Primary School Newsletter Issue No. 11 11th August 2017

Dear Parents,

It’s hard to believe that we are already in our final year of 2014-2017 Strategic

plan cycle. This means that later on this year, the school will undertake a departmental school review where the community of students, teachers and parents come together to review and celebrate the past four years of our successes and achievements and identify areas for future development. Once we’ve complete that, we will then begin the process of writing our 2018-2022 Strategic Plan which will encompass and be directly linked to the Department’s Framework for improving student outcomes.

For those of you who are not familiar, The Department of Education has invested a lot of time, research and effort into designing a quality education for every child, regardless of their background, circumstance or postcode. The vision for all Victorian schools is to focus our efforts on the range of factors that support students to develop their best. These targets are organised under four themes:

• Learning for Life – excellence in reading, maths, science and the arts, and in critical and creative thinking.

• Happy, Healthy and Resilient Kids – building resilience and physical activity in our children.

• Breaking the Link – ensuring more students stay in school

and eliminating the connection between outcomes and disadvantage.

• Pride and Confidence in our Schools – making sure every community has access to excellence, in every school and classroom.

THE FRAMEWORK FOR IMPROVING STUDENT OUTCOMES (FISO)The Framework for improving Student Outcomes (FISO) is the unifying framework for improvement in all Victorian schools. FISO uses current school improvement and school effectiveness research to help schools focus their efforts on key areas that are known to have the greatest impact on improved student outcomes. The FISO is made up of three elements. Together, these complement and reinforce the capacity of schools to deliver the Education State reforms and improve outcomes for all students:

• Improvement Model, including six high-impact Improvement Initiatives

• Improvement Measures• Improvement Cycle

The Improvement Model is made up of four state-wide priorities that are proven to have a strong bearing on the effectiveness of a school:

• Excellence in teaching and learning

• Professional leadership• A positive climate for learning• Community engagement in

learning

FISO IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVESThere are six Improvement Initiatives:

1. Building practice excellence2. Curriculum planning and

assessment3. Building leadership teams4. Empowering students and

building school pride

IMPORTANT DATESLife Education Session14 August - 5A, 3B and 3F15 August - 3J, 3H and 3C16 August - 5C, 3D and 5E17 August - 5D, 5B and 5F

Fizzics Science Show Incursion4 August Diary of a Wombat excursion10 August

Year Four City Camp14-15 August

Book Day 25 August

Premiers Reading Challenge Ends 8 September

Last Day Term 3 22 September

First Day Term 4 9 October

Alamanda College

Address: 86-100 Alamanda Blvd

Point Cook PO Box 6606, Point Cook

VIC 3030

Telephone: 03-8376 5200

Email: alamanda.k9@edumail.

vic.gov.au

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Students throughout Year 5-9 have been working very hard throughout terms 2 and 3 to put on a spectacular musical which brings our much loved Dr Seuss Characters to the stage – including the Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant and The Grinch! We have been rehearsing during lunch times, after school Tuesdays and Thursdays, and are having our first full day rehearsal this Sunday! The rehearsals are going really well and the show is coming together beautifully. We have started to bring in our back stage crew and are including technical elements such as props and lighting. It is wonderful to have so many student and teacher volunteers for front and back of house production roles!

We would love the school community

Seussical Jr.to support our show and the students who are putting their heart and soul into their performances. Tickets are already on sale – go to www.trybooking.com, click on Buy Tickets and search for Alamanda Seussical. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for kids and a family of 4 for $55. If you require a wheelchair accessible seat, please contact theatrebookings@alamandacollege.vic.edu.au or see Rachele in the school office.

Performance dates are:Thursday Sept 7 at 6:30pmFriday Sept 8 at 6:30pmSaturday Sept 9 at 12pm and 6:30pmSunday Sept 10 at 12pm

See you at the show!The Seussical Production team

5. Setting expectations and promoting inclusion6. Building communities

This framework will be enable us to monitor and evaluate our past 4 years, and plan for our future work.

