Hearingunitnewsletter term22018

Yarra Valley Grammar Hearing Unit Newsletter www.yvg.vic.edu.au

Telephone: +61 3 9262 7700

Facsimile: + 61 3 9876 1077

Term 2

Email: reception@yvg.vic.edu.au

June 2018

Dr Merry with Abbey and her ESTEAM team

TABLE OF CONTENTS: FROM THE HEARING UNIT ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 SPEECH SPOT ............................................................................................................................................................................ 3 YEAR 12 FORMAL ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4 INTERVIEW WITH MS WILSON ................................................................................................................................................... 5 PREP ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS .................................................................................................................................................. 6 WINE AND CHEESE NIGHT ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 INTERVIEW WITH DYLAN ........................................................................................................................................................... 7 YEAR 8 CAMP ............................................................................................................................................................................ 8 YEAR 1 BODY INVESTIGATORS ................................................................................................................................................... 9 YEAR 5 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 YEAR 9 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 YEAR 8 EXCURSION TO MCG AND QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET .................................................................................................. 12 YEAR 8 ESTEAM ....................................................................................................................................................................... 12 YEAR 1 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 YEAR 6 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 SSV CROSS COUNTRY............................................................................................................................................................... 14

FROM THE HEARING UNIT Welcome to the term 2 newsletter. I cannot believe that we are six months into the school year already! As always, we have had a full term with many wonderful experiences for the students. We started the term by reflecting on ANZAC Day. The Hearing Unit students all came into the Hearing Unit at lunchtime on Tuesday 24th April to read ANZAC picture storybooks together and have Milo and ANZAC biscuits. I would like to thank the Senior School Hearing Unit students for the time they give to our younger students. Research shows that it is important for the younger Hearing Unit students to spend time with the older students, as it helps them to think more about who they can be as they grow up. They are good role models for the younger students with all their differences and talents. Seeing students at different stages of their schooling, who do things with them, also provides a model for involving themselves with others and being part of a wider community. The older students are not just reading a book with the younger students or asking them some questions, but what they are giving them is much deeper. Every time they talk to the ‘little kids’ or play a game with them, they add to what they are learning about themselves and other people. They show acceptance of the ‘little kids’ and do a great job of adapting to their different year levels and personalities. It is very rewarding to see how excited some of the younger students get by coming to meet with the ‘big kids’.

Speaking of role models, earlier this term, some Old Yarra Valley Grammarians came back to the school to participate in speed careering with our Year 10 students. The students selected four career pathways they were interested in and they were then allocated a set amount of time with an OYVG. This provided students with the opportunity to ask questions about the occupations they were interested in. The feedback from the students was very positive.

This year, all staff are again participating in an Educational Passion Project (Action Research). There are many areas of interest the Hearing Unit staff are investigating; emotional wellbeing of students with a hearing loss, listening comprehension tasks for secondary students, executive functioning and phonological awareness. The emotional wellbeing project has involved pre-testing students with a ‘How are you Feeling?’ survey. From the findings, we wanted to provide our students with opportunities to improve their emotional wellbeing. This involved providing some yoga sessions for the students with some strategies embedded that the staff wanted the yoga teacher to particularly address with the students. In Hearing Unit sessions, students used emojis to describe how they were feeling, this then prompted discussion with their teacher. Our next step will be Milo and meditation sessions before school. We chose this approach, as research shows that mindfulness strategies improve emotional wellbeing. In term 3, we will then post-test students and see ‘how they are feeling.’ Hopefully the initiatives that have been introduced into the Hearing Unit will have a positive result on the students’ wellbeing.

Earlier this term I had the opportunity to attend a playgroup at Taralye. It was lovely to spend time with the families and find out about their experiences. During this visit, I had the opportunity to share with the parents as to what a school with a ‘Hearing Unit’ or ‘Facility’ actually means. Over a cuppa and some morning tea, parents were able to approach me to ask any questions in a relaxed environment. Later in the term, some of our families and students were invited to Government House to help celebrate Taralye’s 50th anniversary, as many of our students are past graduates from the early intervention service.

