Adventures in the Library
From the Library
ASLA (Australian School Libraries Association) has provided access to on-line resources for parents and carers that will help maximise the opportunities for your children to obtain independent lifelong learning and decision-making skills. Check out the website where you will find information on using Safe YouTube (a version of YouTube that will not show pop up ads or links to further videos) and free on-line resources provided by publishers, authors and illustrators amongst other things.
Webinars for Parents and Carers
You may be interested in joining one or more of the free webinars for parents and carers provided by the eSafety Commissioner. The live webinars explore the latest research and expert advice for using technology safely. There are PDF versions that you can download and read.
Library and Information Week
Library and Information Week is held every year at the end of May. The aim of the week is to raise the profile of libraries and information service professionals in Australia and the services that libraries provide to the community.
On Wednesday May 27, the school will be holding the annual National Simultaneous Storytime at 11 a.m., joining other participants across Australia and New Zealand in reading the picture book, Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas, which is written and illustrated by Lucinda Gifford. Further information will be provided closer to the date.
Book Week 2020
In our first newsletter for the year, I stated that Book Week was going to be in August. However, due to the disruption to school life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the date has been changed to October, Term 4. Information on how we will celebrate Book Week will be supplied later in the year.
Visual Arts
This term, we are continuing to investigate the work of Spanish painter Joan Miró, who was influenced by art movements such as Expression, Cubism and Surrealism. Later in the term, the F-5 students will be learning about the work of Austrian-born visual artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
The Archibald Prize is an annual prize exhibited at the art gallery of NSW. It was set up by a bequest in the will of Jules Francois Archibald in 1919. The bequest stipulated that first prize was to be awarded to an Australian artist for the best portrait of a man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics. It was the first major prize for portraiture in Australian art. Perhaps, one day in the future, one of our Year 6-9 students will win the Archibald Prize. Currently, they are developing their skills in portrait drawing. We will continue studying portraits using different mediums over the coming term.
Check out our art gallery below of some of our students’ work in recent weeks.
Digital Literacy
Migration: People on the Move continues to be the topic we are covering with the Year 3-5 students. We are reading the novel, Refugee by Alan Gratz, which looks at the lives of 3 children from 3 different countries in 3 different times in the 20th and 21st century who are forced to leave their homeland and flee to a place of safety. At the present time, the students are collecting information in various forms (researching) and will present their research later in the term in a digital format.
Creating a Photostory is the topic the F-2 students are working on this term. We have just started learning about how photos can tell a story and the order we put them in can change the story. The students are working towards creating their own photostory using Book Creator on their iPads.