Primary News

Maths Competition

Earlier this week we took a group of 10 students from Years 5 and 6 to All Hallows for a Maths Competition. In teams of 5, the girls had to work collaboratively to respond to a range of challenging problems in a short time-frame. We were proud of the way in which our girls worked together and tackled each of the problems. They supported and encouraged each other with true Clayfield Spirit.

Year 3 Excursion Ngutana-Lui Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learning Centre

Year 3 students took a journey to the Ngutana-Lui Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learning Centre last week. Ngutana-Lui means ‘to learn’ and we had a very full day of learning how traditional First Nation stories are told through art, music and dance. We also found out about using bush food for food, trading and making tools and decoration. Exploring the tools and weaponry used to hunt, build and defend was also very interesting. A favourite feature of the day for many was learning how to throw a boomerang!

Some of our Year 3 students wrote this recount of the trip:

Excitement rippled through the class as we prepared to board the bus to Ngutana-Lui. It was a long 45 minute drive, and we were relieved to get off the bus!

We had an opportunity to create a dot paining about a goanna and a snake. We were only using earthy colours like red, black and orange. When we learned dance, the host who guided the weaponry and dancing showed us a cool song. One of the songs was ‘Susa’ which had a fluent sequence of hand actions and clapping.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people created great hunting weapons like traps, spears and boomerangs. Our guide explained how to throw the hard wood boomerang and spears to hunt dugongs and turtles.

We had an amazing time and we learned a lot!

Year 1 Excursion to Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha

“I’m so excited I couldn’t sleep last night!” Heston’s comment encapsulates the anticipation of our Year 1 students on the day of their Science excursion to Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens last week.

They explored the sensory garden looking for different parts of a plant and were encouraged to feel the leaves of herbs to distinguish the different smells they produced. Next, they spotted and counted different native animals in the lake habitat. The highlight was watching an enormous eel swish his tail to swim beneath our viewing platform.

In the rainforest habitat, the students were given spades to explore what they could find underground. They dug up earthworms, beetles, earwigs, ants … and were astounded at how many roots a tree needs to sustain itself!

A picnic and a play on the lawns rounded off a wonderful day.