Junior School

Kindergarten and Year 6 Buddy Class Program

Once again, this year we have undertaken our Buddy Class Program, partnering our Kindergarten classes with a Year 6 Buddy class.

The opportunity to instigate such a program in a school context enables us another opportunity to help foster a safe school environment for our children. It reinforces the concept that school is ‘for me’ - a place of belonging - leading to increased self-esteem and greater academic growth. It allows our younger students to feel safe and cared for whilst our older students feel valued and respected. The teaching of pro-social skills and values enables all students to develop resilience. Our buddy classes meet weekly to share in a variety of activities - it is the most anticipated time of our week! Term 1 saw us participate in a wide variety of tasks including reading stories together, playing inside and out, collaborating on drawing tasks, Year 6 buddies leading their Kindergarten peers through an introductory lesson on SeeSaw (our Pre-K to Year 2 digital learning platform) and an introductory Buddy Interview. There were many creative experiences too, including the decoration of our quilt squares to celebrate Harmony Week, a painted handprint artwork, an Easter Egg Hunt where the Year 6 students planned and hid the clues for their Kindergarten buddies and an exchange of handmade Easter cards. All our children thoroughly enjoyed participating in these activities, each and every opportunity enabling them to strengthen their bond with each other. Buddy programs teach and provide opportunities to practise the values of respect, compassion, care, embracing difference, responsibility, inclusion and friendship - another wonderful way to link in our PYP Approaches to Learning and Learner Profile Attributes. This program has been such a wonderful introduction to the Barker community for our Kindergarten children. Year 6 have benefited in equal measure, allowing them to display compassion, enthusiasm and care for others, along with taking on a variety of leadership opportunities, enhancing their communication and enabling them to be role models and teachers in a variety of circumstances. We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the children’s relationships strengthen as they have spent time together and we look forward to many more fun times as the year progresses.

Cecilia Greer Junior School Classroom Teacher & Early Stage 1 Coordinator

Inspiration through the lens of Piet Mondrian

During Visual Arts, Kindergarten explored their Unit of Inquiry; How We Organise Ourselves through the Central Idea: People build a variety of structures to meet their needs. As their provocation they investigated abstract paintings by 20th Century artist Piet Mondrian. His use of simple line and colour, inspired Kindergarten to create collages allowing the students to demonstrate their understanding of the role of the artist, linking their work to the world. They used the black lines to represent a city street structure and a map like grid. The coloured blocks of paper were used to show the buildings. The students could arrange their compositions however they liked. Line, colour and repetition were the main elements explored. Gluing, arranging and overlapping techniques were discussed in relation to collage.

Nell Clark Junior School Art Teacher

Faith and Fun

If you walk around the buildings of Copeland or Kurrajong at the start of Wednesday or Friday lunch, you may notice a number of students still inside the buildings - why? Because on Wednesdays and Fridays our Cru Christian lunch time groups will be buzzing away. At Barker, we seek to integrate the Christian faith into all parts of our school day helping students to discover God, and then to grow in a knowledge and love of Jesus through looking at the Bible. Our Cru groups are for those students who wish to learn and discover more about our great God. Each term, we have a new theme from Psalms to Creation, Jesus as King to the Book of John - and each week a Christian staff member who has volunteered to be part of Cru, will run a session. It is always fun and faith filled. Years Pre-K, Kindergarten and Year 1 meet on Friday lunch time and Years 2 - 6 meet on Wednesday split into Years 2 - 4 and Years 5 - 6. There is always a fun challenge, some time of discussion, reading from the Bible and time to pray. Last term, the Kurrajong Piazza was filled with happy and enthusiastic Pre-K to Year 2 students - eating their lunch and learning more about Creation. There was even some craft involved including creating the “Sun, Moon and Stars” and placing their handprints on paper to remind them that they are made and loved by God. It is such a blessing and privilege to have the students of Barker Junior School choose to come along during their lunch times each week to be encouraged and inspired in the journey to know God.

Becky Shu Junior School Specialist Teacher - Christian Studies

The Learner Profile in Action!

