Month: November 2019

Full Steam Ahead to the Specialist Showcase!

With the Specialist Showcase only two weeks away, students are still going….. full steam ahead! 

Grade 2 students have just finished embellishing their Chinese pagoda collages and they are incredibly impressive.

Foundation and Year One students have been engaged in the ‘Dotty World of Yayoi Kusama’ and have been creating 2D and 3D pumpkins with lots and lots of dots. It’s certainly been a lot of fun and a chance to experiment with our new ink daubers that make the perfect dot shape.

We can’t wait for you to see it all soon!

Royal Botanical Gardens Excursion

The Grade 3 students had an amazing time exploring the beautiful surrounding of the Botanical Gardens on Friday. This term, the Grade 3’s have been learning about different types of biomes and ecosystems in their Inquiry unit. 

The day was filled with lots of walking and exploring the different types of environments and plants that the gardens have to offer. The students compared biotic and abiotic features found in wetlands, arid landscapes, Australian forests, bamboo forests, tropical environments and rain forests.


Pen Pals – Italian

Last week the Grade 5 and 6 students met their pen pals through a Webex meeting at school. We went into the staff room and called Avondale primary using the Webex technology. Students were able to see and hear their pen pals and had a short conversation with them in Italian!

It was exciting to finally meet!

Sports Skills in Grade One and Two

The Grade One and Two students have had a great start to their ‘Striking and Fielding’ unit of work. The students have experienced success in hitting a ball from a T-ball stand. They have learnt to stand sideways, with their knees bent and shoulder-width apart, looking at the ball, lifting the bat behind their body at hip height to enable them to swing the bat and strike the ball. This skill will later transfer into the games of softball, T-ball, rounders and cricket.

Stadium Maths

For the rest of the term on a Friday, Maths number sessions are being held inside the stadium for ‘Stadium Maths.’ This is being run with all of the Grade 4 students and teachers. The students have been given a list of maths number goals that they need to work through and achieve. These goals have been targeted to their learning needs. Throughout the Maths sessions, students will participate in at least one workshop run by the teachers. While students wait for their workshop, they rotate through a range of activities that are targeted to their maths goals. 

Once students feel they have mastered a math goal, they will demonstrate their new skills to one of the Grade 4 teachers. The teacher will sign off the goals once the students have demonstrated their understanding. Last Friday was our first session of ‘Stadium Maths’ and we have received positive feedback from the students. They have exclaimed that they like having lots of choice on their activities, interacting with students from different groups, partnering up with different learning buddies and they enjoyed that their activities are game based. 

Students have taken a photo of their goals on their iPads so that they can practise their goals at home as well. 

Scienceworks Excursion

Last Friday we visited Scienceworks, because we have been learning all about Wild and Wonderful Weather in our Inquiry Learning Unit!

First we went to the Lightning Room to watch a show called ‘What’s With The Weather.’ We learnt that weather is controlled by three factors: temperature, moisture and changes in the way the air moves (wind). We got to see some wacky weather experiments like how to make a cloud in a bottle and how to make rain and… we even got to see real lightning flash before our eyes!! It was really cool. We also visited the STEM Lab where we transformed and turned into engineers, our mission was to work together to build and test solutions to the challenges faced by Dot, the main character in an interactive story. We worked really well and came up with some creative designs!

After that we explored the museum and exhibitions, some of our favourite parts were: racing our friends at the Cathy Freeman running race, experimenting with different sounds in the sound room, seeing one of the first ever computers which is the same size of our classroom and playing the exercise and diamond game.

We had an awesome time at Scienceworks, it was a spectacular experience for all!

Italian Passports

Over the last couple of weeks, students in Grade Three and Four have been working on their Italian Passports as part of the ‘Travelling Around the World’ unit. Students included personal details such as their date of birth and address as well as their nationalities. Throughout the lessons, students learned how to write and translate all of their information into Italian! They are now ready to travel the world!

Clay Play in the Art Room!

This Art this term students are learning about ‘Clay’ and have been having lots of fun exploring this medium. Who would have thought that penne pasta could make such pretty pattern in a slab of clay? Or that Grandma’s old doilies could create such a beautiful texture?

Junior students are getting the hang of rolling the clay into a slab that has the thickness of a ‘choc chip cookie’ (or any cookie you like really!) and using different implements to create patterns in the clay.

Senior students have also had fun learning the ‘Slip, Score and Smooth’ method to attach two bits of clay together.

We have also had the opportunity to test out our clay sink which is a new addition to the art room and makes cleaning up a whole lot easier!!

‘I want to ride my bicycle’

Blink and you’ll miss this Term and all the exciting learning happening. The students in 5/6 have been busy extending their knowledge in and out of the classroom for the last four weeks and it’s going to continue until the end of term!

The grade 5 students have started their Bike Education program. We brushed up on our bike theory in the first week during rotations. This allowed the students to discuss the importance of bike safety, be guided through how to do a thorough bike check, what to do in certain scenarios and what actions should be taken when approaching road signs.

We have now moved onto the practical elements which saw the students getting onto their bikes to participate in rotations to practice their skills. Our rotations focus on bike skills that are fundamental and will create lifelong safe habits while riding their bikes…as much as we all dread the slow ride!!

The grade 6 students have been hard at work as well getting ready for their upcoming Graduation. They have been working collaboratively to ensure that their night is nothing but spectacular and the excitement after each meeting is contagious. I wish we could disclose more information but we don’t want to ruin the surprise. You’ll have to watch this space for an update!


Inspirational quote: “Everything you don’t know is something you can learn”

World of Robotics

Grade 2 students delved into the ‘World of Robotics’ today. Students explored the design and technology that goes into planning such a unique life-like machine. 

Thus far in our Term 4 Inquiry unit, ‘Ch-Ch-Changes’, students have explored the evolution and development of technology through the ages. Our unit has a large focus on modern technologies, hardware, software and the commands that make technology function. 

Students overall enthusiasm and engagement in today’s incursion and the unit thus far has been great to see. Here are some snapshots from the ‘World of Robotics’ incursion.