Welcome Expo
Last Wednesday, we invited the community into Princes Hill Primary School to attend our ‘Welcome’ Expo. Students shared their learning and welcome products with us. The exhibitions and displays included robots that waved, machines that said hello in a variety of languages, puppet tour guides and shows, quizzes, painted gifts, a fashion show, chalk drawings…the Year 5/6 Neighbourhood really was abuzz with energy and enthusiasm. If you were unable to make the expo, we have included a snapshot in our blog this week.
What have we learned about the concepts and needs of welcome so far?
Click to see the data behind the Wordle.
Welcome By Finn Mcleod
Welcome feels like being in a warm bed while the rain pours on your roof, pitter patter pitter patter.
Welcome smells like coming home to the smell of freshly cooked cookies straight from the oven.
Welcome tastes like a gooey piece of brie spread on a thick-cut slice of bread as it enters your mouth.
Welcome looks like people giving and having fun.
Welcome sounds like kind words
Unwelcome Poem By Lola Widmer
Welcome is too hard to find
I refuse to believe that
Welcome feels inviting
I’m positive that
Everyone will exclude me
It’s not true that
I will be acknowledged
I know
I will stay unsafe
It is impossible that
Welcome makes me happy
I believe that
Welcome will always stay unfamiliar to me
It is a lie that
I will be accepted
Welcome Poem (read upwards for the positive poem)
Welcome Poem by Matilda Stumpf
As she walked through the door
I felt my excitement soar
She was my best friend after all
I ran to hug her and pull her away
Up to my room to set her stay.
We laughed and giggled all night long
The sun came up and
we were still going strong!
Telling each other jokes and stories
We went through our shames and glories.
When the time came for her to leave
We hid in the closet, hoping not to be seen
Then it became a bit of a bore
Trying hard to ignore
The parents attempt to move her
to the door!
Get book supply over the holiday break
Photography
The students who opted to be part of our photography elective with Steve have experimented, taking photos with various devices and lenses. We have surprised and delighted ourselves with some of the images we are capturing of the world around us, including nature, people and events. Together with your child, you might like to play around with the features on your camera or devices. How can you make the ordinary, look surprising or beautiful?
Podcasting
A number of students who elected to learn about podcasting with Jen, took the opportunity to go and visit RRR radio station last week. We look forward to learning more about their experience once they are ready to report back!
Thanks a Bunch Thursdays
On Thursdays, we try to highlight the help and care of people in our community. This week students shared many of their affirmations and thanks and we observed that we are supporting each other by
- giving each other helpful feedback
- helping others to understand and complete tasks
- teaching each other new skills
- noticing and allowing others to focus on their learning
We discussed how these qualities translate to our online learning and how comments/feedback need to be positively stated, that you would only write something that you would feel confident saying to a person directly and that you would never film without someone’s consent; or upload work/photos without permission. This is a conversation that is worth continuing at home to develop family expectations around digital citizenship.
Anticipating the coming weeks
The past few weeks of watching the world begin to understand Covit-19 and what that means for each of us, as it continues to develop has been challenging. In the 5/6 Neighbourhood, we have maintained the need to keep calm, be well informed and respectful of others’ needs and health. Watching BTN has provided a helpful reference for our questions and curiosities. We continue to follow recommendations from the Department of Education. In the event that your family needs to isolate itself, we feel positive that our online learning with Google Classrooms and Seesaw is already in place and our students will continue to have access to learning opportunities both independently and collaboratively. We will continue to communicate with families with further details.
As always, students are encouraged to borrow books from our library and ensure they are prepared for learning at home. Now might be an opportune time to find/create a times tables wallchart or borrow resources such as crotchet needles, a sewing machine, a ukelele, a hot glue gun, jewellery making tools, or a spade to learn a new skill or develop that family veggie patch?!
Tuning in to emotional needs
In uncertain times, it can be difficult for us to make sense of the world and our own feelings. While many of us appear to be fine, under the surface it may be quite a different story. Writing a journal can help us all to articulate and share our concerns, and over a greater period of time enables us to see that we are strong and capable individuals. Writing a journal may be of particular interest to some children presently, and many seem to be curious about the concept of co-writing/creating a journal…this might be a fun family experience that could be completed by various members at various times. It is a great way to start a weekend by setting up a page
- with a statement family members can either agree or disagree with and justify
- with a quote family members can comment on
- with a known saying or proverb to be translated into a modern hashtag
- with memories or connections to images, articles, advertisements, etc. pasted in
- ready for sketching or doodling
- of dreams
- of wish lists…’if I could change one thing in the world it would be…’ ‘If I could have one superpower, it would be…’
- ready for the family’s morning headlines…
The options are endless, fun and collaborative!