Year Seven News

English

We have had a great start to our English and Humanities Interdisciplinary unit this Term. For the first two weeks, students explored and focused on oral language skills. They viewed footage of famous speeches and critiqued the delivery, tone, intonation, emphasis and pauses to determine the effectiveness of the message. Students then emulated these elements within their own Exhibition presentations, where all students spoke clearly and knowledgeably about their elective pieces. It was wonderful to see so many students present confidently about their learning, challenges and perseverance.

Within the last fortnight, students have begun to view stories associated with Aboriginal Dreaming. They connected their previous Term's learning of the Monomyth Heroes Journey recognising there were some elements of this included in these Dreaming stories. The focus will now turn to unpacking these stories through analysis and students recognising elements of poetry.

Humanities

Term Four Humanities has commenced by reviewing the statement of inquiry- 'The success of ancient civilisations was shaped by war and conflict'. Students reflected on their understanding of ancient Greece, and explored ancient Rome by drawing comparisons between the two societies. Students will continue to explore key figures and conflict within ancient Rome and begin to explore elements of ancient China. The final Humanities assessment task has been shared with students which is now on Schoolbox for all parents to view. Please take the time to view and discuss this with your child.

Physical Education 

The beginning of Term Four has seen Year Seven students targeting and developing various personal physical finesses and working towards their individuals’ goals. Activities such as Low/High Intensity Interval Training, Yoga and full body stretching has given students an insight into how different exercises effect our bodies and predict the health benefits by monitoring their heart rates and tracking their progress in their Fitness Journal. Over the course of the Term, students will continue to track their progress, complete Fitness Test like those conducted in Term 3 and analyse the data to determine if improvement has been made or personal goals achieved. 

Mathematics

In term 3, the maths leadership group have worked hard and produced a model of a sustainable house. In the project students applied their mathematical knowledge and skills to design, construct, evaluate and overcome challenges. The students researched sustainable house designs and different house plans. They then created their own designs and included features that made their houses sustainable and eco-friendly. The finished product was exhibited at the year 7 exhibition nights in term 4. Parents were in awe that the students were able to talk to them about the process that they followed in their construction and design. The students were extremely proud of their accomplishments. The exhibition was a tremendous success.  Here is a reflection written by one of the students.

Maths Reflection

by Bushra Mohammed Asif – 7E

Building a Sustainable House

During Maths Extension (Leadership) over the past few weeks, I constructed a sustainable house to present in the Year 7 Exhibition. Although this work might look like an art project to some, this model house used more maths concepts and skills than you think…

My mathematical skills were incorporated into my house by using skills such as, precisely measuring, cutting, adding shapes (Geometry), etc. It was critical that I measured accurately, or problems would occur later in the process. Geometry was a fundamental part of the entire project and so was carefully cutting the cardboard pieces and efficiently using the amount of it that I had. If basic mathematics were to be avoided, developing my house would have been very challenging but in the end, my model house transformed from a piece of cardboard into a well-designed work of architecture that truly mirrors the word 'sustainability'. By including sustainable features like trees, bins, a rainwater tank and solar panels it was an environmentally friendly home. And I am extremely pleased with my product.

And never forget ......

maths is everywhere whether you see it or not…

In term 4 students will concentrate on “chance” and “probability” in statistics. Students will practice the vocabulary used to describe the chance of an event taking place. The vocabulary used is, “likely, unlikely, even chance, certain, impossible.” They will then then use a probability scale to describe the likelihood of an even taking place or not taking place.

To reinforce their understanding of chance and probability, students will describe a few events and then describe the chance of the event taking place and place these events on a probability scale. 

Spanish

This term, students have started exploring Unit Four: Mi Rutina Diaria. Students have been exposed to essential vocabulary needed to talk about different school subjects and other aspects of their daily routine. 

Students were also taught how to express time in Spanish in order to talk about their timetable and daily schedule. Using skills and knowledge they learnt last term to conjugate regular present tense verbs, students now also know how to apply these to irregular and stem-changing verbs.

This term will see a focus placed on students' speaking skills. Over the next few weeks, we will be engaging in different tasks and activities aimed at developing their oral fluency. ¡Hablamos!