HaSS
Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) Pre-Primary
This term we have been learning about Geography. We have looked at the places people live in and familiar features. We also explored some pictorial maps and how features are represented. We could read our pictorial maps and the students showed excellence in locating the places on the maps. We have read the book, ‘Me on the Map’, and we enjoyed discussing the location of our street, our city, our state, our country and our planet.
Mrs Tina Ravi
HaSS Pre-Primary Specialist Teacher
Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) Years 1 – 6
During this term, the students have demonstrated the RICE value of excellence in a variety of ways.
Year 1 have loved the experience of learning about features of our environment. They showed excellence in locating, drawing and labelling natural and constructed features of our school.
Year 2 enjoyed learning about the special connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People maintain to their country and place. After sharing a dreaming story, students showed excellence when producing creative story maps of Bangarang and the Murray River.
Year 3 had the opportunity to research well known Australian natural landmarks. Students researched the location and description of these landforms. Their research showed excellence in how it was presented.
Year 4 spent time this term revising the names of the continents and oceans, showing excellence when identifying them. Students identified and researched major countries of Africa and Europe. They researched many interesting facts of countries of their choice.
Year 5 explored the countries in the continents of North America and South America. Students displayed excellence during discussions. Students researched the main features of these countries.
The Year 6 focus in Economics this term was trade-offs and the cost of lost opportunities. Students revised the terms about scarcity, supply and demand.
Mrs Luisa Durkin
HaSS Specialist Teacher
Italian
In Pre-Primary, students learnt about Italy and some famous Italian landmarks and created a booklet about this topic. Students showed the value of excellence when making the Italian flag on their booklet with the right coloured tissue paper and when talking about all the different places in Italy. It has been a very busy year of learning and discovering this new language and students are looking forward to learning more in Year One.
In Year One, students learnt about seasons and weather and they all took turns in completing the calendar in Italian. They demonstrated excellence with what they had been learning, including the vocabulary needed to be able to do it and to try hard to have perfect Italian pronunciation. Now, they are all superstars in saying the calendar in Italian. Great effort Year One, and I hope they continue to love Italian as much as they have this year.
In Year Two, students were busy completing their little booklets about their daily routine and, in Year Three, students created their digital booklet about their families. They displayed the value of excellence when drawing and writing in Italian, searching the information needed in their book. What colourful creations!
In Year Four, students showed the value of excellence while working on a letter to an imaginary pen friend. They listened to an Italian letter that included vocabulary from all the topics learnt this year. They all tried to read a part of the letter, then translated it and they will be writing their own letter following the example. They also recorded a video on their sports activities and they were excellent in working together to try and translate the letter and to create their own video. We had an amazing year of learning!
In Year Five, students showed excellence in their city project. They had to create an Italian city similar to the ones that they explored through Google Maps and they had to include important features of the Italian cities. Some students did 3D little models, some did A3 coloured plans and some did their city using Makers Empire or Minecraft. They were all amazing projects and showed the effort they put in to making their Italian cities. Students all loved the opportunity to work in pairs or small groups to create the small project for Italian, and they are all excited to continue their learning in Year 6.
In Year 6, students showed excellence when working in small groups on their restaurant project. They had to design and create a menu with typical dishes of the region they researched earlier in the year. Then they read and translated a conversation in a restaurant and will now be creating their own restaurant conversations. Their menus were excellent and demonstrated all their effort in learning a language and its culture. I hope they will continue to enjoy learning Italian in high school.
Signora Paola Pizzo
Italian Specialist Teacher
Library
This term, students have proved their excellence by returning their books on time, choosing books that are well suited to them and even recommending books to friends.
Being prepared is an important skill to develop independence and responsibility and it is excellent to see students coming to the library with their returns and library bags each week.
I have seen a huge decrease in the number of long-term (3 weeks or more) overdues this term and hope to see this trend continue.
As a reward for having the least number of overdue books at the end of Week 5, PPG were invited to decorate the library Christmas tree. We got into the spirit by listening to Christmas songs and reading Christmas books too. I think they have done an excellent job, please enjoy the photos below.
One way to show excellence in our words and actions is to think positively when dealing with a problem. Classes across all year levels have listened to the story, Move that Mountain, by Kate and Jol Temple. This book is unique in its presentation of two-sides to a story. Reading it at first made us all feel a little sad and hopeless, with a very negative approach to solving a problem. Due to very clever writing, when we read the book again backwards we heard a much more optimistic approach. This included working together and thinking positively to find a solution. Students reactions to this book were magical to watch as they realised how important it is to think positively.
Always remember it is “madness to think we can’t move that mountain”
Mrs Claire Dale
Library Officer
Music
Our students have had ample opportunity to demonstrate the RICE value of excellence this term. As assessments were underway, students rehearsed and polished their instrumental performances, and we experienced great solo and ensemble performances. We are still in the middle of rehearsals to give our best performances at the End of Year Concert, Grandparents’ Mass, Graduation Mass, and End of Year Mass. Our students will also perform at a carol singing event at Dianella Plaza in Week 9. In Music, it is all about striving to be the best that we can be, and realising that practice is needed to achieve perfection. Go, OLA!
