Happy holidays

Hi everyone,
A huge congratulations to you all, I heard speech morning was amazing!

Thank you for all your lovely cards, well wishes and presents. I feel very overwhelmed by all the kindness you have all shown.

We are doing really well and are home now. I wanted to share a pic of Kees with you all as promised. He was born 3.32pm Wed, 3.8kg and 51cm long.

Have a fabulous holiday and Christmas!

Christmas Party

Thank you so much to all the boys and parents who came to our Christmas Class Party today. The present that I received was unbelievably gorgeous and I will treasure it forever.

I hope you all have a wonderful end to the year and hopefully I will be able to see you at Speech Morning (fingers crossed)! I will also try to put a picture of our little boy up here on the blog when he arrives for the boys to be able to see.

Merry Christmas!

From Mrs Geelhoed

Diary Dates Week 6 Term 4

DIARY DATES:
MON - Chapel, Library, Sports training (basketball, tennis and cricket), S&E Test (Swan River)

TUES - P.E, Water polo training. Science Test (Mixtures and solutions), Orientation into the Senior School Library P4 (pencil)

WED - Chapel money, Art, LOTE (French test)

THURS - Library, House Sport, Homework due, Spelling test

FRI -Orientation Day


HOMEWORK:
Maths - Mental Maths Unit 21
Reading - Read every night signed in diary 
Spelling - Half Unit 36 / Half Unit 12
French - study greetings, classroom sayings, numbers 1-100

Uniform for Friday 15th

Mr Wright has just notified us that the office will be sending out an SMS to parents to let them know that due to the weather tomorrow boys will not have to wear their formals. Stripes will be fine for tomorrow even though we have assembly.

A message from Mr Leckie - P.E

During week 7 the year 4 – 6 PE classes will have Water Polo as their lessons. Could you please remind all boys to bring their bathers/change of clothes etc for this week. Board shorts/school shorts are not permitted, they must be in their school speedos.

Book sale

SAVE THE CHILDREN AUSTRALIA

In support of the University Branch "The Summer Sale"

WHEN: Sunday 24th November 2013 10am - 4pm

WHERE: UWA Book Depot (opposite the CSIRO and diagonal to the Perry Lakes stadium redevelopment). Save the Children signs displayed on the fence.

WHAT: A huge number of pre-loved books in popular and specialist categories, also maps, CDs, DVDs and sheet music will be on sale at bargain prices.

Speech Morning Poem

For those boys who have had trouble accessing the poem for speech morning I have copied and pasted it below. No excuses boys!!!!

6 LG Pre Primary Poem

If you go down to the school today

You’re in for a big surprise,

Mums and dads with their bright young son

Few with some tears in their eyes.

For every prep there ever there was,

Is gathered here together because,

Today’s the day, the Pre Primaries

Go to Christ Church.

Nap time for everyone,

We’ve all had so much fun, chasing each other we love to run.

Watch us walking hand in hand,

And by the end of lunch our shoes are always full of sand (sorry mum!)

Asking questions all day long,

We learn things best when they are simple and in song!.

Ten to three their mummies and daddies will

Take their home to bed,

Because their tired little Pre- Primaries.

Instrumental solo- boys play/act

Every boy in the class will try,

His very best to do well,

Cutting and glueing and letter and more,

We even learn how to spell!

For each of us, we love this great place,

We learn and laugh a smile on our face,

Today's the day the pre primaries say “THANKS” to Christ Church.

Upcoming Science, Maths and S&E tests

Due to me not being here after this week, I wanted to make sure I put up a few resources for some upcoming tests. This week we will be having our Maths test on angles, the other two tests will most likely be next week with Miss Sykes. Boys will also be completing some translation activities, once the content has been covered, for maths in the coming weeks.

For the Maths test on Friday boys will need to be able to do the following things:
-Label angles (without measuring - acute, obtuse, right, straight, reflex, revolution)
-Measure angles using a protractor
-Draw angles using a protractor
-Find the missing angle of a triangle or quadrilateral (triangles = 180, quadrilaterals = 360 in total)
-Find angles based on complementary and supplementary angles

These are all activities boys have been completing in class and should be revising for homework.

