Social Competencies

In our Social Competency classes we are finishing up on our Drug Education unit. In week 4 of term 4 we will begin our new unit on Personal Learning. Our Drug Education unit included lessons covering:

The definition of a drug.
Everything that enters the body has an effect.
There are different entry points into the body.
Issues related to drug use and the different possible effects.
Decision making and minimising risks.
Strategies for making, communicating and following through with good choices.

Over the course of the unit students are working their way through a related PowerPoint, contributing to discussions and completing related work.

In the Personal Learning unit students will explore strategies to maximise their education and about their own learning preferences. The unit will address:

Choices related to their learning.
Self-help strategies to help manage challenging tasks.
Skills to plan, monitor, revise, modify and reflect on learning practices.

All classes will have a visit to the Life Education Van that will be visiting later this term.

Integrated Unit

Students are preparing for the Heating and Melting Gala for families later this term (please see new date and time above in “Dates to Remember”). There looks like there will be a mixture of edible treats, perishable and non-perishable items on display. Students will be presenting their work and teachers will have information on display showing all the hard work the students have put in over term to research, shop, prepare, make and package the product. Families are encouraged to come and see their child’s work and take home the items we have made.

Literacy & Numeracy Updates

For the last two weeks, students have been revising their knowledge in place value and time in their maths classes. To continue to develop these skills at home there are many incidental opportunities to ask your child some of these questions;

Tell me about what you did today?
Do you know what time of the day this happened?
Can you show me what that time looks like? Where is the hour hand/minute hand pointing at this time?
How do you know?
Can you show me this time on a digital clock?
Can you explain how this shows……..?
What would you be doing at this time?
What are the days of the week (in order)?
What do you do on a Monday, Tuesday etc?
What are the months of the year (in order)?
What is this month?
What month is Christmas in? (other special events - birthdays)
What month comes after….

We are now moving in to teaching fractions, decimals, volume and capacity. This will continue for the majority of this term to give students a chance to consolidate their skills in these areas. We are also commencing our end of year assessments.

I have been lucky enough to read or hear some of the poetry coming out of the Secondary 7/8 classes. Students have been introduced to sensory poetry. They viewed examples, planned and wrote class shared or interactive poems before planning and writing their own sensory poems. Students must plan and edit their work before publishing. Here is a sample of how our students begin their writing planning for their sensory poetry pieces:

Here are some sensory poems written by SKH and SSD students:

2017 AFL Grand Final

By Cooper SKH

Richmond beat Adelaide in 2017 Grand Final; I was there.

I hear the National Anthem and theme songs. I hear people cheering for the Tigers. I hear the umpire blowing his whistle to start the game.

I see players wearing their footy outfits and Dusty doing ‘don’t argues’.

I smell hot dogs and pies that my family are eating. I smell the sweat coming from the players.

I feel my backside getting numb from sitting on the hard seat. I feel the excitement of the crowd.

I taste the sauce as it dribbles down my chin. I taste the cold water I drink.

I am happy that Richmond wins an epic Premiership.

Shopping Centre

By Ahmed SSD

Hear that people are talking in the shop and songs playing on the radio.

I see the shopping centre shop name people too.

I smell food in the shopping centre.

I smell people clothes. I felt the clothes in the shop.

I feel things in the shop.

I taste food in the in the shopping centre. I taste lollies in the shopping centre.

The Birthday Party

By Ben SSD

I hear people singing and cheering.

I see all the party hats and snacks, piñatas and cake to eat.

I smell birthday candles and party food.

I feel the party popper making my hair go on end.

I taste the sweet taste of lollies and the savoury taste of the party food.

Visiting the Hairdresser

By Degan SKH

I walk into the hairdressers to have my head shaved.

I hear scissors snipping quickly and shavers buzzing loudly. I hear people talking.

I see people reading magazines quietly. I see the chairs that are big and black that people are sitting on. I see people looking at themselves in the mirrors.

I smell shampoo and conditioner, it smells like apples. I smell the hair wax that the hairdresser puts in my hair.

I feel the warm water as my hair is washed. I feel the loud, buzzing shaver vibrating on my head.

I taste the triple cheese burger that my mum buys me from McDonald’s on the way home.

I feel like a shiny, new kid.

PreCAL

Welcome to Term 4! Everyone has come back very excited from their holidays and pretty tired these first two weeks. SFC especially welcomes a new student, Christina to the class. At the end of last term, the students in SFC finally took their Emergency Services documentary home. The feedback from family and friends was very positive and the students were very proud of their creation. This term, SFC are continuing the Leisure Unit. They have already travelled by train to the Macleod YMCA and have participated in Yoga with the instructor Lani. Students have read books and watched videos about yoga. They have tried to move their bodies into many different positions (poses). The students have said that it is very relaxing, but very tricky to balance. In writing, SFC wrote procedural texts ‘How to do the dog pose’ and ‘How to do the tree pose’. Ask them to teach you!

Secondary 7/8

Issue 14 · 25 Oct 2018

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