School News

Prep/1 Dandenong Creek Walk

Can you guess what the following have in common – a wheely chair, glass bottles, a bag of dog poo and plastic wrappers? These are all items that the Preps and Grade 1’s found on our walk along Dandenong Creek. On Monday we took the two grades down to the creek as part of our water focus in our sustainability unit for the term. We were there to take some water samples and do a little clean up while looking at the impact of people on the creek. The kids were amazed and disgusted by what we found. They couldn’t believe the mess that people made. The most significant learning that our students made was that the rubbish they drop at home or school can get washed into the drains by the rain, which then flows through creeks, rivers and oceans with potential for great harm. Oscar said, “if we leave rubbish it will wash into the water and make the animals very sick.” Ava said, “we need to keep our creeks safe and don’t put rubbish in the creeks.” 

We were also amazed that our little effort made such a HUGE difference to the area. When we came back the grade 1’s weighed our collection and found out that we picked up 20kg of rubbish! We were super impressed with the way the students went and can’t wait to be part of the whole school clean up of the creek later in the term.

Special Group Photos

Envelopes are available in the school office should you wish to purchase photos of School Captains, School Leaders, Junior School Council or House Captains.

Indonesian 

Selamat Datang Term 3, 2016!

Congratulations to all of the students who entered the VILTA Indonesian Oral Competition- we had over thirty students which is a fantastic effort.

We had six students who made it through as finalists to the Victorian State Finals. Congratulations to the following students:

Grade 1- Dove A

Grade 2- Carla D, Joshua S

Grade 3- Oscar C

Grade 4- Kaela V

Grade 6- Will S

On Friday 15th July, I had the pleasure of attending the State Awards Ceremony at Melbourne University. The following students were awarded as follows:

2nd place/ Level 1- Dove A

3rd place/ Level 1-Carla D, Joshua S

3rd place/Level 3- Will S

It was an amazing effort and the students should be very proud of their results.

The main theme for the whole school this term is housing. The students are learning new vocabulary through games and songs. Students in the middle and upper school are focusing on learning prepositions. Words to practise at home:

Students can test out their knowledge and revise their vocabulary at the Indonesian section of Languages Online at:

Section 35 Rooms and furniture

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/indonesian/indonesian.htm

This week our Grade 5 students will be attending Heathmont College for an Asian Day. The students will participate in different workshops such as batik making, mask making, martial arts and Indonesian dancing. The students will also take part in a skype session with Heathmont College’s sister school in Yogyakarta.

Terima kasih,

(Bu) Mary-Ellen Dowling

Chaplain's Note

Kids Matter - Helping Children Learn Positive Friendship Skills

Friendships are very important for children’s social and emotional wellbeing. Through their friendships children develop social skills. Friendships require give and take. By sharing toys, games, stories, experiences and feelings, children learn that they can have their social needs met. Children enjoy different kinds of activities at different ages.

The list below indicates the ways primary school children tend to describe close friends and the kinds of skills that support positive friendships as children develop and grow.

Children tend to choose friends who have similar interests and enjoy similar activities. Friends cooperate and communicate more with each other than with other children. They may also have conflicts more often, but usually manage to settle them without upsetting their friendship. As children’s interests and developmental needs change, their friendship patterns may also change. It is common for children to form small friendship groups based around similar interests, establishing their own rules about who can join them. Setting rules and learning to negotiate them is important for learning cooperative friendship skills and helping children develop their understanding of social relationships.

Additional resources are available for parents and carers on the KidsMatter website at www.kidsmatter.edu.au.

Dorothy Dullege

School Chaplain

Star Weaving in the Art Room

Students in Grade 3-6 have been busy weaving colourful stars out of magazines, catalogues and brochures. Not only are they creating amazing art from recycled materials, but they are also contributing to a wonderful global project called ‘One Million Stars’.

The project aims to bring people together to weave stars as an expression of support for peace and positive relationships. Stars have been chosen as a symbol of hope and light.

Maroondah City Council has committed to be part of the project and aims to contribute 10,000 stars. Our stars will form part of an exhibition at Realm, Eastland, in November. These stars will then be sent to Brisbane in early 2017 to be part of a giant installation on display as part of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Arts and Cultural Program!

All students, parents and friends of Marlborough are invited to weave stars to be part of this project. The Grade 3-6 classes have been weaving stars during Art lessons and have also been weaving stars at home and during lunchtimes. For more information (and a video and instructions on how to weave the stars) please see the following website:-

http://www.maroondah.vic.gov.au/1millionstars.aspx

I will be collecting all our stars and delivering them to Wyreena Community Centre by the end of August. You can drop off any stars you’ve made to the Art Room or to the office and I will add them to our delivery. Please come and see me if you have any questions or need help with weaving instructions. Happy Weaving!

Jenelle Seregin