Chatham Newsletter Issue 31—12th October 2017 chatham.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au www.chathamps.vic.edu.au Phone: 9830 1933

Welcome back to Term 4. It is hard to believe that we are here already. I hope everyone had the time to relax and unwind after a busy Term 3. I was able to get out and spend some time with the family but I found the football wound me up again!! I also spent some time reflecting on the term and I realised how much our students had achieved during Term 3. Term 4 again promises to be another busy term. Excursions, incursions, sporting opportunities, Working Bees, Transitions and

Year 6 graduation are just some of the things that are already planned. I look forward to seeing you around the school as we

finish up the year.

2018 GRADE PLACEMENTS Shortly we will be looking to start the process of structuring our classes for 2018. There is a great deal of work and organiza-tion that goes into organizing classes of students each year.

What are the criteria that we use to make up class lists? Factors influencing class structures are:

the educational needs of the students;

the projected number of students in each year level;

the ratio of girls to boys;

the number of teachers employed at the school; and resources and facilities.

Factors which are considered in the placement of students include:

academic performance – judgments over time

work habits eg ability to work independently

behaviour

gender

social network /friendships

social maturity

special needs eg twins

What is the process for placing students into classes? Based on the criteria listed above, teaching staff and administration meet Mid-Term 4 to establish classes for the following school year. Teachers ensure each new class has: a balance of academic ability

gender balance

socially balanced groups

During this process, changes and adjustments are made over several weeks. Each change may trigger a chain reaction of other

changes. Proposed class lists are submitted to the Principal and Assistant Principal for final ratification. Once balanced classes

are formed, teachers are allocated to the class we feel will offer the “best fit” with a particular group of students. Students will

have the opportunity to meet their 2018 teacher and new classmates during our Transition in December. With this in mind,

parents are now invited to write to me about any additional information that will help us in determining a placement for

your child. Please note, letters need to focus on the educational and social and emotional needs of their child and not on

specific teachers or social friendships. Requests in relation to the choice of a particular teacher cannot be considered as a

placement factor as teachers can change year levels from year to year. Letters will be considered up until Friday 3 November.

Letters received after this date cannot be accepted unless in exceptional circumstances. Please address these letters directly to

myself with all details and information provided kept in confidence.

Page 2….

STAFF NEWS: In wishing Mrs Hodgkin well as she leaves us at the end of this week to commence maternity leave, we welcome Ms Octavia Rae who will be taking over from Mrs Hodgkin in 2SH for the remainder of the year. Ms Rae comes to us from Camberwell Grammar as their Head of Learning Support in the Junior School. She holds a Masters in Education in Special Education Needs and she is currently completing a Master of Education in Student Wellbeing. Prior to Camberwell, Ms Rae has experience at Melbourne Girls Grammar and Overnewton College. As a side, Ms Rae’s father, Stephen, played for Richmond some years ago but I assure you this had nothing to do with her appointment as you can see Ms Rae has a wealth of experience and we are looking forward to her joining us at Chatham this term. CLASS VISITS THIS WEEK: Thanks to Mr Clarke’s proactive holiday hunt for a set of Sphero Robots, we had the opportunity to borrow a set from Har-vey Norman for a week. As part of our Digital Technologies Curriculum, Year 3 students made a shape or track on the floor using masking tape and coded the Sphero Robots to move in certain directions, make sounds and change colour. Some stu-dents achieved this through ‘Draw & Go’, whilst others used ‘Brick Coding’ (similar to Scratch). The Year 3 students had a wonderful time using the Sphero Robots. Through the generosity of the Parents Club Committee’s fundraising efforts, we look forward to the arrival of our own set of Sphero Robots! COMMENTS FROM THE STUDENTS

