Science

Pre-Primary

This term in our Science lessons, we have focused on how things move. Firstly, we looked at how different animals move and sorted cards and made the moves the animals could make! We compared how animals and humans move. Then we investigated how objects roll and slide, using ramps we built ourselves. During National Science week, we made some waves using tubs of water and a variety of objects to create waves, including skipping ropes. In recent lessons, we have been using an assortment of different shaped balls to investigate how objects bounce and spin. We showed the RICE value of compassion by effectively sharing our equipment and helping each other to build ramps and test out how balls bounce and how various objects slide and roll. We also took turns when we were speaking and listening to others during our lessons.

Year 1

In our Science lessons, we have been learning about light and sound. We thought about what we already knew about light and sound and we worked together effectively to make diagrams. We discovered that light can be natural and man-made and we were amazed to find that white light is made up of all of the colours of the rainbow. When we did the ‘Hundreds and Thousands’ sounds investigation we discovered sound travels in waves and it made the Hundreds and Thousands bounce! Using a variety of handmade instruments, we investigated how to make sounds. Our Music Teacher, Mrs McAuliffe let us use many interesting musical instruments to find out about the qualities of sound, including pitch and volume. Along the way we have shown compassion by working kindly in our groups and sharing our ideas and equipment effectively.

Year 2

In Year 2, we have been learning how to identify how we use forces in our everyday lives to change the position, size or shape of a stationary object or to change an object’s direction while in motion. We conducted a variety of investigations to discover how we use push and pull in our everyday lives and how we position our body to apply a push or pull. We also found out about Isaac Newton, and investigated and explored how gravity works on everyday objects. We had fun dunking a variety of everyday objects to find out what floats and sinks to identify if the objects are getting pulled to the bottom of a tub of water or pushed to the surface of the water. During our ‘Air vs Gravity’ STEM project we enjoyed designing and creating a floating ball toy that used a push force to make a table tennis ball float in the air. We have displayed our focus value of compassion by showing leadership in our groups through taking turns, sharing the equipment and carefully listening to our teacher and peers.

Year 3

In our Year 3 Science lessons, we have been exploring the concept of heat. We have learnt to measure heat using a thermometer. We can record how hot a liquid is by reading the scale on the thermometer and recording the degrees Celsius. We carried out experiments to find out what conducts or insulates heat. Using a variety of materials, we tested if heat was produced by friction, burning or electricity! We made predictions about which materials would best insulate a cup of warm water, then designed insulating cups to solve our problem. But, the most fun was during National Science Week when we brought along a toy sea creature and created a dance with our friends to celebrate the wonders of the deep! We showed our RICE value of compassion by listening carefully to our teacher or peers and using our ‘hands up’ signal before we speak.

Year 4

In our Science lessons in Year 4, we have been learning about what are distant and direct forces. Firstly, we used a catapult to find out about push and pull forces. Then in our ‘Shoe Friction Experiment’ we used three different shoe types to find out which of the shoes had the most grip, when we conducted our fair test. One of our favourite investigations was our ‘Gravity station experiments’, in which we tested many ways to show how gravity acts on objects of similar size, but various mass. Not to mention ‘Magnet madness’! How cool was it to discover the power of magnetic force which could move metal objects above the desk, when the magnet was below the desk! We worked cooperatively in small groups, showing our RICE value of compassion this term as we created ways to stop ocean pollution by designing a plastic-free straw. We also showed this value by carefully packing away all of our Science equipment and stacking the chairs and wiping down our desks, without ever being asked to! Mrs Meyerkort was very impressed with us!

Year 5

In Year 5 Science lessons, we have been investigating the properties of light. We used mirrors to discover how light travels in straight paths and reflects or bounces off objects into the path of our eyes, where our brain interprets the light waves to see the object.

We conducted online research to learn the difference between the appearance of transparent, translucent and opaque objects; and how light behaves when it contacts each type of object. Using our laptops, we took photographs of each type of object and created a digital presentation based on our research, using photographs, video or audio recordings. We enjoyed predicting how rainbows are formed by sunlight and raindrops and experimented to create a rainbow by shining a torch onto a cup of water. During National Science Week we pondered upon how we could create community awareness about plastic in our oceans. Our ‘Tracking Plastic in the Ocean’ poster designs tried to address this threatening environmental issue. Our RICE value of compassion for our environment was displayed in our poster ideas, to help raise awareness of not polluting our oceans with plastic which causes havoc to sea creatures and their habitats. Our STEM Project was to design and make ‘Cellophane Sunglasses’. Our design brief was to create a pair of temporary sunglasses using craft materials with lenses made from a combination of different-coloured cellophane layers, that block out sunlight without changing the colour an object appears.

