KLA News
This fortnight we hear from the CAPA, English, PDHPE, Science and TAS areas.
CAPA
Miss Melita Roach
Eisteddfod Results
This term our O’Connor musicians have had a busy term with the Eisteddfod. Congratulations to all who were involved.
Individual Entrants
Maxwell Buckland
1st- Piano Solo 18 Years & Under
1st- New England Piano Age Championship 16-18 Years
1st -Piano Solo, French Open
1st -Piano Solo, Baroque AMEB Grade 7 & Above
1st- New England Championship
1st- Music Solos - Brass Solo 18 Years & Under
1st- Music Solos - Brass Solo, any piece from AMEB Lists C or D AMEB Grade 6 Standard & Above
2nd Music & Vocal Championships - New England Woodwind Brass Age Championship 13-15 Years
Marissa Suluma
1st Vocal Solo, Musical Theatre, Disney film, Television, Operetta 12 Years & Under
3rd Vocal Solo, Jazz Song 16 Years & Under
1st Vocal Solo, Popular Song 12 Years & Under
Giles Buckland
2nd Piano Solo 13 Years & Under
Cello/Double Bass Solo, Baroque or Classical AMEB Grade 5-6 or Equivalent
Olivia Fenton
1st -Violin or Viola Solo, Romantic AMEB Grades 5-6 or Equivalent
Jade Foster
Cello/Double Bass Solo, 20th/21st Century AMEB Grade 5-6 or Equivalent
Music Solos - Cello or Double Bass Solo, AMEB Grades 5-6 or Equivalent
Laura Ligard
2nd-Music Solos - Reed Solo 12 Years & Under
2nd Music Solos - Wind Solo AMEB Grade 5 Standard & Under
3rd Piano Solo, Restricted 11-12 Years
Corin Cowley
3rd- Music Solos - Wind Solo AMEB Grade 5 Standard & Under
HC- Reed Solo 15 Years & Under
Sam Russell
Violin or Viola Solo, 20th/21st Century AMEB Grades 7-8 or Equivalent
Violin or Viola Solo, Baroque or Classical AMEB Grade 7+or equivalent
School Ensembles
Choirs, Vocal Ensemble Open
3rd - yr 10 Vocal Ensemble
Music Groups - Class Ensemble Years 11-12
2nd - Yr 11 Music
Music Groups - Folk or Popular Ensemble Open
1st -Yr 10 Jazz Band
3rd-Yr 9 Music group A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1w-KNdNPPw
HC- Yr 9 Music group B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNreiyJHS8Y
HC- Yr 9 Music group C https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWGlWoxeaTY
Folk or Popular Ensemble Years 8 & Under
1st - Year 8 Band
Jazz Ensemble Open
3rd- Yr 10 Jazz Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd4x3wk_yQ8
School of Rock
Congratulations to all staff, students and affiliates who were involved in the recent College proucation School of Rock. It was a great culmination of the many rehearsals and time dedicated to producing a production of this calibre.
Photographer Mike Terry captured some of the moments in the musical which can be viewed below.
English
As Term 2 draws to a close, this has been an opportunity for our students to focus on their creative and analytical skills. With all classes creating engaging texts that use the knowledge that they have developed over the last ten weeks. It has been great to see the Year 7 picture books that explore the ideas of belonging and identity, the Year 8 film trailers that consider how they can use Shakespearean storylines in a modern context, the Year 9 analysis of the Shakespearean plays Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth and the Year 10 dramatic scripts about experiencing life in Australia.
Next term we have some great opportunities to engage with writing and reading. Particularly the formation of the Year 7-9 and Year 10-12 book clubs that will meet at lunchtimes during the term to discuss the great texts that we are reading.
PDHPE
Ms Camilla Clydsdale
As this term draws to a close, each of our classes are wrapping up their units of study. This week's feature class is Year 9 Sport Science, which is an elective that can be studied in both Year 9 and Year 10.