Swan River test
We have covered lots of aspects of the Swan River over Term 3 and Term 4. Boys will be given a checklist tonight to help them prepare for their test and we will run through the revision in class this week as well. Boys are able to access videos etc. that have been placed up on the blog throughout the term and do their own research of anything they are unsure of.

Science test
This term we have had discussions and completed investigations all relating to solutions/mixtures and reversible/irreversible changes. Boys will continue to complete some fun activities over the following weeks in this area, but the test will need to be completed earlier due to reports. We have already covered out main experiments and ideas, so all boys have been exposed to what will be on the test.

Boys will also be bringing home a checklist of what they need to know for the test and we will be running through these in class this week as well. Some extra resources to help boys study are linked below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHM0UkhwfsQ - reversible and irreversible changes video we watched as an introduction.
http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/6d-science.shtml - quizzes on different pages about similar scientific activities as we completed in class or for boys to do some further learning.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/materials/changes_materials/read/1/ - great quiz to review what we have learnt
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/materials/changes_materials/quiz/q47730333 - a great test yourself quiz

Year 6 Speec Morning Poem - homework

https://wiki.ccgs.wa.edu.au/wiki/projects/year6music/Year_6__Music.html

Above is the link that boys will need to access for the Year 6 poem that they are expected to have memorised by next Wednesday. Miss Harford advised this morning, that all boys practice at least 10 minutes a night as part of their reading homework. It's very important you take upon this responsibility yourselves boys, we will do some practices in class if we have time over this week.

Australian Sports Camps - Summer Programs 2013/2014

WA / SA Sports Camps will be running again during the holidays. It is a chance to learn and develop your skills with a terrific three day coaching experience. The coaches are supported by guest appearances from top level players from State or National teams. The new 2013 senior program is designed for 13 to 17 year old players to run in conjunction with their stars program for 6 to 12 year olds.

The camps currently available are:

CRICKET -
CCGS - 18th-20th December
Justin Langer Cricket Camp, Hale School, Wembley Downs - 21st-23rd Jan

BASKETBALL -
CCGS - 18th-20th December

SOCCER -
CCGS Playing Fields, Mt Claremont - 18th-20th December


For more information or to book a place visit australiansportscamps.com.au or call 1300 914 368.

Christmas Giving

1. FOODBANK
During Week 5 (this week), from Monday 11th to Thursday 14th November, Forrest boys are collecting canned meals for Foodbank to support people in need. Please kindly donate the following canned meals:
-canned fruits
-canned vegetables
-meals in a can
-canned soup
-canned meats

Forrest boys will be collecting items at the roundabout or from your classroom.

**The Forrest boys have already been given a schedule of when they will be helping from Miss Stone last week.

2. RAFFLE
A raffle will also be held to raise money for the Anglicare Christmas Giving. Tickets will be sold in the Undercroft for a chance to win one of 3 hampers of goodies. 1 ticket for $2 or 3 tickets for $5. The raffle will be drawn on Friday 15th November at Assembly, so you only have a week to purchase your tickets.

Finalists for Year 6 History Assignment 6LG

What a wonderful week it has been seeing all the boys hard work on their History Assignments. I was blown away by the interesting facts everyone found out and the effort most boys have put not only into their final pieces, but also their research.

As you know the finalists are picked based on the WHOLE assignment from planning and background knowledge all the way to the final pieces. There were many boys who would have been close to being selected if the assignment was only based on the final outcomes.

The two boys who have been selected achieved outstanding results on their brainstorms, lists of what to find out, action plans, note taking/ background, planning, bibliography and final pieces. On Monday I will get those boys to show the quality of their work to the class as a practice before they show Mr Wright.

The two boys who will be representing 6LG this year as finalists for the History Prize are Jamie and Nicholas. So a huge congratulations to those boys.

Mr Wright will look at the two finalists from each class over the coming week to decide a final, overall winner from Year 6. It is only this winner who receives the History Prize and it often isn't announced until Speech Morning. We wish Jamie and Nicholas all of the best of luck in the process.

