PB 1

Primary School Newsletter Issue No.12 16th August 2019

Dear Parents

Hairspray...Alamanda 2019 college production finished the season on Sunday. I took my mother to see this production and she had a wonderful afternoon entertained by our very talented cast. I would assume many

families brought extended family to share in this season’s production.

We should all be very proud of the presentation recognising some 159 students were involved across the college from Years 5-9. This annual production allows students to be bound together in a diverse series of relationships as they pursue passions and interests that connect them into the needs of the production meeting other like-minded students from across the college.

Sincere thanks must be extended to all cast members stage production team members arts department crew and of course the teaching staff who provided support for the students. I can not omit family members who as always were with us every step of the way.

Lucinda Burney and Alice Osborne as always developed the plan and gathered a strong supporting team around them. Our Congratulations to everyone involved in anyway..

HELP NEEDED... translatorsWe need support from our community to translate our simple food technology form for primary students. This is a very simple form. Please see next page.

If you can translate this into your language (Hindi. Telugu, Urdu, Tamil, Punjabi, Marathi) please call Ashlee at the front office on 8376 5200.

As always enjoy the week.

Dare to be wise in all your thoughts and deeds

Kindest regards,

Lyn JobsonAlamanda College Principal

2 3

2 3

4 5

News from PrepBy Ms Fiona McCallum, Prep B

Unit of InquiryThis Term, the Preps have been investigating the Central Idea ‘Folktales can be told in many ways for different purposes’ through the lens of Key Concepts including perspective, connection and change.

In Prep A, B and C’s learning Pod, you might just come across our Newspaper Wall ‘ABC Podcast News Folktale Edition’. Students have been exploring a variety of Folk Tales and inquiring into the Moral of the Story.

When investigating different Morals, students are beginning to understand the Folk Tales often carry a message. You may see some ‘QR’ codes that can be scanned onto Seesaw where you can hear Preps articulating the moral of The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Ugly Duckling. We have also started to identify different characters and their features, including Rapunzel and her golden hair. The Preps demonstrated they were thinkers when they used formal and informal measurement to estimate the length of Rapunzel’s hair.

After reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we also made connections to our Unit of Inquiry from the start of the year, where we investigated the height of three different bears. The preps chose which bears we were going to measure including the Polar Bear, Brown Bear and Giant Panda. We used informal and formal measurement, connecting this to the different heights of the three bears, Father Bear, Mother Bear and Baby Bear.

100 Days of school celebrationLast Friday was our 100 Days of School celebration. The preps celebrated this in various ways, including making fairy bread and creating our 100 Days of School hats. We counted out 100 things, including Legos, unifix and animal counters. We even drew and wrote about ‘if we could eat 100 of something’. Some children said they would eat 100 cupcakes while others said they would eat 100 hotdogs.

4 5

Alamanda College

ACTING LEADING TEACHER’S/LEARNING SPECIALIST’S SUMMARY

Transition DayFairy Park - ExcursionOur Central Idea for the Term is ‘Folktales can be told in many ways for different purposes’. One of our Lines of Inquiry; ‘Students will investigate folktales from different origins from around the world’ aligns with the IB mission to ‘..create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect…’.

The Prep Team are excited to announce we will be attending our first Excursion for the year! Prep students will be picked up by bus from Alamanda College and will begin their journey to Fairy Park. Fairy Park is set in the beautiful open rolling countryside of Anakie, Enter Fairy Park and discover Fairies, Elves, Hippogriffs and Dragons in this enchanting medieval wonderland. Set on top of a spectacular granite outcrop, Fairy Park features castles, Himalayan Cedar gardens and incredible 360-degree views for miles all around making Fairy Park the perfect place to escape with family and friends. A magical, timeless place packed full of attractions waiting to be discovered, Fairy Park is a unique world dedicated to bringing classic children’s stories and legends to life, right in front of your bewitched eyes. The Park is set over 3 main lands, “Fairy Tale Land” “Camelot Adventure Playground” and “King Arthurs Rock” Picnic Grounds.

