Years 3/4 Honours Class

The boys have experienced explicit teaching of core concepts, but have shone brightly in their ability to work independently within their own intrinsic motivation to research, problem solve and confidently come up with theories to answer their own questions. Some of the extension topics the boys explored were their own ideas and others were borne from topics covered in the core curriculum. Each boy individually chose an environmental organisation to research and share. They looked at holidays that are not traditionally celebrated in Australia. They researched religions other than Christianity to share with the class. The boys explained significant beliefs, holidays, celebrations, gods, and where the religions originated. They looked at neighboring countries and compared and contrasted the similarities and differences between our style of living with others. They delved deeper to understand the reasons for the similarities and differences, such as weather and available services.

2014 has been a challenging year, with some steep learning curves, but it has been wonderful to see boys reach their aspirations and develop within their own unique abilities. Each boy has been monitored as an individual in his educational journey, and each stage of his development has been catered for, with the bar of expectation set high. I am delighted to say that each boy continued to grow and reach his academic and personal heights.

3/4C HONOURS

SEATED ROW: H. TOMBS, M. CARR, M. OTTO, E. KELLY, J. GAN, L. HARDY, O. KIRK SECOND ROW: J. MORRIS, D. ALOYSIUS, Z. CRAIN, M. SONG, D. RSOVAC, O. NOSTDAL, MRS L. CORBETT THIRD ROW: S. BRADNAM, T. MCCLINTOCK, B. KOWALCZUK, A. THOMSON, W. JACKSON, D. YOUNG ABSENT: F. CORSER

4

AMANDA PEMBERTON Year 4 Coordinator

Year 4 certainly started the year off by “hitting the ground running”. Within three weeks of starting their Year 4 journey the boys were off to Camp at Tyalgum Ridge. The boys’ first away from School camp experience involved lots of group activities, meeting the farm animals, learning the ins and outs of archery, conquering the high ropes, canoeing in the dam, hiking up “mountains” and clambering over rock pools to cool off under a waterfall. They ate lots and lots of great food and even had some free time swimming in the pool, playing a game of touch football, practising their snooker skills and having a game or two of table tennis. The nighttime brought a group trivia competition, talent show and finally a movie party. A good time was had, and the exhausted boys and their even more exhausted teachers arrived back at TSS Prep full of tales to share with relieved parents.

Camp was just one of the many experiences that Year 4 enjoyed. As part of the Year 4 Australian Curriculum studies in Science and History, we visited the Brisbane Maritime Museum and Science Centre during Term Two. Students and teachers enjoyed a busy day exploring the naval ship on display and learning about our maritime history. A very quick march through Southbank saw us arrive at the Science Centre where the boys experienced the forces of man and nature and participated in an informative demonstration of wacky science. Most of us left Brisbane on time, with Mr Benson’s group left waiting for their bus and driver, who had got a little lost. Throughout the year the boys have been exposed to a variety of educational experiences designed to enhance their learning. From Term One to Term Four, our historical journey has taken us through The Dreaming and the Age of Exploration to the arrival of the First Fleet, and finally culminating in the impact of colonisation on the Indigenous Peoples. Our boys wrote stories, travelled back in time, sailed the seven seas with different explorers, travelled across the world to Botany Bay as a convict and, as they did, grew to understand a little more about our past and how we could improve our future. A visit from a variety of performers helped bring our History and Poetry units to life, as did listening to the experiences of Garth Dodd, an Indigenous Elder from South Australia, who intrigued us with stories of the past and helped the boys to discover and create their own personal totems.

With more focus on the Australian Curriculum, and with the imbedding of ICTs throughout subject areas, we looked at a variety of multimedia during class and computer time. Students were taught how to create Word documents, PowerPoints, Excel spreadsheets and graphs, attach and send emails and created their own Wanted posters. Their IT skills have definitely improved and they are in a great position to move ahead into Year 5 with the introduction of iPads in the upper primary classrooms.