Included this week in Learning Community News:-
- 5/6 Learning Community
5/6 Scienceworks Excursion 23/6/2017
Scienceworks was fantastic. Our program included a robotics session, a lesson in the Lightning Room and a video in the Planetarium.
Planetarium
First we went to the Planetarium. We waited outside the door for a while. After what felt like ages, the man running the show welcomed us and we all sat down. He told us how we could lie down in the chairs to watch. We watched a movie “TILT” on how the earth is tilted. It is tilted 23.5 degrees. This makes the earth spin on an angle and, as a result, if you are at the North or South Pole then you will have a few months of darkness then a few months of light over and over. If you are closer to the equator then you have seasons. Without this tilt everyday would be the same.
After TILT we watched the night sky and all of the constellations. We learnt that we needed to look at the Southern Cross and put four and a half more lengths to find South. When the man told us about all of the usual constellations he told us about an Emu and how it can be formed in the Milky Way from the black spots.
As we left people had to get used to the light. When everyone was fine we headed off to our next activity.
General Viewing
A great part of Science Works was the general viewing. The playground was the most adventurous part of Scienceworks. There were lots of different things to do at the playground - like the monkey bars, the slides, the boat and many more. When we were waiting to go to the lightning room it was a great thing to do instead of waiting quietly. It was nice to play with our friends. There was a boat and that was the most popular thing to do and when you were on it was so squishy. There was a lot of grass to do whatever you wanted to to like cartwheels or anything else.
Sportworks was amazing. Our group had so much fun learning about different sports. We had a lot of fun learning a range of different things that make your body work in sport. I thought that the best part of the experience was racing Cathy Freeman on the race track or climbing on the rock climbing wall. I thought that sportsworks was a great learning experience.
As we were adventuring around Science Works there were fun activities on what life would be like in the future. There were activities where you could make an alien, a future car and how we can make everyday life in the more environmentally friendly and fun.We all enjoyed the trip and hope to go back soon.
The Lightning Room
We had a WONDERFUL day at Scienceworks and we were lucky enough to do some fabulous activities. In the lightning room they told us about the three m’s; movement, magnet and metal coil. We learnt that you need those ingredients to make electricity.
While we were in the lightning room, we learnt a lot about positive and negative charge. We learnt that when two positive charges are joined they repel (same with two negatives), but when positive and negative charges join they attracted like magnets.
Rhys and Macy were lucky enough to be selected to be the demonstration people for static electricity. Gordon (The person teaching us) rubbed two water balloons filled with air on Rhys’ head and the balloons stuck to his head! Macy later got to stand on a crate and put her hand on this big round metal ball. The man running the show filled Macy’s hand with confetti. The hair on Macy’s head stood out and the confetti in her hand went flying.
Charlie and Olivia got called up to do things as well. Charlie rode a bike to power little lights and Olivia got to play an electric guitar.
Scienceworks was fantastic. Our program included a robotics session, a lesson in the Lightning Room and a video in the Planetarium.
Planetarium
First we went to the Planetarium. We waited outside the door for a while. After what felt like ages, the man running the show welcomed us and we all sat down. He told us how we could lie down in the chairs to watch. We watched a movie “TILT” on how the earth is tilted. It is tilted 23.5 degrees. This makes the earth spin on an angle and, as a result, if you are at the North or South Pole then you will have a few months of darkness then a few months of light over and over. If you are closer to the equator then you have seasons. Without this tilt everyday would be the same.
After TILT we watched the night sky and all of the constellations. We learnt that we needed to look at the Southern Cross and put four and a half more lengths to find South. When the man told us about all of the usual constellations he told us about an Emu and how it can be formed in the Milky Way from the black spots.
As we left people had to get used to the light. When everyone was fine we headed off to our next activity.
General Viewing
A great part of Science Works was the general viewing. The playground was the most adventurous part of Scienceworks. There were lots of different things to do at the playground - like the monkey bars, the slides, the boat and many more. When we were waiting to go to the lightning room it was a great thing to do instead of waiting quietly. It was nice to play with our friends. There was a boat and that was the most popular thing to do and when you were on it was so squishy. There was a lot of grass to do whatever you wanted to to like cartwheels or anything else.
Sportworks was amazing. Our group had so much fun learning about different sports. We had a lot of fun learning a range of different things that make your body work in sport. I thought that the best part of the experience was racing Cathy Freeman on the race track or climbing on the rock climbing wall. I thought that sportsworks was a great learning experience.
As we were adventuring around Science Works there were fun activities on what life would be like in the future. There were activities where you could make an alien, a future car and how we can make everyday life in the more environmentally friendly and fun.We all enjoyed the trip and hope to go back soon.
