Dear Parents and Carers,

Term 4 is always a busy term with assessment and reporting, Awards Presentation, Year 6 and Year 12 Graduations, PBL Rewards day and end of year celebrations.

Please check your fridge Calendar for important school events and keep an eye on Facebook posts and communication books as we approach the end of this year to make sure you are informed and up to date with all events.

Our students and staff will be very focussed over the next few weeks on finishing unit work, and teachers are gathering evidence and information to share in report cards which will come home at the end of this term. There are plenty of things to celebrate in our students report cards- things we can check and measure and give a rating to. Some things though, are difficult to measure but are obvious within a busy, engaged classroom. We are always excited to share the work that is happening across our classrooms and as reporting draws closer, we look forward to celebrating student achievements with you. 

2025 Strategic Planning

Currently, we are focusing on our Strategic Planning for 2025, identifying our school priorities and how best we can meet the educational needs of our students. We have already identified READING as our big focus for 2025 and we will share our finalised 2025 School Improvement agenda with our school community later this term.

2025 Classes and Staff

It’s also the time of year when parents, students and staff start thinking about next year and class groupings for 2025. We are aiming to send home class groupings with report cards at the end of Week 10. The process of developing classes is a multifaceted and exciting task. Because we try to make the best groupings possible it can take some planning and time. The following is a brief description of the steps that we take to formulate class groupings:

1.Confirmation of the total student population for 2025.

Sometimes this is hard to know, as 2025 enrolments are not yet finalised, and sometimes depend on late transfers as families move in or out of the area. If you know your child will not be at Gympie Special School for 2025, please let us know as soon as possible, by contacting our office.

2. Determining the number of classes we are able to create depending on upon the number of teachers allocated to the school. We get indicative staffing numbers before the end of this year, but as always, Day 8, 2025 numbers are the final determining factor.
3. The school is divided into 4 sectors consisting of: Early Years - Years P-2, Primary - Years 3 to 6, Secondary - Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and Senior - Years 11&12. Class groups are formed in these sectors based on students’ educational and social emotional needs.
4. Once classes are developed, we allocate staff to each class. This may be subject to change as staff may receive transfers in or out of the school. We also have teachers who relocate, retire, take family leave and some who are on contract whose contract simply comes to an end.

Learning to work with new teachers, new staff and new classmates each year is an important part of the school journey as our young people build resilience, learning to work with a wide variety of people (as they will in other areas of their life), build their network of familiar adults and learn to make new friends. As you can see there are a great many variables, some of which cannot be controlled. We ask for your patience and support as we work towards a successful transition to learning in 2025.

Happy World Teacher’s Day

Last Friday on 25^th October, we celebrated “World Teacher’s Day”. This was the perfect opportunity to thank and acknowledge the amazing teaching staff we have here at Gympie Special School, who make a difference every day for our students. We were able to recognise the years of service, dedication and commitment for those staff who had reached Career milestones. Thank you for the commitment, enthusiasm and support you provide each and every day.

Day for Daniel

On Friday 25^th October we also raised safety awareness for our students by acknowledging Day for Daniel by wearing red to school. Day for Daniel is Australia’s largest child safety education and awareness day. This National Day of Action advocates for safer communities for children and empowering them to Recognise, React and Report when they feel unsafe. We believe Day for Daniel is the perfect opportunity to start conversations around personal safety.

Awards Presentation Ceremony Monday 11^th November 9.15am to 10.30am – please be seated by 9.10am.

On Monday 11th November, we will be holding our Annual Awards ceremony at 9.15am in our Performing Arts Room. We look forward to your company. Please be seated by 9.10am for a prompt start. Remember, parking is sometimes difficult and you may need to come a little earlier to find parking.

Year 12 Graduation News

We are very excited to spend time with our Year 12 students this term as they prepare for their graduation.

In the morning, on Friday 15^th November at 9.30am we will be holding a short Graduation Ceremony for our Year 12s and their families, followed by cutting the Graduation cake. We will then farewell our Year 12s as they leave school for the last time and prepare for their Formal Graduation Dinner.

The Gympie Special School formal graduation dinner is Friday 15^th November from 5.30pm at the Gympie Senior Citizens Hall and this is a very special celebration for our students, families and staff. This is always a bittersweet moment as we wish our Year 12s, who have been such a huge part of our school life, all the best for the future. 

If we have good weather students will be going to the Memorial Park for photographs before moving across to the Senior Citizens Hall. The students and staff have been working hard on organising the night and making decorations and ensuring the night will be a memorable success. 

PBL Rewards Day Monday 2^nd December @ 10 pin Bowling!

