Rock Report

At the start of term 4 we will be switching Science topics to the Earth and what it is made of.  We will be having our final project of the year about rocks and gemstones and what makes them so useful.  This information will help us with our final English task which is writing a persuasive exposition on the same topic.

Please see below for the information:

You will need to answer the following questions and present your information neatly in an A4 format.  Be sure to answer the questions in full sentence answers.  Good luck and happy digging for information!

 Definition of a mineral.
 Definition of a crystal.
 Definition of a rock.
 Example of 3 different minerals or rocks.
 Example of 3 different crystals or gemstones.
 Choose 2 minerals or rocks.
Find out what their uses are (for industry - such as coal which is used to power machinery).  Mention as many as you can find.
Which countries are they found in?
Explain how they are found.  (Are they mined?)
What makes them?
Include a picture or drawing of what they each look like.
Find at least 1 interesting fact about each rock or mineral.
7.  Choose 2 crystals or gemstones.  
Find out what their uses are (for industry - such as diamond which is used for cutting hard objects or decorative for jewellery).  Mention as many as you can find.
Which countries are they found in?
Explain how they are found.  (Are they mined?)
What makes them?
Include a picture or drawing of what they each look like.
Find at least 1 interesting fact about each crystal or gemstone.

Include a list of sources for the information you have gathered using the referencing sheet attached.

This information will help you write an exposition during class.  You will use this report to convince others why the minerals and crystals you chose are the best or most useful in the world.

The sheet I will send home looks like this:

Some time will be allocated for in class research but the students will need to do some as a part of their homework.

Due: Monday 28th October 2013

Extreme Reading Challenge

With Book Week beginning Saturday 17th of August, I thought an extreme reading competition would be fun.
Take a photo of yourself reading in an extreme location or way and print it out and bring it to school.  A prize will go to the most creative and extreme reader in each category.  Bring it to school by Thursday 22nd August.
Below are some examples of 'extreme reading'.

Happy Book Week

Term 3 Art

The below website showcases a variety of artworks using only recycled materials.  It will amaze you, I guarantee it!!!!Our term 3 Art lessons will focus on a single piece of artwork, made with recycled materials.  So get busy looking and find what style or medium (products) you wish to construct or use and start collecting the items you'll need.  We start week 3.

Visit the website:

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/recycled-art-masterpiece-made-from-junks/

Photography Competition

While on school holidays I thought you might like to spend some time in nature photographing God's creation.  If you do - there is an added incentive...

Open to Years 4 to 12           Closes: Monday, September 2


Full competition details are on the website below - click on the 'Focus Environment 2013' link on the sidebar.


CATEGORIES

♦ Celebrating Human Energy
♦ Protecting our Planet‘s Sustainability
♦ Respecting Biodiversity Information


TO ENTER

Enter online at: www.chevronaustralia.com
♦ Entry is by online submission only.
♦ Students may enter one, two or all three categories.
♦ Each entry must include a caption summarising the purpose or message of the photograph to reflect its category.


PRIZE

Each winning student receives a cash prize for themselves and their school:
♦ First prize:       $250                        School prize: $1,000
♦ Second prize:   $150                      School prize: $750
♦ Third prize:       $100                      School prize: $500

Good luck and have fun!!!

Great Golden Time

This week everyone got some 'Golden Time'!  That's a new record for us.  Many students finished every part and got the whole of free time while some others did a job or two and then joined in the fun.
What a proud teacher am I!!!

We went back to Kindy this Golden Time with play-doh, foam blocks and craft.  The students had fun making animals and even a special feast for me (I was very excited!!!).  Thank you for the pizza, sweets, cake and cup of tea - I am such a lucky teacher having such wonderful students.

Hopefully we can keep this good homework streak running!  It's good to remember that what you practise at home - strengthens your learning in school.

I sent home a scavenger hunt list to find some items we'll need for the following weeks.  Happy hunting!

Sustainability

We watched a video on waste and what happens to it today.
Some things the children learned, we put on the board.

We are slowly learning to be more waste wise.

