Term 2 Specialist Update

Welcome to Term 2 and another busy term for the Specialist team! 

MUSIC - Mrs Lisa Scott (PLT Leader)

 In Music this term students will continue their musical adventures, focusing on the following topics:

 Prep - Students will continue to develop their musical skills through the topics of ‘The Jungle’ and ‘The Sea’.  They will learn songs, dances and experience playing a variety of percussion instruments.

Year 1 – Students will explore creating body percussion and will learn techniques for playing a range of percussion instruments.  They will also experience music and dance from different countries and cultures.

Year 2 – Students will be creating and performing soundscapes and will develop their improvisation skills. They will also experience music and dance from different countries and cultures.

Year 3 - Students will be challenged to develop their singing skills by learning and performing a variety of rounds and canons. They will also compose their own music using the pentatonic scale on xylophones, glockenspiels and tone blocks.

Year 4 - Students will be learning techniques to play in a drum circle and will also use a range of ‘Orff’ instruments (Marimba/xylophone/glockenspiel) to play music in unison and parts.

Year 5 – Students will experience playing the guitar and bass guitar and will learn to play chords and riffs to accompany a variety of songs in whole class music making.  They will also learn about the history of rap and hip-hop and write and perform a piece of rap music.

 Year 6 - Students will experience playing the bass guitar and further develop their instrumental skills in playing an instrument of their choice (guitar/bass guitar/keyboard/ukulele/drums/marimba).   

PEFORMING ARTS - Mrs Carmen Collins

Welcome to term 2!  We are super excited to consolidate our acting and dramatic skills throughout this term. 

Week 1, all year levels have been watching and discussing drama and performances from all around the world and senior students have been using venn diagrams to compare on contrast these performances with each other. 

Prep students are focusing on learning and then performing well known nursery rhymes and looking at drama through literacy. 

Year 1 students are discovering how to use our dramatic skills to perform improvisations and using our bodies for mime and movement. 

Year 2 students are learning and performing actions to well-known fairy tales and the characters in them and learning to improvise in drama. 

Year 3students are beginning the term learning and performing a reader's theatre play with a group and then looking at literacy through drama.  We will finish the term with a Circus skills incursion - more details to follow! 

Year 4students are beginning the term learning and performing a reader's theatre play with a group and then looking at puppetry and masks used in performances.  We will finish the term with a Circus skills incursion - more details to follow! 

Year 5 students will begin the term writing a script, then practising and performing it to the class. They will then investigate mime and movement in drama.  We will finish the term discovering our individual talents! 

Year 6students will begin the term writing a script, then practising and performing it to the class and then study digital drama in our lives.  We will finish the term with a talent showcase for our classes. 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION - Mr Ahmad Chazbek & Mr Jeff McGann

Term 2 is another busy term with a number of sporting events for our students to experience.

 For the Year 4 to 6 students that were successful in making the Hillsmeade Cross-country team, they will have the opportunity to represent the school at the District Cross-country event in week two.  The Divisional and Regional Cross Country events will also be held this term. 

The school's interschool  soccer, T-Ball, badminton, cricket and netball teams will play a further two games this term against Tulliallan Primary School and Lyndhurst Primary School.  These teams have been working hard in preparation for the Lightening Premiership event which will be held in week 5 of the term. 

The senior Athletics Carnival will be held in the last week of this term for students in Years 4 to 6.  These students will have the opportunity to put into practice the skills that they learnt in their PE lessons during term 1 at the professional athletics track at Casey Fields.  The Athletics Carnival will be run a little differently this year as the students will be competing in a range of fun activities alongside the official athletic events.  

The focus for the physical education lessons this term will be ball sports. 

 The Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students will explore the skills used in basketball and soccer.  The Years 3 to 6 students will complete units of work on basketball, soccer and netball.  These students will complete lessons that focus on the specific skills involved in each of these sports before participating in competitive games. 