Jackie Daniali Assistant Principal for Years 4, 5 & 6

News from PrepWe had an exciting start to week 4 as the Prep students participated in the ‘Life Education van’ incursion for the first time. Students joined ‘Healthy Harold the Giraffe’ as they explored Harold’s Friend Ship, where they looked into making safe and healthy choices. Students investigated the different activities that we could do with our friends or with an adult, such as helping cook dinner, or packing up our toys. Students worked on trust and communication skills as they guided their partners, who were blindfolded through an obstacle

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course, and used clear and concise instructions to help their partner feel safe. Finally, students examined the different organs within our body that contribute to our emotions, and strategies we can use when we feel unsure or worried.

As we have further delved into our Unit of Inquiry surrounding plant and animal life-cycles, the Preps had some exciting visitors arrive. We had an incubator set up with chicken eggs and within two days of their arrival, several eggs hatched. Some

students were lucky enough to witness some of the chicks’ pip open their shell, and tumble out of the egg. Students were thrilled with the new addition to the Prep cohort, and have found the chicks to be not only adorable and fluffy, but a valuable learning experience as we continue to watch them grow and change. As we further our exploration into our Unit of Inquiry, a range of incredible handmade artefacts continue to be brought in and presented with great enthusiasm and confidence.

Prep’s 100 Days

Prep’s 100 Days

Alamanda College

PREP ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S SUMMARY

Diary of a Wombat

The Prep students attended the Wyndham Cultural Centre on Thursday 10th August to watch the production ‘Diary of a Wombat’, based on a story by Jackie French. The students were entertained by Mothball, the cheeky wombat, who was very persistent in trying to get food from a scared couple. The laughter of 320 Prep students filled the auditorium throughout the show with a particular favourite being when Mothball knocked down the front door. The students were principled and respectful during the entre excursion and made their teachers extreamly proud. Well done to everyone on an enjoyable excursion!

100/101 Days of School

The Prep students enthusiastically celebrated our 100th and 101st day of school by participating in a variety of Numeracy related activities. You could feel the excitement when the students arrived, quick to put on their crazy hats and have a full day worth of exciting and engaging Numeracy activities all based around the number 100 and 101. This experience has assisted students with consolidating their knowledge of number and providing them with the opportunity to extend and expand their thinking during a range of hands on activites throughtout the day.

- Lifecycles of plants and animals- The connections and differences between lifecycles - Why changes occur and are necessary

As a celebration of new knowledge gained students will be completing a mini project on a lifecycle of their choice accompanied by an explanation text to share with you in the coming weeks.

Book Week

Book week is fast approaching and the students are getting excited by sharing all their most loved stories by their favourite authors with one another or as a class. In the coming weeks, the students will be working on creating a book inspired wall that the class will work collectively on. This will be displayed in a communal area for the parents and school community to see. On the day, the students will complete a range of book related activities, be a part of a costume parade and share in all their most favourite books. We would like to take this opportunity to express how exciting book day is for our teachers and students and we hope that all the students are able to participate in the day by dressing up as their favourite book character.

Word Watchers

We are all word watchers in Prep!

The Prep students are investigating how words work by finding letter patterns and interesting words throughout the day. We would like your support by encouraging your child to continue to look for interesting words or words that follow a particular pattern (for example ‘cake’, ‘bake’, ‘make’) while reading at home. These rich conversations help your child show curiosity around words and how they work, while teaching them important spelling patterns. Each student is very excited when they get the opportunity to share the word/words they discovered at home and teach the class how they work and what is interesting about them.

