Thursday 17 November 2016

SWIMMING

It is that time of the year again; Swimming commences on Monday, 21st November. We will be departing the school at 9.30am therefore students may wear bathers to school under their uniform to change just before we leave. Students will only take a towel, their school T-shirt and footwear (may be thongs) to the pool. Please have these items ready to go in a labelled plastic bag. The children will get changed back into their clothes on their return to school. School canteen will only be available for lunch, not recess for Room 17.

FAMILY FUN NIGHT

In support of the Family Fun Night, each year group is organising a game or activity to be presented at the event. The Year 5 classes are organising a "Cup-cake Decorating Stall." We ask that students bring in some cup-cakes or decorating items (such as frosting or icing in a tube etc.) no later than Thursday, 24th November.

We thank you in advance for any contribution, small or big and we appreciate your support in making this year's Family Fun Night a great event. 

GRADUATION

The Graduation Ceremony and Dance is fast approaching: Tuesday 29th November. A few notes were sent out this week regarding the event. One note asked for Year 5 parent/guardian volunteers to be part of the decorating committee. The committee is responsible for setting up and decorating the venue. When the Year 5's are in Year 6, parents/guardians of the 2017 Year 5 cohort will then form a committee and do the same for the graduating class. So far we have not had any volunteers for this event. Please send in the return slip as soon as you can if you are willing and able to help.

The Graduation Ceremony will be followed by the Graduation Dance for Year 5 and Year 6 students. Year 5 students are asked to contribute the food and drinks for this event. A note regarding this information has also been sent out. Both the decorating and food/drink contributions have been a wonderful Wattle Grove tradition for many years. Thank you for your support.


SCIENCE - STATES OF MATTER

Room 17 has been learning all about the states of matter. Is it a solid, liquid or gas? 
We can answer this question by thinking about the properties for each state of matter. During the unit we have learned a great deal. Some of the things that the children have learnt are:

"I have learnt that liquids can flow and that they take the shape of the container that they're in. Also, liquids have varying degrees of viscosity which means that they can be really runny and flow freely or they may be thick and flow slowly, like honey. Furthermore, the liquid molecules are held tightly together (not as much as solids) which allows them to flow. The gas molecules are spread apart and the bonds are weak. This is why they move freely around. In class we did an investigation where we sprayed a scent and measured how quickly it flowed around the room. This was interesting because it gave us a good example of how gases work." - Pavitra


"Did you know that some materials can not be directly defined as a solid, liquid or a gas? Toothpaste is an example of this. When a fluid has properties of different states of matter it is called a non-newtonian fluid. I also learned that matter has mass and volume so some things are not matter like our thoughts and imagination. I have been loving the investigations that we have been doing. Learning about how things work and why things happen is intriguing." - Aena


"What is the most common state of matter in the universe?
This state of matter is rather quite hot, some would say that it is the hottest of them all...
It can be found occurring naturally in lightning...
It is a gas of positive ions and free electrons...
Do you know yet?
It is Plasma!" - Tayler


Wednesday 16 November 2016

BOOK REVIEW - GRACE by MORRIS GLEITZMAN

A book about love…
A book about trusting God…
A book about repentance…

Eleven year-old Grace has had a very religious upbringing in a strict church community. As she begins to grow up, she also begins to question life. She is a curious girl, she is a stubborn girl and she is an independent girl. These qualities are frowned upon by the Elders in her community. Whenever Grace seems to find happiness, trouble comes knocking at her door. Trouble for Grace begins when she befriends a boy who just happens to be a non-Christian.

Grace takes the reader on a journey that explores themes such as independence, tolerance and most importantly, being true to yourself. Grace spoke to me on a personal level because there are times where I would get caught up with the crowd but by reading this novel I learned the importance of being proud to make my own decisions and to stick by them. Everyone is different and be who you are. I enjoyed reading this book because of its strong and powerful moral messages.

Well, to find out about it for yourself I guess you have to read this brilliant book. I promise you that you will never read a book like this in your entire life! I definitely think Morris Gleitzman has produced his best work of art to date. The  BEST book in the world receives a perfect 5/5  stars from me, in fact, maybe even a 10/5 stars! I implore you to go out and find this book for yourself. Your mind will be blown!

