Week 8, Term 3

Can all students please return books that they have on loan during the last week of term?

Thank you,
Angela

Hello from the Preps!

Our brave and talented students completed another amazing achievement: their very first school concert! While there may have been some initial nervousness as they looked out at the large audience awaiting their performance, their ‘can-do’ attitude and determination to do their best shone out. We were very proud of their outstanding performance, singing and dancing "The Gumtree Family".

This week in Literacy, we explored the ‘th’ sound and practised reading and writing words using this code. We continued improving our sentence skills, focusing on joining words ‘but’ and ‘because’ to write sentences about going to the beach.

In Maths, we explored skip-counting patterns through counting, songs and activities. We each decorated a pair of socks and discovered through skip counting by 2’s that we had 36 socks in each of our classrooms!

As part of our STEAM challenge, we learned about how glass is made and created our own ‘stained glass windows’ to take home and watch as the sun shines through.

Next week, we have many fun activities to end Term 3:

• On Tuesday, we have our Prep-2 Athletics. Everyone will come to school dressed in our house colour and participate in various events including hurdles and long jump. 

• On Wednesday, we will participate in the Prep/Buddies Teddy Bear Picnic. We will walk down to the Botanical Gardens with our teddy bears and a plate of food to share for our picnic together. There will also be games and fun with our special buddies.

• On Friday, to celebrate finishing our class novel ‘Charlie & The Chocolate Factory’ we will be watching the movie on our last day of school!

In Literacy, we will be learning the new two-letter code ‘ng’, and in Maths, we will continue skip-counting.

Enjoy your weekend. Only 5 more days left of Term 3!

Miss Else and Nicole

It’s been another busy week in the Golden Wattle building with much excitement leading up to our whole school performance on Thursday. Students were busy with rehearsals throughout the week, and we were so proud of their courage and enthusiasm when getting up to perform on stage. We hope you enjoyed the show!

We continued to focus on our Big Question, "What can we learn from those who have come before us?", this week learning about the Dja Dja Wurrung seasons. Unlike western society, there are six times (seasons) for the Djaara people. We created our own Dja Dja Wurrung calendar and explained what our favourite time is.

This tied in well with Literacy, as we read the book ‘A Year on our Farm’, which followed the changes in a farm through the different seasons. We wrote compound sentences explaining our favourite seasons using the connectives, ‘but’, ‘so’ and ‘because’. We also created our own books, titled ‘A Year in My World’ which included what we like to do in each season.

As well as looking at seasons, months and years in Maths, we also have been learning to tell the time to the hour and half hour. We made our own paper plate clocks to practise making and telling the time.

Our Wellbeing focus this week centred around fair play. We discussed the concept of being fair and what this means, thought about what actions in a game can lead to arguments, and whether everyone is equally expected to play fairly regardless of their gender. 

Can you believe next week is our last week of term?! This term has certainly flown by!

Next week, we are looking forward to our Athletics Day on Tuesday, we’ll be learning about indigenous tools as part of our Big Question, finish up exploring time in Maths and look at positive gender relations in Wellbeing.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend,

Wendy, Laura, Claire, Sarah and Andrew

Hello from the 3/4 team! 

What an unbelievable Concert Week! We were so proud of your children who all participated and put their best foot forward. Thank you for sending them looking so spectacular. “A Journey Through the Realms” was truly a special night for our school community and we loved watching our students shine on stage. A huge thank you to Nicci for her all her hard work in coordinating such a memorable experience for our students and their families.

This week in Literacy, we focused on how to be SunSmart. Students practised their note taking skills while watching clips and reading texts about UV rays, or ultraviolet radiation, which is an invisible form of energy from the sun and artificial sources that can cause skin damage, sun tanning, and skin cancer. Additionally, we've been honing our writing skills by learning to use quotation marks to punctuate direct speech and dialogue. Students got creative when they designed a poster that educates people about the 5 ways they can protect themselves from the sun. 

In Maths, we have begun our exploration into decimals and converting fractions to decimals and vice versa. To solidify our understanding, we've engaged in a variety of fun and interactive decimal-focused games; one such game is Decimats – competing with a partner to colour in a whole shape first. These activities have helped our students grasp the concepts with ease and enthusiasm.

What kinds of responsibilities does a good digital citizen have? This is the question that formed our eSmart lessons this week. Students explored what it means to take on responsibilities in both their offline and online communities as a way to learn how to be good digital citizens. By completing a Ring of Responsibility, students discussed some of the everyday responsibilities they have to themselves, to their friends and family, and to the larger community to be safe online. These included protecting passwords, standing up to cyberbullying, posting opinions respectfully, getting permission to post photos of others and keeping their private information private.