Partners in Education,

Ellin Tideswell and Shahn Jones On behalf of Carmen SaccoPrep Assistant Principal

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Unit of Inquiry

Our Unit of Inquiry into the Transdisciplinary Theme: How the World Works continues for the upcoming week. Students have continued to inquire into the central idea that ‘Living things go through a process of change’ using the lines of inquiry:

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News from Year 1

Last week, the Year One students attended an excursion at the Melbourne Sea Life Aquarium. The students observed sea creatures living in their habitats and made connections with their current Unit of Inquiry, ‘Ecosystems are diverse and exist all over the world.’ All students represented themselves, the school and their families with respect and showed appreciation for the opportunity to attend the Aquarium. The students ate lunch at Cherry Lake in Altona and revelled in the chance to play on the equipment and experience another ecosystem.

We would like to thank the parents who volunteered and accompanied the children on the Excursion:

1A – Lisa and Himanot1B – Adam and Yariet1C – Jacque and Michelle1D – Deborah and Anna1E – Lily and Sabina 1F – Kirsten and Andrew1G – Priyanka and Yohai1H – Sarah and Cameron 1I – Lia and Ruchi1J – Holly and Brent1K – Sally and Rachel1L – Leanna and Akansha

Year One ActionNext Thursday 17th and Friday 18th the Year 1’s will be taking action and raising awareness for the Endangered Orange Bellied Parrot. The Orange Bellied Parrot was once native to

the Point Cook area and now no longer lives in this area. The Year 1 students were upset by this, and have been baking parrot shaped cookies, collecting signatures and handing out stickers to raise an awareness. The Werribee Zoo has a breeding program and accept donations from the community to purchase their special dietary requirements. The cookies will be on sale for 50 cents each and will be available at Café Dare after school.

Timetable B Teachers, Erik Stewart, Alison D’Costa, Tegan Jade Farrar and Georgia Skeen, on behalf of Year 1 Team.

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ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S SUMMARY

Alamanda College

What’s Happening in Year 1?The Term 3 Curriculum Overview has been distributed and uploaded onto Skoolbag. The Curriculum Overview provides a synopsis of our planning for Term 3 and describes the Units of Inquiry, the Central Idea and Lines of Inquiry; our literacy and numeracy

teaching foci; how the students will use digital technologies and also describes the specialist learning programs.

Book Week commences on Monday 21 August. Classes will be decorating the classroom door to reflect a favourite story. The Dress-up Parade will take place at 9am on Friday 25 August. Parents are welcome to attend the parades; more details will be advertised on Skoolbag and posters on classroom doors. All students are encouraged to dress-up as their favourite book character. In past years some parents have been very creative with their child’s costume. The chain stores also know that Book Week is coming and I have noticed a variety of costumes and masks available for purchase.

WelcomeEvery week we welcome more students to our Year 1 classes. We welcome Sanuk, Natalia and Lincoln and their families to the Alamanda Community and wish you all the best as you make yourselves familiar with your new community.

Winter UniformIt is wonderful to see the children in their winter uniforms. When students remove their jackets, going between outside and inside, we are noticing that some of the jackets are still unnamed, this makes returning to the rightful owner very difficult. Please note in Year 1, if your child removes their jacket in the classroom it is left there until claimed. The lost property near the “Great Space” is from specialist classes and the playground.

Primary Years Programme:The classes are continuing to explore the Transdisciplinary Theme: ‘How the World Works’. Through this unit of inquiry students are developing the enduring understanding, ‘Ecosystems are diverse and exist all around the world.’ We have included photographs from the students visit to The Melbourne Sea Life Aquarium Excursion. Students are using the information gained during this excursion to do further research and will be presenting their research in the format of an information report and diorama.

Learning to Spell - Helping Your Child with Spelling at Home:To develop as independent spellers, students need to learn how the orthographic (spelling) system works so that they can readily spell words they have never seen before. The orthographic system is regular and predictable. It codes information about words, particularly by sound; functions, e.g. plural, tense, affixes; meaning and history. This development of spelling knowledge takes place over several years and the levels of orthographic understandings are outlined below. 1. Phonological knowledge (how words sound) including

• letter names and sounds they represent• the sounds of English• the way different sounds may be represented• how to segment the sounds in words into chunks of

sounds.2. Word function knowledge: students understand that affixes can be added to the endings of words to show how they can function as nouns, verbs, plurals and adjectives.3. Meaning knowledge: the study of units of meaning within words, and the corresponding understanding that words that share meaning are often spelt the same, in spite of a change in sound, e.g. please, pleasant, pleasure.4. Word history knowledge: the study of word origins and the history of their meaning.