The Lightning Room
We had a WONDERFUL day at Scienceworks and we were lucky enough to do some fabulous activities. In the lightning room they told us about the three m’s; movement, magnet and metal coil. We learnt that you need those ingredients to make electricity.
While we were in the lightning room, we learnt a lot about positive and negative charge. We learnt that when two positive charges are joined they repel (same with two negatives), but when positive and negative charges join they attracted like magnets.
Rhys and Macy were lucky enough to be selected to be the demonstration people for static electricity. Gordon (The person teaching us) rubbed two water balloons filled with air on Rhys’ head and the balloons stuck to his head! Macy later got to stand on a crate and put her hand on this big round metal ball. The man running the show filled Macy’s hand with confetti. The hair on Macy’s head stood out and the confetti in her hand went flying.
Charlie and Olivia got called up to do things as well. Charlie rode a bike to power little lights and Olivia got to play an electric guitar.
Lightning is a type of electricity that occurs when the air is charged between clouds and the ground. Sometimes they cause a fire. If you are standing in the middle of a lightning storm it’s best that you don’t stand anywhere near something tall. You don’t stand under anything tall or under a metal bus shelter, that is because it could come down the tall thing that you are standing under or you could attract the lightning by standing near or under metal.
In the end we learnt so much about static electricity. We learnt a lot about negative and positive charge, we learnt about the’ 3 M’s (magnet, movement and metal coil.) We got to do really cool activities that you could volunteer for. We even got to watch lightning being made in the room behind us and learn about the safest places to be in a lightning storm! We had the best day!
In the end we learnt so much about static electricity. We learnt a lot about negative and positive charge, we learnt about the’ 3 M’s (magnet, movement and metal coil.) We got to do really cool activities that you could volunteer for. We even got to watch lightning being made in the room behind us and learn about the safest places to be in a lightning storm! We had the best day!
ROBOTICS!!
Now it was time for Robotics. We opened the door and to our amazement there were human-like robots. They were blue and white, and these robots were incredible!! The instructor's name was Paul. He was taught us to understand simple robotics. We all got to use a Lego robot. The Lego robots had sensors, that are like human senses. We programmed the Lego robots to walk and sense the walls around them. Paul showed us how the blue and white robots dance and talk too. At the end of the day Paul programmed the robots to dance for us and to say, “ Goodbye and have a safe trip back to Ballarat.” We all gave Paul a round of applause for teaching us about robotics! Everyone thought Scienceworks was amazing and was disappointed to have to go back home.
Written By LG6
Edited By Darby and Hannah
Now it was time for Robotics. We opened the door and to our amazement there were human-like robots. They were blue and white, and these robots were incredible!! The instructor's name was Paul. He was taught us to understand simple robotics. We all got to use a Lego robot. The Lego robots had sensors, that are like human senses. We programmed the Lego robots to walk and sense the walls around them. Paul showed us how the blue and white robots dance and talk too. At the end of the day Paul programmed the robots to dance for us and to say, “ Goodbye and have a safe trip back to Ballarat.” We all gave Paul a round of applause for teaching us about robotics! Everyone thought Scienceworks was amazing and was disappointed to have to go back home.
Written By LG6
Edited By Darby and Hannah
 |  |
NAIDOC week!!
NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. NAIDOC Week is held in the first full week of July which is the 3rd to the 9th of July this year. This is the first week of the school holidays. NAIDOC week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. From 1940 until 1955, the Day of Mourning was held annually on the Sunday before Australia Day and was known as Aborigines Day. The first NAIDOC week was in 1955. Aborigines Day was shifted to the first Sunday in July after it was decided the day should not simply become a protest day but also a celebration of Aboriginal culture. -Macy
NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. NAIDOC Week is held in the first full week of July which is the 3rd to the 9th of July this year. This is the first week of the school holidays. NAIDOC week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. From 1940 until 1955, the Day of Mourning was held annually on the Sunday before Australia Day and was known as Aborigines Day. The first NAIDOC week was in 1955. Aborigines Day was shifted to the first Sunday in July after it was decided the day should not simply become a protest day but also a celebration of Aboriginal culture. -Macy
On Monday we were fortunate to have a NAIDOC Week ceremony led by members of our school community and St Patrick’s College student Jack Sampi. Jack showed us photos of his father and relatives and taught us about the importance of country and languages. We saw photos of Jack’s dad catching fish with spears and his relatives catching crabs with their hands! We also learnt that there are over 250 Indigenous languages in Australia and that it is very important to respect the elders in your community.
Thank you Jack for teaching us so much!
By Olivia K, Ashton T and Charlotte S
Thank you Jack for teaching us so much!
