Positive Climate for Learning
Year 3 Learning Community
National Sorry Day & Reconciliation Week
During our Global Citizenship sessions, the Year 3 Learning Community have been learning about National Sorry Day & Reconciliation Week. National Sorry Day (26th May) is an opportunity for all Australians to remember past mistakes and build stronger bridges for a richer, stronger future together. As a community, students discussed why an apology was important to give to the Stolen Generation.
Students explored the five-petal ‘Native Desert Rose’ that was chosen by members of the Stolen Generation to symbolise the scattering of its members throughout Australia and also for its resilience and survivor instinct. It is found widely across Australia, and its colour denotes compassion and spiritual healing. Students put together these flowers to display and reflect upon in our learning community.
National Reconciliation Week is celebrated each year from 27th May to 3rd June. It is a time to celebrate and build on positive and respectful relationships and connections between all Australians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving Reconciliation in Australia. Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians – as individuals, families, communities, organisations and importantly as a nation. At the heart of this journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
When asking our students their key take away message from this learning, this is what they’ve shared;
Kristian
The Stolen Generation were taken away from their families when they were young.
Kalea
The Stolen Generation are indigenous to Australia. They were young and they began to lose their memory of their culture. We can’t fix the past but we can learn from the past.
Lacey
We made a flower display to represent National Sorry Day.
Alfie
I feel sorry for what has happened in the past.
Luca
I learnt that the Stolen Generation were real people who had their family taken away from them.
Should you feel inclined to continue this learning, or for further information to help discussing these topics, feel free to look at the following links for further information:
https://nrw.reconciliation.org.au/
https://nrw.reconciliation.org.au/about-nrw/
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/national-sorry-day-2020/
https://healingfoundation.org.au/2021/05/25/national-sorry-day/
We feel proud and excited to be sharing this important part of Australian history with our students and we hope you join us in sharing these stories with your families at home.
Year 5 Learning Community
Australian History
This term, the Year 5 students are learning about significant events and people from history that have made an impact on the development of Australia. The students learned that Indigenous people have lived in Australia for over 60, 000 years. Aboriginal Australians are the oldest living culture in the world! They cared for the land, water and animals and only took what they needed from the land. We found out that their way of life changed and the languages they spoke disappeared when Europeans arrived after 1788.
At the moment, we are busy learning about how The Gold Rush of the 1800s changed the population, economy, and culture of Australia. Each week we listen to the ABC “Fierce Girls'' podcast and learn about people like Mary-Ann Bugg and Edith Cowan - two significant Australian women who fought hard to bring about change. Here are some Year 5 students talking about why they like History and what they have learned so far.
Lucas B
I like History because I get to learn facts. Did you know there’s a pool in Melbourne named after the Prime Minister Harold Holt.
Sam
I’m enjoying learning all about the Gold Rush. It happened in 1858 in Ballarat, but it had a negative effect on the environment, plants and animals.
Bella
I love learning about Australian History. I really enjoyed learning about the local Wadawurrung culture and how they lived thousands of years ago. They only took what they needed from the land and left enough for the animals.
Kobi
Did you know that Indigenous people had their land stolen from them by the early colonisers. This is so unfair!
Katie
Thousands of people came from all over the world to mine for gold in Australia in the 1800s.
Prapti
I learned that during the Gold Rush the Indigenous people actually knew where the gold was but they didn’t tell the miners as the miners did not treat them well.
Callan
I learned about William Barak – he was the leader of the Wurundjeri people from Melbourne. He was a singer, policeman and artist and there’s a building in Melbourne with his face on it – it’s 85m tall!
Misherina
I learned that people in the UK were obsessed with gold, so they came to Australia to get rich.
Abigail
When the first Europeans came in boats, the local Indigenous people from Perth thought that the ships coming up the Swan River were spirits from the Dreamtime.
Ashrael
I learned about the Eureka Stockade. It was when the miners rose up in protest at having to pay the miner’s licence. The army was called in and 22 people were killed. I also learned when different nationalities came to mine for gold, they all had different methods to find the gold.
Year 10-12 Learning Community
In Senior Secondary, students have been participating in a Café Program as part of their business enterprise learning. On Thursday students work together to make lunches for the staff at ACS. Each week students plan, organise, cook, and deliver meals and collect payment for the teachers. Students from both classrooms love running this enterprise together! Below are two students talking about their Café experience in Semester 1.
On Thursday the 12th of May the Year 10-12 students were involved in cooking a delicious Carbonara pasta. We got into our groups, got all the ingredients and equipment ready and went for snack. Next, we came back in and started getting ready by washing our hands and putting on our aprons. We started cooking the recipe and when we had finished it, we delivered it to staff who had ordered. Students were able to eat the pasta to try before we cleaned up. We ended up making a delicious pasta as part of our VCAL and ASDAN programs.
By Mackenzie
On the 28th of April we made Toasted Cheese Sandwiches for the staff of Armstrong Creek School. The ASDAN and VCAL students cook every second week. We cook in the cafe. We had to cut the cheese and butter the bread so we could make the toasted sandwiches. We put the cheese on the bread and then put it in the toastie maker. We did this because it is meeting our VCAL outcomes.
By Chloe L
Physical Education
PE Wrap Up - What's Happening in PE?
Prep
The Preps have been working on throwing and catching this term. Students are focusing on keeping their eye on the ball and moving their hands to meet the ball when catching. Some of the Secondary students have been working in the gym to support the Preps during their PE sessions. This has helped to build relationships with the students as well as give the Secondary students an opportunity to display their leadership skills. Some great ways you can help your child at home with throwing and catching can include throwing and catching soft toys, playing with balloons and setting up a target for them to hit down or land an object in.
Year 1 & 2
The Year 1 & 2s have been developing their punting, hand balling and marking skills through AFL and have started a Game sense unit where they will put all their FMS skills together. ACS has some amazing footy stars. Get ready recruiters! As we move into a more Game Sense unit, students will work on minor and modified game strategies and concepts where there are opportunities to develop both skills and an understanding of the tactics of the game. This week saw the students enjoy a modified game of netball, where they worked together to pass the ball around to their teammates with the aim of scoring a goal. Some ways you can help your child at home with throwing, catching, kicking and punting includes, playing kick to kick, playing markers up, creating a goal and kicking objects through it, playing down ball or wall ball or setting up a target for them to knock down.
Year 3 to 12
The Year 3 to 12 students ended their Athletics unit and have now started a Gymnastics unit. Students will develop their balance and movement skills. The first two weeks of the unit saw students working on the beam and tramp and also developing their own floor routine sequence. Some ways you can help your child at home with Gymnastics includes spending time with them on the trampoline, taking them to the playground and encouraging them to use the monkey bars or climbing frames or having family dance offs at home.
Year 4
The Year 4’s got to participate in their Bike Ed Experience in week 4. The students and teachers had a great time riding bikes and learning about safety rules. A small group of students were selected to develop a safe riding map which will be shared with the school community soon! Some ways you can help your child at home with Bike Safety includes going for a family bike ride together and talking about road safety when in the car.
Calling handy volunteers!
If you are able to help build some Gymnastics equipment, please contact Zoe or Rhiarn.