We will be requiring some parent helpers for the day who have their Working with Children Check. If you are interested, please let your classroom teacher know. Volunteers will be selected randomly and will be notified in a timely manner before the excursion. Please ensure payment is delivered to your child’s classroom teacher

by Friday the 23rd of August. If you have any further questions, please feel free to talk to your child’s teacher.

ArtefactsArtefacts are a great way to consolidate, connect and further explore our Current Unit of Inquiry. So far we have seen a variety of artefacts, including Traditional Folk Tales from around the World, favourite books and even some models recreating different Folk Tales. Students presenting artefacts have the opportunity to further develop their Oral Language and Speaking & Listening Skills, aligned with the Victorian Curriculum. In this newsletter, I have included some photos of artefacts to inspire parents. Remember, there are no limits to what an artefact actually is. It can be as simple as photo or even an upload onto Seesaw to share with the class.

Drop off & Pick UpWe would like to thank our families and carers for their support to get children to school on time. Please ensure that your child is entering his/her classroom by 8:30am for an 8:40am start. We are noticing that our Prep students are arriving much later than this on a regular basis. We understand that there are often some circumstances where this is unavoidable, therefore if you are later than 8:40am please sign your child in at the office. We thank everyone for their understanding. Dare to be wise,

Georgia Bell on behalf of the Prep team

6 7

Sea Shepherd IncursionThe Year One students were very excited to attend their incursion yesterday, where they learnt all about how, the non for profit organisation, ‘Sea Shepherd’ works towards saving ocean life. Students were inquirers when asking questions around the Line of Inquiry, ‘Wasted Resources’, wondering why people throw rubbish on the ground and how this washes into the ocean. They were thinkers when discussing the impact human waste has on ocean life and how they, as a Year One cohort, can reduce their waste. Students learnt about the action ‘Sea Shepherd’ has taken all around the world, such as cleaning up ocean oil spills and rescuing injured wildlife. Students were enthusiastic learners when discovering that 70% of the oxygen they breathe comes from the ocean!

News from Year 1By Ms. Georgia Skeen- 1J, Ms. Jess Bennett- 1K, Mrs. Lisa Calus- 1L,

Ms. Cassey Robinson- 1M & Mrs. Tegan Ma- 1N

Unit of InquiryDuring the current Unit of Inquiry, students have continued to develop their understanding of the Central Idea ‘Understanding How Humans Use and Dispose of Resources Impacts on the Natural Environment’. Students have been using emotive and persuasive language during writing tasks to share their opinion and thoughts about the Central Idea. They are thinkers, who are using facts, their developing understanding of fractions and persuasive writing to assist them to share their growing knowledge of the Unit of Inquiry. Students are persuading their peers to ‘Stop Throwing Rubbish!’ through the Visible Thinking Routine, ‘Headlines’, and to ‘Save the Planet’ through persuasive posters.

Worm FarmsAs Part of the Line of Inquiry ‘Ethical and Sustainable use of Resources’, the year one students have been examining how they can dispose of resources in a way that positively impacts the environment. Students are taking action in the classrooms by disposing of fruit and vegetable scraps into a classroom worm farm. They were involved in constructing the home for the worms and asked questions such as “Why do the worms travel to the bottom of the farm?” and “What do worms eat?” Through the worm farm experience students are learning about the value of composting and the benefit this has when we return the compost to the soil to grow our own crops.

Taking ActionThe Year One students have been curious and committed learners during this Unit of Inquiry, by taking action both at home and at school. Students are taking action by picking up rubbish in the school yard, making ethical choices by bringing nude food to school and developing their understanding that, by turning off taps and lights when they are not needed, minimises their carbon footprint. The Years Ones are committed to minimising their impact on the environment and we encourage them to discuss with their families ways they can make ethical choices and minimise their wasted resources.

ArtefactsThe Year One students are encouraged to continue bringing in artefacts that link their understanding of the Central Idea to their discussions at home. Artefacts can include books, short clips on their iPads, photos, posters or an experience they have had. We encourage all students to bring in an artefact, allowing them to present to their peers, developing their speaking and listening skills.