Diary Dates Week 5, Term 4

DIARY DATES:
MON - Chapel, Art, iPads for Music, Sports training (basketball, tennis and cricket), Masterminds in 5SM, Lachy's Birthday

TUES -  Sports training (water polo), P.E,

WED - Chapel money, Library, LOTE, iPads for Music

THURS - P.E, Interschool sport,

FRI -Assembly, Homework due, Spelling test, Maths test on angles, desk checks, Mrs Geelhoed's final day / class party

Saturday - Angus's Birthday!

HOMEWORK:
Maths - Prepare for maths test Friday
Spelling - Allocated list for spelling
Reading - every night signed in diary
Other - collect all resources for for Amazing Race / plate of food for Friday

Formal photos for tomorrow

A few boys have been selected from our class to participate in formal photos for sport tomorrow. There were only 4 boys per sport selected and those boys will need to bring their uniforms to change into.

P3 - Ollie S for swimming with bathers and goggles

P4 - Angus and Alex for basketball with sports uniform and basketball boots

P5 - Louis for tennis with sports uniform, tennis racket and cap

Please don't forget boys as you won't be with me during these Periods due to ART.

Sausage sizzle tomorrow

There will be a sausage sizzle to raise funds for the Cambodian Children's Fund tomorrow
- Wed 6 Nov
- 12.45 outside cafeteria area (Senior School)
- $2 sausage, $2 can of drink

Due to the fundraiser being in the Senior School, only Year 5 and 6 boys have been invited to participate. They will need to promptly go to the Canteen during eating time and once they have received their sausage will need to quickly return to the Prep School.

History Assignment - final pieces and short presentations

Congratulations to everyone for handing their History Assignments in today. What an achievement for you all and a good taste of what the Senior School will be expecting of you!

Over the week I will be meeting with boys one on one to go through and complete their final assessment rubrics. I find this process is fantastic because each student understands exactly why they have achieved certain results and are able to talk to me about their own journey. All boys also completed their self assessments today to reflect on their own learning.

Tomorrow boys will be presenting their History Assignments to the class. This isn't a huge process and boys will not be formally marked on how they present, it is more to explain the process of the project and give them a chance to reflect. This is NOT a formal speech as some boys have been panicking about. All I would like boys to discuss in 1-5 mins is:

• What their topic was and why they chose it
• What their 5 open ended questions were (can be read from scrapbook Action Plan)
• How they went about their research and what sources they found particularly helpful
• Share 2-3 of the most interesting pieces of information from their research and why they were the most interesting to them
• What their 2+ final pieces are
• Reflect on how they made their final pieces, what was difficult, what was easy, would they change anything next time, show what they are proud of (might be a page in a scrapbook or read a particular paragraph from a speech), etc.

I've encouraged boys to put together some dot points on palm cards to help them so they won't be flicking back and forth through their final pieces and scrapbooks. They will be able to have a quick run through with a partner at the start of P5 tomorrow before we all present properly.

Although boys will not be showing their final pieces in full detail to the class, they will be showing their full scrapbooks and final pieces to me. I can't wait to see all the amazing work!

Fred Hollows Foundation

Today boys were involved in a fundraiser for the Fred Hollows foundation. They were all asked to bring a gold coin donation which would allow them to keep a pair of glasses to show them how it would feed to have cataracts. Each boys completed an obstacle course with these glasses on.

It allowed boys to show empathy for how others less fortunate than them may be feeling with this condition. It also allowed them to see how hard life can be, even the little activities like writing your name or tying your shoe laces, without your full vision.

Thank you to all the boys who helped raise money for the worthy cause. I hope you have some great conversations with your parents and give some activities at home a go with the glasses on as well.

There are lots of fantastic videos online to see how your money is helping others if you would like to look up Fred Hollows.

Diary dates Week 4, Term 4

DIARY DATES:
MON - Chapel, Library, Sports training (basketball, tennis and cricket), House Lunch 12:45pm

TUES - P.E, History Assignment presentations, Water polo training

WED - Chapel money, Art, LOTE (French),

THURS - P1 special assembly, Library, Interschool sport,

FRI -Assembly, Homework due, Spelling test, desk checks,


HOMEWORK:
Maths - Mental Maths Unit 20
Reading - Read every night signed in diary 
Spelling - Allocated list for spelling signed off every night
French - practising numbers 20-40 or finishing booklet about numbers 1-20 (DUE WED)

Reversible and irreversible changes

Today we started our introduction and first experiment about reversible and irreversible changes.