Today, 3TC played with little robots called Spheros. I was partnered with Syou and we were try-ing to get our Sphero to go around a big square. We nearly got it but, at one point, it cut off a corner. I really enjoyed the activity and would like to use the Spheros again. Phoebe. Today and yesterday, we got to code with Spheros. Spheros are little round spheres that are robots. You can program them, like make them speak, move, and other things. Yesterday, we were just driving them so we could get used to them. Today, I made my Sphero say “Hi Phoebe, how are you today?”. I also made it say “Emily” because that’s my name. I loved programing the Spheros. Emily

Today Callum and me (Tighe)played with Spheros . We made a house, triangle and two square shapes with masking tape, then we programmed the Sphero to roll around the shapes. We did it perfectly. I felt awesome. Tighe I was very excited when I saw the Spheros in the box. I was with Syou and we played with the Spheros for a long time. Mr Clarke told us that we could use programming. We made the Sphero go around a square and it was really hard! The class loved it! Anson Ben and I learnt how to program a digital technology. It is called a Sphero. We got to play with them yesterday and today. We got to make a shape out of masking tape. We made like a funny looking octagon. It went around lots of time without going out of the lines but sometimes it did not work. I loved learning how to use a Sphero I would love to have that experience again. Isabella Today we played with the Spheros. You can use block coding to make it talk, roll for a certion amount of time and much more. You use the draw setting to draw a picture then press start and it will go in that position. There’s ‘just drive’ where you can change the colour and just drive. Sophia

On Tuesday and Wednesday, 3TC played with Spheros. What are Spheros? It is a round ball and you can control it with an iPad. We were put in pairs. I was put with Angela. We had loads of fun. I even made it talk. I hope we can do it again. Amelia In Term 4, Year 3 programmed Spheros that Mr Clarke borrowed from Harvey Norman. Tighe and I made a house shape and made our Sphero go around the shape. Mr Clarke took a video of it going around the shape. How to make it go around the shape: you go on drawing mode & try to make it go round the shape by drawing it on the screen & hopefully it will go round! Callum

My partner and I tried to make the Sphero go around in a weird diamond shape. It was complicated but we accomplished it. After that, we made it follow a line shaped like a really big B. it was amazing, exiting and awesome borrowing the Spheros from Harvey Norman! Ben

Patrick and I programmed a Sphero to make it say a lot of things. We also programmed it to make a square, a triangle and also a very big line. Yesterday, Emily and I drove it around. It was very fun. So yes you can do loads of fun stuff with it like make it say stuff, program stuff and you can make it spin and roll. I wish we could have them all! Nate The year three classes have been programming Spheros. Spheros are a little electronic balls that you can program in many ways using an iPad. Griffin and I chose to program it by using coding blocks. Some of them were for movement, changing its colour or sound effects. Griffin and I got our Sphero to dance. We felt happy when we did that. After that we made it change its colour five times then spin. By Ava Today we used the Spheros. We were put into groups of two. My partner was Nate. Nate and I made our Sphero say things such as “Yo Anson, what’s up kid?” We also programmed it to go around a triangle. We had a very good time using the Sphe-ros. Patrick What I did with Sphero was quite simple. We drove it around the classroom. The day after that, we started programing our Sphero to dance and change colour. Griffin When I had a Sphero, I did some coding. I was partnered with Daniella. When I made the Sphero roll up to Mr Clarke and it said, “Hello Mr Clarke. My name is Rainbow.” Then it faded into red, or-ange, green, blue, pink purple and yellow. Then we made it talk to most of the people in our class. Rafferty When I had a Sphero I was partned up with Emily. I played with it first. We made it say “l love cats”. Simon We programed the Sphero and we were driving it around. I was in a group with Anson. We were taking turns and I programed it to say “Hi, it’s Amir playing with the Spheros”. Anson programed it to say “happy birthday”. I also made it go in a square. It was fun and I hope we can do this again. (Amir) On Tuesday and Wednesday, we used Spheros. I drove it around for a little bit and I changed the colour to green. Then I raced Amir. I did some programing and made the Sphero go in circles. I was with Sophia. (Ryan)