6 7

,

The Year 2 students have continued to demonstrate curiosity in their fourth Unit of Inquiry ‘How the World Works’ by exploring the Central Idea ‘Earth’s surface changes over time as a result of natural processes’. To assist students’ investigations into the line of inquiry ‘Rocks tell stories about Earth’s surface’, the Year 2 cohort participated in the ‘Geology Rocks’ incursion.

Zara, Swara and Talia have demonstrated that they are confident communicators by sharing their experiences and what they have learnt from the ‘Geology Rocks’ incursion.

News from Year 2By Mr Sam Wight, 2E

Zara, 2D:On the 2nd of August we had an incursion on the Earth’s surface. We met Jacqui the scientist. One of the activities I did was doing a map of the tectonic plates which was a puzzle. I liked the area that we could test how hard the rock is. I would really like to now investigate why volcanoes erupt!

Swara, 2D:One of the activities I like was sorting out the different rocks. I enjoyed panning for gold because I actually found gold!! I would further like to investigate how the tectonic plates collide and why the Earth has lots of different layers.

Talia, 2E:At the ‘Geology Rocks’ incursion we did lots of activities like gold panning, using a seismograph, sorting out rocks and different experiments with rocks. My favourite activity was making the map of the different tectonic plates under Earth’s surface with a group of my friends. I want to now investigate how floods happen and how they can change Earth’s surface.

By Sam Wight on behalf of the Year 2 Team.

8 9

Alamanda College

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S SUMMARY

Dear Parents and Carers,

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new families who have joined the Alamanda College learning community in the recent weeks. I believe 14 students have joined the Year 1 and 2 Mini-school since the start of the term and all

students have settled quickly into the daily school routines.

The Primary Years ProgrammeThe students have been updating their Individual Learning Goals and will be supported in achieving their goals through our Units of Inquiry, as well as through stand- alone literacy and numeracy lessons. Students are further developing their thinking skills and understandings, with an emphasis on developing a deeper understanding of the use of Visible Thinking Skills and through the Primary Years Program (PYP). The Year One have begun their fourth Unit of Inquiry for 2019, exploring the Transdisciplinary Theme, ‘Sharing the Planet’, through the Central Idea, ‘Understanding how humans use and dispose of resources, impacts on the natural environment’. They will be exploring the Unit of Inquiry through the Key Concepts of ‘Form, Function and Responsibility’, as their guiding lens when asking questions about the Lines of Inquiry, ‘Wasted Resources, Ethical and Sustainable Use of Resources, and, Different Resources Have Value and are Limited’. Students have begun using provocations, such as short clips, photos and Visible Thinking Tools, to develop their understanding of the Unit of Inquiry. The Year One Students are considering what natural, finite and renewable resources are, where waste goes and the impacts on the environment. Students will be encouraged to identify the types of waste and how we can make positive changes to our resource usage. Students are considering their daily impact on the natural environment, such as lunch rubbish, water usage and power, and are beginning to inquire into renewable alternatives. A visit from “Sea Shepherd” alerted students

to their conservation work and how we can support their work.

The Year Two have begun inquiring into their fourth Unit of Inquiry of the year, which will run for a total of six weeks. The Transdisciplinary Theme, ‘How the World Works’ will be explored through the Central Idea, ‘Earth’s surface changes over time as a result of natural processes.’ The Key Concepts of Function: How does it work? Connection: How is it connected to other things? and Change: How is it changing? The Lines of Inquiry to guide this unit of inquiry include - The impact of wind and rain of the Earth’s surface, Earth’s tectonic plates are changing over time and Rocks tell stories about the Earth’s surface. The students also enjoyed participating in an incursion called “Geology Rocks,” conducted by science teachers from the company “Fizzics”.

