Around the Junior School

Year 6 Canberra Excursion 2022

As part of our Term 2 unit of work on ‘Rights and Responsibilities’, Year 6 travelled to Canberra for three days. Ms Hazelton, Ms Dodson and Mr Whitehead accompanied the students as they visited many venues of national significance and educational value. 

The students visited the National Portrait Gallery, the National Film and Sound Archives, the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, National Zoo and Aquarium, The Australian War Memorial, the Australian Mint, National Electoral Education Centre, Parliament House and the AIS. Many of these experiences are not available to the average person. On Wednesday night the students participated in the Q by Night at Questacon. On Thursday night they went to Zone 3 laser tag which was a fun way to end the day.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government contributed funding of $30.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate Program. The rebate is paid directly to the school. We would like to acknowledge and thank the Australian Government for their recognition and contribution of funds.

Canberra Diary

Day 1 – Wednesday

It was a frosty early start to the day as an excited Year 6 boarded the bus for the adventure to Canberra. We were all very eager to visit the sites we had been learning about in class. Excited to learn about our culture, heritage and history. After a few hours on the bus, we stopped at Boorowa for morning tea and then it was back on the bus and on to Canberra. 

Our first stop was the National Portrait Gallery. We took a guided tour through the gallery, discussing the meaning behind some of the artworks. We enjoyed a quick lunch break and avoided the rain and then it was back on the bus for a guided tour through the different Embassies and High Commissions. Before heading off to the National Film and Sound Archives. Here we saw many props and costumes of famous Australian movies. Our next stop was Old Parliament House. Here we learnt about how Australia became a nation. Our last stop for the day was Questacon, where we were able to make lightning, learn about earthquakes, play an air piano, harmonographs and see caged lightning. After a long day of new experiences, we all returned to the hotel for dinner and then bed.

Day 2 – Thursday

After a delicious breakfast it was off to the National Zoo and Aquarium. Our tour guide gave us lots of information about the animals in the zoo and how they care for them. We discussed their behaviours and some peculiar diets. We were able to get up close to the animals to feed some and hold a snake. 

Our next stop was the War Memorial. We explored the difficulties of war how many significant people and animals served. We stood at the pool of reflection and read some of the names of fallen soldiers. Visiting the tomb of the unknown soldier we pondered those who never returned. The Australian War Memorial serves as a reminder of the many men and women who served our country in conflicts and wars. 

We were then off to the Mint. We learned about the history of Australian coins and the first Australian coin the Holey dollar created by William Hensall. Watching Titan, the robot that makes our coins now. 

Our second last stop was the National Electoral Centre. Where we learned how preferential voting works. We were able to hold our own election where we voted for our favourite fruit (the winner is Apple!). Then our last stop was Zone 3, were we battled against one another to see which team was the ultimate champions. This was topped off with pizza and ice cream for dinner.

Day 3 – Friday

It was an early start to be up, have breakfast and pack our bags to go home. 

Our first stop was Parliament House on Capital Hill. This is where the government makes all the decisions and laws. We took a tour through the many significant places in Parliament House, both houses and we saw a copy of the Magna Carta and the apology by Kevin Rudd. We had our turn at democracy by debating a bill ‘Should school days be longer?’ we role played members of parliament and debated the bill. This gave us more knowledge about the process of making laws.  Unfortunately, the bill was passed, but thankfully it was only pretend. 

Our final stop was the Australian Institute of Sport. Where we became professional athletes on the skeleton, rowers and even wheelchair athletes. Then it was lunch and, on the bus, back to Orange. 

We had such a fun and insightful experience, gaining so much knowledge about our country’s culture, heritage and history. Visiting these places allowed us to learn more about Australia, ourselves and each other.

By Aurora Everett and Zoe Freeman

Pre-Kinder

Pre-Kinder love dinosaurs. Week 5 was our dinosaur theme. The children were engaged in everything dinosaurs, stories, songs, games, experiments and a DINOSAUR PARTY. We had so much fun dressing up and bringing in our dinosaur toys and at our party we ate herbivore and carnivore food. YUM. One little person said “this is the best day ever.” 

