The Hamilton and Alexandra College Newsletter

Myrniong - ELC to Yr 6

Tips For Reading With Children

Recently released Oxford University Press research shows that Australian children are missing out on vital literacy and communication skills due to time poor parents.  Research suggests that 25% of Australian parents only read to their children once a week or not at all.  Literacy educator Annie Facchinetti has shared her top ten tips for reading at home.

  1. Find books you both enjoy- if you’ve read a book that you both love, read it again! Running short of time? Let your child choose the book they want to read.
  2. Expand your book search parameters.  You can find things to read everywhere, not just in bookshops. Try local libraries, Op Shops or markets. Friends and family are often keen to share their books too!
  3. Books aren’t the only reading material.  You can read anything together, including the shopping lists, road signs, when you’re in the car, and posters in shop windows.  Explore audiobooks or podcasts at home or on the go. 
  4. Prioritise reading time.  Set aside a regular reading time that works with your life - Make it a habit that you both look forward to and finish every day with a story before bed.
  5. Enlist the help of siblings. If your day gets too busy, siblings might like to read together. Ask them to tell you all about what they have read.
  6. Familiarise yourself with the text beforehand.  Ensure you’re pitch perfect. Before reading, practise reading the chosen book so you know the story line and the expression required.  Find any tricky words that you might need to explain to your child.
  7. Take your time while reading.  Remember to read slowly - take your time and make it interesting to listen to.  Encourage your child to join in.
  8. Analyse the cover – look at it together and have your child guess what it is going to be about.  What is the book called?  What can you see in the illustrations? Talk about the book as you read.
  9. Discuss the stories together.  When you’re finished the book, or page/chapter, talk about it together…who were your favourite characters?  This talk can happen while you’re doing other things, such as getting dinner ready, or driving to footy practice.
  10. Change up your reading location. Reading together can happen anywhere.  

Junior School Uniform

As the weather has cooled, we have moved to full winter uniform.  Whilst many students arrive in the mornings looking smart and tidy, a growing number of Junior School students are not showing as much pride in their appearance. Shirts are out (girls and boys), school shoes are being replaced by trainers and blazers and ties are not being worn.  Can I ask all parents to reinforce the correct wearing of the College uniform with their children and support us in being a proud and well presented Junior School. 

 

2022 Camp Brownlow Medals

A wonderful tradition at the Junior School is the awarding of Camp Brownlow medals to students in Year Five and Six.  At the conclusion of the three-day Anglesea camp, students, Auscamp staff and the accompanying College teachers voted 3-2-1 for the students who consistently displayed the College values of compassion, gratitude, optimism, resilience and respect.  Congratulations to Yolanda O’Sullivan in Year Five and Lachlan Reid in Year Six, our 2022 Camp Brownlow winners. 

 

Hockey Results

On a wintery Saturday, College Division 4 and 5 players braved the elements in Round Two of the GRHA competitions.

 

Division 5 Kangaroos had a 1-1 draw with Dunkeld.  Despite the rain, the skills levels were high from both teams. Best on ground for the Wallabies were Thomas Kennedy, who scored for College, and Hazel Johns.

Division 5 Wallabies had a 3-1 win over Coleraine. Angus Reid, Maggie Wallis and Sonny Shepherd scored the goals. Best on ground for College Wallabies were Maggie Wallis and Hugo Cameron.

Division 4 Bandicoots had a solid 5-0 win over Demons Waves. Best on ground for Bandicoots were Chloe Laidlaw and Rupert Merrin. Both had excellent all-around games. 

Division 4 Tassie Devils had a comprehensive 12-0 win over Demon Flames. Tom Templeton played a dominant match and was best on ground for Tassie Devils. They sit top of the Division 4 table.

Division 4 Drop Bears went down to a strong Dunkeld side 3-2 in a high-quality match. Best on ground for Drop Bears were Charlie Jarvis, Lucy Fraser and Will Templeton. Goal scorers were Phoebe Alexander and Will Templeton.

 

There are no local matches this weekend. Best wishes to all College players who will represent Glenelg Region Hockey Association in the Victorian Country Championships in Melbourne on May 14th and 15th. 