In week 10, on Monday 2nd December, we are having our Whole School PBL Rewards Day! This is very exciting and the PBL team planned a great event to reward our students for their terrific behaviour. We are having a 10 PIN BOWLING experience to celebrate the wonderful behaviour our students have demonstrated this year.

2025 BOOKLISTS/ Stationary Lists 

Each student will be provided with a 2025 Booklist/ Stationary List at the end of this term, for families to purchase the necessary resources. We have partnered with Nextra at Gympie Central Shopping Centre. You can drop your list into them and they will prepare your child’s stationary list for you.

The school office will be open from Monday 19^th January 2025 for families to drop their student’s stationary box off prior to the start of school. Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring all items are purchased, named and ready for the first day of school. Have fun covering and decorating your child’s equipment and books – don’t forget to NAME everything.

Medication

At the end of each year, all medication and medical equipment is sent home. If your child takes medication during the school day, it must be collected from the school office on your child’s last day of attendance.

For 2025, please ensure your child’s medication is in a clearly labelled pharmacy box with correct dosage, time of administration and is in date. The office will be open from 8.30am to 2.30pm from Monday 19^th January 2025 for you to drop off medication and sign forms.

2025 Health Plans

For any students on a Health Plan, Lisa our school nurse will be available next term to meet to discuss your child’s plan. If you are attending any medical appointments during the holiday period, could you please organise the following for your child?

• New midazolam orders (required yearly)
• Updated Asthma Plan (required yearly)
• Updated Anaphylaxis plan (required yearly)
• Dietician letter if your child requires Gastronomy tube feeds (required yearly)
• Copies of any current health management reports or summaries that may assist in the management of your child’s specialised health requirements at school

Keeping the school informed about any changes to the health and management of your child, ensures we can work in partnership with you to better support your child at school, and maximise their safety and attendance.

I look forward to seeing many of you over the next few weeks as you help us celebrate the success of our students!

Moving forward, learning together,

Ms. Sarah

As we move into week 5 of term 4, focus is shifting into preparing for the 2025 school year. As a leadership team we are developing our future strategies and goals to make sure we maximise our student outcomes.

Since my last newsletter article, I began the year-long ‘Flagship Aspiring Principal Program’. The Flagship Aspiring Principal Program’ aims to develop future school leaders by providing them with the skills, knowledge, and experiences necessary for effective school management.

Last week, Gympie Special School hosted the North Coast Regions ‘Positive behaviour for Learning Community of Practice’. Alongside our PBL Team Leader Trista Smith, I presented how positive behaviour approaches have assisted our students to have robust educational experiences in and out of the classroom. This was a great success and GSS has been encouraged to apply to be a regional demonstration school. This was great feedback and shows what an amazing job our whole-school staff do every day to ensure student focussed learning and achievement.

I am getting very excited for our upcoming Colour Fun Run, an event designed to promote physical activity, school spirit, and community engagement while raising much needed funds and having a blast! Students will run, jog, walk or roll along a designated course while being splashed with colourful powders at various stations. It’s a fun way for our students to engage in physical fitness, foster teamwork, and enjoy a vibrant day together!

Join the Fun! This is a fantastic opportunity for our school community to come together, and we encourage everyone to participate, cheer, and enjoy the festivities! If you have not made your profile as of yet, there is still time!

To Our Teachers,

On this World Teachers' Day, I want to thank each of you. Your passion, and resilience to dedicate yourselves to our students is truly inspiring.

Thank you for your hard work and commitment to Gympie Special School.

Phil

Deputy Principal

Since last newsletter Early Years children have started their swimming sessions and demonstrated how far they have come over the year. They are able to follow the school expectations of being safe and respectful both on the bus and at the pool. The lessons are so much fun and everyone is progressing well with their water skills.

Last Thursday the children participated in the Early Years First Nations play event. They drew Indigenous symbols in the sand, searched for Australian animals in the sand and made flower bracelets. The session finished with an Indigenous story. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and the children were very engaged and had wonderful exposure to Indigenous culture.

Thursday, 7^th November is the Colour Run. Have you all created a Colour Run fundraising account and shared it with family and friends. Come along and watch the fun.

Another event we are looking forward to is the swimming carnival in week 9.

Kate and I never cease to be amazed at the progress our children have made over the year and the new skills they demonstrate every day. Their Prep year is fast coming to an end and what a great year we’ve had.

This term we enjoyed our first swimming lesson at the pool. In lead up to this we have practiced sitting and waiting on the bench seat, walking as a group and safe slide in entries into the pool. Out favourite activity at lessons has been rocket arms and the wahu splash balls.

In Maths, everyone loves the hands-on activities and fun while they engage in learning: Identifying numerals, matching and making quantities with hands on manipulatives. We have also have been looking at events over the week and when they occur; making visual calendars.