This Term both Year 9 Sport Science classes have been studying a Coaching unit with Mrs Magann and Miss Clydsdale. As part of their studies they have been completing online coaching modules through The Australian Institute of Sport to gain a community coaching certification, feel free to join our learning at: https://www.sportaus.gov.au/coaching/course
They have also been busy selecting, planning and practising coaching sessions for a variety of sports to deliver to junior students. As part of this process Yr 9 practised coaching some of our Year 7 students at the College. In the video below you can see each group has set up a station, ready to coach Yr 7 groups, this happened earlier in the term.
TO YOUR STATIONS: Each station was operated by Year 9 students practicing their coaching skills.
During Week 9, both classes visited Ben Venue Public School to coach stage 2 students. The students were responsible for ensuring they had all the equipment needed for their coaching session, that their session was going to be inclusive, engaging and aimed to enhance a particular skill from a sport of their choice. All students should be proud of themselves and congratulated on how they ran their coaching sessions. There are definitely some future coaches in the making at O’Connor. A big thank you to Mrs Magann, Miss Clydsdale, Mr Russell and Mr Griffin for assisting in the lead up to the excursion, preparing our coaches and for a smooth running excursion on the day. Thank you to Ben Venue Public School for allowing us to visit your beautiful school. We hope this community partnership can continue into the future.
Our Year 10 students have begun the process for subject selection as we move closer to the beginning of their Year 11 studies. In our PDHPE classes this term Year 10’s have begun conversations with their teachers around subject selection and we have been exploring the elective subjects offered by the PDHPE Department for both Year 11 and 12 (Stage 6) studies. For more information around subject selection in PDHPE please explore our Google Site below.
If you have any further questions please feel free to contact your child’s PDHPE Teacher or myself as Leader of Learning.
Best of luck with your subject selection.
Camilla Clydsdale
Leader of Learning PDHPE
Science
Mrs Lilly Moar / Mr Daniel Fittler
As this term draws to a close students are wrapping up their learning about their term 2 topics. There are still lots of exciting experiments that students are doing to deepen their understanding of the world around them.
In Year 10 students have been learning about “laws” this has linked to Newton’s laws of motion and finishes with wave behaviour. This includes the types of waves that we can interact with, sound waves, electromagnetic waves and how waves are used for communication. Here are some pictures of colour mixing from Mr Powers and his students.
LIGHTS, ACTION: Mr Powers' Year 10 Science class gained an insight into light last week through his interactive lesson.
In TV screens and stage lighting for a musical production red, green and blue lights are used to produce varying effects. Red and green lights together will produce a yellow light. Red and blue lights together will produce magenta (a purple colour). And blue and green together will produce cyan.
In Years 8 and 9, students are learning about matter and linking this to chemical reactions. The start of this term began with an understanding of the atomic model, finding out what protons, neutrons and electrons and do inside the atom. This has provided students with the foundation that they need to tackle the more complex idea of chemical bonding.
Year 7 have been learning about forces. At the beginning of the term, this involved contact forces like friction, air resistance and buoyancy. Later on in the term, students were learning about non contact forces like magnetism, gravity and electrostatics. At the end of this term, students are putting together what they have learned in an egg drop challenge. In this activity students will make a plasticine passenger and construct a craft that can carry the passenger from the top floor of the La Salle building to the bottom floor. Students will score more points for their creation if their passengers are ‘less deformed’ after the journey.
WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN: O'Connor science students working doing their best work to defy gravity.
TAS
Textiles and Design
Mrs Vicki Channon
Year 8 Technology
The next rotation has begun and 8TCT3 have been busy learning how to use the sewing machine safely in preparation for the construction of their cushion cover, which they are designing.
Year 9 Textiles
We have been learning the art of knitting, which is making a comeback due to COVID and isolation. It is a great way to relax and develop some mindfulness (once you have mastered the skill).
Macrame was the next challenge chosen by the students. We have been using our Maths skills to calculate how much yarn was needed for the project, a great cross curricular task:)
TANGLE FREE: The tricky art of macrame being tackled by Year 9 Textiles
Year 11 Textiles
Year 11 Textiles completed their first assessment task recently, which involved designing and constructing a wall hanging using textile art techniques and basing it on a self portrait. This included laser cutting flower shapes out of fabric, beading, free motion machine embroidery, fabric sculpture, use of solvy and soluweb - some pretty cool products.