Background knowledge:
When you mix substances together, they may change to form a new substance. Sometimes the is reversible, while at other times it is irreversible. For example, when vinegar is mixed with baking soda, the two fizz and a new substance if formed. This change is irreversible. A chance is more likely to be irreversible if there is a reaction such as a fizz, colour change or a change in temperature.

As an introduction we watched the following video and then explored the list of reactions below to see if they were reversible or irreversible:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHM0UkhwfsQ

Dissolving sugar in water

Shaking together vinegar and oil

Mixing sand and sugar

Adding lemon juice to red cabbage juice

Adding lemon juice to baking powder

Putting chalk in vinegar

Adding vinegar to salt

Adding lemon juice to sugar

We completed all these mini investigations as a class and came up with the following conclusions:
An irreversible change is a chemical change because the substances permanently mix.
A reversible change is a physical change because you are able to separate the substances again.


To continue our scientific thinking, we also completed an investigation based on water temperature with Berocca in small groups later that afternoon.

Why don't you discuss with your child which investigations above were reversible and irreversible when they get home, or even complete the mini investigations yourselves.

Maternity leave

Just a quick note to all boys and students to let you know that I will be taking maternity this term . Friday 15th November will be my last day before Rachel Sykes will be taking over for the rest of the term. I am hoping that I will be able to attend Speech Morning to call out the boys names, but of course this will depend on when my little boy decides to grace us with his presence.

On my last day I would like to have a class party with the boys to have a proper little Christmas Party / Send off. We will hold this party in P4 and 5 where boys will be asked to bring in a plate of food and we will watch a movie. Boys will write down in their diaries what they will be required to bring.

I want to ensure parents that I am completing the boys reports, which is why I am working up to the date I have chosen. Rachel Sykes is also a big part of the school and went on camp with the boys, so she knows them all very well and I have left her some great activities to finish off the year with our class.

I know this is also quite early, but I do want to thank all parents and boys for such an amazing year. This class is by far one of the most caring and considerate group of boys I have ever taught and I have loved teaching them. Thank you also to all the parents who have made this year just as enjoyable. Your boys have such great attitudes and caring natures due to the way you are all raising them at home.

Thank you once again and I hope to be able to say farewell to you all at some point over the coming weeks.

Lee Geelhoed

Notes from yesterday

You child should have brought home two notes yesterday unless they were absent.

One (the smaller note) is regarding the photo book that parents need to sign and return. These notes were asked to be returned today but I am sure for those boys who were absent yesterday tomorrow will be fine.

The second note is regarding Year 3-6 House Sports Day.
When: Thursday 21st November 12:15pm-2:45pm
What: Modified games of soccer, cricket and T-Ball
Where: Mt Claremont Playing Fields, Fortview Rd Mt Claremont
*There will also be a choice of basketball at the State Basketball Centre

What to bring:
-House shirt
-CCGS sports shorts (no Year 6 board shorts on this day)
-CCGS socks
-Sandshoes
-Water bottle
-Snacks for the afternoon

Boys will arrive to school at their regular time and will be bused to Mt Claremont from 12 noon. The House Day is expected to finish by approximately 2:45pm.

If you are going to pick your child up from Claremont you MUST sign them out with their CLASS teacher and you MUST be there by the time we get on the buses as we will not be waiting at the oval for parent and we will not be allowing any child to wait behind even with a phone call.

Integers and cartesian plane revision

Today we went through all the concepts boys need to understand for the test on integers and Cartesian plane. Below is a list of what we discussed to help boys study at home. Due to Chapel running longer than we expected I have said to the boys that we will do our test on Wednesday instead so they have a chance to watch Maths Mansion tomorrow and play battleships as promised.

1. Recognising which number is larger out of positive and negative numbers
*The highest positive number is always the biggest. If there are no positive numbers, the negative number closest to 0 is the biggest.