Spelling is taught at school by considering: how words sound, how words look, how words change form, and where words come from. Students are shown how to spell words using all of these strategies. Learning to spell is closely linked with learning to talk, listen, read and write. There is a daily focus on spelling and spelling is regarded as a tool for writing. It is important that students spell correctly in their writing and that they are able to check their writing for mistakes.

You can help your child with their spelling by:• Encouraging your child to look at new words, say them,

write them from memory, then check• Encourage your child to try words, then praise the parts

that are correct, and suggest what else is needed, e.g. little for little, you might say, “You have five letters of the six right. One of the letters should be doubled. Can you tell me which one it should be?”

• Talk about how you spell, and what you do when you don’t know how to spell a word.

• Remember that not all English words can be spelt correctly by “sounding out”, e.g. you, said

In Year 1 students are expected to be able to:• spell many words that they read and use frequently, • use sounds to help them spell, • use words they know to help them spell unknown words, • use some spelling rules, e.g. add ‘s’ to make simple

words plurals• find and correct some errors in their own writing• use sources around them to help spell e.g. signs, word

walls, books, other people.

The students have been making gains in their spelling knowledge. We know the more words you do know how to spell the easier it is to read and write. Practise does make learning easier.

If you have any questions or concerns, please meet with your child’s classroom teacher or myself. You are welcome to telephone the office on 83765200 to make an appointment.

Regards,

Helen WelshAssistant PrincipalYear One Mini-School

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News from Year 2

What a fantastic and quick start to Term 3 the Grade 2’s have had. To top it off we have surpassed the 100 days of school for 2017! Congratulations to all of our students. Students in 2C were lucky enough to celebrate this occasion in class by making fairy bread for all of their hard efforts.

Over the last couple of weeks, the grade 2’s have been working extremely hard within all key learning areas to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the third inquiry. To finish off this inquiry, the students were fortunate enough to have a special visit from Harold the giraffe, who lives in the Life Education Van. Harold and his friend Gerard took each class on a tour of the human body. Students were able to explore the functions of various body parts and how magnificent our bodies really are.

All grade 2 classes have had a major focus on the writer’s craft in term 3. Teachers have been using different mentor books from well known authors to teach students about the different tools, techniques of language and storytelling to craft a piece of writing. Students are working towards identifying these techniques to help inspire their own writing.Students have so far created remakes of:

- Water Dance.- The Beginners Guide To Running

Away From Home.- How To Be Famous.- Everyone Can Learn How To Ride

A Bicycle.

This week our students have begun inquiring into our fourth inquiry of the year. We are focusing on the transdisciplinary them of ‘How we express ourselves’ through the central idea ‘The Arts allow us to express and interpret our creativity, feelings and beliefs.’ Our lines of inquiry that will define the scope into the central idea include:

• The Arts are represented in different ways.

• There are many artistic techniques that are used to express creativity and ideas.

• Perspective plays a role in how art is interpreted.

• The Arts can enable communication on a global scale.

So far students in 2D have tuned into the inquiry through a provocation. During the task, students were instructed to listen to a range of music including classical and dance. Whilst listening to the music, students were then instructed to bring upon their artistic nature by drawing pictures that represented the emotion they felt.

