Book Week, Bureaucracy, Blogs and, Budding Scientists

What an epic few weeks we have had between blog posts. The homes of students in 5/6s have been abuzz with activity, excitement and learning. Over the past two weeks in lockdown, we have celebrated Book Week and Father’s and Special Carer’s day, as well as explored Australia’s Government System, honed our writing skills by experimenting with dialogue writing, channeled our inner-scientists to explore elements on the periodic table, and put our marketing hats on to promote our personal blogs.

Book Week Celebrations

‘Some people had really creative costumes’ – Flo 5/6C

For many, Book Week is the most anticipated week at school, a time to dress up and share your love of reading and books with your peers. ‘I enjoyed seeing all the costumes of every neighbourhood during Book Week’ (Ruben 5/6B). The 5/6s weren’t about to let lockdown dampen their spirits, with many going to great lengths to dress up to recreate their favourite characters. We also explored how sharing and reading a book can change the experience, and this was demonstrated when as a group we read ‘An Awesome Book’ by Dallas Clayton, bringing life to a line each, and shared this with the community at the assembly.

‘I liked the imagination of everyone in Book Week’ – Poppy 5/6B

Father’s and Special Carer’s Day

One thing that my dad said is that trust your kids – Olivia 5/6C

To celebrate the fathers and special carers in our lives, the 5/6s chose to share a selfie and a simile about their favorite person, or channel their inner Leigh Sales and interview their dads or special carers about the important role they play in the childrens’ lives. Seeking to uncover what it really means to be a father and special carer by planning, drafting and publishing interviews with the special person in their life, answering the big questions such as ‘who is your favorite child’, ‘what do you do to care for the children in your life?’ and ‘what is the most enjoyable part of your relationship with the kids in your life?’. ‘My dad said that the best thing has been to watch me learn and grow’ – Luke 5/6C.

From these interviews, the students were able to develop empathy and put themselves in the shoes of their special carer and the important, but sometimes challenging role they play. ‘My dad said that the best thing is having the opportunity to be part of their child’s life.’ – Reuben S 5/6B

Australia’s Government System

‘Without a system of government, Australia would be like the book The Purge, like literally, it’s chaos’ – Nico 5/6D

As part of understanding our world, the 5/6s have begun their exploration and understanding of Australia’s Government System, exploring the concept of democracy as well as what our Washminster system really looks like. ‘A democracy is a form of government in which people make the laws and run the government’ – Ada 5/6A 

This week the focus of investigation was systems of government, students used their SHARP notes from their research and applied their knowledge of the 100 languages to present their understanding of the types of systems of government represented around the world. From sock-puppets to Biteables to Ted-talks, the students were creative in expressing their understandings. ‘A dictatorship is when a certain group of people or a person, takes control and all power is given to them, e.g. The Nazis and Hitler or the Taliban in Afghanistan’ – Grover 5/6D 

Over the next few weeks we will explore the three levels of government as well as gain a deep understanding of the role the senate and the house of representatives play, and how the distribution of power lends to our strong democratic system and enables us to pass bills fairly. ‘If people don’t like the laws they can ask for a referendum and change the constitution’ – Raf L 5/6C

‘One of the strongest democracies in the world is actually here in Australia because everyone over the age of 18 HAS to vote’ – Cleo 5/6D

‘Lucky we aren’t a dictatorship!’ – Chloe 5/6C

Marketing our blogs

‘I tried to make it as short and sharp as I could so that people could read it and instantly know what it’s about.’ – Grover 5/6D

The students have been working hard on creating personal blogs whilst in remote learning. ‘The blog was good because it was very open to options’ – Tom C 5/6B. After spending weeks creating quality content, it was time for them to imagine what it would be like to unleash their blogs on the world.  ‘The blog is a way to express yourself to the community’ – Ione 5/6C

This week they put their influencer hats on and explored how they could promote and entice readers and subscribers to their blogs. ‘Are you interested in the most dangerous and deadly animals?’ (Jimmy 5/6B). The students explored emotive language, enticing images and other persuasive devices that would draw people to their blogs. ‘I used many fonts to make to stand out and be appealing’ – Flynn 5/6C

‘I focused on trying to find a nice photo I took for the background and matching the colours as much as I can so they stand out!’ – Marta 5/6D

Periodic Table exploration

‘Have you ever wondered what the most deadly and dangerous element on the periodic table is?’ – Aliye 5/6D

Off the back of science week, the students have kept their science caps on, and began an investigation into the periodic table. For some, it was their first look at the tabular arrangement of the chemical elements, for others, they had seen it before, but had not understood that it was for. Using an image of the periodic table as a provocation ,the students were asked to investigate an element and present their research in a creative manner. Some students chose every-day elements that they know of, such as oxygen, hydrogen, gold (‘Gold has many uses such as in jewelry and micro chips’ – Miles 5/6B) and mercury, ‘Mercury is incredibly dense- if you had a bowl of it, a cannonball could float on the surfaces’ – Marly 5/6A.

Some students chose to explore more obscure elements such as Gallium (‘Gallium is used in Blu-ray technology and mobile phones’ – Tiarah 5/6D) and Niobium, ‘Niobium is used in a variety of things such as jet engines, and stainless steel,’ Nico 5/6D

Other students used this opportunity to explore the dangerous and deadly side of elements, exploring poisonous and explosive elements such as plutonium and polonium as well as phosphorous and elements that are used to conduct immense power such as uranium, ‘Polonium is the most deadly element.’ – Danny 5/6C.