’s Reading Challenge finishes mid-September. Many Foundation students are only six Challenge books from completing the PRC so please remember to upload any books you have read to your child since February.
In Mathematics, we have been adding numbers up to 20 and beyond through stories and the use of tens frames. We similarly use the frames and stories to subtract. The students will be introduced to the concept of location where students describe position and direction through gestures and simple statements. Language such as across, around, past and through, etc. will be used.
As part of the Humanities program, we have been investigating the best shaped and sized objects that roll and bounce. In Science, we will be looking at the appearance of the moon and stars at night, as well as how the weather and the seasons affect events and clothing choices.
Have a happy fortnight from the Prep team!
Year 1/2 Concert News
Please note there are some changes to our concert arrangements.
On Monday 3rd September at 2:00pm siblings in Foundation to Year 6 will have the opportunity to view the dress rehearsal of the concert along with any family members that cannot attend on the night.
Pre-school children must sit on their parents’ lap during the performance on Wednesday evening. All other siblings will be required to sit on the mat at the front. Please note, the performance begins at 6:30pm and the doors to the hall will open at 6:15pm
All Year 1 and 2 students are to assemble in 2A’s classroom from 6:00pm onwards.
Kind regards,
Year 1/ 2 Team
Year 2 News
Year 2 Poetry
For five fabulous weeks the Year 2 students were immersed in poetry. They read poems by different authors and learnt different poetry genres. They wrote a Concrete, Sensory, Haiku, Cinquain and an Acrostic poem. They then wrote a poem of their choice. This culminated in a delightful poetry book that they shared with their friends and family on a Friday morning.
Student’s in Year 1 and 2 have been enjoying games such as, Jenga, Chinese Checkers and Monopoly during Friday lunchtimes.
Year 3 News
Fifty Go Mad at Camp
The Year Threes had a wonderful adventure at ‘The Briars’ Outdoor Adventure Camp just outside Mount Martha last week. Residential camps develop independence, build confidence and resilience, foster deeper friendships and allow students to work with different people in different contexts away from home. This was the Year Threes first experience of camp and the students were excited and nervous.
We were blessed with wonderful weather; it was cold but the Winter sun shone. At night the sky was clear and we could see Mars and the moon clearly from the camp without any light interference. This was a visual treat for the students after their Inquiry unit in Term 2 on the ‘Earth, Sun and Moon’. The open bush setting of the camp was glorious. We were woken to the sound of kookaburras, there was evidence of wombats and many rabbits could be seen hopping amongst the gum trees. Students were treated to a range of challenging activities and they rotated through them all over the two days.
Hut building challenged the students to work together as a team to create a safe and waterproof ‘tepee style’ hut from the available wood amongst the trees using a central tree stump as the core of the hut. Students sorted and categorised timber ranging from large branches, planks and bark to design and build their hut. It was wonderful to see the students plan and work together to problem solve, see others emerge as natural leaders and see who was game enough to sit inside the hut whilst Mrs Nield fetched a bucket of water to ‘test’ the waterproof ability of the construction. The answer was most of them as it turned out!
The ‘Flying Fox’ activity was highly anticipated by all students. The zip line was about 50 metres long down a gentle hill lined with gum trees. The students’ excitement was palpable as they were strapped into their harnesses and stood atop the wooden turret awaiting their turn to ‘fly’. A huge amount of energy was used by the students running up and down the hill accompanying the ‘flyers’ and cheering them on. Ms. Dell’s harness buckling skills are renowned and the extra goes students had on ‘The Fox’ are largely due to her speed and dexterity!
Damper cooking with sticks over an open fire was a highlight activity particularly with those students who had just expended a lot of nervous energy on the ‘Flying Fox’. The students tucked into toasted damper accompanied with jam and cream, warming themselves by the fire when a chilly wind cut through!
Archery was a new activity for students this year and was approached by all students with gusto! Mrs Zajonc created quite a competitive environment once the students had learnt their basic skills and they loved the challenge.
The low ropes course tested students’ balance and team work. The scenery from this activity offered a wonderful vista of the whole camp. Thanks enormously to our pre-service teacher Ms. Pirotta for working closely with the students on this activity making it a wonderful experience for all.
At mealtimes students are expected to participate in a ‘duty group’ to lay tables with cutlery and china and to clear, scrape and sort afterwards. They also have to sweep the floor. We are pleased to report that the Year Three students worked industriously to ensure meal times ran smoothly. Camp would not be complete without an evening activity. Unfortunately, the wind was too high for the planned ‘Night Walk’ and the camp organisers were forced to cancel it however we entertained ourselves with revisiting our concert songs and dances of ‘Thriller’ and ‘YMCA’ on a mass scale. Ms. Milliken created a fantastic new activity which was a group ‘entrance strut’ and dance to the opening bars of a song of their choice using props they could scavenge from their cabins. A hilarious activity, thanks Ms. Milliken!
