Specialist Team News
Visual Arts
Welcome to 2020 from the Art Room. I am so excited to start off the year with a bang! This week we have spent time exploring the Art Room and developing a set on common expectations. The students brainstormed how they aim to show Excellence, Resilience and Respect.
Here is our whole school agreement while working in Visual Arts.
Come and check out our whole school Rainbow Portrait outside the Art Room! Every student drew their own self portraits using a single colour and a range of mediums.
What's on in Term 1
Foundation
Focus – Painting and Printing
Artwork #1 Coloured Bird Painting
Art #2 Collage Balloons
Students will be skilled at:
- Mixing primary colours to create a new colour. Eg. Mixing blue and yellow to make green
- Using paint brushes, stamps and texture tools to apply paint to paper
- Holding the paint brush with a degree of accuracy
- Setting Up/Packing up their learning space
- Using specific vocabulary such as ‘colour’ to respond to art they view
Junior School
Focus – Drawing
Mentor Artist - Brian Commerford
Artwork #1 Grey Lead Owl
Artwork #2 Charcoal Owl
Students will be skilled at:
- Using charcoal and grey leads techniques to create different tones
- Identifying effective patterns to use in owls face.
- Blending pastel colours to create a smooth finish in the eyes.
- Alternate of thick and thin lines to create feathers and facial expression.
Middle School
Focus – Drawing and Painting
Mentor Artist - Laurel Burch
Artwork #1 Paint Effects
Artwork #2 Laurel Burch Cats
Students will be skilled at:
- Using a range of organic and geometric shapes to construct an image
- Adding certain materials to paint to change the texture and decorative quality eg. Sand, salt, PVA
- Adding black, white, grey to a colour paint to change the value
- Using paint and pastel together, focusing on meeting edges and layering
Senior School
Focus – Painting
Mentor Artist - Olga Shvatsur (known as Olechka Design)
Artwork #1 Watercolour Techniques
Artwork #2 Watercolour Flamingo/Giraffe
Students will be skilled at:
- Using a range of media and materials to create a giraffe/flamingo.
- Able to use watercolour paints to create overlapping and distortion with various painted effects
- Able to successfully use imagination to create texture using watercolour.
- Respect and value others’ efforts and opinions.
- Students will practice fundamental elements of art including Line, Shape, Contrast, Colour, Tints and Shades
Can You Help?
Currently in the Art Room we have many supplies left over from last year, so are not specifically looking for a huge amount of donations just yet!. Thank you to all the families that donated last year. There is a blue box outside the Art Room for any small donations of boxes, craft supplies, egg cartons or meat trays (please ensure these are washed!). Please check the newsletter to see if we are in need of anything you may be able to bring from home in the coming weeks.
Global Studies, Ethics and Indonesian
I know that is a huge mouthful right? This, as I am sure you are aware, is a new area of study at KPS. In Global studies the students will explore what is happening across the globe. We will look at natural disasters, cultural similarities and differences, explore important issues around our vast planet. This is an area in which research in the middle and senior grades really matters and students are taught and strongly encouraged to dig in deep into the waters of research and using technology correctly to gather evidence and information and to present their finding in a variety of different ways.
In Ethics we look at a lot of fun issues, such as right and wrong, good and bad and this area really hones in on our school values. The students are made aware that there is no right and wrong answers in this subject and will be encouraged to explore, discuss and even argue views that may be different from their own. We are looking at gathering evidence, thinking differently and critically. Listening to our peers and gaining confidence in speaking up in class will be a big focus.
In Indonesian, the students will continue to learn new vocabulary linked in to the topics taught.
All classes are hands on, with a lot of games, role plays, debating and even some cooking. All students will be encouraged and supported to have a go in discussing their views and ideas on the topics taught. It should be a fun and I am excited to have the opportunity to teach it.
Parent Involvement
You will be happy to know that I will not be pestering you for donations this year. What I do ask, is if there is any interested parents that have a different cultural background and would like to share with our students part of your cultural heritage, I would love to talk to you. This can be anything from talking generally about the culture, cooking, discussion on religion, dance, music- almost anything.
Thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions or ideas about this new program, please drop by and chat with me. I am at KPS on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Kym Wallace
Science
Welcome back to the Science Lab for 2020! All the students have had a fantastic start to the year. We have spent the first week reviewing the school values matrix and refreshing our understanding of the expectations when engaging in Science. We have embarked on our first area of scientific investigations with gusto! I am looking forward to the first experiments in the coming weeks.
This term the focus will be on Biological Sciences, with every learning level enjoying a different focus. Foundation students will be learning about how living things stay alive. We have a goldfish in the lab and the Foundies will be learning about his habitat and what his needs are. They will also be looking at what humans need to stay alive and the difference between needs and wants. The Junior Students will be learning about what animals we could find in the schoolyard and what their physical characteristics are and how they adapt to their environments. The Middle Students focus will be on flowering plants. They will be looking at the life cycle and how seeds are dispersed to begin new generations. Plants will be examined and grown. The Senior Students will look at a biological desert system, learning about the animals and plants. They will focus in on specific adaptations that organisms make in order to survive in a very harsh environment.
As always, we will be enjoying the company and expertise of Michael Turner on a termly basis. Michael is an engineer and we work together in a partnership with CSIRO in a program called Scientists in Schools. I am really looking forward to our first session later this term.
I too, may be after some donations of items as the year progresses. I'll let you know of anything specific as I need. Right now some tissues for the students would be amazing!
Thanks,
Jane Seemann
PE
We've had a brilliant start to the year in PE lessons at all levels. So many of our students have demonstrated excellent sporting values. We've seen some great examples of students encouraging others, working together and showing resilience.
This term, our students are focusing on developing fundamental sports and athletic skills in a fun and inclusive environment. I'll provide updates here on what each group has been learning, along with upcoming events and key dates to watch out for in the PE calendar.
District Swimming Trials
Students in Years 3-6 who are strong swimmers, particularly those who are part of a swim squad, are encouraged to attend the District swimming trials to be held at Kilsyth Centenary Pool on Tuesday 25 February 2020. Classroom teachers have a copy of the information and permission form to give to interested students.
Students can participate in the following age groups (based on the age they turn this year):
- 9-10 years
- 11 years
- 12-13 years
Please note that students who turn 8 this year are not eligible to compete.
All students must be able to comfortably swim 50m as this is the minimum event distance.
Interested students should collect a permission form from their classroom teacher and return it to Mr Roscoe on or before 14 February 2020.
Get moving!
One of the key focuses for our students in PE is understanding the importance of staying active for our bodies and minds. We know that physically active kids are more likely to grow into physically active adults, significantly lowering their risk of disease and mental health issues. Sport participation for children lowers the risk of obesity, increases cardiovascular fitness, improves coordination and balance, improves sleep quality, and has a positive impact on social skills.
Taking steps to reduce children's sedentary activity can have a big impact on their overall health. While everybody needs some downtime, getting outside and kicking a ball around, dancing, or jumping rope instead of watching TV or playing on the computer really does make a big difference. We'll be reminding our students of this frequently throughout the year, and would love it if you could encourage them to get outdoors and get moving!