2. Adding positive and negative numbers.
*Using number lines will help you. Circle the first number and then head in the positive or negative direction based on the second number.

3. Cartesian plane
*Origin in the 0, 0
* with co-ordinates x always comes first because x comes first in the dictionary
*y is the vertical axis because it has a long tail
*draw your own Cartesian plane

4. Worded problems
*Highlight key words/points
*Equation
*Find the answer showing all working out
*Put your answer in a sentence

Maths drills is a great websites to use to help practice for the test. Boys have also been encouraged to bring home their workbooks to practice.
http://www.math-drills.com/integers.shtml


Worded problems to help practice at home:

1.

A diver went 26 meters down. He saw a fish 10 meters above him so he came back up. Then he saw a stingray so he dove a further 7 meters further down. How many meters down is he now?

2.

A building has 20 levels. 4 of those levels are underground. How many levels are there above ground level?

3.

A building has 12 levels, 2 of which are underground.

a)                           If you started on level 8 and went down 10 levels where would you end up?

b)                          If you started on the bottom level and went up 5 levels then down 3 what level are you on?

c)                            Have many levels are above ground?

d)                          Which level would be ground level?

4.

Michael has a temperature of 27 degrees C. Outside the temperature was -4 degrees C. Which is the difference between Michael’s temperature and the temperature outside?

Cartesian plane

In maths this week we have been focusing on positive and negative numbers, as well as, the Cartesian plane. On Monday we will be reviewing what we have learnt in preparation for our test. One activity we will be doing to finish off the unit is Cartesian plane battleships. Since I know everyone loves a good game of battleships, I have linked a website below that has the directions and template in case anyone would like to play at home as well. Enjoy! :)

http://www.green-planet-solar-energy.com/printable-math-puzzles.html

Diary dates and homework

DIARY DATES:
MON - Chapel, Art, iPads for Music, Sports training (basketball, tennis and cricket), History Assignment period 6, photos at 3:15pm (for Music, Athletics and Cross country)

TUES - Maths test on cartesian plane and integers, Sports training (water polo), P.E, History Assignment double period 5 and 6, photos at 3:15pm (for chess, A teams: AFL, Hockey, Soccer and Rugby)

WED - Chapel money, Library, LOTE homework due (French numbers up to Pg 7), iPads for Music

THURS - P.E, Interschool sport,

FRI -Assembly, Homework due, Spelling test, Maths 1 minute test of automatic operations, desk checks, History Assignment P6


HOMEWORK:
Project work - History Assignment (aim to have all your pieces ready by Friday so you only have to prepare your presenations for Week 4)
Spelling - Allocated list for spelling

*Don't forget boys you will all be presenting your History Assignments and completing your self assessment from Monday of Week 4. I can't wait to see all your hard work come together!

French homework

Today was the boys first French lesson for the year. They focused on learning numbers 1-20 and completed several activities. Due to missing one lesson last week when the class were at camp and reports being due early for teachers since it is only an eight week term, the French teacher has allocated homework to ensure all boys know these numbers before their test.

Many of the boys have already completed up to page 7 of their booklets, but if they haven't they have been asked to complete these pages for homework, including if they were absent. Below is a list of the numbers that boys need to know:

1 - un
2 - deux
3 - trois
4 - quatre
5 - cinq
6 - six
7 - sept
8 - huit
9 - neuf
10 - dix
11 - onze
12 - douze
13 - treize
14 - quatorze
15 - quinze
16 - seize
17 - dix-sept
18 - dix-huit
19 - dix-neuf
20 - vingt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsEz58BblMY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrg3lPw9CFg
Here are a couple of you tube videos that I found that will help you with how to pronounce the numbers.

History Assignments

Congratulations to all boys who have worked tirelessly over the holidays to complete their research and bibliographies for their History Assignments! Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will have a double period where boys will choose 2+ final pieces that they will present in Week 4. We will also start working on our final pieces tomorrow so boys have been asked to bring ALL their resources in.

The History Assignment will form the main basis of boys homework for Week 2 and 3. They will also receive several sessions a week to work on their pieces. By Monday of Week 4 boys will need to have all their work finalised ready to be presented.

