Ski day at Rainbow

At the end of August, both year 5 and year 6 had marvellous days on the slopes of Rainbow, near St Arnaud. The weather was perfect; milky blue skies, with whispers of cloud cover and crisp white snow conditions.

All the children attempted skiing lessons of mixed ability. The majority of children pushing themselves, to make some excellent progress.

A big thankyou to all those parents that volunteered their services, as drivers and supporting the children in their learning. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day with no injuries to report; just some incredibly happy exhausted faces!

Mini Olympic Maths

 Room 6 have embraced the Olympic spirit by taking part in our own mini Olympic events. These have ranged from 'Blow-curling', 'Cup stacking', 'Bean bag shuttle runs' and 'Extreme chest pass'. 

We have been collecting the data to challenge our understanding of complex addition and subtraction sums. We worked in small groups of 3 and calculated the mean. This required adding the total and dividing by 3.To calculate the range we needed to subtract the highest by the lowest result.

We then compared the data across the class and was able to gain a wider understanding of the range and presented our data appropriately.

Controversial Olympians

The onset of the term 3 has brought about a real buzz with the Olympics. We are exploring the success stories, the examples of inspiration, hope and sportsmanship. A fantastic opportunity for the sporting elite to display their talents on a world stage. We have looked in detail at all the successes of Lisa Carrington, Usain Bolt and Valerie Adams, but with many heroes comes the villains.

The cheats, the stories of greed, the acts of a cunning nature. Room 6 have explored the history of those that attempt to win at all costs. Lets hope this Rio games proves to be a 'clean' Olympics, unlike many that have gone before.

The motorised bikes, the Spanish blind football team, the cheating fencer, the marathon runner that hopped in a taxi or the two athletes that stood up for their rights. All these stories have to read to be believed, so please have a look at our group slideshow, there's some very entertaining stories.

Tree planting in the Grampians and Piper's Reserve

Tree planting at Piper's Reserve from Mr Skiperoo on Vimeo.
The Grampians was the first visit of Term 3. The short walk up some steep hills, armed with a shovel, some saplings and a positive attitude. A few slips, lots of laughs and an incredibly good job done by all.

Room 6 then took the long hike up towards Piper's Reserve to help in a tree-planting celebration. The class worked cooperatively and enthusiastically to plant over 100 saplings. The native trees were being planted to support the native birds and develop our local eco-system. We had a great day out, Tom and Devon unburying a few lost items and even meeting some intimidating 8-legged arachnids along the way!

STEAMs days term 3

The success of STEAMs days in term 2, meant the return of a further two action packed days during term 3. The much anticipated event, causes a real buzz of enthusiasm throughout the syndicate; children eagerly selecting their activities and then nervously awaiting the outcome, unsure whether their first-choice was available.

On the morning of STEAMs days, the children excitedly pace the syndicate hoping for a glimpse of their forthcoming activities. Teachers rushing from cupboard to classroom to prepare last-minute resources in preparation for the intense, resource-heavy day.

STEAMs (acronym for Science Technology Engineering Arts Maths and Social Sciences) is an extension day, for children to challenge themselves in a range of activities that might not be feasible during the regular school day.

Again, activities were diverse: Ice-cream making, murder mystery maths, first Aid, architecture, bridge building, robotic hands, photography, boxing, creative writing were all on the agenda, alongside many other inspiring and challenging activities. The children reporting very positive feedback, and a fun-packed day of curious questions and high-level thinking.

STEAMS Day: Volume II

The atmosphere was electric; children pacing up and down the syndicate, the continuous murmer of enthusiastic voices discussing their choice of workshop, and looks of curiosity as the seniors prepared for STEAMS day; volume II.

The range was even more diverse than the last session 4 weeks prior. Craft, Sports, Drama, Science, engineering, IT.... all these activities under umbrella terms. However, the children are really starting to learn it's not the outcome, and reaching the destination, it's the journey getting there:

Explore - Research - Plan - Try - Fail - Reflect - Try - Fail - Reflect....... Succeed

Cross Country hits Fairfield park!

On Wednesday, the Senior syndicate took to Fairfield Park to embark on a tough 2.5km circuit. The challenging course involved tough uphills, winding bends, slippery grass and a lot of positive spirits! It was an amazing spectacle to see so many seniors cheering on their peers, and lots of smiles throughout a cold, brisk nelson afternoon. The Seniors have been following a weekly cross-country training regime, supporting their own individual goals for the whole of term 2. It's been a remarkable success seeing everyone complete the race with smiles on their faces and supported by their classmates.