MANDARIN -  Miss Wei Wang

Having had a solid Term 1, we are very proud to hear, more often, our students across all year levels use Mandarin outside the Mandarin class - from varying their greeting words based on the time of a day to singing some children’s rhymes at home.  Feedback from parents, and also grandparents, keeps coming back and reminding me how much our language program is being valued and supported in our school community. 

In Term 2, we will continue to build up our speaking skills, expand our vocabulary, learn about Chinese characters and explore some cultural aspects.  Different year levels will engage in a specific unit of work - 

Prep students will learn to say basic colours and will be officially introduced to the Chinese writing system.  They will learn to use a writing grid to practice handwriting Mandarin numbers in both characters and Pinyin (the Romanised pronunciation).  

Year 1 students will learn to say basic family words.  They will learn to express preferences to describe their likes and dislikes in colours, and to substitute the subject ‘wo’ (I) with other nouns, such as family words and pets.  

Year 2 students will extend their vocabulary of colours and learn to say basic family words and some common pronouns.  They will learn to express preferences to describe their likes and dislikes in colours, and to substitute the subject ‘wo’ (I) with other nouns and pronouns.  

Year 3 students will focus on a group of fruit names.  They will learn to ask simple yes/no questions and provide answers using scripted mini dialogues.  Students will be introduced to the Mandarin Pinyin alphabet and have a close look at the initial sounds (consonants).  

Year 4 students will explore some famous museums around the world from such aspects as locations (countries-cities), years of history and architectural styles.  This learning experience will provide students with contextual knowledge for our excursion to the Chinese Museum in city.  

Year 5 students will focus on sports and hobbies.  They will learn to say a selection of common verbs and apply them to exchanging information about activities they do.  Students will revise days of the week and create a weekly planner of extra-curricular activities.  

Year 6 students will extend their vocabulary of food.  They will learn to give simple reasons when expressing preferences in food.  Students will apply this knowledge when giving a mini speech about themselves and practicing mini dialogues to exchange information with their peers.  Students will continue to examine character structures and components in enrichment activities. 

DIGITECH & MEDIA ARTS - MR HARDEV SINGH

In Term 2, students will consolidate what they learned the last term and support new learning in Digitech and Media Arts. 

Prep, Year 1 and Year 2, students will revise the correct terms to name ICT equipment and practise using a mouse, keyboard, and touch screen to manipulate commands on the screen.  Pupils will use QR codes to open and use resources for their teaching and learning.  Students will be shown how to take photos using an iPad and be creative with long and close-up shots, action images and capturing our outdoor environment.  These images will be employed to create collages of their photography.  Students will be encouraged to practise these skills at home with regular updates to class teachers and parents/carers. 

Year 3 students will complete a design of their superhero/villain characters.  They will use their character to develop a short comic story using Comic Captions.  They will also learn to create a character by using drawing tools.  They will learn techniques for tracing, using colour and drawing freehand from online experts and sharing ideas. 

Year 4 students will have an opportunity to complete their animated films.  It will give students the chance to show their skills at teamwork, building on a storyline and making it come alive with animation.  Year 4s will also learn to show their creative drawing skills using Sketchbook.  They will learn techniques for tracing, using colour and drawing freehand from online experts and sharing ideas. 

For Media Arts.

Year 5 students will learn the skills of animation.  They will then research, plan and create a short, animated film to share with others.  The school will offer students an opportunity to build digital intelligence.  The eSmart Digital Licence+ provides students with an exciting, gamified learning experience to explore an interactive story world.  Users will engage with learning materials, relatable scenarios, and guided reflections of their own experiences with technology.  Students earn the badges they need to receive their Digital Licence+ by completing each milestone. 

For Media Arts. 

Year 6 students will be exposed to Podcasts.  They will hear how this form of communication is prevalent in covering various topics.   Students working in teams will be encouraged to build their style and brand and build a follow over the term.  The school will offer students an opportunity to build digital intelligence.  The eSmart Digital Licence+ provides students with an exciting, gamified learning experience to explore an interactive story world.  Users will engage with learning materials, relatable scenarios, and guided reflections of their own experiences with technology.  Students earn the badges they need to receive their Digital Licence+ by completing each milestone.