News from Year Four and Five 

GOOD-BYE Mrs. Spencer-

Last Friday we said a sad farewell to Mrs Spencer. The kids had a lovely celebration as a whole school in the morning and then our class had a private gift-giving and send-off for her. For some fun, we did some smarty / M&M maths. We finished the day saying a final blue farewell and had a final sharing circle and told Mrs Spencer what we wish for her in her new adventures. Thank you to all the children who made nice cards and wished Mrs. Spencer some lovely well wishes. We will miss you! 

Open the Doors Walk-A-Thon

Over the last week, the whole school was involved in a walk-a-thon to raise money for young indigenous children for an organization called Open The Doors.  All the kids during their Huff and Puff time walked or ran laps around the school. Here are some pictures of some happy and relieved finishers. As an added bonus we all got that much fitter. Thank you to everyone who participated and to all the families who dug deep into their pockets to donate. 

Hands-on mathematics

Over the last few weeks, we have been learning about multiplication and have just started learning division. To assist the children in learning some of these more abstract concepts we decided to make maths a bit more fun and hands-on by adding a sweet and sunny element. 

Last week the students used M&M's to make arrays and then used these to multiplication operations. This week the children learned that multiplication facts are related to division facts and then went outside into the sun and used items from nature to make both multiplication sums and their related division sums. Below are some snapshots of what the children discovered. 

This week the children learned that multiplication facts are related to division facts and then went outside into the sun and used items from nature to make both multiplication sums and their related division sums.

Incursions and excursions: 

Grade 3 / 4 Hoop time and in-school friendship workshop

Last Tuesday many of the grade 4's were given the opportunity to play basketball for St Joseph's in the Hoop time competition.  All the children displayed fantastic behavior and had a great day up at the Yarra Centre playing in their prospective teams. 

This Tuesday the grade 4's were involved in a friendship workshop that was run by the Kids helpline which was full of learning and fun. Our children all learned about the importance of friendship through games and discussion groups. They discussed what healthy friendships looked, sounded and felt like and shared these in small groups. Then they learned about ways to have a win, win outcome if they had a moment where they disagreed with a friend. 

MLMC Wizard of Oz Play and Lake Mountain Ski Trip

Last Thursday on the 3rd of August the grade fives were invited to attend the Mount Lilydale Mercy College Play - The Wizard of Oz.  All the students had a great day out at the college and enjoyed the musical. 

This Tuesday the 8th of August grade five's who were lucky enough to go had a wonderful day out on the slopes of Lake Mountain. They were blessed with wonderful weather and a fantatsic day was had by all. Here are some photos of the day.