Please don't forget your scrapbooks tomorrow boys!

Eutrophication - writing

Today we started taking notes about Eutrophication. The boys watched a PowerPoint focusing on eutrophication particuarly in the Swan River and then also watched a range of videos about eutrophication in general. We are taking notes in class in order to prepare for our explanation writing next week.

If you would like to watch and discuss the videos with your child the links are below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LAT1gLMPu4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGqZsSuG7ao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d9C6hAKF6I

Diary dates and homework Week 2, Term 4

DIARY DATES:
MON - No chapel, Library, Sports training (basketball, tennis and cricket),  

TUES - P.E, bring in your History Assignment research,

WED - Chapel money, Art, LOTE (French),

THURS - Library, Interschool sport,

FRI -Assembly, Homework due, Spelling test, desk checks,


HOMEWORK:
Maths - Prepare for 1 minute maths facts test (next week)
Writing - History Assignment - final pieces due week 4
Reading - Allocated chapters for Broken Glass 
Spelling - Allocated list for spelling

End of the term

Good morning everyone,
I would just like to say a huge thank you to all the parents who came to Learning Journeys yesterday. It's such a magical time to be spending with your son and I was so proud of how all the boys conducted themselves. As you could see from yesterday, they have all come such a huge way this year!

A few little reminder for today:
1. Boys who are running tours please remember your formals.
2. Everyone needs to bring their House Shout costumes to change into at lunchtime.
3. All boys to meet their House coordinators at 1:30pm in the Chapel Forecourt before sitting in allocated house positions within the chapel.
4. In P3 and 4 tomorrow our class have their Music Class Concert with Miss Harford and Mr Brown's class.

Good luck to all boys today for House Shout. Just remember to really enjoy the experience, it really doesn't matter who wins or loses at the end of the day.

HISTORY PROJECTS:
Yesterday boys completed their 5 key questions, as well as, their action plans for their History Assignments. Therefore, everyone is ready to make a good start on their research. Don't forget that all research needs to be completed by the end of the holidays, ready for you to start your final pieces at school next term.

In a previous post I had given you lots of ideas of where to collect information from. Remember you need to have a range of sources. E.g. only completing interviews is not a big enough range, just like only using the Internet wouldn't be enough. Don't forget your PRIMARY SOURCE as you must have at least one!

Good luck boys and have a fantastic end of term :)

Amazing Race - update, Music (class concert), History Assignment

THE AMAZING RACE - PMC
Unfortunately due to a number of boys from our class being involved in School Tours on Thursday, as well as a number of PMC now being involved in other off campus activities the Amazing Race morning has been postponed until next term.

In saying this it would be fantastic for all boys to still have their activities 100% prepared this week along with their decorations so we can just store them in the classroom for next term. Costumes and props may be taken home tomorrow to ensure they won't be lost of misplaced during Learning Journeys.

Thanks again to all the boys for their creative ideas and hard work in preparing for the day. We are looking at running it Week 2, Term 4 (when we return from camp).



MUSIC:
Don't forget boys that your class concert for Music is also on Friday. I can't wait to see you all perform!








HISTORY:
Tomorrow all boys will also be given their BLASTER investigation sheet and scrapbook for their History Assignments. Remember your topic must 1. have a personal connection to you and 2. be something to do with AUSTRALIAN history. I have asked all boys who were unsure about their topics to have touched base with me by today.

We will start out brainstorm and lists tomorrow to help us with our research. I have asked boys not to stress too much about the final products at this stage since often these will change as they find information from different sources.

*Don't forget all research needs to be done over this week and holidays. All research should be completed and ready for organisation by the start of Week 2, Term 4.

Piano Duet

Prep School

Piano Duet Club

Presents…

~A Lunchtime Concert~

Showcasing the students who practise every Friday Lunchtime

Date: Tuesday, September 24th

Time: 1:00pm

Venue: Christ Church Grammar School Chapel

Featuring…

Repertoire from the

Classical ~to~ Contemporary greats!

