Leadership Centre
Curriculum
We have just crossed the halfway point of Term 1 with many exciting activities still to occur before the upcoming Easter holidays. Last week was another busy one in the Leadership Centre.
In Maths, students have been completing their timetable task for their Seesaw portfolio. The task requires students to plan and create a weekly school timetable that needs to meet certain criteria. These criteria have been arranged in levels of increasing difficulty so that students are working at their ability level. Teachers have an excellent idea of what level students should be working at and support them accordingly. We are about to embark on fractions and decimals as part of our place value unit with pre-testing having been conducted last week. Students have already enjoyed the fraction games that have been played in class. These games have also been differentiated so that students are supported and extended in their learning.
In Reading, students have been analysing and viewing a range of texts to identity cause and effect using a flowchart proforma. We have also been discussing and making character inferences by using the ‘evidence from text’ + ‘prior knowledge’ = inference approach. Students are also close to completing their Book Club books and completing their designated role within their group’s slides.
In Writing, students have been working with the Narrative Story Graph and familiarising themselves with each step. They collaborated after watching a short video to identify each part of the graph: sizzling start (hook the reader), backfill (more information about the characters), pebble, brick and boulder problem (the problem becomes bigger), exciting ending and character resolution. In warm-ups, students have been experimenting with a varied range of sentence openers to enhance their writing. It has been great to hear that students have been stepping outside their comfort zone when trying different words. We look forward to seeing these sentence openers in their future pieces.
Last Thursday all 5/6’s attended an ESmart information session run by ‘BullyZero’ which focused on taking a stand against bullying, the different forms of bullying, using digital technology responsibility and being safe when online. After the session classes had an informative discussion where students shared their main takeaways.
These included:
Don’t have your devices in your room because they emit a ‘blue light’ which can affect your sleep
Don’t use devices in your room and ask your parent’s permission to use any apps
Don't share your passwords
If someone is being unkind online, leave the conversation and tell an adult
Cyberbullying is one of the most common types of bullying
87% of bystanders don’t do anything
During last week’s Wellbeing session, students discussed the four Zones of Regulation and identified the different emotions and tools for coping for each coloured zone. This led to students creating their own toolbox which outlined the different strategies that could be used if they were to find themselves in any of the four zones. These are displayed in the classroom and will be a great reference point for teachers to discuss with students about the coping strategies they have in place when confronted with a challenge or dilemma.
Guided Inquiry sessions have focused on Ethical Decisions and dilemmas. These have included different role plays where students needed to persuade the decision maker whether they should tell the truth or not. These scenarios and discussions have extended to real-world dilemmas that students could be faced with either at school or at home.
One such dilemma discussed was:
You have been training really hard and you have finally been picked to play in the final. The night before the big game you injure your ankle as you walk down the stairs. You will still be able to play in the game but you won’t be at your best.
Should you tell your coach about your injury and risk not playing in the game?
The Public Speaking program ‘Super Speak’ started today. Each class will have a one hour session within school time with the program focusing on expressive skills, storytelling and impromptu persuasive speaking. The second and third sessions will be on Thursday 5th March and Thursday 12th March respectively. Super Speak is Melbourne’s leading provider of public speaking workshops, courses and incursions for primary & secondary schools. With a focus on fun, their interactive and award winning public speaking workshops aim to develop confidence and skills in oral communication. Super Speak courses are delivered in a fun, positive & non competitive manner, so students will develop a positive attitude towards public speaking.
Student Voice
“I didn’t know that there are a lot of things that a bystander can do to help stop bullying” Juliet 5/6SB
“I learnt that bullying is actually when it’s repeated and happens continuously: Kaiesha 5/6SB
“I learnt that you have to be 15 and have your parents permission to play Fortnight” Eddie 5/6SB
Reminder
Please ensure that the Super Speak permission note is returned to school by this week as the program has already started. The students are required to participate in all three sessions as they will be used to assess Speaking and Listening for Semester One.
Please return the Summer Sports notice by Wednesday March 18th. The Summer Sports will be held at Heatherdale on Thursday 26th March
Pupil of the Week
5/6B: Dheer M -
For displaying a love of learning and self-regulation when completing to detail, all the activities in his diary! Keep up the great work Dheer.
5/6C: Samson G-
For demonstrating a love of learning when finding fractions of a whole. Well done on using perseverance Samson!
5/6SB: Surya B -
For displaying zest and a love of learning when maintaining a detailed reading log in his diary. Keep up the great effort Surya!
5/6W: Michael W -
For demonstrating the character strengths of creativity and perseverance to plan an interesting story using the narrative story graph. Keep up the fantastic work, Michael!