By Olivia K, Ashton T and Charlotte S
Semester Reflections
For our reports this year, we have included a reflection on our year so far. Abbey Br and Jack D have volunteered to share theirs with you.
Abbey’s Semester One Reflection
English - Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Speaking & Listening
This semester has been amazing! I have enjoyed writing stories, reading books, learning new spelling words and listening to a great teacher (Mr Bruty). I feel like I have learnt a lot about writing because I feel like my writing is getting a lot better and I am using more describing words. My favourite story I have written is my information report on ‘Why books are better than T.V.’ I also think that I am getting a lot better with my reading because I feel like I am reading more clearly and understanding the book better. Another one is my spelling because I am getting my words correct and that is making my writing a lot better.
Mathematics - Mental Maths, Place Value, Addition, Subtraction, and Time
My effort in my maths has been really good this semester because I am learning more and more with it and in ‘Time’ I have improved alot since the start of the year. I have also improved on my subtraction because I have learnt a new strategy and that one is the number line one. I think that it has made my maths a lot better because I am doing better in my CFAT’s.
RE and Specialists - PE, Digital Ed, Music, and Japanese
My favourite thing in school is doing P.E and interschool sports. I have loved doing sport every year at school and I was really happy hearing that Mr Lynch would be the ⅚ sport teacher. In interschool sport I have been doing netball or basketball because those are my favourite sports to do. I have also loved doing Music/Drama because it has made me more confident with standing up in front of the class. In digital tech I have been learning lots about coding and scratch.
General - Work habits, Organisation, Behaviour, ERP, Leadership, Goal Setting etc.
I have found it difficult to follow my planner because when I get something to do that I really enjoy doing, I do it for too long. I think that my behaviour has been really good because I am getting a lot of work done. Being a grade 5 makes me feel very happy because I have to be a good role model for the younger kids and that makes me proud of myself.
THIS SEMESTER HAS BEEN AWESOME!
Jack’s Semester One Reflection
I have had an fantastic first semester, it’s gone really quick. My favorite experience was obviously camp. I’ve never been to the Grampians before and it was really great. The best experience was the Giant Swing. As I got dragged up I looked down and saw all these tiny pinheads of my classmates. I was so high! I was fiddling with something that I think was my harness clip (the thing holding me on the rope), I reckon if I had kept fiddling with it and pushed the little lever in more I would’ve fallen. I stopped when I was halfway because I realised what that clip was. I was right next to the cord that we have to pull and I pulled it, I didn’t drop. I became more casual with pulling it because I was suspended in mid air by a rope and I wasn’t dropping. I pulled it for the sixth time and I got a massive fright as I dropped and swung. The jolt was incredible as I swung past and approached the ground.
Although that was the best experience, my favorite experience was netting in the river flats. I like the water more than anything so this suited me, and I felt like I was at a dam at home. I knew where to net because I did it a lot at home, so I headed for the reeds and branches. I took one swipe into the water. I got a small yabby and a couple of backswimmer beetles. I took another swipe and got a six inch sized yabby which was the biggest any kid from all the schools at the camp had ever gotten. Jett Ripper was screaming in excitement and I decided to play it cool and be calm. We didn’t eat it, of course, eating one small yabby is a waste of life.
I think that I could’ve improved a lot in my schoolwork. It was only nearing the end of term two when I started to kick it up a notch. My Mental Maths was terrifying. I had done about two weeks for Term Two and about seven weeks for Term One. It’s my fault that I did that because I should’ve managed my time really well and not be rushing and forgetting about it. My goal for next term is to finish my Mental Maths and do the best I can possibly do. My writing was fairly well for both terms. Of course, they were all mostly drafts and never good copies but I always had a document up my sleeve to give when we were asked to give them it. Reading for me was poor. I can read and write good responses but like mental maths, it wasn’t on the top of my priority list and I tried to fit as much as I could in my timetable. To make up for lost reading time, I read for about an hour in bed after school every night. I think I did reasonably well on tests for the semester and I’m proud of my work.
My behavior was fairly well in specialist classes (Japanese, PE, Digital Ed, Music), I could improve in Japanese though. I’m not impressed of my behavior there. Sometimes in all of them a little joke is okay but usually I don’t take it further than that.
My organisation was poor to okay. My tub is a disaster but I seem to always find my things in it… My chromebook charger however, is usually always with me or in my tub. Sometimes it’ll end up at the heater charging station. What’s really strange and sort of creepy is that every time I go to put my chair up, somebody else has already done it for me. Just my chair. Jett Ripper’s chair is right next to mine and it never gets lifted by itself.