Diary Dates Term 3 Week 10

DIARY DATES:
MON - Chapel, Chance and Data test, Library, Year 6 survey  

TUES - P.E, End of term Spelling test, Working on History assignment, Class Captain speeches

WED - Chapel money, Father / Son Breakfast and debate (finishing by about 10am), Learning Journeys 3-6pm, Art, all supplies for Amazing Race in the classroom

THURS -Amazing Race P1 and P2, House Shout performances P5 and 6, Library

FRI -Grandparents / Grandfriends Day, Music, Assembly, Day concludes at 12:30pm


HOMEWORK:
Maths - Prepare for 1 minute maths facts test (Tuesday)
Writing - Decided on History Assignment topic, research after Tuesday.
Reading - Allocated chapters for Broken Glass 
Spelling - End of term spelling test on Tuesday
Other - Prepared for the Amazing Race

History Projects

Today all Year 6 boys had a meeting in 6LG to discuss and introduce the History Projects. They were shown the BLASTER inquiry process that will take place. The three best entries from each class will present to Mr Wright next term who will then select the winner. The Prize is awarded at Speech Morning to the Year 6 boy judged to have completed the best Project upon an area of Australian history.

The emphasis is upon depth of research, innovation and the passion, which the entrant has been able to bring to his subject. Previous efforts which have done well, for instance, have included DVDs, models, posters, newspaper front pages and photo albums as well as written reports in the more traditional sense.

Boys MUST select a topic that they have a link to and they must include a Primary Source such as arranging interviews with experts, conducting site visits etc. It can't just be something you like or are interested in, there must be a connection. E.g. just because you like the Eagles football club doesn't mean you can research the history of the Eagles. If you had a relative who played for the club, coached the club or helped manage the club then you can.

Ideas for selecting TOPICS:

a)     Look close to home- historic home, building or church. Some early history of your suburb, clubs, beaches, etc. Look at street names.

b)    Your own family, relative or person you know who has historic links to early WA or Australia, or was involved in historic events such as wars or politics.

c)     Events or happenings from history, famous people that interest you, places which you can research. The possibilities are endless.

Where to find out information: (suggestions)

1. Internet;
2. School and district libraries
3. JS Battye Library- 4^th floor, Alexander Library, Francis St. Perth.
4. WA Historic Society (Broadway Nedlands)
5. People who know about these things who you can interview.
6. Visit actual places.

Boys have been asked to speak to their parents and decide on a topic by NEXT TUESDAY 24th SEPTEMBER and I will approve or ask them to modify slightly their topics to suit the project. It must be decided upon by this date because our class will then be completing the first two steps of the investigation for BLASTER.
B - Background - brainstorming or creating a semantic map of what they already know
L - Like / Need to know - coming up with their key question/s for the investigation
A - Access information / Action plan - boys will start creating a list of what they need to research. They will also be given a scrap book where all information/resources and their bibliography will need to be kept.

All research needs to be completed by the start of Week 2 Term 4 in the scrapbooks ready to be organised and used for their project pieces. This means that boys must be researching next week and during the holidays since first week back is Camp. Don't leave it until the last minute boys!!!!!!

Grammar

Today in Grammar we learnt a new game for editing called Kung Fu punctuation. The boys really enjoyed this game and it might be a fun way for you to practice writing with your son at home. As them to give you a demonstration. So far we have learnt:
-full stop
-capital letter
-comma
-apostrophe (particularly for contractions which we focused on today)
-question mark

We also spent a long time today talking about their, there and they're as well as your and you're. Feel free to test your child on this at home as it is a tricky skill that many of them need greater practice on.

