The Big Sing

On Friday 19 August the Year 6 students will be involved in The BIG SING. The BIG SING is in its 4th year on TP campus. It is one of the BIG FOUR Inter- House events in the annual calendar. ALL children in each of the 6 Houses spend several weeks rehearsing a song they have selected, arranged and then choreographed.

On performance day, all the Houses each perform on stage in the Fisher Chapel. One House performs in front of the other five in turn. It is a colourful, fun and highly dynamic event. The children have control over the material. Houses are often led by students who have some natural ability in performing arts, as singing, dancing and even some acting is involved, but the key aspect of the event is participation and enjoyment.

The performances are judged by a small panel and positive comments made. We look forward to taking the Year 6 students to this event and giving them some exposure to life on the Torrens Park Campus in readiness for Year 7.

Book Week and the Scholastic Book Fair

In conjunction with our Book Week theme, One World Many Stories, we will have a Fly a Flag Day on Thursday, 8 September.  Students will display their heritage by wearing the colours of a country’s flag. 

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the Gilchrist Library from Thursday, 15 September, through to Tuesday, 20 September.  A wide range of new release Scholastic Books will be available for purchase at very reasonable prices.  Entrance is through the Albert Street door from 8.15 – 9.00am in the morning and 3.15 – 4.00pm in the afternoon.  The Fair is coordinated by Mrs Rose Secon-Hondros and is staffed by many parent volunteers.

Fiona Rowe

Building Positivity in Health

In Health lessons this term students will be working from the ‘Keeping Safe Curriculum’ and ‘Bounce Back’ resource. A key focus for the early part of the term will be on relationships and in particular power in relationships. Students will define what power in relationships is, and investigate characteristics that make people powerful, in both positive and negative ways. They will also discover how the abuse of power can impact on individuals and groups in society and have long lasting effects. Aspects such as guilt and contributing to abuse in relationships is touched upon, as are strategies to assist individuals if they feel a relationship they are involved is volatile.

Following this the students will be working from the ‘Bounce Back’ curriculum, written by well know experts in the field of Positive Psychology, Helen McGrath and Toni Noble. The topic of ‘Humour’ will be taught and within this the students will look at things that make us laugh, when and how often we laugh, positive aspects of laughter and specifically the impact it has on our bodies. Further to this, classes will discuss the use of positive humour, as a tool to help us cope with difficult situations encountered in life and a final lesson will be devoted to telling a joke correctly. 

Maths Madness

Students will be exposed to a diverse range of Mathematics topics throughout Term 3.  As stated in previous entries, our methodology is varied and varies according to the topics covered.  Work samples are also tiered, so that students feel challenged and supported where needed. The following strands and sub-stands will be explored this term.

Number and Algebra topics - rounding and integers

Geometry and Measurement  - perimeter, area, volume, square numbers, angles

Statistics and Probability – chance and data - probability

React to Reading

Reading in Term 3 will focus on Government and Citizenship. In this unit of work, students will firstly look at rules and laws to identify the differences between the two and reasons why they are so important. Following this they will then discover what democracy is and features of a democratic society. This then complements several more topics for investigation, namely: Government, Parliamentary features and the process involved in law making. The final component of our reading this term will look at prominent political figures, their position and roles for their various political parties. 

To conclude this unit of work we will look at Elections, the electoral process and the issues that people consider when casting their vote. Students will also gain an understanding of preferential voting, voting age and penalties for not casting a vote during an election. Much of this knowledge will then be utilised in a visit to Parliament House.

Perfect Peer Support

Peer Support is a lovely way in which the older students can mix with the younger students.  I can genuinely say our Year 6 class loves seeing their buddies on a fortnightly basis.  Our sessions together are largely surrounding the theme – ‘Cooperation’ and students participate in a range of activities that are designed to develop this skill.  Other activities include annual events such as drawing and designing images for our Junior School Musical and introducing the Year 2s to the Mind LAB games. All in all, a wonderful and relaxing experience for both year levels.

Mind LAB - Life and Games

The Mind Lab Group was founded in 1994. Its activities are centred around the development and training of thinking skills through thinking games.

The goal of Mind Lab is to impart thinking abilities and life skills, that will assist them to maximise their own potential and help them to become more successful and happy individuals, who act honourably toward their peers and achieve optimal self-realisation of their respective talents.

At the heart of Mind Lab Method is the notion that the most effective way to learn is through an immediate and authentic experience that leaves one wanting more. Game playing is the perfect example of such an experience – it is entertaining, engaging and exciting, and therefore stimulates eager involvement. No less important is the fact that the game-playing experience provides students with the training and application of thinking abilities and life skills.

The Four Goals

Developing Awareness

Awareness of thinking processes is essential for personal enhancement in every walk of life. The Mind Lab Method, making use of unique metacognitive thinking models, emphasizes reflective and cognizant thinking that enhances the use of rational processes and enables pupils to constantly progress.

Imparting Thinking Skills

In our information-rich age, an ever-increasing emphasis is being placed on the importance of basic thinking skills. The Mind Lab Method provides a broad range of these skills: problem-solving strategies, decision-making models, investigative processes, information and data management, logical and mathematical thinking, verbal and communication skills, and more.

Strengthening Life Skills

The game-playing experience is an extraordinary simulative tool for the development of emotional and social intelligence. It obliges us to deal with situations involving cooperation and competition, winning and losing, success and failure, and it reinforces our ability to effectively manage and control our emotions, to defer gratification and to enhance our determination, perseverance and self-discipline.

Interdisciplinary Transference

The application of content and skills learned in one setting to another is considered by many researchers to be one of the most important learning abilities. Mind Lab's unique teaching method establishes an organising base for many aspects of our lives. Through this method, children develop the ability to identify links between different fields of human thinking and activity, and this consequently enables them to transfer knowledge and apply it to other fields.

Methodology

The Mind Lab learning process is simple and yet extremely powerful. The process begins with children indulging in game playing, which ultimately empowers them with skills and knowledge relevant to real-life situations. The Mind Lab Method is the bridge that connects the World of Games with the Real World.