This week we had a mapping activity outside and the children were shown the sight of our future garden bed.  They were very excited.  Hopefully we'll start it towards the end of term.

It's all physics to me...

We had so much fun on our excursion to the city on Friday.  We started off at Scitech to get our hands on all the energy and forces information we've been learning in Science (and more).  Everyone had a great time pushing, pulling, lifting, throwing, flicking, spinning, pedaling, and much more.
The 'High Voltage Show' finished off our visit with more than one bang.  We were delighted with a machine that had 2000 volts of electricity (running through me!)  Plus seeing lightning bolts of electricity spark from Tesla coils.  We had some brave volunteers from the audience to demonstrate.

From Scitech we ventured into the city to the Cultural Centre where we had lunch.  Then it was an Art Gallery tour and a peek at the WA Museum.

Then it was home on the train again.  The Transperth Customer Service Team were magnificent!  They met us at every stop and helped us all get on and off as a group.  Thank you!
And thank you to all the wonderful parent helpers - we couldn't have done it without you!

The children had a great day and have already made suggestions for the next excursion (breathe Miss Brooks, breathe).

ANZAC Day

To commemorate ANZAC day this year, we made wreaths with Psalms 23 written on them.  The students did a wonderful job of them as you can see...

We also had my dad come in and show some 'trench art' made in the Second World War.  There was a plane made out of bullets, a blade handle made from a Japanese plane's windscreen and a jar made out of a bullet casing.

The last day of term had our first Homework Lunch for the year.  10 students were invited and they had fun playing games, using puppets and felt, eating snacks and having a 'photobooth'.  We had a variety of dress-ups to get some wacky photos and it was great to watch!

Have wonderful holidays!

Red Hill Excursion

Friday was our first excursion in year 4.  Even though it sprinkled the whole time, we made the most of our sketching and picnic lunch at Chapel Farm (thanks Chapel Farm!) and the tour of Red Hill Waste Management Facility (thanks Jenny!).

I was impressed by the talents of many students in sketching the small lake, animals and surrounding bushlands.  They had a challenge to sketch a view in 2 minutes and another in 5 minutes and did a great job.  Here is some photos.

We then headed to the Waste Facility and drove around, seeing just how much stuff we waste and throw out (some even that can be recycled!).  Did you know that humans are the only creature on Earth that produces waste?  No other animal and no plant does - just us!  It's a sobering thought.
After driving around the facility, we stopped at the Education Centre to do some activities and make some temporary art.

(above photo) Hopefully the next rubbish pit takes a lot longer to fill up!

We hope this can provide us with a conscience when it comes to reduce, reuse and recycle so that we can look after God's world.  After all, there is only one that is perfect for us.  So let's look after it!

Awards

Shaun Tan and Tim Winton have an award in their names, offered to children to showcase their talents.  It opens next week and runs until the 15th May, allowing children to submit a piece of their work (either art or story) to go in the running for prizes.  If you want more information, please go to the below links.  If you have any trouble accessing them, email me and I will send you an entry form via email.
It is a great chance for your child to express themselves creatively and maybe even receive recognition for it.

Tim Winton Award for Young Writers

Shaun Tan Award for Young Artists

(I am not responsible for information on these links)

Thanks.

Another fortnight, another golden time...

With two weeks to go until holidays, I always look back on the term and realise that the time has gone fast.  Maybe this occurs to me more and more as I get older, but I have really enjoyed getting to know your children.  I feel blessed to be a part of their lives.

Friday was our third 'Golden Time' for the term and again the creativity was buzzing.  I absolutely love seeing what they come up with.  It is always interesting and clever.  Here are some photos of the results of just some of their inspiration.

I was treated to some beautiful jewellery as well - a necklace and 2 sparkly bracelets!  Lucky me (in more ways than one).

Comprehension Homework Assignment

Here are the details for the homework assignment where the students need to present to the class the meaning of a song.

Poetry

We are reading and writing poetry this term and the students have produced some lovely ones.
I want to share with you on such activity last week in which we read the following poem.