Merit Awards

Term 2 week 5 & Week 6, 2022

K Paddington

• Emilia Douglas – being a kind and helpful friend
• Abigail Westcott – always completing tasks with care
• Ruby Whittemore – making great strides with her reading

K Caterpillar

• Augie Downs – wonderful contributions to class discussions
• Poppy Fardell – Amazing mathematical thinking when solving word problems
• Grace Keir – insightful contributions to discussions in storybook lessons
• Darby Mullins – wonderful improvement in all learning areas

1 Elmer

• Harriet Gibson – super sentence writing
• Dinithi Nanayakkara – Super sentence writing
• Fatehjit Singh – clever counting in tens and ones
• Albert Johnston – counting by 5’s
• Sofia Buckley – reading group activities

2 Alcott

• Mezen Jalal – Positive attitude towards all learning
• Mackenzie Austen – Enthusiastic participation in class
• Eddie Chapman – ‘being brave and making change’ during National Reconciliation Week
• Edith Triggs – persisting with all learning challenges

2 Barty

• Robbie Fatai – enthusiasm in the classroom and great sharing of news.
• Aedan Hunnam – great collaboration at Windermere
• Savidu Fernando – excellent work in Spelling – You’re on Fire
• Kayley Lett – her contribution of creative ideas to whole class discussions
• Arthur Mullins – displaying an eagerness to learn new spelling concepts

3 Curious Creatures

• Liam McCormack – his great diagrams in Science
• Stuart Bell – his work with fractions in Maths
• Lucy Austen – her comprehension skills in English
• James Robson – his excellent research skills in History
• Will Davis – always being kind, caring and considering others

3 Volcanics

• Grace Harvey – her understanding of time
• Marlon Zielinski – his conscientious farming at Windermere
• Winona Wade – her improvement in ‘time’
• Digby McGee – his effort in his History research

4 Attenborough

• Joshua Leung – always helping his peers
• Lucie Chambers – asking fantastic questions in Maths 
• Alice Jones – working hard at reading an analogue clock
• Mason O’Toole – asking inquisitive questions during History lessons

4 Phillip Parker King

• Grace Lowther – enthusiastic approach to learning
• Daniel Kerdic – being a great learner at all times
• Andie Zinga – an enthusiastic approach to learning
• Jack Caro – consistent effort in mathematics

5 Irwin

• Janette Proudford-Nalder – consistent perseverance and optimism
• Asher Jones – consistent effort and application

5 Watson

• Andy Bell – outstanding Maths results
• Harry Price – consistent application in Maths
• Grace Seggar - wonderful writing and spelling
• Aari Poole – helpfulness and friendship in the classroom

6 Goodes

• Amelia Lawrie – For her continuous outstanding efforts in mathematics
• Henry Quigley – For his outstanding effort in writing with Tim Harris

6 Mabo

• Daniel Rourke – working consistently well across all learning areas in 6M 
• Tom Hughes –his incredible start to his imaginative story in the Tim Harris workshop

Young Archie 2022 Awards 

The Art Gallery of New South Wales

Recognition for participation in the Young Archie 2022 competition and congratulates the students on their artistic creativity.

Nixie Widauer

Andie Zinga

Daniel Kerdic

Charlotte Gurr

What’s happening at Gowrie this week

We begin by acknowledging the Wiradjuri people, Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.

This week the children have been exploring our First Nations people’s culture through art and storytelling. We also had our first snow fall to start winter and we tried making our own snow and to warm us up some of our friends created a pie shop.

Junior Technology and Innovation

Term 2 in Review

The Junior School has been working hard on achieving authentic integration of digital technologies into classroom learning experiences. We would like to invite parents to attend our Term 2 Showcase on Thursday 23 June from 11:30 to 12:30. Students from Years 3, 4 and 5 will be sharing their recent work on projects that have a digital technologies element.