The International Baccalaureate® (IB) aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

As IB learners, we strive to be: inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective. These learner profile attributes are consistent through all International Baccalaureate programs but especially important in the Primary Years Programme where the students are exposed to these attributes from an early age. Intrinsically linked to the IB Mission Statement, it is the learner profile attributes that demonstrate international mindedness in a local, national and global sense. An internationally minded person is open-minded about the common humanity of all people and accepts and respects other cultures and beliefs. The internationally minded person takes action through discussion and collaboration to help build a better and peaceful world. Students at Barker College are actively engaged in developing and demonstrating the learner profile attributes through every aspect of their learning. Play, sport, academic pursuits and personal relationships within our school environment are some examples where the students are encouraged to connect with the attributes within their daily lives.

Lisa Bonazza Director of Primary Curriculum (PYP Coordinator)

Culture Connects our Learning

Darkinjung Barker students and staff have been broadening their understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in History and Science.

Darkinjung Barker

The children, with help from Uncle Gavi Duncan, have focussed on the key drivers of Indigenous Culture and Heritage. The focus has been on how we can strengthen partnerships between staff, students and the local Indigenous community. Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives enhances educational experiences. It provides an accurate and rich understanding of Australia’s history and culture. The Yarramalong area contains evidence of ancestors, of creation times, of the relationships between the sky, landforms, waterways, plants, animals and people, of relationships between other Indigenous groups, of language use over time, of colonisation, loss, change, life stories, family histories and current realities. Students enjoyed creating their own version of a dreamtime story and are working towards creating books and a Claymation movie. Traditional dancing with Uncle Gavi is always a hit especially when barefoot and outside in the dirt. The students have been exploring the Aboriginal history of Australia and the first contact between the Macassans and Arnhem Land mob. K-2 have been working with Senior School Science teachers support as part of their learning. They have been looking at the structure of living things and what helps them survive. They started by answering the inquiry question, Is coral a plant or an animal? The students looked at a variety of living things in an aquarium. Then they looked at creatures and shells under the microscope. Students were able to conclude that coral is an animal because it eats. Years 3 - 6 have been working on visualisation and reading for meaning as they have been sharing the novel; The Witches, by Roald Dahl. In Maths, they explored multiple mental strategies, applying their understanding by challenging each other in Maths games with cards, board games and Prodigy. They have been learning how to utilise diverse software for learning and are focusing on accessing and completing work online using Microsoft OneNote. In Science, the focus has been on living things in our environment and the children plan to rejuvenate our School garden beds. In History, they have been exploring ‘My Place’ introducing a variety of Australian characters throughout the 1700-1800s. They compared the past to the present and this tied in well with International Women’s Day, looking at the changes for women over time.

Jamie Shackleton Director of Aboriginal Campuses

Ngarralingayil Barker

The excitement of 20 bright, smiling faces running to our classrooms each morning is wonderful. Our School is flourishing and the students’ enthusiasm for learning shows our unique style is working. High expectations, great results, being happy, strong, proud learners is the key. We focus on wellbeing and on being yourself. At the heart of our School is embracing identities, being proud of who you are and proud of what you can achieve. Learning on Country allows you to refresh, to heal, to take in the beautiful surroundings and really ‘feel it’. It makes learning relevant and practical, it empowers the students to share their knowledge, helps to build culture and identity and strengthens connections to the land. This connection is strong when we stroll into Wollombi, look down at the flowing brook and the beautiful green leaves and trees. The land connects all aspects of our lives and when Country is healthy, the people and culture are healthy and content. It helps to achieve dreams and goals and it feels so good! We have been reading some great books on identity, including The Colours of Us, Fair Skin Black Fella and The Skin You Live In. This led to interesting questions and discussion about different skin shades concluding with an agreement that we are all different, but all deadly! The students produced some amazing, shades of deadly, self-portraits. The students also created handprints, using white ochre. These handprints are a record of our presence and symbolise our belonging and respect for Ngarralingayil Barker. The children discovered that expression through painting is fun, exciting, and allows you to relax and be creative. In Term 1, we celebrated Easter with a Hat Parade, National Close the Gap day, Harmony Day and World Down Syndrome Day with special guest Amarli who is in Year 8. She has her own business and enjoys music, dancing, travelling and doesn't let her Down Syndrome hold her back. She shared her Wiradjuri culture, her Acknowledgement of Country in sign language and her bright, happy spirit. She even helped cook a BBQ lunch. We all wore coloured socks in her honour. The Harmony Day message of ‘Everyone Belongs’ and the kindness, the respect and inclusion shown by everyone made us so proud. We are proud of our School and the way we learn and play together. Ka-kulay - Be Happy