Students in 2C have been working towards demonstrating what they know about our two new numeracy topics of

money and data. From this, students are independently identifying what areas they need to work on and creating goals from the Numeracy Continuum to achieve this. A quick reminder to all parents that the grade 2’s are currently participating in the Australian wide Word Mania event which is derived from the application Literacy Planet. Students are so far doing an exceptional job, where they are currently coming 1st out of all schools in Australia. If possible, please allow your child to play every night. This is not only for them to earn points for the school, but to also increase their word bank by demonstrating their knowledge of blends and rimes.

News from Year 3

It has been another busy week for the Grade 3 students. The students are very excited about our new Friday afternoon sports tournament, where the students are playing Boot Ball against other grade 3 classes. They are learning a range of new sport skills and are demonstrating great teamwork on the field. This gives the students something to look forward to at the

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end of every week and its fantastic to see them practising during their lunch time.

Each grade 3 class has now participated in two games and have been awarded house points for positive behaviours that are related to the PYP learner profile. It is great to see the students wearing their sports

uniform in their correct house colours, as this mean they are also earning points for their house! So far 3A are the classroom to beat, scoring the most points after the two games that have been played putting them on top of the ladder.

The Grade 3 students are currently learning about descriptive writing and how to describe a person, place or thing in such a way that a picture is formed in the reader’s mind. In 3C, 3D and 3E and 3H the students created their own descriptive writing piece based on the mentor text ‘The Important Book’ written by Margaret Wise Brown. The students used their knowledge of descriptive language to create their own poem describing something that is important to them.

‘The most important thing about my doll is that it is homemade.It is white,It is soft,It sleeps with me every day,It goes with me wherever I go.But the most important thing about my doll is that it is homemade.’

- Claire 3C

Alamanda College

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S SUMMARY

Dear Families,

As usual, the past few weeks in Grade 2 and 3 have been busy and productive. Most classes have now visited the Life Education Van and met the famous ‘Harold’, with a few classes scheduled to visit them next week. We are all deep into our fourth unit of inquiry for the year, and students are beginning to sort out knowledge and understandings gained in order to take it further and take action. Grade 3 students are exploring the idea of voting in a democracy. After learning about the structure of the Australian government and political system, are creating their own political parties and campaigning in their own classrooms about different issues and platforms. The Grade 2 students have been looking into art and how it makes people feel. Students have been listening to music and recognising how it makes them feel, representing their feelings through painting. We are all looking forward to seeing where the students take our units of inquiry next... Book day

One of the most exciting days of the year is upon us! Alamanda College Book day is returning on Friday the 25th of August. The fun filled day will start with students meeting at their classroom before heading over to the parade to show off all the creative costumes with their classroom teachers. Students are invited to come dressed up in costume as one of their favourite characters or books. In previous years, we have enjoyed seeing many characters from fairy tales and other characters from classic books such as ‘The Lorax’ and ‘Where The Wild Things Are’. We encourage students and parents to let their imagination run wild - the costume can be as simple or as complex as you like! Once the parade is complete, students will make their way to their designated classroom for the day where they will create a class book, which will be shared amongst the year level. Students are submersed into quality literature, where they become authors and illustrators for the day. We encourage all parents and students to begin having discussions at home in preparation for this day! Dates and locations for the parade will follow shortly.

Seussical JR. - The Musical

Alamanda College presents - The Seussical JR. Musical is a zany musical based on favourite Dr. Seuss characters. The musical will take place at the Alamanda College theatre, with multiple performances throughout September. We encourage our community to purchase tickets to one of the evening or matinee performances to witness the incredible talent of Alamanda students. Tickets are on sale NOW and can be purchased through trybooking.com! If you would like more information please see Mr. Moran, Ms. Burney or Mrs. Osborne.

Grade 3 Bootball Tournament

The Grade 3’s have begun a Bootball tournament in Term 3. Bootball is a team game, which is a bit of a mixture between soccer and baseball, with a few alternative rules. The purpose of the tournament is for students to develop their empathy, sportsmanship, co-operative skills and ball skills. Each Friday afternoon, each class versus another class in a round robin format, where all classes will have the opportunity to play each other this term. We are into the third week of our Bootball Tournament. In our first week, 3G were the victors, scoring 19 points, and 3A were the champions of week 2 with an impressive 22 points. Currently, 3A are sitting at the top of the leaderboard, with 3D and 3G following closely behind. I wonder who will be leading after this afternoon’s round?If you are interested in checking out the leaderboard, it is in the window of 3H.