Following on from our Vicdeaf Presentation last term, we invited back Michael McCready and Victoria Tanner-Dench to assist families with pre-planning for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We are very appreciative of the time both Michael and Victoria gave to our families. The feedback from the parents was that they were very grateful for the support and guidance provided to assist them in navigating the NDIS. Some sporting achievements for our students this term were: Josh Randall – Best Team Player 2nds Basketball, Nelson Vu – Best Team Player 4ths Basketball, Riley Gurry – Coaches Award Cricket and Remington Hobday, along with Ben Baulch, have made it to the SSV State Cross Country.

We had our first Hearing Unit Parent Wine and Cheese evening last night. The parents appreciated the opportunity to socialise and connect with each other. It was such a successful evening, we will definitely be doing this again in the near future.

Have a wonderful winter holiday break, stay warm and we will see you next term.

Ms Rachel Wilson Head of the Hearing Unit 2

SPEECH SPOT The weather may have become cold and dreary as the term progressed, but this didn’t dampen the fun in the “Speech Room” this term!

Check out some of the great things we’ve been up to!

Mrs Anneke Flinn Speech Pathologist

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YEAR 12 FORMAL Our year 12s recently marked the halfway point of their final year of school with their Year 12 Formal.

Sam Rickard, James Webb and Phoebe Dare all thoroughly enjoyed the night. There was food, laughter, music and dancing. We are delighted to share that James Webb was pronounced the best dancer at the formal, and received a certificate for his efforts.

YOGA For three consecutive Monday lunchtimes, both the Senior and Junior Hearing Unit students and staff came together for some yoga and relaxation. Jannin from HappyBeing Yoga ran our sessions. During the sessions we focused on breathing techniques and learning to relax our bodies and calm our minds.

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INTERVIEW WITH MS WILSON Nelson Vu and Abbey Gartlan interviewed Ms Wilson so that we could get to know our new Head of Hearing Unit.

Abbey: “Why did you want to become a Teacher of the Deaf?”

Ms Wilson: “So, when my son stared school he started at a school with a boy that signed... I then got know the mum”. Ms Wilson loved being able to help children/students with a hearing loss and she felt like everything was pointing to becoming one.

Abbey: “What is your favourite part of the day, working in the Hearing Unit?”

Ms Wilson: “I enjoy the time we just chat with students, when we get to know each other, and with the teachers, being able to talk about what’s coming up. And yard duties, getting to know some other students” she does not teach.

Abbey: “Which year levels do you prefer to work with (senior, middle or junior)? Why?” Ms Wilson: ”I do like working with the younger primary students and I do like going to students classes in senior classes, but I feel like it is more note taking [in senior classes]”. Ms Wilson feels that she can make more of an impact with the junior students because they have classes at the Hearing Unit with her.

Abbey: “What were you like as a student?”

Ms Wilson: “I was and angel,” she giggled “I loved psychology, English and History.... and sport,” she majored in sport and minored in children’s literature.

Abbey: “What are your out of school hobbies?”

Ms Wilson: “I like to read when I get time, walks with my friends, fun activities with my kids and going to the movies and shopping, I like shopping too.”

Nelson: “How long have you been a teacher for your whole career?”

Ms Wilson: “16 years of being a teacher.”

Nelson: “How did you become the Head of Hearing Unit teacher?”

Ms Wilson: “Firstly, Head of Hearing Unit was advertised. Hearing Unit at YVG has good reputation and so she wanted to apply for it.”

Nelson: “Are you enjoying your new job here?”

Ms Wilson: “Yes!” Nelson: “Any reason why you want to become a head of hearing unit teacher?”

Ms Wilson: She used to be a visitor teacher so she wanted to work at a job with one place. Being a Head of Hearing Unit, she likes to create a positive environment.

Nelson: “What is your favourite part of this job?”

Ms Wilson: “Working with secondary and primary students.”

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PREP The Preps have not only been learning how to write, but also learning to use a simple editing checklist.

Here is Gaurvi’s recount of her weekend and her checklist. The stars above the words she has written indicate she has correctly spelled the M100 words. The ticks below letters indicate she has selected the correct letter for the sound she heard.

In their writing the Preps are encouraged to correctly spell words they know or can see in the room.