Year 6

In Year 6 Science lessons, we have been learning about different types of energy sources that can generate electricity. This included finding out about non-renewable energy, or ‘fossil fuels’ and renewable energy, like wave power. We looked at how fossil fuels like coal, oil or gas are transformed into electricity to power our homes. Some of our investigations included exploring solar energy and solar thermal energy as generators of electricity. We worked out how to light up and LED using a mini solar panel or a simple electrical circuit. We conducted investigations to find out what type of materials will conduct electricity and we learned how to draw a basic circuit diagram. In National Science Week, we researched ‘wave energy’ in Western Australia and explained it by creating a news flash video to share with our peers. Our focus value of compassion has been evident in the way we encourage others in our group work and share our ideas and equipment willingly.

Mrs Colette Meyerkort 
Science Specialist 

Physical Education

Pre-Primary

This term, Pre-Primary lessons have focused on an introduction to athletics and moving our body. We began our term with re-discovering different ways to throw an object before testing our jumping skills for both distance and height. Recently, we have worked in both faction teams and individually to participate in a variety of running races in preparation for our first athletics carnival. We have shown compassion throughout the term by sharing equipment, comparing our results with jumps and cheering each other on when competing in races. We have also shared responsibilities for leading our warm up run each week

Year 1 and Year 2

In Year 1 and Year 2, we have focused around training for our athletics carnival, coming up in Term Four. We started the term by testing our jumping ability for both height and distance. Together we practised some of our team games to prepare for the athletics carnival and recently we have participated in some throwing events and running races. Throughout the term we have shown compassion amongst our peers by working together in team games, helping each other to improve on our throwing technique, and putting in our best effort for both races and games.

Year 3 and Year 4

Physical Education classes for Year 3 and Year 4 have been enjoyable this term. We have focused on practising and recording our throws for the upcoming athletics carnival. We have assessed our throws in shotput, discus and javelin. We showed our RICE value of compassion by listening carefully to our teacher when demonstrating the correct throwing technique and following safety procedures to look after ourselves and our peers.

Year 5 and Year 6

This term in Physical Education, Year 5 and Year 6 have enjoyed the challenges of team sports, AFL and volleyball. We have practised unique kicking and handballing skills in AFL, passing and hitting skills in volleyball and translated those skills into game play. We have demonstrated the RICE value of compassion in our classes by helping each other to learn these unique skills, passing and sharing the ball giving others the opportunity to participate in games, and by supporting and cheering each other on in our competitions.

Mr Ciaran Allsop
Physical Education Specialist

Compassion in the Library

This term we have shared stories that focus on our RICE value of compassion. After reading, students took the opportunity to share ways they can show compassion at school and at home.

In the library, students show compassion by sharing, taking turns, being kind and helpful, and at lunch time games we include everyone who would like to play. The books we read got students thinking about the kind of actions they could take to help others in need, such as including someone who is alone or upset in their game, talking calmly and kindly to people when we have a disagreement and sharing playground equipment, toys and games.

Some of the books we have enjoyed this term are:

The Playground is like the Jungle by Shona Innes. Our Pre-Primary & Year 1 students learnt ways to get along nicely in the playground and consider other people’s feelings, with this delightful comparison of the school setting to creatures in the jungle. We also learnt how to deal with some of the difficult situations students may face in the playground so that everyone can feel happy, safe and included.

The Seed of Compassion by Tenzin Gyatsu, Dalai Lama XIV. In this inspiring story, students in Years 2-6 learnt that what makes us special is the ability to feel and give compassion to others, and that it is a choice we make every day to treat others with compassion. We acknowledged that it is not always easy and we don’t always get it right, however the more we practise the better we become at making kind and considerate choices.

Boss of the Pool by Robin Klein. Our Year 5 students were outraged at Shelley’s treatment of Ben and her unkind opinions of people with disabilities. Throughout the book we were all pleased to see her attitude change to become more accepting and compassionate. This book gave us all an opportunity to discuss how we should treat people, regardless of their differences.

Also, our second time participating in The MS Readathon gave us the opportunity to raise funds for the MS Society, to help people with Multiple Sclerosis and other neurological conditions. We discussed the difficulties that people with these illnesses would face on a daily basis and how the money could help support them. I was so proud to see so many students inspired to join the cause, with 66 students raising $4,262.

Thank you to everyone involved for your generosity and compassion.

Mrs Claire Dale
Library Officer