Have a safe and fun weekend everyone!

Dare to be wise,

Georgia Bell, Jaymee Stigwood and Suzi KoneskiActing Leading Teacherson behalf of the Grade 2/3 Mini School

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News from Year 4

They say time flies when you are having fun, and it has certainly been a fun start to Term 3 for the Year 4’s. We have been busy completing our action from our last Unit of Inquiry, as well as preparing for camp.

Year 4’s have successfully completed their action from their last Unit of Inquiry, which was the 40 Hour Famine. Students and teachers did a great job going without furniture, technology AND electricity for two school days. Not only did the Year 4’s go without these items, but they were also very busy raising money through sponsorship. Due to the amazing effort by the Year 4 students and the 4/5/6 mini-school, we have raised over $3000! We would like thank everyone who gave a donation or sponsored a student. The Year 4’s should be very proud of this awesome achievement.

Here is what some of the students had to say about the 40 Hour Famine:

“It was very weird without furniture, because we had to bend over our books on the floor so we could do our work.” - Dayna

“We have been looking at how ancient architecture have inspired modern buildings, like amphitheatres and stadiums such as the MCG” -Jonah

Some students have noticed that some ancient architecture such as columns are all around the city.

“I noticed that the columns on the Parliament House of Victoria were similar to Ancient Greek columns” - Mila

Clubs have also started back this term with a lot of enthusiasm from the students. Clubs this term include, creative writing, STEM, photography, global games, craft, animation, textiles, woodwork and sports. It has been wonderful to see students follow their interests and be risk-takers when selecting a club.

“In STEM, we had to use spaghetti and marshmallows to make the tallest tower. This was difficult because the spaghetti and marshmallows wouldn’t stand up properly, our tower needed to be thicker to stand.” - Akshath

“I liked it because some of the students went further and completed the challenge at home.” - Rebecca

“It was challenging not using our iPads to help us research.” - Keiran

“We had a go at trying to not use technology, electricity and furniture, and we succeeded.” - Ariana and Esmè

“I thought it was really great to see what is was like for people living in Third World Countries.” - Selina

“I really enjoyed the 40 Hour Famine, because we got to sit on the floor and lay down to do our work.” - Rigdon

“Thank you to all our friends and family who helped us raise money for people who are less fortunate than us.” - Mila

We have also begun inquiring into our next Unit of Inquiry about how ‘Modern Architecture Reflects Ancient Innovation.’

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News from Year 4

“I really enjoy having fun and choosing a club that I enjoy.” - Joseph

“I was really interested in Textiles, because I have never done any sewing before and I was interested in how we are going to make wheat pack.” - Kevin

“I like how we get to do other stuff that isn’t school work.” Jonas 4B

Also, this week the Year 4s have participated in the Life Education Van. The focus was ‘Mind Your Medicine.’ This topic was about understanding medicines as well as their safe use. It also delved into positive communication and how feelings can influence our choices.

“In the Life Education Van, we learnt about the body and how the medicines work once they are in the body.” - Keily

“I enjoyed meeting Harold and Alicia, who taught us all about medicine and how the body works.” - Alicia

“In the Life Education Van they put fun and facts together, it was great!” - Shabih

“I enjoyed meeting Harold, and he was very funny.” - Esmè

“It was great to split into groups, and to see that everyone was working in teams!” - Risa

With camp less than a week away, the Year 4s had a meeting about what to pack and some of the exciting activities that we are going to be doing. Students are very eager for camp and have shared what they are most excited about:

“I am most excited for the disco on camp!” - Lucas

“I am excited because we get to the MCG because we are going to see different artefacts.” - Ariel

