FROM THE JUNIOR SCHOOL
Choose Your Own Adventure Workshop
A small group of interested Year 4 students joined me in connexions today to work with the Sydney Opera House and participate in a choose your own adventure style workshop.
We needed to collaborate with other students to solve a mystery by first inventing the story elements of Who, What, Where, and Why. Our ideas were based around the Silver Shadow disappearance, and our skills of improvisation and play building were certainly stretched to connect materials from an evidence box and some sketchy witness accounts! A bit of fun at the end of Term 2.
Kylie Brewster
conneXions Teacher
Aboriginal Culture incursion
Children in Prep have been thinking about Tasmanian Aboriginal culture and fine-tuning their noticing and wondering skills.
The Prep community visited the QVMAG Gallery to experience The First Tasmanian exhibition. Children noticed shell necklaces, spears, a paperbark canoe and shelters. We then welcomed Geoff McLean to the Junior School to explore Tasmanian Aboriginal culture and practices. We experienced some ochre painting, shelter (lone-ne-gar) building and fire starting. The children handled furs, shells, bush foods and medicine. This will lead to a further inquiry during our Bush Learning next Term at Cataract Gorge.
We finished the day with a fire and an Acknowledgement of Country…. and some rain! A wonderful day of rich learning for all.
Nerida Schulz
Teacher
School-Home Learning Partnership
The final week of this Term and the beginning of Term 3 provide a number of wonderful opportunities for parents and families to visit the Elphin Campus to share aspects of their child’s learning. Widespread research expounds the importance of home-school partnerships for the positive impact they can have on students’ motivation, engagement, behaviour, and academic and social outcomes. Importantly, as we continue to transition from several Terms of COVID-linked restrictions for on-campus activities, the sense of community that is so important for everybody’s wellbeing is now being re-established.
Monday 27 June: Year 5 students invite families to conneXions for the presentation of their ‘Habitats for Humanity’ projects. Year 5 Robinson will be from 9:00am-9:30am, Year 5 Bristow from 10:30am-11:00am, Year 5 Hodgetts from 11:15am-11:45 and Year 5 Cincotta from 2:15pm-2:45pm.
Wednesday 29 June: Prep Shaw will lead the Prep-Year 2 LIVE@Elphin in the HPEC@Elphin from 8:45am – 9:10am and families of students in this class are warmly invited to attend.
Wednesday 29 June: Music Soirees presented by Year 4-5 students in the Mary Fox Performing Arts Centre. 1:15pm-1:45pm Wind and Percussion Ensembles, 2:15pm-2:45pm Violin and Cello Ensembles. Families of all students in these groups are invited to attend.
Thursday 30 June: Year 3 Gillett will lead the Years 3-5 LIVE@Elphin in the HPEC@Elphin from 8:45am-9:10am and families of students in this class are warmly invited to attend.
Note that Laneway Coffee is open for all Junior School parents on Wednesday 29 June and Thursday 30 June from 8:00am-9:00am. This is an opportunity to drop in for an end-of-term catchup with other parents.
Term 3
Wednesday 27 July: Early Learning Erina Learning Celebration. All parents of children in these classes will be invited to a sharing of Bush Learning, Music and HPE from 8:45am – 11:30am.
Tuesday 2 August: We celebrate 100 Days of School morning for Prep students. All Prep families are invited to share the morning with the students from 8:45am – 11:00am.
Lost Property
As the Term draws to a close it is timely for students who may have lost uniform items or lunchboxes and drink bottles to check the Lost Property shelves at Junior School reception. Misplaced items which are named are usually able to returned to their owners, but there are many unnamed items currently in Lost Property.
Elphin Campus Traffic
Thank you to all drivers who have supported our focus on reducing traffic volumes and speeding up ‘drive-throughs’ near the school gates at daily drop-off and pick-up times this Term. The increased number of families opting for a ‘park and walk’ approach – even in the May-June weather – has made a noticeable difference from both traffic flow and road safety viewpoints.
Lachie Wright
Head of Junior School