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