“I like how going on camp connects to our inquiry, because we are going to see lots of modern architecture and some old architecture too.” - Rebecca

“I am really excited for camp because we are going to see a movie that has not come out yet.” - Kevin

“I am excited for camp because we get to see some new sights in the city that we might not have seen before.” - Matilda

“I am excited to go ice-skating and to the Melbourne Star because I have never been there before.” - Mila

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News from Year 5

SCIENCE INCURSIONLast week, Fizzics Education came out to Alamanda College to present the science shows ‘Big Science, Big Fun’ and ‘Tick…Tick…BOOM!’ The shows were both educational and exciting, and the atmosphere in the auditorium was at fever pitch! Some of the Australian Curriculum outcomes that were covered, were:

· The way objects move depends on a variety of factors, including their size and shape.

· Objects are made of materials that have observable properties.

· A push or a pull affects how an object moves or changes shape.

· Light and sound are produced by a range of sources and can be sensed.

· Heat can be produced in many ways and can move from one object to another.

· Forces can be exerted by one object on another through direct contact or from a distance.

· Changes to materials can be reversible, such as melting, freezing, evaporating; or irreversible, such as burning and rusting.

SCIENCE WORKSHOPSTo develop their scientific understanding and curiosity, the Year

5 students have been participating in rotations that have given them a small ‘taste’ of a particular scientific concept. In one of the workshops, the students have been learning about mechanical energy including kinetic, elastic potential and gravitational potential energy. Through this hands on activity, the students were able to demonstrate the PYP attributes and attitudes of inquirers, risk takers and cooperation. Their task was to research either an elastic wind up car or catapult and to build this using given materials. The students considered how their creation, (including the process of creating) used both kinetic and potential energy.

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News from Year 6

FROM THE TEACHERS:At this point in the term, the grade six students are at the the mid-point of their learning journey for the PYP Exhibition. Working under the overarching theme of science and technology, all students are working in small groups to develop their own lines of inquiry into their own central ideas. At this stage in the process, the groups have begun to take full control of the direction of their learning. To this end, it has been rewarding to see the students’ creativity and curiosity rising to the challenge.

The students and teachers alike are all very grateful for the time and energy that has already been given up by the whole school community for their exhibition. Each group has its own individual mentor teacher from within

our school community. It has been fantastic to see the students arranging meetings with these mentors as they develop their professional communication skills alongside their science learning.

We in grade six are very excited to share our learning journey from the exhibition with you and the entire school community in week six of term on Wednesday the 23rd of August. Given the impressive effort already put in by our students, it should be a night to remember.

FROM THE STUDENTS (PREP SUPPORT LEADERSHIP GROUP):

In Term 3, the prep support team has been continuing to read with prep students and assist prep teachers in a

range of ways. In reading, the preps have been improving by extending the vocabulary with new book each day. With the prep support group assisting the teachers on Tuesdays, each class has been learning faster and improving. We have been reading with prep students and encouraging them to understand letter sounds and the meaning of the stories.

In the future, we we would like to begin making books for the preps and making extra time for them during lunch to read to them, so that they can get more into what they’re learning at school. We can inform the preps during breaks about what we do in year 6 to encourage them to have a growth mindset about what they can achieve at school. - Simon (6D) and James (6E)

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Specialist Subjects

Students have been engaged in a range of activities designed to develop their understanding of art techniques as well as the artists or book we are learning about this Semester. The photo’s this week show Grade 4 students demonstrating their understanding of Keith Haring’s artwork by creating large scale outlines of their bodies and adding images that reflect his work. And Grade 2 are experimenting with a range of art mediums using their imagination to come up with a creative fish design. We are now looking forward to Book Day and joining in the celebrations by supporting teachers and students in their artwork development on the day.