• Year 3 will launch the Orange History Channel in rooms 54 and 55.
• Year 4 Robotics are on display in Area 51. At the same time check out the exciting renovation plans for this flexible, multi-purpose space.
• Year 5 Space Colony Expo in the Glasshouse.

Activities with a digital technology component in other classrooms this term include:

• Kindergarten using BeeBots as part of Literacy Groups activities and BeeBot Buzzness activities planned in Week 8.
• Year 1 has been learning “old school” Logo through the Turtle Academy online activities. 
• Year 2 have used Lumio interactive lessons and Minecraft lessons to explore Earth’s resources and in particular the Water Cycle.
• Year 6 has delved into flowcharts to demonstrate computational thinking. They are currently working in groups to produce a Choose Your Own Adventure story. 
• Of all the lunchtime activities on offer in Area 51 this year, Minecraft Social club is by far the most popular, drawing many students from Years 1 to 6. 
• The Lip Sync Battle activity appealed to our Stage 1 students, many of whom have had their first experience using green screen technology.

CodeCamp in June/July Holidays

A parent letter and flyer were sent home as part of the Week 6 communications promoting the June/July holiday CodeCamp program. Dates for the upcoming holidays are 13-14 July and the programs on offer are Spark (Ages 7-12) and Minions Animation (Ages 5-6). There will be specialist instructors and Mrs Fatai will attend as Camp Manager. Please click on the link in the letter to sign up. There is also a link to register your interest in joining an after-school program on Tuesday afternoons.

The following dates have also been secured for other holiday periods: 5-6 October, 8-9 December, 16-17 January 2023. Details about the programs that will be on offer will be communicated closer to the events.

eSafety in the Junior School

In 2022 students in the Junior School have been given the greatest amount of access to devices, ever. With increased access comes added risk and responsibility. For this reason, eSafety sessions were conducted in Term 1 and are revisited at the beginning of each term.

The Student Digital Citizenship pages in the diary replaced the Acceptable User Agreement previously distributed to families. This is an agreement between families and the school that any technology, devices or apps, will be used appropriately as an educational tool. Diaries were tagged earlier in the term to remind students to have that conversation with their parents and sign on the diary p111 in agreement.

Online gaming devices are now also communication devices. When our children play online, we open our homes to the opportunity of strangers. The old Ataris and Playstations of the past that required cartridges or discs to play have been replaced by the downloading of software and live chat messaging on private and public platforms. 

In the past few years of covering eSafety in the classroom with Year 4, the increase in the number of students that have been contacted inappropriately, disrespected, even bullied while playing online has been staggering, to the point where being approached by a stranger online is the norm, not the exception.

In our eSafety lessons a variety of programs from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner have been used with all classes. Activities ranged from watching videos and class discussions with the younger students, to game simulation programs with Years 5 and 6. 

The focus has been encouraging the students to remember the 5 SMART Rules to stay safe online:

S – SAFE: Keep all of your personal information safe

M – MEET: Don’t meet up with strangers you have talked to online

A – ACCEPT: Think before you accept anything online

R – RELIABLE: Check information before you believe it. Is it reliable? 

T – TELL: Tell a trusted adult if you feel worried or uncomfortable

In Semester 2 there are plans for an information session for parents addressing eSafety. More information will be published later in the year. The eSafety Commissioner also offers guidance for parents: educate_4_-_tips_for_parent-carer_education_and_engagement.pdf (esafety.gov.au)

Term 3 Projects

In Term 3, Year 6 will develop their own video games, Year 3 will recreate Windermere in Minecraft and Year 1 will start developing their movie making skills.

The Media Club is looking to expand its offering and include a production element. In Semester 2 students will work together to create movies of Junior School events and share interesting stories.

Lunchtime activities will see the continuation of Minecraft Social Club but split into K-3 and 4-6, NASA Mission Control and the creation of Construction Crew.

We are looking forward to welcoming parents on site for our Term 2 Showcase on Thursday 23 June. The students are excited to talk about their projects and share their learning.

Mrs Muriel Fatai

JS Leader of Technology and Innovation