Lot 101 Leisure Drive Australind WA 6233 Phone: (08) 9725 8282 Fax: (08) 9825 8270 Email: geographe@scea.wa.edu.au
Term 1 Issue 1
Mr Rob Devenish
2014
Principal Dear Parents, Welcome to Geographe Grammar School for 2014. It is an exciting year with a number of developments in a variety of areas. We have 39 primary students and 1 secondary. This means we have almost doubled in 14 months. New students seem to be settling in well and making a valuable contribution. The new classrooms and toilet block contract has been signed and we should see movement on site early next term. This means the old transportable will need to be shifted this term and relocated to the empty site beyond the library. In effect this will decommission the old transportable until fully renovated, probably into next year making the second shed an urgent need. The gates have been moved and we are optimistic the walls will be in place for Open Day even though the timing will be tight. We should have new drinking fountains (bubblers) and fly screens by Open Day as well. In all a lot is happening and we are most grateful for the kind services given by a number of parents who have helped to keep the costs affordable. While we get excited about the developments happening within our school facilities, there is something far more fundamentally important. Christian schooling is about acknowledging the truth of Psalm 24:1,2. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it: for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Marine Studies ........................................... 2 Music .......................................................... 3 French......................................................... 4 Kindergarten and Pre-Primary ................ 5 Junior Room .............................................. 7 Senior Students.......................................... 9
Here at Geographe Grammar School we will be among the first to say that life is not religiously neutral. It cannot be. Paul, the writer of Romans in the Bible in chapter 1:25 states the perspective that mankind is by nature religious: the only question being the object of our religiosity. Theism puts God at the centre. Humanism puts man at the centre. Either way, man is religious. Geographe Grammar School endeavours to present to students the options between humankind being the object of worship in all activities or God being the object of worship in all activities. The right to choose is a God given right, which we strongly respect and is not ours to remove. We count it a privilege to have a part in your child’s education and look forward to 2014 as a year where your children will prosper and find fulfilment in all aspects of their schooling. Rob Devenish Principal
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Marine Studies Sailing has been extremely encouraging for the coach. To see all children participating on either a Wednesday or Thursday and developing skills is nothing short of inspiring. Seeing Lincoln sail out into the Leschenault Inlet, turn, capsize and come up smiling impressed me. (His dad’s swimming is impressive too.) Children are generally not fazed by getting it wrong unless we make a fuss of it. There is something innate in them that recognises that making mistakes is the modus-operandi of learning. Special thanks go to all the parents who have got in the water to help their children learn. It is truly wonderful to see the smiles on the children’s faces and the parents’ for that matter. Our older children are wanting racing now, but are learning that sailing towards the wind has its challenges. Solution: TOW. Ask any child and they can tell what it means.
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MRS AKSE During the School holidays Mrs Akse completed Early Childhood Level 1 Music (2 week course) at the Cuskelly College of Music in Brisbane. The Kodaly approach is a very structured and sequential aural-based music curriculum. Kodaly believed in the importance of the use of the voice for developing the language of music.
“The characteristics of a good musician are a well-trained ear, a well-trained intelligence, a well-trained heart and a well -trained hand.” Kodaly
“Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing with thanks in your hearts to God.”
This multi-sensorial approach to music encourages children to experience music with movement, visual aids and listening. Young children literally ‘soak up’ every experience like ‘sponges’. Children’s aural and listening skills develop as they learn to recognise and distinguish sounds, finding patterns in sounds, remembering and ordering sounds, copying and remembering sounds through songs, rhymes and games. Children also experience the beat and rhythms through active movement in music classes and enjoy the different rhythmic ‘feel’ of words, songs and music.
Colossians 3:17
Classical Guitar tuition starting in term 2.
It is wonderful to see children enjoying singing, dancing and playing clapping games with such fun and enjoyment.
To be involved please see Mrs Akse. 3
French It is wonderful to have students who actually remember a great deal of what they’ve learned last year! I was pleasantly surprised as this isn’t easy when one doesn’t practice for quite some time. It was lovely to see some new students and to welcome them in the French class. They have demonstrated an amazing ability in catching up! Learning about fruit, really suited the season and eating a lovely fruit salad was part of the fun when learning the French names of these yummy and healthy things. The Kindergarten and Pre-primary students were discovering the existence of a country called France and many had their first taste of this beautiful language; saying their name and learning colours and numbers in French through lots of fun games. The Senior class did a drawing about a highlight of their holiday and learned to tell it in French. Colours, numbers and days of the week were revised through games and some serious work. They also started learning to play the game ‘Guess Who?’ using French questions and answers. Congratulations to the Junior class who created and played their own colour bingo game. They lent it to the Senior class who thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Good for a laugh: A French friend of mine saw a “For sale” sign and asked why it said: “Very dirty” That is indeed the meaning when said with a French pronunciation!