All in all, this Camp was another hugely successful one for our ‘rookie’ campers with memories of adventures and funny incidents to last them until the next one!
Thanks to Mrs. Nield, Mrs. Zajonc, Ms. Dell, Ms. Milliken and Ms. Pirotta for making it all possible. Thanks to the Year Threes for making camp a blast!
Year 4 News
The Year 4 students have been revising how to read and write analogue times in Maths this week. Some students made analogue clocks which helped to reinforce what the hands on a clock represent. Students used flight schedules to work out when planes departed various cities and how long flights took when there were delays. During literacy sessions, the Year 4s have been working on inferring information in texts and pictures. Students created their own inference bags and filled them with written clues which their peers had to read and work out what was being inferred. Last Thursday, students and teachers enjoyed dressing in tutus to support cancer research across Australia.
Visual Arts News
P&F Trivia Night Silent Auction
For the last four weeks, the students in grades prep and six have been extremely busy working on their individual work for the collaborated art pieces that were auctioned at last Saturday’s Trivia Night and should be very proud of their achievements! Thank you to Brooke at Frames Now in Southland for her generous donation of mounting board.
MOMA Exhibition
On the 15th and 16th of August I had the privilege of attending The MOMA exhibition with the year 5 and 6 students and what a wonderful experience it was! After making our way down to the NGV via train, all students were not only able to walk around and see some iconic pieces of contemporary and modern art, but attended a 45 minute presentation about the artists and their pieces of work.
A fabulous team of teachers, support staff and parent helpers made the outing all the more amazing. A big THANK YOU to Sandra Johnson, Mary Thanos, Marika Evans, Rae Galvin & Melissa Kah, our wonderful support staff Belinda and Bianca, our student- teachers Zoe and Jess, as well as some amazing, super star parents Andrea B, Wendy C, Debra D, Megan S, Angela N and Naomi S.
I have enjoyed reading the reflections of the students and hope you do too – see below for some of the responses.
"My favourite painting was Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein. I like his art because he makes everything in different coloured dots. My second favourite was The Persistence of Memory because I love Surrealism. " - Linnea
"I loved seeing artwork that we studied in art. It was really cool seeing art by artists that I recognised including Jackson Pollock and Alexander Calder. I loved how with some of the work I wouldn’t call it Art, but they still put it in." - Asha
"I liked Salvador Dali’s picture of melting time. I liked the massive gold structure (by Boccioni) because it was really cool." - Lachlan
"I loved MOMA because it inspires artists no matter how young or old, because all the famous artist from today were all inspired. My inspiration is Vincent van Gogh because he painted everyday things and people." - Marloe
"One of the paintings that caught my eyes was Any Warhol’s painting of Marilyn Monroe. It was breath-taking with so many vibrant colours. The experience was awesome and I felt great seeing all the paintings from New York. Overall it was a great exhibition." - Amelia
"I learned that in Space Invaders the game gets faster as more aliens get killed, because the data is deleted. I really liked the Snow Flurry mobile (by Alexander Calder) because the shadows were cool. I loved the splatters of paint on Jackson Pollock’s painting, no 7." - Josh
"An artwork that really inspired me was the self-portrait of Frida Kahlo. She had just broken up with her husband and showed a depressive expression. She had just cut off all her hair and I loved the way it lay worm-like on the floor surrounding her. I was really taken by this artwork and found it magnificent." - Rosa
"I was most impressed by the fascinating ‘Marilyn Monroe’ artwork by Andy Warhol. It was so colourful and the different colour schemes fit very well together. I had been learning about him and his work, so I was fascinated and thrilled to see the original painting straight from New York." -Sebastian
"I absolutely adored Alexander Calder’s art and the chance to see it up close is a once in a lifetime chance. It really made my art lessons come alive. The detail in his work was overwhelming. The world must have thought his artworks were strange at first. One of my favourite pieces was ‘Snow Flurry’. The shadows that blended in with actual art moved and made me feel peaceful and harmonious. I could go to MoMA again and again. I would love to share the experience with family and friends!" - Alice
"I adored the Drowning Girl piece by Roy Lichtenstein. I really showed how Pop Art was good and popular. I like how he changed it from the original comic, which made it more interesting, by changing the boyfriend’s name from Mel to Brad. He painted all of it and it looked AMAZING!" - Nic
"A piece of artwork can mean a lot. Maybe that piece of art expresses someone’s feelings or what they’ve been through in life. But art is a question. Perhaps Frida Kahlo with her art has made females strong and powerful, saying women can feel beautiful no matter what. I loved her piece of art, it has inspired me to feel strong, powerful and beautiful no matter what!" - Abby
"Jackson Pollock made a piece of artwork which Ive never seen before with outstanding colours and weird shapes that were all different sizes. I loved the green and white details when he flicked the paint on the paper. If you look closely you can see the patterns. Overall the artwork was exquisite and I enjoyed my time admiring this masterpiece." - Alan
Happy creative days!
Helen Kupfer Visual Arts Coordinator