In English we have enjoyed humorous and interactive lift the flap stories and making sound effects from the book by activating switch buttons.  

Yet again time is flying past and soon it will be report writing time and the end of School PBL celebration in week 10.

Our PBL Rewards Day at the end of Term 3 was a huge success (what’s NOT to love about hot chips and good friends?) but we have been putting all of the learning from the year together as we move toward the middle of the term.  We continue with letter and sound recognition and have begun to recognise ourselves as emerging readers. Several of the EY3 Crew love to gather the class together and put their imaginations to work entertaining us with their interpretation of a favourite picture book. We have also started to blend sounds together with early phonics and Jaidyn gets so excited he yells “me do it”! if anyone else tries to read the 4 simple 2 letter words of the week first.

There was quite a bit of confusion when Miss Nairda and Miss Jodie came to work wearing our matching brand new GSS Staff shirts for the first time! Jack spent the rest of the day repeating “you the same” with a look of wonder, but with most of the school staff wearing the shirt now he seems to have moved on to perfecting his fine motor and handwriting skills.

Swimming lessons have had a few false starts but there are so many lessons combined with getting ready in time to board the bus and moving safely around the community that there is still lots of progress in our development.

With this newsletter marking week 5 of an 11-week term, there is lots of teaching and learning still to be done and we remind you that “every day counts” to maintain momentum, social connections and to keep up with changes to routine as we move toward year 2 and the final year in the Early Years section before moving up to Primary. When life gets in the way we invite you to reach out as there are many ways we can support maintaining learning when changes in your child’s circumstances change through family circumstances or illness and hospital visits. We truly value you as part of the school community. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Miss Jodie, Miss Nairda and the EY3 Crew.

EY4 enjoyed the PBL reward day at the end of term 3, the water play and hot chips were a great success and the perfect reward for following school rules.

Congratulations to:

Harrison for earning a student of the week certificate for ‘being brave and making new friends’

Oliver for earning a student of the week certificate for ‘being brave and following instructions when he needed an ambulance’

Elliot for earning a student of the week certificate for ‘using the complete pathway independently on his Proloquo2Go to ask for food’

Elliot for receiving a ‘Silver award’

We enjoyed our first swimming lesson at the pool, where we combine with EY3. Unfortunately, we were unable to attend last week, but the students did really well coping with the change and played with water at school instead.

In class we are learning about more and less in Maths, everyone loves the hands-on activities and fun while they engage in learning. Elliot and Isaiah have also been experiencing number songs and engaging in communication with adults.

In HPE we are learning to name body parts, using: written labels, physical touch and pointing to a photo from a selection of three.

There is an open invitation for you to attend the following events:

Monday – Parade at 1:30pm

Wednesday – Horse riding 9:20 – 10:30

Friday – swimming 11am – 11:45am

Yet again time is flying past and soon it will be report writing time and the end of Year PBL celebration!

Hi Primary families,

The last few weeks have been action packed with all the primary year classes attending swimming at the Gympie Aquatic Recreation Centre. Our students have been improving their water confidence and swimming techniques with the help of our swim instructor and amazing helpers Mr Adam and Coach Tim. In our lesson’s students have increased their water safety and awareness, practiced freestyle, backstroke, froggy kicks and learnt how to float. Students have been having the best time with their swimming.

Our students have also been engaging in other activities within the school, a visit from Aunty Christine taught us more about local Aboriginal Culture. Our students have also been busily getting their school work complete and kicking goals along the way. With the end of the year fast approaching we look forward to seeing what our students can achieve.

Thanks,

P1 Teaching Staff.

In P2 we continue learning new literacy skills and applying the ones learnt to our creative writing, reading and phonics activities. During our Shared Reading sessions and desk work activities we love learning more about certain aspects of characters or events related to our story book of the week.

In Maths we are concentrating on addition, subtraction and pairing quantities. We have also integrated daily, yearly and seasonal activities into our unit on Time.

We have had great success and fun in the water during swimming on Fridays with swimming instructor Leonie and coach Tim and Adam. Andrea and Carina are so proud of P2 students because they are safe and respectful students during our community access excursions to the pool. Well done!!! 

P2 students enjoyed the workshop with Aunty Christine, learning more about the Gubbi Gubbi people of our area.

We are almost at halfway point for Term 4, wow!!!! Luckily, we have a few more exciting events lined up; the Colour Fun Run in Week 6 and Primary and Early Years Swimming Carnival in Week 9.

Carina and Andrea

P3 Class newsletter

This week we welcomed Haylie-Rose to our class.