Talk like a pirate day - Thursday 19th September

Tomorrow is the official "Talk like a pirate day". For a bit of fun we watched a couple of you tube videos this morning about how to talk like a pirate. Tomorrow morning we are going to share our best pirate impersonations. I have also encouraged our class to speak in their pirate voices for the junior classes who are dressing up as pirates for the day. Some great sayings if you're stuck are below:

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! - exhortation of discontent or disgust
Ahoy! - Hello!
Ahoy, Matey - Hello, my friend!
Ahoy, me Hearties! - the same as saying "Hello, my friends!"
All hand hoay! - comparable to all hands on deck
Avast ye - stop and check this out or pay attention
Aye - yes
Batten down the hatches - put everything away on the ship and tie everything down because a storm is brewing
Blimey! - exhortation of surprise
Blow me down! - expression of shock of disbelief
Booty - treasure
Buccaneer - a pirate
Bucko - a buccaneer

You can find more sayings on the following website: http://www.piratetreasurenow.com/pirate-phrases.htm

You tube videos we watched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y56MIdoiJjI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTetAXKqBow

PMC Amazing Race

As part of the Week of the Arts, our class are creating an Amazing Race morning for the PMC boys. Each PMC boy will visit 10 different countries (activities) and complete a task at their own level. The Year 6 boys will be responsible for creating a welcome, dressing up in character, creating a stand and helping the boys complete their task.

As part of homework Year 6 boys are required to find their costumes and decorations. We are discussing today who is in what group, their allocated country and activities. Even the extra boys who are 'tour guides' have also been allocated a country to help prepare decorations, greetings, sign and facts for. Below are a list for any boys who have forgotten:

Station 1: New Zealand - Griffin

Boys will be using stamps to make their names.

FF: Teach the haka

• Paper slips for each boy
• Stamps from Mrs Boxall (letters)
• Ink pads from Mrs Boxall

Station 2: America - Luke

Boys will spell out specific spelling words they have been practicing this term using scrabble letters.

FF: Use the same lists but mix them e.g. spell words backwards, alphabetical order, meaning of their words, use it in a sentence etc.

• Collect scrabble letters from Mrs Venn
• Ensure you have the spelling list for each PMC boy

Station 3: China – Lachy and Ollie F

Boys will solve a mathematical activity specific to their ability.

• Jon and Jaylean – matching activity
• Ben, Julian, Clancy - times tables from the 10's or 5's (only up to 5 x 5 with the 5's)
• James - adding double digit number with carrying. Need a whiteboard, marker and calculator.
• Justin - 3 times tables

Station 4: England – Kyle and Jamie

Boys will complete a P.E activity where they will need to kick as many goals as possible using a soccer ball.

·       Soccer ball

·       Whiteboard to keep tally with whiteboard marker

·       Soccer goals

Station 5: Russia – David and Sam

Boys will dress up in dress up clothes to show how to keep warm in freezing cold weather. They will then take a selfie of themselves using an iPad.

·       Mrs Geelhoed’s ipad

·       Fancy dress box of clothing

Station 6: Nepal – Wolf and Alexis

Boys will pretend they are climbing Mt Everest (make sure you tell them facts about the mountain) by counting how many steps from the oval to the top.

FF: See how fast you can get from top to bottom and time.

·       Fact cards about Mt Everest

·       Timer / ipad

Station 7: Mexico - Paul

Boys will read a passage from one of their reading books to you as perfectly as they possibly can. Assist them in reading words they are unsure of and give them a score for their effort.

·       Need to get passages from Mrs Venn for Julian, Ben, Clancy, James and Justin

·       Need to find and print A4 pictures of fruit with big font underneath for Jayelan, Tom and Jon to read.

Station 8: France - Jules

Boys will have to correctly and neatly colour in the flag for France.

·       A copy of the French flag for each boy. See Mrs Venn to find out sizes for each boy.

·       Coloured PENCILS in blue and red.

·       A printed picture of the French flag

Station 9: Hawaii - Angus and Nick

Boys will have to match the photo to the name of each PMC boy. Boys who are able to will put the names into alphabetical order.

·       You will need to have taken photos of each PMC boys and printed A4.

·       Have a large A4 name of each PMC boy

Station 10: Australia - Ed

Boys will have to place their hands into jelly and find a number of Australian objects.

·       Use your iPad to take photos of the Australian animals to make into a chart for boys to know what they have found

·       On the day collect Jelly and items from Miss Egan (Mr Griffin’s room)

·       Cleaning up products

Tour guides

Boys who will be assisting (going around with) PMC boys:

·       Campbell

·       Ollie . S

·       Andrew

·       Greg

·       Charlie

·       Jack

·       Fletch

·       Max

·       Louis

·       Alex