To ‘stretch out’ the word to hear all the sounds they can, then choose some letters for those sounds.

To include a capital letter at the start and full stop at the end of the sentence and to include spaces between words and read back over what they have written. They have come a long way since the start of Term 1.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Nelson was awarded best team player for his efforts in basketball.

WINE AND CHEESE NIGHT

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INTERVIEW WITH DYLAN James Webb interviewed our new friend Dylan so that we can all get to know him better. Dylan is originally from Urmqi in the north west of China. We are all enjoying talking with Dylan and learning about his lifestyle in China.

James: How old are you?

Dylan : 16, and I’m 17 in December.

James: What is your favourite activity to do, outside of school?

Dylan: I like computer games, and workouts.

James: Favourite computer games?

Dylan: CS:GO and Rainbow 6: Siege James: Do you have any brothers or sisters, and if you do, how annoying are they?

Dylan: No, I’m an only child.

James: Do you have any pets?

Dylan: I have two dogs, male and female, and I used to have four puppies, but my father gave them away. My dogs are Rottweilers, Lele and Han-Han. James: What is the naughtiest thing your dogs have done?

Dylan: One of my dogs bit a hole in my dad’s hand when he was scared because of the fireworks.

Usually, they are very good dogs.

James: What was it like in China, and why did your family choose to come to Australia?

Dylan: China is a very different country. There are a lot of shops in China, and you don’t have to go very far to buy food. In apartments, there are shops on the ground floor where you can get food.

It’s very busy and noisy in China, and it’s very quiet here. Only 23 million people here, and 1.3 billion in China. I’m from the Xinjiang Province, in the north-west of China. My hometown is Urumqi, with 8 million people. 30 million people in Beijing and 42 million people in Shanghai. There are no McDonalds in Xinjiang In China, you go to bed at 1-2 AM, and wake up at 7 AM. Studying in China is very stressful, school starts at 9 AM and finishes at 8 PM, with no free time. I came here because it was too stressful in China. During exam times, most students only get around 4 hours of sleep. It’s very competitive and you can’t get a job without a degree from a university.

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YEAR 8 CAMP Year 8 camp was challenging activity wise, but the social part of it was very fun. We rode bikes for 10KM, hiked for 5KM, then another 10KM the next morning. We also did some high and low rope courses and land and water initiatives. These were all hard at some points for different reasons for different people. The high ropes were hard for me because I am scared of heights, but with the help and support of my friends I was able to complete the course. The land and water initiatives were hard because everyone had to work as a team. I found the bike ride and 10KM hike to be hard physically because of all of the hills.

At night after all of the activities, our whole group sat around the camp fire we made, talking about the day we just had. Everyone was able to discuss a challenge they faced and what they did to overcome it.

We learnt about a few stars and heard some embarrassing stories from each other. I enjoyed the nights the most, because everyone was included in the conversation and had a chance to share there thoughts and opinion to the group. I think that camp pushed us physically and mentally, but overall camp was a very relaxed environment.

By Abbey Gartlan

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YEAR 1 BODY INVESTIGATORS The Year 1s have been finding out about the human body. One morning they had an incursion. Indi & Fabien have written recounts about the visit.

THE HUMAN BODY Doctor Sonia came to the classroom to teach us all about the human body. The Year 1s dressed up as parts of the human body. I dressed up as the red blood cell taking the oxygen all around. Next I dressed up as a nerve cell. Then I went out of the body. After that Doctor Sonia turned us a normal size. I was so happy because it was such fun.

Indi THE HUMAN BODY On May the 8th in the morning Doctor Sonia came to tell us parts of all of the human body. Some of us were an oxygen molecule. Some of us were a red blood cell.

Fabien Here are some photos from the incursion:

Red blood cells are strong.

Fabien as an oxygen molecule.

The nerve cells worked together to pass along a message.

Luke as a nerve cell.

The red blood cell taking the oxygen around the body.

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YEAR 5 Hamish and Lochie enjoyed the unit ‘Earth’s Place in Space’ both in the classroom and in the Hearing Unit. After investigation and using different types of data and resources they presented a slide show to their peers about moon missions and famous astronauts.