 

Mr Stephen Nelson

Head of Junior School

On Wednesday morning, the Year 2 and 3 classes had a virtual excursion to the Liberty Science Centre in New York.  Here we were sitting in our classroom at 10.00am being taught by Mr Kenko and it was 8.00pm there. 

 

The students were greeted with “Good morning scientists” which made them feel very important. The topic was Pollination. Students investigated the work of bees and the role they play in our everyday life and in helping to build a healthy environment. The driving question for the lesson was ‘How can I take the things I notice and wonder to create a bee model?’ Based on their observations of the insects and flowers shown and what they noticed and wondered, students gained an understanding of the way flowers attract bees and pollen is collected. Students investigated how friction and positive and negative forces help the bee to gather pollen. They made predictions and tested materials to see which of the provided materials would make the best model of a honeybee? The materials, or Stem-in-a-Box, were sent to us before the lesson, just like if we were with them in person. The students discovered that Australia has 2,000 native species of bees and that all honeybees in the hive are sisters.

 

Have you seen the backpacks bees carry on their legs full of pollen? Do you know what a nectar guide is? Ask your children, they will know.

 

Through their experiments, students realised that Scientists do not always get the answer they were hoping for. That is not a problem for a scientist, they will just try the tests again.

 

From all we have missed out on in the last few years due to Covid, this is one of the positives that has come to the fore. From Teams and Zoom lessons out of necessity, it has opened up classrooms to many more possibilities as schools continue to use these platforms for the benefit of their students. Imagine your child coming home from school and telling you they had an excursion to America that morning. 

 

Some comments from the students:

“Mr Kenko and Mr David came from a long way away, from the Liberty Science Centre. We normally have someone from Australia and this time they came from America.” - Johnny, Year 3

“It is very interesting that bees have so many jobs to do and you need a lot of bees to make one jar of honey.” - Tommy, Year 3

“I found out that friction makes the honey stick to them.” - Alinta, Year 3

“Bees do not see the way we do.”  - Maelys, Year 2

“I like way the bees communicate with each other by dancing.” - Olive, Year 2

“We learnt how bees see flowers and how people see flowers. We used pepper for the pollen and paper and we put them in a container which was the flower. We used a peg, a cotton ball, a pipe cleaner and a balloon as the bee to collect the pollen. The cotton ball was the one that worked best.” - Sonny, Year 2

 

Netball Victoria School Championships in Hamilton

On Wednesday 27 July, the Netball Victoria School Championships will be held in Hamilton at Pedrina Park.

All students in Years 5 & 6, both boys and girls are invited to participate. 

You do not have to have played in our Saturday morning teams to get involved. It is a great way to connect with your friends and show your skills. Mrs Patterson will be working on these skills in P.E. lessons this term so it will also be a great way to put your learning into practise.

This day is very much a participation opportunity for students. As much as it is competitive there is a focus for the Primary School students to get involved, even if this would be their first time trying the sport.

Please let Mrs Milich know if you would like to play on that day so that you can be included in our school team. 

 

Mrs Bernadette Milich

Deputy Head of Junior School 

Year Three teacher

 

Division Athletics

We had the most beautiful day in Warrnambool at the GWR SSV Division Athletics Carnival on Monday. The Junior School was represented by Lachlan Reid, Sophie Satchell, Jimmy Dyer, Grace O’Sullivan and Jack Novikov.  Our athletes performed to the very best of their abilities, in amazing style, with positive attitudes and determination to do well and all while demonstrating incredible sportsmanship.  The field was really strong this year with incredible results on the track and in the field overall.

Congratulations to Sophie Satchell (2nd Discus), Grace O’Sullivan (1st Long Jump) and Jimmy Dyer (3rd 1500m), who have all qualified to compete in Ballarat at the Regional Athletics Championships which are held in October.

Thank you to the parents who transported and supported your children at this event.

 

Mrs Louise Patterson

Junior School Sport co-ordinator

 

Dates to Remember

Monday 16th May – Year 6 Canberra camp departs 6.00 am

Tuesday 17th May – Guess How Much I Love you performance – Prep to Year 2

Thursday 26th May – Junior School Photos

Friday 27th May – Sibling Photos