Art News

Music NewsNEWS FLASH!We are excited to announce that we have over 90 students now enrolled in the Instrumental Music Program at Alamanda College. It’s been wonderful to see so many new students taking up new instruments, building friendships and developing their skills with our wonderful teaching staff.

Coming soon….Brass and Woodwind Lessons!Enrolments also being taken now for Prep – Grade 2 with violin/viola and piano.

Students from Grade 1 – Year 9 are able to enrol with all instruments:Piano, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Voice, Violin/Viola/Cello, Brass, Woodwind WELCOME!As our student numbers continue to increase we have a new piano teacher; Bei Mi Chen.

BiographyBe Mi began learning piano at the

age of nine, under the tutelage of Yeng Zheng. Progressing fast as a pianist, Bei Mi achieved his A.Mus.A and L.Mus.A in his early teen years. Bei Mi’s former teachers include Elizabeth Mitchell, Professor Ronald Farren Price, Benjamin Martin and Natasha Vlassenko. During his time at Melbourne University, he garnered many scholarships. His exposure to many world-renowned teachers and performers such as Nikolai Dimidenko and Piers Lane through masterclasses has given him great insight into the rich pedagogy the best educators have to offer. As a performer, Bei Mi has had experience performing locally and abroad, solo and with orchestras. His competitive accomplishments includes awards and participation in national and international competitions such as Lev Vlassenko, Shepparton National, Louisiana International and Southern Highland’s International Piano Competitions. As a result of success at various national competitions during his early teen

years, Bei Mi’s playing has been broadcasted nationally. Bei Mi is a firm believer that quality is more important than quantity, and this is reflected in his approach to teaching. His teaching experience has allowed him adapt to students’ individual needs and help students focus on developing strong pianistic fundamentals. He has helped many students achieve great AMEB results, successful auditions and performances. As an an accompanist and teacher, Bei Mi has been a staff member at prestigious institutes such as Westbourne Grammar and Melbourne University.

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We have had lots of fun and interactive activities in LOTE classes in the past two weeks. Students had a better understanding of their learning focus in Term 3 and were encouraged to extend their language skills by doing challenging learning tasks.

Prep students thought critically about the Chinese story “Lon Po Po”. They worked collaboratively to compare the differences and similarities between “Lon Po Po” and “Little Red Riding Hood” and demonstrated their understanding using a Venn Diagram template. They discussed the questions with their working partners and were clear about the different roles in their group.

Grade 2 learners were introduced to some common everyday food in Australia. They were provided with shopping catalogues and were instructed to prepare for their picnic basket by selecting the food items they like. Students practised their writing skills by tracing and copying the Chinese characters of food. They enjoyed scanning the shopping

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catalogues and cutting out what they would like to take for a “picnic”.

After the first two weeks’ learning of school places and facilities, Grade 3 are creating Chinese labels for our school. They were assigned to

different groups and each group had a specific focus. Their goal is to make creative and beautiful labels in Chinese for different classes and other school places, including the toilets, sickbay, canteen, etc. We look forward to seeing the display of their outstanding work around our school.We also had exciting news about the LOTE Extension program for background language learners. Last week, we had the first session started, focusing on the composition of Chinese characters and Chinese radicals. In the next few weeks, we will introduce how to use a Chinese-English dictionary to check the meaning of some unknown Chinese words found in reading texts. We believe it’s a very important skill for background language learners o learn and master. For those who participated in the program, please be advised that the program is running in 6D classroom every Thursday after school, from 3pm to 4pm.

Thank you,LOTE Team

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Anyone can help our school earn amazing resources:• Earn one sticker for every $10 spent at Woolworths*.• Complete Sticker Sheets.• Drop Sheets in a Collection Box for our school .̂Runs 26 July to 19 September 2017.Find out more at woolworths.com.au/earnandlearn

Earn & Learn is on againStart collecting today

*From Wednesday 26 July to Tuesday 19 September 2017. Excludes liquor, tobacco and gift cards.^By Tuesday 19 September 2017.