Specialists

Science

Ms Kini and Ms Nguyen

It has been amazing to see students so curious about Chemical Sciences! 

Foundation - Year 1: This month, students learnt that people use their sense of sight to gather information about an object. For example, ‘the wall is white,’ or ‘the bin is red.’ Students worked together to group different objects based on their colour. 

Students will begin to explore their senses of sight and touch to gather information about how different objects feel. For example, ‘the floor looks hard and feels cold.’

Year 2: This month students learnt to name and discover where different materials like glass, paper, plastic, rubber and metals come from. Students worked together to group various materials as natural or man-made to appreciate objects they use everyday. Students also used their senses of sight and touch to name various textures like spikey, fluffy and woven. 

In the next few weeks, students will explore why certain objects are made from a specific material.

Year 3: This month the students have been learning about the properties of solids and liquids. The students have been exploring the textures of a solid and employing their senses of touch and sight to make conclusions about how an object feels like. 

In the upcoming sessions, students will explore the properties of liquids and how the presence or absence of heat influences the states of matter. 

Year 4: This month the students have been learning about materials that are natural and man-made. We have explored various materials that are sourced from plants, animals and the Earth which are categorised under natural materials. 

In the upcoming weeks we will discover materials that are man-made. We will also be exploring why a particular material is used for a purpose. For example: glass for windows or wood for tables etc.

Year 5/ 6: This month the students have been exploring the various textures and observable properties of solids and liquids. Students have been learning how humans use their 5 senses to collect information about the objects and materials around them. 

In the upcoming weeks we will be discussing properties of gases, the effects of mixing two solids or liquids together and investigating the results.

Visual Arts

Ms O'Dowd and Ms Nguyen

This term, all students will be exploring paint through a variety of activities and projects. To protect our beautiful school uniforms, we kindly ask that all students’ bring an art smock to school. Art smocks can be purchased online and instore from a variety of stores including K-Mart, Big W and Target. Alternatively, an old long sleeved shirt/top that completely covers the uniform can be used as an art smock. We kindly request that all art smocks are clearly labelled with your child’s first and last name. 

Year Level-Artist Focus: 

Foundation: George Seurat- Pointillism and the colour wheel

Year 1 and 2: Matisse- Post Impressionism and Collage

Year 3 and 4: Frida Kahlo- Surrealism and Self Portraits

Year 5 and 6: Giacometti- History and Sculpture

During this week’s assembly, some students will be displaying their artwork created during Term 2. We invite you to come and celebrate our students' wonderful work!

I am so excited to see our students’ art works come to life!

Innovation and Design

Ms Bennett, Ms Huntly and Ms Kirk

Students have hit the ground running from day one with their learning in Innovation and Design this term! The focus across all year levels has been on defining input and output, identifying the purpose of hardware and software and explaining how they communicate with each other. A gallery of different hardware components and devices was available for classes to explore, handle and discuss during week 2 lessons that included computer motherboards, memory cards, different game controllers and an array of older phones.

Foundation students this term are currently exploring their sequencing skills, developing their oral language use with vocabulary such as first, second, next and then. Year 1 students continue to strengthen their knowledge of hardware purpose and Year 2 students are beginning to explore how input into hardware controls software provides a desired result. Students in Year 3 are exploring computer code through the programming language ‘Blockly’ and following sequences of steps to input sequences. 

As the term continues, Years 4, 5 and 6 students will be utilising Google Drive in class in order to complete term projects using Google Slides and Google Sites. They will be exploring how this software can be used to collaborate and design a program or system to meet a purpose. 

We are looking forward to another exciting term exploring the Digital Technologies curriculum with our students.

Physical Education

Mr Crane and Mr Jones

Foundation

The Foundation students have just started their unit of Kicking. Kicking is a Fundamental Motor Skill and is crucial in their skill development. Our unit will be focusing on the game of soccer and we will be looking at passing, shooting and Accuracy. The foundation students will learn the process of the kick and which part of their foot to use. 

We have just finished our unit on the Fundamental Motor Skill of Run. Students loved playing a range of games inspired to get them moving and running. We focused on the technique and broke it into 3 basic steps for students to follow. We encourage that parents continue to revise the following steps with their children - Eyes Forward , Robot Arms and Big Steps. 

The students have made a tremendous effort and enjoyed learning about Running. 

Year 1&2 

Over the next 3 weeks, the Year 1 students will be learning about the Leap and Dodge. These skills are both important in physical development and are one of the few Fundamental Motor Skills. During this unit of learning, our focus will be on teaching students simple techniques on how to perform the skill. Once students have established the base skill we will look at extending it to more complex movements. We will be playing lots of games that include Dodging, Leaping and Running. 

The Year 1 students are excited to learn these new skills.  

The Year 2 students have just started learning about the Punt. This is a Fundamental Motor Skill and is important in the development of skills students will need to participate in sports. The most popular sport in Australia, that primarily uses the Punt, is Australian Football League, also known as AFL or Footy. 

In this unit we will be focusing on the technique/steps and where the skill is used. 

Our students have found this new skill challenging and we can not wait to help them develop this skill and improve. 

The Year 1&2 students have just finished learning about Running, which is another Fundamental Motor Skill. While learning about Running, we looked at where it is used and the importance of mastering it. The Year 1’s learnt the following 3 steps - Eyes Forward, Robot Arms and Big Steps. Following these steps has helped them improve their technique and we encourage families to continue to practise these skills outside of school. 

Years 3-6

This term, the Year 3-6 students are learning the same skills. These skills will be varied in difficulty depending on age and skill level. 

Our focus for the term is Athletics. In this unit we will be focusing on the following sports/skills -  Sprinting, Discus, Shot Put, Triple Jump and Long Jump.

So far this term, we have focused on Sprinting as it is a skill students will need throughout their lives for a majority of reasons. We have looked at the correct technique and important steps that will allow students to run as fast as possible. These steps include, upper body rotation, strides that power from our toes and leaning forwards to improve inertia. We have blended them together to improve their technique. Students are looking forward to putting what they have learnt into practice at the Gilgai Plains Athletics Carnival on the 16th of June. 

It would be great for families to encourage their children to practise these skills outside of school as it will help them in the lead up to athletics day.