Mrs Mary McAuliffe
Music Specialist Teacher
Physical Education
Pre-Primary
This term in Pre-Primary, we have focused on showing excellence by incorporating our fundamental movement skills to specific sporting situations, such as hitting a ball with our hands and feet, and the use of a bat. For the remainder of the term, we are looking to enjoy ourselves and have as much fun as possible in our PE lessons. We have shown off all of our abilities and are looking forward to what is ahead in 2022.
Year 1 and Year 2
In Term Four, we have focused on showing excellence of the fundamental movement skills that we have practised throughout the year. We have tested our balancing abilities, and have looked to incorporate our skills to specific sports, such as working on ball skills linked to basketball and soccer. This term, we have shown excellence in the way we approach our PE lessons. We have had many competitions within the classes to showcase our abilities and demonstrate our strengths to our peers.
Year 3 and Year 4
Term Four has allowed us to introduce ourselves to the challenging and unique sports of hockey and lacrosse. For most of us, this has been the first time practising the skills and movements linked to these sports and it has been fun and exciting to approach something new. We have displayed excellence by showing a great attitude when learning new and different skills and doing our best to showcase our abilities.
Year 5 and Year 6
In Term Four, our senior year levels turned our attention to basketball. We have worked hard to demonstrate our skills and put on a fundamental display through our dribbling, passing and shooting. To finish the year on a high, we have worked through different team sports, having small competitions amongst the class. We have demonstrated excellence by taking on challenges, and showcasing our athletic abilities each week.
Mr Ciaran Allsop
Physical Education Specialist i
Science
Pre- Primary
In Pre-Primary this term, the students began by exploring the world around them using their five senses. They learnt that different materials have different properties and found this out by making material rubbings, exploring the world outside the classroom. Sorting materials into different groups came next and finding out what the Three Little Pigs knew about the best building materials was a hoot! The students made their own little piggy homes from straws, sticks or Lego bricks and tested them out with a lot of huffing and puffing! Pre-Primary – your enthusiasm and quest for excellence in Science each week was amazing to see!
Year 1
Can it bend, stretch, or squash? In Year 1 Science lessons, we investigated how a variety of materials reacted to being manipulated by bending, stretching and squashing. Then we looked at heating and cooling materials. Where could we place an ice cube to find out where it might melt quicker or slower? Then we checked out corn kernels before and after heat was applied! Very tasty lesson indeed! Year 1s, you have been marvellous to teach this year as you have striven for excellence to write, draw and explain your investigations. I can’t wait for our further adventures together.
Year 2
This term in our Chemical Science lessons, we learnt all about how different things mix together. We made predictions, then discovered what really happens when a variety of substances are mixed with water. We had fun making traditional damper and working out how baking soda changed the look and taste of our loaves! In our Four Cups experiment we investigated which cup retained the heat best. But, STEM was yet to come! Would we be up to the challenge of inventing a machine that could be powered by the sun, yet safe to travel in? We showed excellence in how we always managed to include everyone’s ideas during our group work.
Year 3
This term, we used our prior knowledge about heat energy and heat transference when investigating how solids and liquids responded to changes in temperature. Designing and building our Solar Ovens was a real highlight! Our group work was wonderful! Watching the oven temperature rise, by reading the mini-digital thermometers was awesome! Then came our cooking segment, following a recipe which required either heating or freezing to create something delicious. We have shown excellence by sharing our ideas and showing marvellous leadership in our groups, while conducting our investigations.
Year 4
This term focused on classifying and comparing natural and processed materials. Students looked at a variety of materials found around the home, garden or school and learnt to classify them based on their physical properties. In the Sink or Swim investigation, predictions were made before a large variety of objects made from different materials were dunked into the water. Would they sink or swim? Some of us were surprised to discover what happened, and we began to understand how objects have different density because of how at the microscopic level the particles they are made from are closer or further spaced. We made the first type of ‘organic’ plastic using milk and vinegar! Very smelly experiment indeed! We have shown excellence in explaining our understanding of materials and their properties in our end of term assessments.
Year 5
Solid, liquid or gas? Well, the Year 5 students know exactly how atoms behave in each state of matter. Does air have mass? This was our challenge question, and the use of the Fizz keeper and the digital scales helped solve the problem. The final lessons focused on mini-STEM projects: like designing a model vehicle using an alternative fuel; designing a 3D paper main meal with solids, liquid and gas components; or creating a hemispherical igloo using ice, water, and salt. All up, the knowledge about the three states of matter, solids, liquids and gas was greatly enhanced this term. Excellence was evident in the amazing work in the Science scrapbooks! Your scientific diagrams and explanations were wonderful!
Year 6
Year 6s explored reversible and irreversible reactions, as well as identifying chemical and physical changes to substances. They experimented on crepe paper, made their own fizzy sherbet, froze and heated water to see how it changed. They made predictions about how a variety of substances would react with each other. Excellence has been evident in the concentrated effort to write up experiments, draw diagrams and share ideas this term. Along the way, they have gained a real love for Science and the scientific method. They are well-prepared for even greater adventures in Science and STEM to come as they transition into secondary school.
Mrs Colette Meyerkort
Science Specialist Teacher
