From the Junior School

Prep student Victor learning from home Brian Gu with his beautiful mandala

What is a language?

During Enhanced Learning sessions, students have been investigating extinct and ‘dead’ languages.

We began the term focusing our learning on the Central Idea: Language is a vehicle for communication and self-expression. After being given many provocations to get them started, students selected a language that captured their interest.

Many were intrigued by the Indigenous languages that have disappeared from our culture, so they decided to inquire into the ‘causation’ of their disappearance and the ‘function’ of this language when it was alive. The students demonstrated agency as they used the Key Concepts of Causation, Connection, Form and Function to frame their inquiry.

Ultimately, the boys discovered, as a result of their inquiry and research, that the evolution of language has a remarkable history and the languages of Australia are incredibly diverse.

Luca and Ethan calculate the length of a book

Adam Tomlinson (OTG 2011) spoke to the Junior School students about the importance of resilience

Preps get creative!

In Mathematics, our youngest students have been learning about measurement. They measured everything they could find – books, desks, toys, even each other! They used different informal tools to estimate and measure different objects, including unifix blocks and counters. The Preps then collaborated with their classmates to work out the total length. When learning went online, the Preps continued to discover through a range of hands-on learning opportunities. During their PYP unit of inquiry, they investigated how changes in the environment affect how people live. They were researchers and inquirers as they conducted a range of weather experiments to discover how rainstorms, clouds and tornadoes form. During Art sessions, they also were encouraged to go outside (as far as they could when we were in quarantine) and forage for natural objects to create mandalas, again using their Maths skills to construct a geometric configuration of their found items. The students were excited to share photographs of their amazing creations.

Prep students Nathan, Ethan and Brian were busy measuring in Maths

Adam Tomlinson visit

The theme for this year’s Junior School Physical Education Assembly was resilience and the key elements needed to face adversity – rather timely! Who better to highlight the importance of the personal attribute of resilience and how to overcome adversity with grace than OTG and current AFL Melbourne Demons defender Adam Tomlinson (OTG 2011)?

In what could arguably be described as Melbourne’s most successful season (at the time of writing they are through to the AFL Grand Final), Adam spoke to the Junior School students and staff about the unfortunate injury sustained earlier in the season which ruled him out for the remainder of the year. A key defender for the Dees, this would have been devastating for Adam; yet he revealed to us how he has managed to cope with this setback. His resilience and generosity were also apparent in the way he encouraged his teammate, Harrison Petty, to take up the opportunity to replace him in the team.

We greatly appreciated Adam’s visit and his willingness to share his thoughts on being resilient. We wish him every success when he returns to the field after ACL surgery and continues his career with the Melbourne Football Club in 2022.