All and all semester one was awesome and semester two is going to be even better. I can’t wait!!!
For our reports this year, we have included a reflection on our year so far. Abbey Br and Jack D have volunteered to share theirs with you.
Abbey’s Semester One Reflection
English - Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Speaking & Listening
This semester has been amazing! I have enjoyed writing stories, reading books, learning new spelling words and listening to a great teacher (Mr Bruty). I feel like I have learnt a lot about writing because I feel like my writing is getting a lot better and I am using more describing words. My favourite story I have written is my information report on ‘Why books are better than T.V.’ I also think that I am getting a lot better with my reading because I feel like I am reading more clearly and understanding the book better. Another one is my spelling because I am getting my words correct and that is making my writing a lot better.
Mathematics - Mental Maths, Place Value, Addition, Subtraction, and Time
My effort in my maths has been really good this semester because I am learning more and more with it and in ‘Time’ I have improved alot since the start of the year. I have also improved on my subtraction because I have learnt a new strategy and that one is the number line one. I think that it has made my maths a lot better because I am doing better in my CFAT’s.
RE and Specialists - PE, Digital Ed, Music, and Japanese
My favourite thing in school is doing P.E and interschool sports. I have loved doing sport every year at school and I was really happy hearing that Mr Lynch would be the ⅚ sport teacher. In interschool sport I have been doing netball or basketball because those are my favourite sports to do. I have also loved doing Music/Drama because it has made me more confident with standing up in front of the class. In digital tech I have been learning lots about coding and scratch.
General - Work habits, Organisation, Behaviour, ERP, Leadership, Goal Setting etc.
I have found it difficult to follow my planner because when I get something to do that I really enjoy doing, I do it for too long. I think that my behaviour has been really good because I am getting a lot of work done. Being a grade 5 makes me feel very happy because I have to be a good role model for the younger kids and that makes me proud of myself.
THIS SEMESTER HAS BEEN AWESOME!
Jack’s Semester One Reflection
I have had an fantastic first semester, it’s gone really quick. My favorite experience was obviously camp. I’ve never been to the Grampians before and it was really great. The best experience was the Giant Swing. As I got dragged up I looked down and saw all these tiny pinheads of my classmates. I was so high! I was fiddling with something that I think was my harness clip (the thing holding me on the rope), I reckon if I had kept fiddling with it and pushed the little lever in more I would’ve fallen. I stopped when I was halfway because I realised what that clip was. I was right next to the cord that we have to pull and I pulled it, I didn’t drop. I became more casual with pulling it because I was suspended in mid air by a rope and I wasn’t dropping. I pulled it for the sixth time and I got a massive fright as I dropped and swung. The jolt was incredible as I swung past and approached the ground.
Although that was the best experience, my favorite experience was netting in the river flats. I like the water more than anything so this suited me, and I felt like I was at a dam at home. I knew where to net because I did it a lot at home, so I headed for the reeds and branches. I took one swipe into the water. I got a small yabby and a couple of backswimmer beetles. I took another swipe and got a six inch sized yabby which was the biggest any kid from all the schools at the camp had ever gotten. Jett Ripper was screaming in excitement and I decided to play it cool and be calm. We didn’t eat it, of course, eating one small yabby is a waste of life.
I think that I could’ve improved a lot in my schoolwork. It was only nearing the end of term two when I started to kick it up a notch. My Mental Maths was terrifying. I had done about two weeks for Term Two and about seven weeks for Term One. It’s my fault that I did that because I should’ve managed my time really well and not be rushing and forgetting about it. My goal for next term is to finish my Mental Maths and do the best I can possibly do. My writing was fairly well for both terms. Of course, they were all mostly drafts and never good copies but I always had a document up my sleeve to give when we were asked to give them it. Reading for me was poor. I can read and write good responses but like mental maths, it wasn’t on the top of my priority list and I tried to fit as much as I could in my timetable. To make up for lost reading time, I read for about an hour in bed after school every night. I think I did reasonably well on tests for the semester and I’m proud of my work.
My behavior was fairly well in specialist classes (Japanese, PE, Digital Ed, Music), I could improve in Japanese though. I’m not impressed of my behavior there. Sometimes in all of them a little joke is okay but usually I don’t take it further than that.
My organisation was poor to okay. My tub is a disaster but I seem to always find my things in it… My chromebook charger however, is usually always with me or in my tub. Sometimes it’ll end up at the heater charging station. What’s really strange and sort of creepy is that every time I go to put my chair up, somebody else has already done it for me. Just my chair. Jett Ripper’s chair is right next to mine and it never gets lifted by itself.
All and all semester one was awesome and semester two is going to be even better. I can’t wait!!!
RSS Feed