Hamish was able to argue that space exploration isn’t a waste of time and money and Lochie was able to recite famous quotes from many astronauts.

They read information about the first extra-terrestrial sport, Moon Golf, and discovered that the astronaut Alan Shepard’s golf balls that he hit are still on the lunar surface.

In a small group, Hamish and Lochie made the Fermi Space Telescope. You too can make spacecraft models by researching The NASA website.

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YEAR 9 Our Year 9 students have had a diverse range of experiences this term. They participated in Civics and Citizenship week, began new subjects for Trimester Two and braved the cold for a Retreat in Eildon during the last week of term.

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YEAR 8 EXCURSION TO MCG AND QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET On Friday all of the YVG year 8’s were lucky enough to enjoy a day out in the city! We took a bus out to the MCG, we went on a tour. We walked on the ground and went inside of a few corporate boxes. We learnt so much about the history of cricket and football. After the tour we were able to go and look at the sport museum underneath the MCG, at the museum there were many hands on games to play, based on all sorts of sports.

We then took a bus to the Queen Victoria Market. We bought all of the ingredients we needed to make our yummy meals at home. We got to walk around the market and see all of the food trucks and the merchandise next to it. We then had to sadly put the fun to a stop and go home, were we all made our main meal and dessert.

YEAR 8 ESTEAM The culmination of the first trimester ESTEAM projects was an expo presented on Monday 23 rd April.

Year 8.4 held a market day to sell their baked goodies to staff and students.

Following are some photos of the day:

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YEAR 1 It has been another fun, but busy term in Year 1. Luke has been learning all about the body. He can draw and label all the different parts of the body. We had lots of fun at the Body Investigations Incursion. We learnt how the different parts of the body work together. In the photo below you can see that Luke is a nerve. We found out that we use our nerves when we touch or feel things. We now know that the nerves send messages to the brain. We also found out that it is important to look after our bodies by getting lots of sleep, eating well and exercising.

Maths is always lots of fun in the classroom. Luke has been working on how he can make 25 in many different ways.

We also play lots of games that help us with number facts and addition. Luke is playing the basketball game, he has to add groups of numbers together.

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YEAR 6 In Term 2, the year 6 students have been working on writing persuasive pieces to strongly argue their opinions.

Here is a piece from one of our year 6 students Remington.

NO MORE HOMEWORK! During our childhood lives, we actually have been doing learning and going to school more than being awake at home! The teachers see us more than our parents! Why should we have homework?

Firstly, most kids just go home ready for a relaxing night, then suddenly your parents say “Do your homework, get off that damn thing!” What a waste of time. Did you know, that it is also a waste of time for your parents! Our parents need to cook, wash, walk dogs, cleaning the house, do shopping and many more jobs! If they have to help us they literally have to waste their own time. It is such a waste of time! Most of you in front of me do sports, music lessons and all sorts of things after school. Why should we have homework?

I’m not joking but we are at school for about 7 hours, 5 days a week. We work at school to learn, listen and remember. We already have to do a lot of work at school, like projects, tests, essays and so much more that I could go on forever. Doing our schooling and homework every day and every hour, minutes, seconds, milliseconds and nanoseconds is horrifying for kids. Homework and kids don’t match! Why should we have homework?

How horrific is it to have homework when we get home from school? Homework is too much for our brains. As kids, we should have fun, not doing homework having a bad mindset! Teachers out there, you know you don’t want kids with a bad mindset, so stop homework! Homework is too stressful for kids, too stressful for teachers when kids don’t bring homework in, and for parents because they are arguing with their kids to do homework.

Way to stressful for everyone. Teachers would rather enjoy a cup of tea. Why should we have homework?

In conclusion, home should be relaxing and home is home, not school! So politicians and teachers, stop our disastrous homework or else our minds will explode and make teachers sick of them making students have a good mindset. Why should we have homework?

SSV CROSS COUNTRY Lochie, Ben and Remington all participated in the district and regional SSV Cross Country competition in June.

The boys were able to compete as multi class athletes. Both Remington and Ben achieved first place in their age group races. An amazing effort and good luck at the State competition in July.

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