Other EventsThe teachers are participating in ‘Schoolbox’ training and designing and developing their class pages for this management system. The system is being designed and developed for Alamanda College. The Year 2 teachers spent Wednesday 7 August, learning how this new communication tool will work, the benefits of having an all-in-one community portal and they have been developing their understanding of how this system will work with students in their class. The Year 1 teachers will have their training day on Wednesday 14 August. The employment of Casual Relief Teachers for professional learning days such as these, ensure the classroom program continues. We are hoping to have this system live for parent use next term. The ‘Schoolbox’ website – www.schoolbox.com.au will provide more details.

Dare to Be Wise,

Helen WelshAssistant PrincipalYears 1&2

8 9

News from Year 3By Ms. Jade Farrar, 3K

In Year 3, we have continued to explore our Unit of Inquiry under the Transdisciplinary Theme of ‘How the World Works’. Our Central Idea is ‘Forces affect the movement of objects’. To ensure students are continuing to develop their thinking skills, social skills and communication skills, we have been working cooperatively to design and formulate experiments that help us to understand how forces work and impact our daily lives. As a way of exploring gravitational force, students worked in pairs to apply and evaluate their knowledge by designing an invention that would support an egg if it was to drop from a

high height. Students were required to communicate their hypothesis, follow the design process and create a solution to save their egg. The solutions students designed and created varied from parachutes and landing pads, to layers of padding around their egg. After walking to Bayview Park and dropping the eggs from the top of the playground, students then had to evaluate how successful their invention was. To extend understanding, students were then asked to determine the chance of an egg surviving, the fraction of eggs that survived and the impact gravitational force had on their outcome. Students

very much enjoyed this experiment and were discussing their results for days to come! Photos: Students are following the design process to create their invention. They were provided with a handful of materials that they had to utilise in a creative and inventive manner. After testing our egg inventions, we then explored forces on the playground! Year 3 and Year 4 are also participating in the swimming program this week. It is lovely to see smiling faces in the pool, learning lifelong skills!

10 11

Well the time is almost upon us! The Grade Fours are about to embark onto their epic journey into the City! The students are beyond excited for their trip, which will be full of fun and adventure. Students will be immersed in the amazing art culture that Melbourne has to offer. We will be visiting different art galleries not to mention viewing incredible street art! Students will also be fortunate to have a private screening of the latest blockbuster movie…all will be revealed on the night!

Just a reminder that the dates are:Timetable A & B: 12th August – 14th AugustTimetable C: 14th August – 16th August

News from Year 4By Ms Lauren McDonald, 4I

,

Please make sure that campers are the Great Space at 8:30 am sharp with their backpack and suitcase packed and ready to go! Upon returning back from camp, students will be in their classrooms where parents/carers can collect them.

On Monday students were lucky enough to get a sneak peek into the upcoming Alamanda College production of Hairspray. This was a great opportunity for students to gain a deeper understanding of our Unit of Inquiry which looks at how performing arts can entertain, move and educate audiences.

Students were asked what they thought of the incredible performance:

‘Hairspray was a fun experience, because of the music, dances and set. It was engaging and very entertaining.’ – Pratyush 4I

‘It was very fun, the actors were so good and played their character well. Some people thought that some of the characters that were in “love” were actually in love in real life.’ – Ishani 4I

‘Hairspray was very entertaining, because when one character got into trouble it engaged the entire audience. I got a better understanding of the inquiry and how hard it is to put together a production.’ – Siya 4I

10 1111

Alamanda College

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S SUMMARY

Cyber SafetyA reminder to all families to connect with your children and regularly discuss online activities and interactions. It is worth being aware of the types of games and Apps they are using, and how they are using them, especially if they have chat

functions. Some questions that may be helpful:

• How do you use that game?• Do you play it with friends, and do you know who

those friends are?• Do you know who belongs to each avatar/game

name/user name?• Do you play well with those people at school?• Are you comfortable with the language being used

and how people are chatting with each other?

Children can very quickly find themselves in tricky situations online, and are often unsure how to get out of it, as they worry that they will get in trouble. At assembly, we are reminding the students of our Acceptable Use Agreement, and that they are responsible for letting an adult know of any inappropriate language or behaviour online.