Names

‘I am Mark-want-to-be-a-warrior, son of Dad-know-it-all.’

I bend to greet him.  He is eight years old.

We are naming ourselves, in a poetry workshop, in Maydena.

‘Whistling Tree Tops,’ I say, ‘daughter of Joan-anxious-face.

So very pleased to meet you.’

‘My dad drives a Pearce-Louis log truck,’ Want-to-be boasts,

‘the biggest!  And so will I when I grow up, and then

everybody'd better keep out of my way!’

‘Jenny-travel-a-lot,’ a small neat, dark-eyed girl informs me,

‘and I am the daughter of Annette-spicy-hot.’  We all get new

     names.

Then we make a ritual; speak the names we hate –

outgrown baby tags, old insults, unwanted appellations –

write these down on strips of paper, then scrunch them

and throw them onto a pretend-fire in the middle of the room.

‘These we have finished with,’ I say, ‘I’ll take them home

and burn them in the sacred gully,’ and I do,

one quiet, quiet bush evening, mosquito droned, magpie chortled,

in dappled sunlight, on a pyre of oyster-bay pine

and gum twigs.  The long-legged shadows dance

as Pigsy, Bub-bub, Spastic, Brown-Eye and the rest

become a pile of ashes.  I poke them with a bracken stalk

for signs of life but they are dead.

Let nothing be done to harm the children

is an old and sacred law.

Terry Whitebeach

After reading this, we wrote down names we'd been called and would rather forget, then the names we wanted to be known by/for.  We stood around our own 'pretend fire' and threw in the bad names.  I promised the children I would take them home and burn them.  Below is a photo to show the names we didn't like being burnt under my sacred orange tree.

Today was another Golden Time at school and again I am blessed to have such wonderful students who use their hard-earned free time to make me something.  Check out my fridge - its showcases the creativity of your children.

 Thanks for having such delightful children!  Have a great weekend.

All Shapes and Sizes

This term we are looking at shapes (2D and 3D) and I want to share some photos of your very clever children.  They were given some popsticks and some bluetac and told to dazzle me and dazzle me they did.  Have a look and see if you're just as impressed as I am.

The students also did some amazing Science demonstrations of forces of nature (for homework).  A lot of work went into creating them and it is noticed and their hard work is very much appreciated.  Well done to those who showed us how these forces work: volcanoes, tornadoes, cyclones, hurricanes, sandstorms, gravity and electricity.  You are wonderful!!!!

What an awesome class!!

Waste Audit

On Friday our team conducted a waste audit.  Basically this means we tipped half the school's rubbish on a tarp and sorted through it.  It was great fun!  Everyone got involved which was a delight to see.  There were equal amounts of 'Oh, gross!' and 'Wow, look at that!' in our dialogue whilst sorting.  All the students learned about how much we waste (not just as a school but as a society).  This is our starting point of becoming a sustainable class, school and hopefully one day, world.
We are also planning a trip to the Red Hill Waste Management Facility to see what happens to our waste after we throw it in the bin.  This too, will help us to understand what we need to do to look after the beautiful world God gave us.
A huge THANK YOU to Mrs Sears for her photography in capturing the event, and to Mr Wright for helping out.

Thank you Patrick from the Waste Wise team for showing us what to do!

Week 2 & 3 Reflections

Friday saw our first official board meeting. The students arranged their desks into a long rectangle (not as fancy as some boardroom tables, but not bad) and talked about things we needed to change, things to remember and things we could improve on. This will be a fortnightly meeting where we will learn to be reflective thinkers and make goals for future weeks. I believe this is an important life skill as well as an effective learning tool. See below for the minutes from our meeting.

Afterwards, we had "Golden Time" which is the student's reward for completing all their homework and school work in the past fortnight. The students who qualified for Golden Time played Lego, did craft and drew in their drawing books.

Energy

Energy is everywhere! This week's Science lesson was to brainstorm what energy means to us and to learn about the difference between potential energy and kinetic energy. See what your clever children came up with.

I will try to post once a week about something that has happened in our classroom or an image of our work. Thanks for reading.