Mandy Shaw Lead Teacher - Ngarralingayil Barker

Junior School Inquiry Integrator

The Day in a life of Alyssa Swan

I love my job, I love where I work and I love what I get to do on a daily basis. I get to work very closely with a range of teachers in the Junior School helping to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) through engaging and stimulating lessons provided to the students in their class. On a Monday morning I begin my week with Year 1. All the Year 1 classes combine in the Junior School Library for an hour of Unit of Inquiry immersion. In these lessons, the students explore the Transdisciplinary Theme with a focus on the Approaches to Learning which includes thinking skills, social skills, research skills, communication skills and self-management skills. In Term 2, the Unit of Inquiry we explored was under the Transdisciplinary Theme: Where We Are in Place and Time. The Central Idea for this unit was “Change helps us understand people and the world around us.” For this unit, the students developed their thinking skills to deepen their understanding of personal histories. Each lesson incorporated a range of literature including picture books, non-fiction texts and videos to support and develop the students understanding of the Central Idea. On a Tuesday morning, I have the privilege of teaching Kindergarten. I work with each class over the course of the morning session where we explore literature to connect the learning to the Transdisciplinary Theme and the Central Idea. The Kindy Team and I meet weekly to discuss the focus for the week and develop a series of learning experiences to support the students understanding of the particular focus concepts. The students engage in verbal discussions and written work connected with the literature. It’s never a dull moment when working with Kindergarten. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are dedicated to Year 3. As the Year 3 cohort is an intake year for Barker College, many students are not aware of the International Baccalaureate PYP. Our focus for Semester 1 is to equip the students with the foundational language of the program. All students enjoy learning about the five essential elements of the PYP and how to incorporate this in their current Unit of Inquiry. In particular, the students have thoroughly enjoyed creating actions as a visual cue to remember and understand the Central Idea. My favourite part of any given day is when a Year 3 student finds me in the playground and proceeds to show or tell me about how our lesson is connected to learning in another subject!

As the Year 5 cohort is the largest group of students in the Junior School, the Junior School Librarian and Inquiry Integrator, Sharron Stokes, and myself share the teaching of this year group. I love collaborating and sharing ideas with her about the Year 5 students’ current Unit of Inquiry and how we can provide learning experiences that are engaging for each student, making connections to the different Approaches to Learning which are the focus area for that particular unit. We are forever bouncing ideas around our staffroom and finding connections to rich literature to ensure the students develop a deep understanding of their learning. To finish off the week, I dedicate my Fridays to Year 6. The Year 6 team and I work together to provide the students with rich learning experiences that are related to a particular Approach to Learning - thinking skills, social skills, research skills, communication skills and self-management skills. The students of Year 6 visit the Junior School Library for this lesson and are immersed in a Team Teaching environment where their classroom teacher assists me with their learning. The students are exposed to a particular skill and are given time to experiment and investigate the way they can further develop their learning in this area. The idea is to focus on universal skills for learning beyond Primary School in preparation for High School and thereafter. The students are very appreciative of this lesson and are always thanking me for providing them with a universal skill that can be applied to different areas of their learning. This is only a brief summary of the fun I have working across the Junior School. Being an International Baccalaureate Teacher at Barker College is such a privilege and I am so grateful for my current position and the different opportunities I have on a daily basis to interact with a wide range of students across the Junior School.

Alyssa Swan Junior School Library Inquiry Integrator/ Ignite Program Coordinator