Junior Programs
Book in a Day Workshop
On 21 July Ms Rachel Towns took Aliah Rigo, Quratullane Ali, Laura El Bazi, Tien Nguyen, Emma Dawnson, and Kiannah Haggett to the SIS Book in a Day Workshop. The students undertook training sessions focussing on a variety of skills including illustration, plot development, exploring conflict and resolution, using sensory detail and working collaboratively. It was an engaging experience that will help the students to prepare for their next session when they will produce a storybook with illustrations.
"I really enjoyed the interesting and helpful workshops. The guest speaker really emphasised the structure of a short story." Quratullane Ali.
Book Week
Monday 8 to Friday 12 August is Book Week. There are several exciting activities occurring during the week, including, on Thursday, dressing as your favourite character from a book. We encourage all students to participate. Details of Book Week activities will be posted on SEQTA. Thank you to Ms Dawn Heldt for her incredible organisation of all the upcoming activities. Thank you also to teachers who are running, participating in and supervising activities.
Teaching and Learning Focus: Year 8 STEP – What is it like to live near an active volcano?
Year 8 STEP students recently practiced their reading strategies while studying volcanic eruptions in Japan. Students responded to a photo of Japan’s erupting Sakurajima volcano and used a variety of research and comprehension skills to find answers to their own questions about Sakurajima. They explored questions about why people would choose to live near an active volcano. Here are some student responses:
"Over 125 million people live in Japan. All the country is volcanic, so they have learned to adapt. They don’t have any other choice." Alexis Jackson.
"The volcanic soils are extremely fertile. Farming is better near volcanoes." Shannyn Deacon.
"The Japanese people have early warning systems and the most advanced building and infrastructure in the world." Jack Fisher.
"Children have to wear helmets to and from school to protect them from volcanic rocks." Teshan Vithanage.
By asking and answering their own questions, students were engaged and learned from each other. By using student responses to focus on vocabulary, students successfully expanded their vocabulary while learning about geography and international perspectives.
SIS Teen Chef 2022
A very big congratulations to our SIS Teen Chef team for 2022 - Jayme Gardner, Kiara Lay, Eliza Mapili and Quaratullane Ali for being awarded a silver medal by the Australian Culinary Federation judges at the competition today. These students along with our emergency team members Laura El Bazi and Tien Nguyen have shown amazing dedication and commitment to the team and the preparation for the event over the last two months with many hours of practice put in.