SwimmingWe have enjoyed a successful swimming programme throughout week 4. We had a large group of children attending daily lessons, targeted at their individual swimming level. Well done to all the students, who are developing independence getting changed and packing their belongings. No random socks and undies left behind!

CampWe are so excited for our Year 4 Campers who head off to the city on Monday and Wednesday. The children have a sketch book packed to observe and enjoy the art and architecture of our awesome city. As well as tours of the National Gallery of Victorian and the Arts Centre, we also have secret private tours of the lighthouse at 333 Collins Street, and St Pauls Cathedral. They will explore the alleyways of the city with a local street artist, questioning the difference between ‘art’ and ‘graffiti’. Good luck to all our campers, and to their families. The children are in good hands with staff from across the school attending. Rest assured we will contact any families if any of the children are upset or terribly homesick. I don’t think that’ll happen though – they’ll be having way too much fun!!

Upcoming IncursionGrade Three has a fantastic incursion coming up delivered by Fizzics Education, exploring forces and their application in the world around us. This will be a great way to apply and challenge their learning exploring different forces, as well as the design and modification process. They will explore the following areas:

• Push and pull forces• Which variables impact friction between two surfaces

and how this affects an object’s movement• Rotational forces in a variety of objects.• Inertia & momentum… just what does this mean?

Dare to be Wise

Hannah NewtonAssistant Principal, Years 3 & 4

12 13

News from Year 5By Mrs. Kate Francis, 5J

We have had a busy couple of weeks in grade five! We have begun a new Unit of Inquiry, had a visitor from The Australian Red Cross and watched the dress rehearsals for the Hairspray production.

New Unit of InquiryThe new unit of inquiry relates to the transdisciplinary theme of Where We Are in Place and Time. The central idea is ‘Migration may be a response to challenges and opportunities’, with the lines of inquiry being ‘The drivers of Migration’, ‘How migration contributes to the culture and economy of a country’ and ‘The controversy and different perspectives around migration. Students have started investigating migration and its importance to Australian and International culture and economics. This is shaping up to be a fantastic unit, with many students able to share their personal journeys with each other. Students will be bringing home brown paper bags to fill with artefacts from their personal journey to Australia, or that of a parent, grandparent or friend. When brought back to school, this bag will form the basis of a short presentation to their class, explaining the journey they and their families took

to get to Australia. All the teachers in grade five are so excited to hear the wonderful stories of journeys from far and wide.

Visit from The Australian Red CrossOn Monday 5th August, the grade five students were lucky enough to have a visitor from The Australian Red Cross come and speak to them about migration, discussing some of the reasons for migration and challenges that refugees may face when coming to Australia. This relates directly to our new unit of inquiry and students were very enthusiastic with their questions for the presenter. They discussed the meaning of human rights and played a game that had them sit down if they thought a certain statement was a human right, such as ‘freedom to travel wherever you choose’. This made students think carefully about some of the drivers for migration from countries where human rights are not always followed for all citizens. Prior to the visit, students completed a task in their classrooms where they were given a scenario where they needed to flee their homes quickly. Students needed to decide what they would take with them, but were only allowed six items. This was a tough decision for

many of the students. Along the way, they lost some items and used items to pay for a border crossing. Overall this gave students a small insight into what it might be like to be a refugee, leaving almost everything behind to find refuge in another country.

Hairspray Dress RehearsalsOn Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th, some of the grade five classes went to see the dress rehearsals for the latest school production, Hairspray. Students were so excited to see their classmates perform and the students in the play gave outstanding performances! The costumes, sets and singing were superb and very entertaining. Shout out to Ruth, Kresha, Ava and Maya from my class, 5J- our whole class is so proud of you! Well done on a great performance.

12 13

News from Year 6By Ms. Tiffany Baldacchino, 6A

Exhibition:Grade 6 students have continued to work towards their Exhibition where they are being immersed in learning experiences to support them in making connections to the elements of the Primary Years Program. Students have begun to form their groups with their facilitating teachers and will work with these teachers for the duration of the Exhibition.

