Curriculum Matters
Tournament of Minds
On 26 August, four teams comprised of seven students from Grades 5 and 6 each, competed in the Tournament of the Minds at Mount Lilydale Mercy College in Lilydale. Tournament of the Minds is a program that pits groups of kids from all over the country against each other, competing in challenges that stretch their mental skills and creativity, test their performance chops and help them develop their ability to work effectively in teams. Each group is given a challenge and work on this for six weeks in order to present it to a panel of judges on the day as a play, showing that they have a good understanding of the concepts they have explored. Alongside these long-term projects, they also take part in a spontaneous challenge on the day which forces them to show that they can think on their feet.
The four Jells Park PS teams did exceptionally well, producing creative performances that covered topics such as Literature, Engineering and Maths and Social Sciences. One team in particular, The Laika Lottery (Team 3 – Mathematics/Engineering) received honours, meaning they came within the top 15% of teams. Well done to all the kids, families and teachers, who worked hard on these projects and came down on the day.
Maths Talent Quest
This week we received the results for the State Maths Talent Quest Competition. This year the Maths Association of Victoria had a record number of entries with roughly 680 projects received across Foundation to Year 10. Miss Newton and Mrs Kennedy attended the judging and as always the standard of projects were very good. Students are marked out of 60 on the new judging rubric and most projects are judged three times. We would like to congratulate all students who worked extremely hard to put together their projects!
The students will be told today of their results. Overall the school entered 25 projects and received 1 Participation, 11 Credits, 4 Distinctions and 9 High Distinctions. Three of the High Distinctions were judged to be of exceptional standard and will be sent through to the National Maths Talent Quest Competition for judging during the school holidays. These were Max H from Year 6 with his project ‘Max’s Recipe Cards’, Mr. Noordhoff’s Maths Group with their project ‘JPPS, we have lift off!’ and Miss Lakeman’s Maths Group with their project ‘Space Rockets’.
Students who received a distinction or high distinction will be invited to the Award Ceremony to be held at La Trobe University (Bundoora) on Thursday 19 October from 10am until roughly 12:00pm. Parents will need to organise students to be transported to and from the venue on the day. We will provide more details on this before the end of term.
Mr. Noordhoff and Miss Newton
The Results:
Foundation Miss Newton’s Maths Group The Doorbell Rang Distinction
Foundation Mrs Friebel’s Maths Group The Doorbell Rang Credit
Year 2 Sienna H, Jakara B Aquarium Credit
Year 2 Mr. Coughlan’s Maths Group Up, Up and Away Credit
Year 2 Mrs. Kennedy’s Maths Group The Block: Playground Distinction
Year 2 Sofia K Planes Participation
Year 2 Mrs Willey/Mrs Dring’s Maths Group Lego Class Project Distinction
Edition
Year 3 Zoe H Plane Detective High Distinction
Year 3 Mr. Noordhoff’s Maths Group JPPS, We have lift off! High Distinction
Year 4 Archer J Archer’s Target High Distinction
Year 4 Te’a S Sugar Content Credit
Year 4 Zahli C, Evie C, Rockets Credit
Anastasia S, Gabriella M
Year 4 Miss Lakeman’s Maths Group Space Rockets High Distinction
Year 5 Miss McLeod’s Maths Group Cupcake Calculation Distinction
Year 5 Mr. Small’s Maths Group The Dog 8 it Credit
Year 5 Lily C-F, Jess G Endangered Animals Credit
Year 5 Josh A, Josh W, Travis T JJT Ginger Boys High Distinction
Year 6 Larissa M Planning a Holiday Credit
Year 6 Yath K NBA Credit
Year 6 Josh C Footy Formulas High Distinction
Year 6 Patrick W AFL by Numbers High Distinction
Year 6 Max H Max’s Recipe Cards High Distinction
Year 6 Jack C Rubik’s Cube Maths High Distinction
Year 6 Hanson Y Australia’s Geography Credit
Year 6 Jack C, Harry L, Luke F The Altarian Invasion Credit
Healthy Body Incursion-Level 5 &6
Tuesday 12 September
Following an intensive term discovering a range of details about the amazing human body, the Level 5 and 6 students attended a boot camp and healthy nutrition session.
The Emma’s boot camp was a rigorous hour of cardio and strength building activities that demonstrated the variety of muscles in the human body, their jobs and the importance of keeping the body active.
During the hour long nutrition session, Kristen explained the value of eating a healthy balance of nutritious food ensuring a good supply of fuel for active and growing bodies. She highlighted the importance of food labelling and eating breakfast.
The students enjoyed both sessions but agreed that the boot camp was hard work.
“I thought my legs were going to break.” (Filip 6Z)
“I enjoyed the fitness and learning which muscles were being used in each exercise.” (Emma 5S)
“Tiring beyond compare!” (Sasha 6J)
“Boot camp was challenging but fun and I really enjoyed it.” (Josh W 5M)
“Boot camp was quite hard but good for fitness.” (Josh A 5M)
“I learnt about the nutritious parts of food.” (Kyle 6Z)
“I thought it was great that Kristen showed how certain foods affect our bodies.” (Jaxon 5S)
“I learnt a lot about how much fruit and veg to eat every day to keep our bodies healthy.” (Aria 5M)
KidzCars Incursion- Foundation
On Wednesday 20 September, Cameron from KidzCars brought some motorised cars to school for the Foundation students to drive. Even though Mum and Dad have at least 20 things to remember when driving, the kids only had 2 things to remember; Use one foot to brake and accellerate, and keep our thumbs on top of the wheel. It was great fun driving around the track. When the students weren’t driving the cars they had to be pedestrians. They learnt when it was safe to cross the road at a zebra crossing and to always look at the cars when crossing.
Cooper P (FF) – ‘I liked when we drove the cars. It was hard to make sure you didn’t crash!’
Angie DB (FM) – ‘I liked it that you could go fast if there was no one in front of you.’
Rachael W (FN) – ‘I liked driving the car. It was easy to steer but hard to remember to keep your thumbs on top of the wheel.’
Noah D (FJ) – ‘I liked driving the cars too. It was easy to put one foot on both of the peddles.’