By Catherine, Year 5, Room 17

Monday 7 November 2016

SWIMMING NOTES

Just a reminder that swimming lessons commence in Week 7 and that swimming notes are now due. Thank you to everyone who has already paid and submitted the forms. 

Wednesday 2 November 2016

BOOK REVIEW - WHO AM I - THE DIARY OF MARY TALENCE 

Poor Mary has no clue who she is. Her real family is unknown. We begin when Mary is forcibly removed away from her mother when she was only five years old and placed into an orphanage called ‘Home.’ There she stayed until the age of 10 before she was transported to a new family called 'The Burkes.' Miss Burke, Mr Burke, Sophie, Sam and now Mary make up the family. To Mary, it feels as though each and every day, the people she cares for are leaving her or she is leaving them, but why? Mary is Aboriginal and a different colour from all the rest and for this reason alone, everyone tease’s her. She feels uncomfortable in her own skin. Find out what happened in the past for Aboriginal people. While reading this heart-wrenching book, I felt as if I was taken on a journey to a place of unfortunate sadness and despair. To tell you the truth, I did cry through some parts of the story but I couldn’t put this book down. I read it all day, every day. Who am I? The Diary of Mary Talence will also make you ask yourself the same question “Who am I?” It makes you reflect on your life and realise how lucky we are that Australia has changed from the days where racism was so prevalent. Personally, I know that racism is still an issue in many areas around the world but I feel lucky to be here in Australia. Who am I? is such a powerful read – it is a game changer! This must have been Anita Heiss’ best book of all time. I recommend this fabulous read for all ages 8 and up (even adults should pick it up and take time out of their busy schedules to read it.) I give Heiss’ book a perfect 5 out of 5 stars for all the wonderful language, emotion, love, history and breath-taking experiences. I promise you, with all my heart and soul, that you will love this spectacular, life changing and incredible book… Enjoy!

By Aena, Year 5, Room 17

Monday 31 October 2016

WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN ROOM 17?
Room 17 has had a busy and productive start to Term 4! The year five cohort has commenced dance lessons which run every Thursday morning. The students are learning a variety of dance routines including a partner dance, hip hop and the jive and it is fantastic to see them all participating and making the most out of this experience..

The science presentations have also been running this term. The students all had the opportunity to present their projects in Week 3, covering a range of science concepts from chemistry to human biology. Congratulations to Pavitra and Catherine who were selected as the year five representatives from Room 17 for their well-researched and engaging presentations. A further congratulation to Catherine, who was selected to be the single representative for year five!









On Friday 28th of October there was a Senior School Assembly in which the students had the opportunity to harvest and sell the produce they have been growing in the veggie patches. Thank you to all the students who helped with the harvesting and selling, we managed to raise a total of $50! 




Room 17 also managed to take away two class awards from this assembly as well as some individual merit certificates.  All the students’ hard work with reading and completing Literacy Pro quizzes has led to us being crowned the Literacy Pro Champions of the school! Room 17 also received the Senior Art Award for all the students’ hard work and beautiful portraits they have produced. 





As you can see it has been a busy start to Term 4 and this will continue. The students have started a new unit on Bushfires in Geography and are continuing to develop their understanding of solids, liquids and gases in our Science lessons. Dance lessons will continue throughout the term and in Week 7, swimming lessons will commence, running every day for two weeks. Just a reminder that it is essential that students’ return their permission slips and money before this time.




Tuesday 18 October 2016

INTRODUCING MISS PRAKHOFF

To the Parents, Caregivers and Students of Room 17,

My name is Kira Prakhoff and this year I am a completing my Graduate Diploma (Primary) at Edith Cowan University. I feel very fortunate to be undergoing my final teaching practice here at Wattle Grove Primary School in Room 17 and I look forward what is to come.

Over the next seven weeks I will be preparing and delivering various lessons and carrying out assessment and evaluation of this teaching and learning under the guidance of Mr Petch. Some subjects of focus for my teaching will include Literacy, Numeracy, Chemical Science and Geography.

I am honoured to have this opportunity to work with the class and I hope that Room 17 enjoys this experience as much as I will!

Best Wishes,


Miss Prakhoff



Thursday 22 September 2016

SUPER SCIENTIST COMPETITION - TERM 4

The second 'Super Scientist' competition will be taking place over the first few weeks of Term 4.


