Although life seems to feel like this Bluey meme more often than not, as the journey to the end of the year continues apace it brings with it many accomplishments. As we move from the ‘apply’ to the ‘communicate’ phase of our inquiry, we are enjoying finding ways to share our learning with the community.
We have officially broken into our inquiry groups for workshops: Project Courtyard (focusing on the replanting of the courtyard space); Courtyard Sanctuary (looking at the courtyard as a safe and welcoming space for humans and wildlife); and the Artists’ Company (preparing a performance to celebrate the courtyard and share it with the community). It has been a great opportunity for students to work collaboratively with others outside of their homegroups.
Here is a little update on what each group has been working on lately…
Project Courtyard:
We have prepared the garden for planting and practised our planting skills by transplanting some succulents and seaside daisies. We investigated capacity as we watered our plants and we have been tracking the growth of the courtyard’s newest inhabitants… tadpoles!
Courtyard Sanctuary:
We finished writing the risk assessment for the courtyard using our knowledge of probability and chance, and presented this to Amanda, the school’s Business Manager. We also published our behaviour guidelines (entitled Welcome to the Courtyard), feel free to take a look when you are next in the courtyard! We have been focusing on the courtyard as a sanctuary for wildlife, looking at lizard lounges, birds’ nest shops and bug hotels.
Artists’ Company:
We have been using our dramatic flair to make masks, design costumes and practise plays based on story books. We have now moved on to writing our own plays based on ecosystems to showcase what we have learned throughout the inquiry.
In provocations and target times we have continued to explore literacy and numeracy, building our skills as we work towards transitioning into Year 2. With a focus on addition, subtraction and 2D and 3D shapes, we have been creating a ‘number and geome-tree’ to display our work in the Learning Commons.
The mini book production line has continued to publish many new titles and we look forward to sharing them with you at the Learning Expo in December. We have also continued our investigation into sustainability with a number of upcycled costume provocations linked to the Artists’ Company.
In other news, the AusBike incursion in Week 4 was a great success, with all students having a go and getting more confident on two wheels. The most challenging part (but also arguably the most fun) was trying to ride with a cone on our heads to perfect our balance skills!
All in all, it’s been a busy start to the Term, but we can’t wait to see what comes next. We look forward to sharing more of what we have learnt with you as our courtyard transformation continues.