Learning Across the
Junior School

Book Week Activities - Week 5

The theme for this year’s CBCA Book Week is “Read, Grow, Inspire”, celebrating the role that literature has in growing empathy, sparking curiosity and encouraging us to look beyond ourselves to the world around us.

This year we will be having two visiting authors, celebrated local author Katrina Germein, shortlisted in this year’s Early Childhood category for “Bev and Kev” and renowned interstate author Chrissie Perry, best known for her work on the “Go Girl” series.

Our Book Week Assembly and dress-up day for the Junior School will be Thursday of Week 5, with lunchtimes activities happening each day for our students. The winners of both our Junior School and Senior School short story writing competitions will also be announced during this time.

Ms Julie Staley

Information Resources Coordinator R-12

Year 3 and The Matildas

Year 3 have been reflecting on the disappointment of the Matildas loss on Wednesday night.

They talked about their big feelings, and how sad and disappointed they felt. We agreed it is normal to feel that way when something doesn’t go the way you would like it to.

In sport there are always winners and losers - it's a part of the game. The girls understand that even the best teams experience losses.

We spent time focusing on the effort and hard work the team put into their preparation and games. The girls have an appreciation of the dedication and teamwork involved to perform at such a high level. They were able to draw parallels in their own lives.

The girls had many positive memories of the game, including impressive plays (especially THAT goal by Sam Kerr), unbelievable skills, good sportsmanship, and lots of exciting moments. They also agreed that is was wonderful that girls and woman’s sport is developing a strong profile.

Lots of them talked about resilience. They understand that setbacks are opportunities to learn and grow. They shared stories from their own lives of setback and how they came back stronger.

They discussed that in sport you have to be realistic. Not every game can be won, and losses are a natural part of any competition. We talked about enjoying the process rather than just the outcome.

Finally, the girls agreed that supporting a team means being a fan through wins and losses. They are going to continue cheering for the Matildas in their future games.

Ms Hattie Ziesing

Year 3 Teacher

Art and SEAD

This term we welcomed the arrival of some new students in year 4. Over this week we integrated Art and SEAD to explore our peers' interests and characteristics, to get to know each other better. The students read the book "My Map Book" By Sara Fanelli, through the media of Art the students took inspiration and created a map of their own heart. Each section of their heart is filled with something that has great meaning to them. Enjoy the hearts of Year 4Blue.

Ms Xzenia Dottore

Year 4 teacher

Year 1 Excursion to the Tea Tree Gully Heritage Museum

Last week our excited Year One Students, along with their teachers and wonderful parent helpers embarked on an excursion to the Tea Tree Gully Heritage Museum. As part of our Inquiry, we have been learning about the past and how this helps us to understand the present and imagine the future. There was a buzz of excitement as students engaged in three rotational experiences; where they were transported back in time. These included learning about washing practices, enjoying old games and toys, and even attending school! The girls were fascinated by how much has changed in our lives. For example, a long time ago there was no electricity which made everyday responsibilities tricky; there was no such things as a washing machine, it all had to be done by hand. While the students relished the opportunity to experiment using the washing boards, handmade soaps, machinery and old irons, they all agreed it was much easier to do laundry in the present.

It was fantastic to discover that many of the old games and toys are still those which we love and enjoy today; such as skipping and dominos, although the ‘hookey’ game and quoits were a real treat.. despite being quite the challenge!

A clear favourite for all students however, had to be attending the old school. There was excited chatter and smiles as students were informed they had to enter school while marching to the beat of the drum, and before any formal learning occurred, the teacher would inspect each students hands to check they were clean. This led to rich dialogue about how children had many important chores that needed to be done before school began; such as tending to their animals. While students did discover many similarities between their own schooling experience and the past; there are many learning areas which we still encounter today. The cursive handwriting, for example, was incredibly different, but all students welcomed this challenge with a positive growth mindset.