Les Fruits
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Kindergarten and Pre-Primary Outside Play
Mrs Reid
In the first few weeks of school the children learn the social skills of sharing, taking turns, co-operation and considering others. As you can see by the photos, the children are already beginning to form friendships.
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Group A (Kookaburras) develop fine motor skills through play on the Play-dough table.
ART
SENSORY TABLE
Group B (Magpies) develop math’s skills through play in the Block Corner.
READING CORNER
CONSTRUCTION AND FINE MOTOR
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Junior Room
Mrs Hooper
Numeracy is a focus in all learning areas in years one to three. In the junior room students are regularly immersed in concrete activities that enable them to think mathematically and practice their understanding in ‘real’ situations. These activities vary from day to day, however they all support learning because they begin with tactile opportunities that lead to, thinking, talking, doing and finally, communicating their conclusions.
allows students to move towards visualisation in later learning when thinking mathematically. This term students have been expanding their knowledge of the patterns in counting. The pictures below provide an example of some of the activities they have been involved in.
Construction enhances spatial awareness and problem solving skills; visual and concrete counting opportunities provide repetition in practice that
Associating a worded number with a concrete amount – students are given a symbolised number and must use the letters to form the word, then create a concrete example, photographing their work on the Ipads.
STUDENTS CREATE A ‘SCHOOL’ IN LEGO (SPATIAL AWARENESS AND MAPPING).
STUDENTS WORKING HARD IN THEIR MENTAL MATHS PRACTICE BOOKS (PROBLEM SOLVING AND NUMBER REVISION )
STUDENTS CHALLENGED TO CREATE A TRACK FOR THE BALL TO ROLL DOWN (PROBLEM SOLVING, MATHEMATICAL THINKING AND SPATIAL AWARENESS SKILLS).
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BIBLE STUDIES In Biblical Studies, students have been learning that just like us, God has many names that tell us about his character. He is Jehovah Jireh ( my provider), Jehovah shalom (my peace), Jehovah Shammah (always there for me) and best of all , Jehovah aba ( daddy). As we move through the history of Israel , students are beginning to see that God was all these things for His people and because God never changes, this means He is still the same today‌
Dancing and singing during devotions.
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Senior Students
Mrs Akse "Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks."— Dr. Seuss
The Senior students have shown an impressive effort in home-reading this term; reading and sharing their favourite books and authors. Our classroom has a great collection of novels with Lexile levels which help students to select books they can read and which interest them to encourage a ‘love of reading’. The online Lexile quizzes motivate students to test their comprehension after reading. These quizzes can also be completed online at home. Bonus points are added to students Lexile points after successfully completing a book quiz or reading response.
In class, students are writing reading responses and creating an i-movie Book Review Video with help from Dylan our i-movie director and editor. Read this great extract from Joel’s book review:
Congratulations to Cianna and Dylan for receiving their 25 points blue award and Charla for her 50 points red award certificates.
But soon Charlie’s luck would change. I think Charlie and the Chocolate factory is the best book I have read. It is a book full of humour, action and surprises.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Charlie loves chocolate. Every day he would pass the chocolate factory in his town and this chocolate factory was the BIGGEST in the world! But Charley Bucket was so poor that he only got one chocolate bar a year for his birthday. On his way to school it was just torture to see kids nibbling on chocolate bars.
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SCIENCE The senior class are investigating plants biology. Plants are an important part of the world that God made. He created every type of plant, tree, bush, fruit and vegetable. Learning about plants and animals, their similarities and differences helps us appreciate the beauty and design of God’s creation. One difference is that plants do not have skeletons. So why do plants feel ‘crunchy’ when many animals feel ‘soft’? And how do plants stand up if they don’t have skeletons? These are some of the questions the senior students will investigate scientifically. This week the students used celery stalks to see how water travels from the ground up to the leaves of trees.