Moving forward in their Exhibition, students will work collaboratively with their peers to draw on their prior knowledge of their selected area of interest and subsequent community issue/s, before formulating questions and analysing which of the key concepts will best guide their learning. Students will then work collaboratively with their peers to write their own Central Ideas, which in turn becomes their anticipated enduring understanding.

To encompass what it means to be PYP students, they will connect to the attitudes of the Learner profile and the Approaches to Learning skills by considering the dispositions they believe they should have and the skills they require in order to be successful in their exhibition journey. Students and teachers alike, are eager to watch this unfold and can’t wait to celebrate the students learning with their families and broader school community.

Language and Mathematics:Moving through the next few weeks of term, students have begun to explore the work of Shaun Tan through an author study where they are using their critical and creative thinking skills to find similarities between his texts, focusing on his writing style, the figurative language features he uses and the deep messages and themes that are present in his texts.

To ignite student curiosity and enthusiasm towards writing, students have been given the unique opportunity to meet with well-known author, Morris Glietzman. He will be visiting the students and sharing his experiences and journey as an accomplished author as well as his inspiration for some of the stories he has created. Students are looking forward to meeting him and have their burning questions ready to ask.

Within mathematics this term, students are looking at chance and probability and will be provided with the tools and resources to support their individual learning goals. Students have been working closely with their teachers through conferences and workshops and have kickstarted their learning with commitment and enthusiasm.

14 15

I would like to express a warm and friendly welcome to all our new families that have started at Alamanda K-9 College recently. I wish you all the very best as you begin your learning journey with us.

Congratulations to all the Year five and six students who have started term three eagerly, their enthusiasm and hard work is evodent in all classrooms

First week into term three and there are no signs of slowing down for our busy year.

Year 5 Unit of InquiryCURRENT UNIT OF INQUIRYTransdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the planetAn inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

Our Central Idea: Migration may be a response to challenges and opportunities.

Lines of Inquiry -Line of inquiry into the drivers of migration- Line of inquiry into how migration contributes to the

culture and economy of a country- Line of inquiry into the controversy and different

perspectives around migration

Key Concepts and Lines of Inquiry: Perspective: (What are the points of view?) Causation: (Why is it like it is?) Change: (How is it changing?) The change in migration

patterns.

Morris Gleitzman (Children’s Author)Students in years five and six were fortunate to have met Morris Gleitzman, Australian Children’s Laureate. Morris Gleitzman is a bestselling Australian children’s author. His books explore serious and sometimes confronting subjects in humourous and unexpected ways. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to hear from an author about the writing process and to support and inspire their own writing. Morris Gleitzman is known for his books, Boy Overboard, Once, Toad Rage, Worry Warts and the Once series just to name a few. He spoke to the children engaging their enthusiasm and inspiring their imagination of the importance of writing, followed by the signing of books.

Year 6 Exhibition The Primary Years Programme (PYP) exhibition represents a significant event in the life of a PYP student. It is an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the International Baccalaureate learner profile that they have been developing throughout their engagement in the PYP.

ACTING LEADING TEACHERS’ SUMMARY

Alamanda College

Students are required to engage in a transdisciplinary inquiry process that requires them to identify, investigate and offer solutions to real-life situations. The purpose of the exhibition is for students to engage in an in-depth, collaborative inquiry and an opportunity for student to demonstrate responsibility and independence in their learning. The exhibition will allow the students to apply their learning of previous years through the PYP and allow them to demonstrate taking action in accordance with their inquiry.

The role of a parent or guardian in the exhibition processParents are expected to become actively involved as their child journeys through the exhibition process for example assisting with accessing resources such as people, places, materials and information. Where applicable, parents will supply subject knowledge and more importantly encourage independent inquiry and student ownership of the process.The excitement comes when the families are able to celebrate with the student by attending the staging of the exhibition.

More information will be provided as we journey through the exhibition process.