As part of our wellbeing program, students explored gender stereotypes in stories in our RRRR lessons. Students came up with a definition of what a stereotype is and then became ‘fairytale detectives’ as they looking into the stories to see if they find any stereotypes. From this, students described the roles commonly given to men and women in traditional fairy tales and were asked the question, Do fairytales create stereotypes that we need to challenge? Through character analysis and class discussions, students agreed that children and adults are free to choose their interests and roles, and this does not depend on their gender.

We hope you enjoy our photos from last weeks Cricket and Tennis clinics and some photos from our concert rehearsals and performances!

Next week we will continue looking at fractions and decimals in Maths, while in Literacy, we will be focusing on writing poetry.

Enjoy your weekend,

Sally, Louise, Mr Scott, Hannah and Carly

Just a short update of our busy week from Silver Banksia team.

What a week! What a performance! We’re all still buzzing (and maybe just a little tired) from Thursday’s shows. It was wonderful to hear such positive feedback from families, and we are so proud of the way our senior students stepped up as role models on stage. A huge congratulations to all our performers—you truly shone!

Next week, our Grade 5s are off on camp, an exciting way to finish the term with new experiences and adventures. Meanwhile, our Grade 6s will be enjoying a Teddy Bears Picnic at the Botanical Gardens on Wednesday 17th, sharing the day with their Prep buddies.  

It’s shaping up to be a fantastic end to the term. We hope everyone gets some well-earned rest this weekend so we can finish with a bang! 

Warm regards,
Hannah, Jay, Bec, Ben, Nicci & Mr Higgins

As we approach the end of term, the Art room has been busy with creativity and productivity!  

Prep - The Preps created cute echidnas inspired by First Nations artist Dulcie Sharpe. Using cut-outs, they added vibrant patterns with oil pastels and used card dipped in black paint to create textured spikes. This week, we focused on the beautiful wattle currently in blooming around Castlemaine. Students observed different examples, noticing the unique shapes of leaves and blossoms before painting their own interpretations. 

Grade 1/2 - Students have been learning the basics of sewing, a brand-new skill for many! They stitched borders and the first letter of their name with great enthusiasm. While threading needles and tying knots still require practice, their persistence and excitement have been wonderful to see. 

Grade 3/4 - We explored depth in landscape art by creating 3D scenes using paper. Students chose cool colours for the background and warm tones for the foreground to create the illusion of space, finishing with a point of interest to draw the eye. This week, they experimented with a new drawing technique: covering a page in oil pastel, then drawing on the back to transfer the image, like a printmaking process. I’ve also included some photos of the finished clay frogs. 

Grade 5/6 - Inspired by iconic fashion designer Jenny Kee, students have been designing and sewing their own jumper creations. Starting with sketches and paper patterns to get the sizing right, they explored a range of materials including beads, pom-poms, and ribbons. It’s been a fun process of creativity and experimentation, with plenty of opportunities to build sewing skills along the way.

Division Athletics – Gr 4-6 select students 

Good luck for Monday 15th September! Please meet Mr Higgins and Hannah R at the grapevine at 8:45am. Based on performances at the House Athletics last term, some students have the opportunity to participate at the Goldfields Division Track and Field in Bendigo. Students will travel by bus. There will be a $15 cost.

House Athletics Gr P-2 Tuesday 16th September 

Students in Grades P/1/2 will participate in their House Athletics Event at our school on Tuesday 16th September, 11:30-1:30. Students may wear their house team colours on this day. Events are modified and aimed at teamwork and participation. Grade 4-6 student leaders and SRC also have the opportunity to join this event as a group or event leader and they may also wear their house team colours. Families are welcome to come along to support our students.

1/2 CS

Alfie M - for the effort you are putting into verbalising your sounds clearly.
Oona D - for the thoughtful way you bring in items from home to share with the class.

1/2 L

Mali L - for the interest and care you showed when drawing your indigenous season wheel.
Monty G - for the joyful way you approached our book making task, creating an interesting book about four seasons.

1/2 WA

Eloise C - for the thoughtfulness and care you took with your Cold Write.
Leon R - for your beautiful and enthusiastic participation in our class performance.

3/4 H

Flynn L - for reminding your classmates of expectations for behaviour on excursions.

3/4 L

Marlow P - for the effort you are putting into your handwriting.

3/4 PS

Sadie A - for the kind and thoughtful way you help our class.
Tait E - for your courage and bravery when singing our song for the production.

5/6 BH

Tom D - for always challenging yourself with wonder and passion.

5/6 BN

Max C - for approaching your role in the school play with a calm and organised mindset.
Lochie C - for the calm and clever way you help when help is needed.

5/6 H

Tessa H - for your enthusiasm for finding out more and having your questions answered.
Jet M - for seeing what needs to happen and getting it done.

Indonesian

Lani M - for your positive contributions to our classroom.