On Tuesday the 10th of October, after snack, we got to play with Spheros. Spheros are a type of robot that you can control. There are many kinds of Sphero. There are ones that look like Star Wars characters. You will need an iPad or an iPhone to control it. You will need to download the app. I tried to make it go around a square but it did not work. So then I used programs and I drew a tiny square. I pressed start but it did a really big square. I think controlling a sphero is really hard but, if you keep practising, you will one day be an expert. I really enjoyed the spheros. I hope when you have a sphero you will have lots of fun. Angela

On Tuesday the 10th of October, Grade 3 started to use Sphero. It was my first time using Sphero. Sphero is a type of robot. At first, I thought it is very easy but when I tried it, it was so hard!! We

tried very hardest. Then Mr Clarke set us a task - we needed to move

our Sphero around a square. I had lots of fun. (Heidi)

SUNSMART It’s Term 4 and it’s time to dig out your hats. Whilst the weather has not heated up yet we are advised that UV levels are already on the rise. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the invisible killer that you can't see or feel. UV radiation can be high even on cool and overcast days. This means you can't rely on clear skies or high temperatures to determine when you need to protect yourself from the sun. The UV Index is reported daily by the Bureau of Meteorology. The alert identifies times during the day when the UV level is 3 or above and sun protection is needed. Our Sun Smart Policy specifies that all students must wear a sun smart hat whenever they are outdoors at school from the 1st of September to the 30th of April.

Have a great weekend Rod McKinlay Acting Principal

Dates for the diary Thursday 12th October Boroondara Council bird workshop in the hall @ 7pm Walkathon Monday 16th October Year 3 Excursion to Werribee Mansion Year 4 Excursion to Werribee zoo Tuesday 17th October Prep Excursion to Chesterfield Farm Friday 20th October Year 6 Fantastic Racers race Day @12:30pm in the hall Saturday 21st October Morning Whole School Working bee 9am to 12noon Monday 23rd October School Council meeting @ 7pm Wednesday 25th October Year 2 Excursion to Melbourne Zoo Senior School Science Fair Last day for Book club orders Thursday 26th October Junior School Science Fair Year 6 graduation meeting @3:45pm in 6gk Friday 27th October Year 3 Sleepover 4:45pm (to 8:00am Saturday) Year 6 Parliament House Excursion Monday 30th October Parents’ Club Meeting @ 9:10am in the library Year 5 Excursion to Werribee Zoo Tuesday 31st October Instrumental Music Soiree—drums, guitar, rock band Wednesday 1st November Instrumental Music Soiree—piano Monday 6th November Curriculum Day—no school for students today Tuesday 7th November Public Holiday Wednesday 8th November Prep Transition—session one Thursday 9th November Night Market Friday 10th November Regional Finals Hooptime Monday 13th November Year 1 excursion to the Aquarium Wednesday 15th November Prep Transition—session two Sunday 19th November Whole school working bee—2pm to 5pm Monday 20th November Prep and Year 2 Circus Skills School Council Wednesday 22nd November Prep Transition - session three Thursday 23rd November Prep 2018 Parent Information Evening Monday 27th November Parents’ Club meeting @ 9:10am in the library Prep and Year 2 Circus Skills Monday 4th December Prep and Year 2 Circus Skills Thursday 7th December Gingerbread House Night Monday 11th December Parents’ Club meeting @ 9:10am in the library Prep and Year 2 Circus Skills Monday 18th December Prep and Year 2 Circus Skills School Council Meeting Tuesday 19th December Year 6 Big Day out to MSAC End of year Class Parties—Prep to Year 5 Wednesday 20th December Visits to 2017 classrooms Reports sent home Thursday 21st December Year 6 Graduation Friday 22nd December Year 6 breakfast Last day of term 4 for students—1:30pm finish

THANKS TO CHARLIE D IN 3KB FOR THE NEWSLETTER HEADER AGAINTHIS WEEK—WHAT A GREAT WALKATHON IT WAS!

EVERY STUDENT REQUIRES A HAT FOR OUTSIDE PLAY FROM THE FIRST DAY OF TERM 4—10th OCTOBER 2017