This competition has 3 stages:

Stage 1: Each student will research and present either a short science experiment or report on a science related concept, to our class. The students in our class will then select their top two 'Super Scientists'. 

Stage 2: The selected two students will then have to present (again) to ALL the students and teachers in Year 5. An admin representative will will then choose their year group's #1 scientist!

Stage 3: Finally, the school will celebrate our top 6 scientists by getting them to present their report or experiment to the entire school, at a giant Science assembly! There will be prizes awarded to all students who made it through each stage of the process. 

The Presentation:
·                     Can be a report or an experiment 
·                     Can be a maximum of 5 minutes in length
·                     Students can use ICT resources such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word (or similar) to support their presentation
·                     Posters and charts are also an option to assist their presentations
·                     Experiments should be simple to set up, demonstrate the outcome within the time limit, and be safe!
·                     Students will need to explain what they are demonstrating, what procedure they are following, the aim, hypothesis (prediction), materials and of course, the results. Careful consideration should be made to how something happened and why. Some of the children may even think about the real world applications of their science if it applies.

There are many websites that can help assist in finding ideas on what to present. These have been listed below.


Important Information: Children will need to commit to a topic by Wednesday of Week 1: 12th October. A great deal of assistance will be required from home for this project. Our ICT sessions on Monday will be dedicated to project time, along with a couple of hours throughout Weeks 1 and 2, however, much of the work will need to be completed at home. 
Due Date:  All experiments/reports will be presented in Week 2.

I am looking forward to seeing all of the presentations in Week 2 and I can't wait to learn more about all things science. 

Wednesday 21 September 2016

MISSING BOOKS

Unfortunately, we are missing close to 60 home readers in our room. The deadline to bring all of the books in is actually today, however, it is rather disappointing that we still have such a large amount of books unaccounted for. Reading is very important and I love the fact that the children in Room 17 read so much. This will always be encouraged but it is also important to return the books to the class so other children can enjoy reading too. I would really appreciate it if everyone could have a big look around their home, car, bedroom etc for class books and return them to school before we break up for the holidays. Thank you in advance for your help with this matter.


COOKING UP A STORM 

We had a great time today cooking ‘Chocolate Molten Puddings’ as a little reward for the hard work that the children have put in throughout the term. Thank you to Mrs Stanley for supplying all of the ingredients and materials, as well as taking the role of head chef. It was a great learning experience for the children. Find the recipe here: Recipe





Wednesday 14 September 2016

MERIT CERTIFICATES

Congratulations to the students who received a Merit Certificate at today's assembly. Your hard work, help and kindness does not go unnoticed. Keep up the wonderful effort.


CYBER SAFETY

On Tuesday, we learnt about the importance of surfing the web safely. The children we taught about some of the dangers that they may come in contact with whilst being online, and strategies/skills to employ to make sure they are cyber-smart and safe. It was a very informative session and I'm sure that the parents who attended the evening seminar got a great deal of information out of it. Please take the time to reiterate to your child(ren) the measures they can take to be safe online. If you would like anymore information on this topic, you can browse Paul Litherland's website here:
Paul Litherland


Wednesday 7 September 2016

BOOK REVIEW

As part of our Book Week activities, Room 17 have completed a number of different tasks in order to make a paper bag book review of their all time favourite book. We are seeing some spectacular work being produced. Here is a little snippet of Room 17's reviews.


Furthermore, Roshini would like to share her review of Roald Dahl's novel, George's Marvellous Medicine.

George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl


I have to say it! George’s Marvellous Medicine is just that: Marvellous! It is packed full with action and humour. When I read the book, it made me want to read it again because it was interesting, funny and extraordinary. My favourite part was when George gave the mysterious medicine he made to his Grandma. Suddenly, his grizzly and grouchy Grandma popped through the roof and was sooo tall. I loved the book because it was funny and mischievous (and everything a child loves!) I dare you to read this amazing Roald Dahl book. When I think about it, I can honestly say I was captivated. Once more, I am certain you’ll be captivated too, so I urge you to read this novel. It’s a must! So come on everyone, read George’s Marvellous Medicine. I’ll give it 5 out of 5 stars.



By Roshini, Year 5, Room 17.