Try our experiment at home using a flower. Mix food colouring in two different colours in two glasses, so they are different colours. Use a white flower, like a carnation and very carefully split the bottom half of the stem with a knife so it looks like it has two legs. Put one leg of the flower into each glass. Leave it for an hour and watch what happens. If you leave it over night you should be able to make a flower with different colours on the ends of the petals. 10
MEET DYLAN STUDYING THROUGH SWAN ONLINE Swan Online is a great schooling system. It has managed to create classes out of nothing. From people in Kununurra to people in Perth they can all get together and work on the same project and collaborate in a great working environment. Although it may seem that you have to be computer savvy to use this system it’s all very simple and the teachers will answer your questions personally. Doing schoolwork is the exact same as if you were in a classroom of 20. You can do things like dissect hearts and brains, write narratives and biographies, create castles and learn about the ancient societies of the world, you can even learn how tax and interest rates work. The education which comes from Swan Online is based on how you work as well as others; say if you were in year 7 and you could do year 9 class standard work you would be put with the year 9’s and still communicate with all the year 7’s. The social aspect of Swan Online is very casual you Skype your teachers once a week and get together to discuss what you are doing that week. If you can’t attend a Skype session then you can sometimes have a private one for catch-up. Swan Online is one of the very best schools I have been to, its easy to use, it teaches me what I want to know and I have friends from all over WA.
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Book and Biscuit Night It was fantastic to see parents and grandparents enjoying reading together and sharing favourite books. See photos below.
Constable Care Incursion On Tuesday 11th March students enjoyed a Constable Care incursion on safety and the role of the Police in the Community
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OUR FAVOURITE APPS
WOOORDS Wooords is a word game. Move letters like fridge magnets to make as many words as possible. Wooords is easy to play and fun to play with your friends or just challenge yourself.
MATHMATEER Mathmateer is a math game covering counting, odd and even numbers, basic number facts and times-tables. When the rocket reaches space the fun begins. Tap the numbers as quick as possible before it lands. Try to beat your own high score and earn money to build and design your own rockets.
MATHLETICS Mathletics is now available as a free app. All students can also access their account at www.mathletics.com.au
Great app to learn French Free on itunes.
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Thank you to Harvey Community Radio for broadcasting our school notices every Friday between 4pm and 5pm on 96.5fm
If the office is closed, our Principal Mr Rob Devenish can be contacted for enrolments or emergencies on 0408 557 929 Please leave a detailed message with your number if the phone is not answered.
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GEOGRAPHE GRAMMAR SCHOOL Term 1 Calendar 2014 WEEK 1
MONDAY 3 FEB
TUESDAY 4 FEB
WEDNESDAY 5 FEB
THURSDAY 6 FEB Class Parent Meetings 2.30pm
FRIDAY 7 FEB Violin
WEEK 2
10 FEB
11 FEB
12 FEB Sailing
13 FEB Sailing Music Meeting 2.30pm
14 FEB
WEEK 3
17 FEB
18 FEB
19 FEB Sailing
20 FEB Piano Sailing
21 FEB Violin
WEEK 4
24 FEB Book & Biscuit Night 6pm
25 FEB
26 FEB Sailing
27 FEB Piano Sailing
28 FEB Violin
WEEK 5
3 MAR Public Holiday
5 MAR Sailing
6 MAR Piano Sailing
7 MAR Violin
WEEK 6
10 MAR
4 MAR Assembly & Sausage Sizzle 2.15pm 11 MAR
12 MAR Sailing
13 MAR Piano Sailing
14 MAR Violin
WEEK 7
17 MAR
19 MAR Peel Zoo Years 1–3 Sailing
20 MAR Piano Sailing
21 MAR Violin Harmony Day Morning Tea
WEEK 8
24 MAR
18 MAR K/PP Dolphin Discovery Runners & Fitness Club 25 MAR Runners & Fitness Club
26 MAR Sailing
27 MAR Piano Sailing
28 MAR Violin
WEEK 9
31 MAR
1 APR Runners & Fitness Club
2 APR Sailing
3 APR Piano/Sailing Music Concert 2pm
WEEK 10
7 APR
8 APR Runners & Fitness Club
9 APR Australian Chamber Orchestra Sailing
10 APR Piano Sailing
4 APR Violin OPEN DAY SATURDAY 5th APRIL 11 APR Hike 1 Whole School
Students return for Term 2: Monday 28th April 2014 15