Intensive Swim Update

Students who signed up for the Intensive Swim Program, will be going swimming on four occasions next week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday). Please make sure that your child has all their swimming gear with them.

The Imagination Inquiry

We have recently embarked upon a new inquiry and I thought I'd share with you some of the photos of the provocations which we have put around the neighbourhood. Through these provocations, we are finding out what concepts the children have in regards to imagination and how do the children connect and relate these concepts to learning situations. It has been a more organic process than we have been used to allowing the students to lead the inquiry through their different expressions. So far, we have seen incredible levels of engagement already and have also witnessed high levels of critical thinking and creativity as well as application of skills and approaches we did not envisage. We hope to develop this inquiry during the last week of term and into the next term.

The Cinema Imaginarium where films are shown each day.

The review book for the Cinema Imaginerium

The Photographic Exhibition Wall where
imagination is expressed through photography.

The calligraphy area where students write
captions for their photography.

The Da Vinci wall with the Da Vinci sketch book.

The Dr Seuss provocation. 

The character development area where students can
develop their illustrations for their own book.

Think About It book. Students try and
answer some challenging questions.

Inside the Think About It book.

The Premier’s Active Families Challenge

Here is a message from the organisers of The Premier’s Active Families Challenge...

The Premier’s Active Families Challenge is a key component of the Victorian Government’s commitment to get more people more active more often.

· The Challenge provides a great opportunity for all Victorian families to spend time together and enjoy the benefits of an active lifestyle.
· Families participating in the Challenge are asked to do 30 minutes of physical activity a day for 30 days between 19 March and 30 April 2012. 
· Each family that registers will receive 20 free YMCA passes, discounts at Rebel Sport, one free child pass to the Melbourne Aquarium and one free child pass to the National Sports Museum, and opportunities to win prizes including iPads and Rebel Sport vouchers.
· There will be regular tips and ideas on ways to keep active throughout the Challenge. 

Get more active more often, spend quality time together and have fun. It’s free, it’s easy, and there are plenty of chances to win prizes for yourself or your school .
 
Register online at www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/challenge or call 1800 463 684, and remember to include our school’s name when you register.

Storybird Poems

During this term, the Year 3/4 students have been investigating poems. As a part of this investigation, we have been exploring the use of Storybird during ICT. Storybird is a web application that allows users to choose illustrations as inspiration for their writing. It has been a highly successful and engaging exercise, giving us opportunities to write, share and discuss our own poetry. Here is a selection of poems our students have composed for your viewing pleasure.

Click on Open on the corner of the frame to read the poems! Some poems contain more than one page, so make sure you click on the arrows at the bottom.

I WONT EAT MEAT by Callum
The Panda Who Can't Sing by Maddie
COLOUR IN THE SKY by Mia
Zombies attack by Jax
Friends by Bella M
rain by Grace

The Welcome Festival 2012

We would like to thank all parents who were able attend the Welcome Festival this year. As a parent, I know the difficulty of attending school events during week days and so I thought I would post some photos, not only for the attendees, but those who were unable to come this time. Special thanks must go to Bella's mum, who was absolutely indispensable during the final preparation on the day. 


Please click on the photographs to enlarge.

Final preparations for the sausage rolls.

Chopping up the mango for the pavlova.

Choc milks and the pitta bread sandwiches are ready to be served.

The Mini Pavlova Bears are being constructed.

Cream cake is baked and ready!

Children singing Haere Mai.

and then they sing G'day, G'day....

The food is served!

Intensive Swim Program Reminder

Don't forget your swimming gear on Thursdays and Fridays if you are signed up for the Intensive Swim Program!

Writer's Notebook

This Monday, students will be receiving their own Writer's Notebooks, which they will be expected to make an entry into every week. The Writer's Notebook is an excellent way of inspiring students to write, explore different genres and make writing relevant. Writer's Notebook contains two parts. The first part is the Seed of Thought, where students paste in a paper-based inspiration from home, such as a newspaper cutting, a ticket from a show or sporting event, a pamphlet from a museum exhibition, a photograph, a postcard, a picture found inside a magazine etc. This allows students to connect their writing with their 'out-of-school' experiences and come up with inspirations that are relevant to them. From this Seed of Thought, students write some ideas that come to mind and some possibilities for a full piece of writing. The possibilities might include a poem, a story or an informational piece. The students then choose one of the possibilities and write a full piece of writing inside the writer's notebook.

As all students are expected to bring in something to use as a Seed of Thought at the beginning of the week, we ask parents to discuss during the weekend which Seed of Thought to choose from home.

We are hoping to mark the end of the academic year by presenting the students' completed Writer's Notebooks to parents. 

Parent Responses to The Welcome Festival

We are asking children as a home learning possibility to interview parents and carers about the Welcome Festival. Students are able to produce this in a written format or as a recording. We ask that parents review the responses for their accuracy. These can be handed in to one of the neighbourhood teachers.