Term 3 UniformAs we enter term 3, students are required to be wearing full winter uniform. For girls, they can wear the tunic/skirt, the white Alamanda shirt, neck tie, knitted jumper or cardigan, and navy-blue socks or tights with black school shoes. Our male students are required to wear the One Seed navy-blue pants and stripped Alamanda shirt, with the knitted school jumper, navy-blue socks and black school shoes- girls are also welcome to wear this uniform if they wish. Items that are not permitted and do not constitute as school uniform are leggings in any colour, black or white school socks, runners (unless worn with the PE uniform), alternative jumpers/jackets that do not have the school logo, and hair accessories that are not school colours (white, navy-blue, green, orange or purple). We expect all grade 5 and 6 students to be in the correct uniform each day, as they are setting an example for the rest of our primary school.

Assemblies- Time to celebrate learningGrade 6 assembly- Tuesday 8:40-9:40Grade 5 Assembly -Timetable A- Wednesday 8:40-9:40Grade 5 Assembly- Timetable B- Thursday 8:40-9:40Grade 5 Assembly- Timetable C- Friday 8:40-9:40

Assemblies are a great opportunity for students, teachers and parents to come together to celebrate student learning and action driven by students through the Unit of Inquiry. I look forward to seeing you at one of the assemblies.

Partners in Education,

Carmen Sacco Years 5 & 6 Assistant Principal

14 15

Specialist SubjectsP.E News

On Wednesday 31st July, a number of students took part in the Point Cook summer school sports carnival. We had 3 cricket teams, a softball team and a rounders team represent Alamanda College at Salt water. All boys and girls represented the school in a positive manner. Both our mixed and girls cricket teams won their grand finals. Well done to all those who participated on the day.

Our athletics team have been training hard for the up coming Point Cook athletics carnival. Trainings have been held on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, and the carnival is taking place next Tuesday 13th August. A reminder to students if they have not returned their note that they need to do so as soon as possible.

A number of grade 3 and 4 students have been travelling to Bayfit swimming centre to undertake swimming lessons.

The swimming program is very beneficial to students especially those who have not had much experience in the water. All students have had an enjoyable time and represented the school well. Grade 1 and 2 students get their chance to take part in the swimming program in week 7 (26th – 30th August). Due to limited spots available grade 1 and 2 students who are keen to participate are encouraged to get their notes in as soon as possible.

By Mr. Ethan Petterwood

16 PB

It has been a very productive two weeks in Language classes as we have continued through the Unit of Inquiry from Prep to Six.

Inquiring into months, dates and birthdays, our Grade Two learners were introduced to months of the year in Chinese. They were engaged in a range of singing and counting activities. Working collaboratively, they played the “Memory” game in groups to practise naming and recognizing the twelve months in Chinese. Now, they are creating classroom displays of months in Chinese, incorporating writing the Chinese characters and Chinese pinyin of their favourite month, and drawing relevant images to showcase their understanding of what’s special or important of that month.

Specialist Subjects

LOTE NewsBy Ms Tiffany Zhang

The fantastic Grade Three students are investigating modern technological devices in Chinese. They enjoyed learning to name the everyday vocabulary in Chinese, such as 手机

(mobile), 电脑(computer), 平板电脑

(tablet), and 笔记本(laptop). Working independently, they created a booklet of modern technology and wrote the Chinese characters and Chinese Pinyin of each device listed in the booklet. As curious learners, they explored how to use an application called “Flashcards” on their iPad. They were very excited to make their own digital version of flashcards to demonstrate their typing, reading and speaking skills in Chinese.

The Grade Five students are inquiring into the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) and his dynasty, Qin Dynasty (秦朝). They acknowledged

the first emperor’s contributions and achievements. But they were also encouraged to view him from a different perspective. They enjoyed watching introductory videos that explained how Qin became so powerful and unified China from the Warring States Period. As thinkers, they used the thinking routine “PMI” (PLUS, MINUS and INTERSTING) to tell how they thought about the dynasty and the emperor. Now, they are investigating how Chinese characters evolved from Qin and how they were developed into simplified characters that Chinese people use nowadays.

We have had a great start in Term Three, and we hope our students will keep up their open-minded attitudes and commitment in the weeks to come.

Kind regards,Language Team