Well…where did that term/year go?? Here’s a quick run down on the happenings in English, HASS, Home Ec and HPE.

English Year 6-10

This term we completed a study of the picture book Azaria, which looks at the story of Azaria Chamberlain from Lindy Chamberlain’s perspective. We then studied newspaper articles and video footage of the news and documentaries from the time of the incident (way back in 1980!!). We also looked at terms like “Dingo stole my baby” and how they filtered into popular culture.

The assessment task for this unit of work was a balanced news article. Students were asked to present both sides of the story, without giving their own opinions, or allowing their thoughts on what happened to influence their writing.

The final weeks of the term have been spent brushing up on vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure, with a focus on what makes a whole sentence versus a fragmented sentence. We’ve also had a bit of fun (well…I had fun!) changing the meaning of different paragraphs using only punctuation.

HASS Year 6-10

We switched to Geography for HASS this term, students have been looking at food production and food security. They also completed a research task on a Biome of their choice and linked the importance of the environment in our aim for food security in the future.

As part of HASS this term the students also had the opportunity to visit Yappala and Hookina Springs to learn about bush foods, mediciines, look at some Aboriginal paintings and witness Gudgeon monitoring in Hookina Creek. The Gudgeon are an endangered fish, native to the Flinders that have been released in Hookina Creek. Unfortunately, due to recent rain, the water was a bit murky, and the sub used to swim around and film the fish kept blocking up, so we didn’t actually see any fish. This didn’t stop us from having a great day out though, and enjoying a meal provided for us by Aunty Deidre and Aunty Regina in Hookina Creek.

HPE Year 6-10

The students have enjoyed some badminton coaching this term during PE lessons. We’ve also had some refresher lessons on tennis leading into the tennis season, played a bit of cricket, done some yoga and played some lawn games.

During health lessons we’ve been looking at the effects of caffeine on our body (a certain teacher found this a little confronting!) and recognising that even though it’s widely accepted by society, it is still a drug that alters the way our brains work.

HPE F-2

During PE for the little people we have played basketball and given our new basketball rings a good test run. It’s been great to have the ability to lower the rings so that smaller children can have success when shooting hoops!

In Health lessons we’ve looked at who is important to us, and what role different members in the community (like health workers, police etc) play in keeping us safe and helping us. We’ve also looked at how much we’ve grown and talked about the new skills we’ve learned now that we are getting bigger.

Home Economics Year 6-10

This term home economics switched from food technology to textiles. This was met with some trepidation, particularly when we started with hand sewing! With the help of Deb Youle, the students have all successfully completed a cross body bag made from calico, with an applique of their design hand sewn on the front. Some chose not to sew a design on the front, all those fine motor skills for big teenage boys was a bit much! For the most part, they all persevered and managed to finish their projects with a little help from myself and Deb.

As we wind up the year and look toward the next I’d like to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. I’ll be back next year to teach English and HASS to the big kids (and some not so big kids) and have started my planning and preparation for that. I hope the holidays bring some rest and relaxation for everyone and will see you all next year.

Learning about the Gudgeon at Hookina Creek.