In English we have been having lots of fun reading imaginative books containing stories about animals. We’ve also read informative books about the animals. Labelling the parts of the animals has been fun, especially as Miss Jennie doesn’t know her animal parts and we have to fix up her mistakes! Moni’s favourite thing each week has been reading all the stories. Layton’s favourite part has been labelling all the body parts of the animals. Naomi’s favourite part is drawing a picture of the animals.

In Maths we have been practicing our counting skills, addition and subtraction. Baxter has loved activities that involve counting to 5, especially if it involves knocking down towers of blocks! Layton likes using the dice and blocks to tell addition or subtraction stories.

This term we have started swimming lessons. They are lots of fun with Leonie, our instructor, coach Tim and Adam.  Naomi is learning that water isn’t scary and can now float sitting on a noodle independently and use her monkey hands to move around the edge of the deep end of the pool. Baxter enjoys kicking on his back, he has some speed! Splashing Miss Bree is great fun and gives lots of giggles. Moni and Heath enjoy racing up and down the pool and diving for sinking toys.

Hello to our P4 Parents and Carers,

Here we go on the tail end of 2024. Term 4 is going way too fast!

We have been swimming this term, we have already noticed Rose building confidence in the pool by putting her face under water. Koby is swimming more than half a length and Maddie is like a mermaid. This has become an opportunity to practice our PBL skills by following rules to be Safe, Respectful Learners, in the community.

At the end of Term 4, we will have our rewards days, 10 Pin Bowling. P4 have already been discussing whether we need the gutters up or down. We have also been demonstrating our bowling technique in class, I’m excited.

In English we have made Funky Chickens, after reading the text ‘The Funky Chicken.’ The focus in week 5 is moving giraffes after reading, ‘Giraffes can’t dance. We will prove this statement wrong.

Our additional Teacher Aide Support has changed from Jas to Josh. We welcome Josh to our sector. He comes with many years of experience.

Finally, I would like to send a huge thank you to Gaelle being our classroom teacher at the end of Term 3. The students all formed lovely relationships with Ms Gaelle and their learning continued to excel.  

Don’t forget swimming continues on Fridays and we will have a Swimming Carnival coming up on Monday 25^th November, hope to see you there.

P4 students, Darren, Josh and Deb.

Only 7 weeks to go but there is still plenty of activities to look forward to before the end of the year. Please make sure you check the calendar that was sent home for any important events happening before the end of the term. In the next 2 weeks we have plenty to look forward to including the swimming carnival next Monday. Please make sure you return your permission forms and your child brings their swimming clothing. The colour fun run will be taking place on the Thursday the 11^th of November followed by the annual awards presentation morning on Monday the 11^th of November.

S1 has been busy in class focusing on completing assessment before the reporting period begins later in the term. Our focus in English this term has continued to be on the difference between informative and imaginative texts which has helped the students complete their own information reports on a chosen animal. Your child should be able to tell you about which animal they chose and a few facts about them. The students have also been working hard on their spelling and reading routines at least three times a week. Many children’s literacy program suggest revisiting texts at least three times a week to maximise student learning, increase oral reading performance and reading comprehension. Children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the 25% compared to students who are not.

The students have been enjoying their basketball sessions on Thursday afternoons with Coach Tim and are getting a good amount of exercise with some even complaining that they are getting too much exercise!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Declan, Miss Jas, Miss Sabana, Azalia, Locklan, Rebekah, Ryan

Eli is using his new communication AAC device and exploring different options for requesting.  Mason is making great progress on his VTQ workbooks.  He also had the opportunity to use some of his Practical Workshop Skills in a real situation when helping to install a new safety fence and gate.  He was very good at remembering to wear his Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).  Tyler completed his first woodworking project finishing a ‘Carry-all’ which he got to take home to show off.  He also engaged well with a STEM activity designing and testing Stomp Rockets.

S3 Newsletter.

Welcome to Term 4! It is so great to be back! (Thankyou Ms. Gaelle for taking our class when I was away!)  Also, a warm welcome to Oden and his family, into our class and G.S.S. He has settled well and is becoming used to our routines. We are continuing our learning in English, comparing imaginative and informative texts by exploring the connection between words, objects and images in stories and information texts. We have had lots of discussions about how informative texts are organised with Tables of Contents, labelled diagrams and headings.  As a class, we use comprehension strategies to understand and discuss texts listened to and viewed or read independently. Currently, in maths we are focusing on regrouping and renaming numbers using blocks and performing addition and subtraction operations to solve problems. During HPE, we combine with S4 to participate in basketball, which is fun and exciting. We have already made great progress, learning to bounce the ball with both hands and move in different directions. In the next few weeks, we will be completing the Fun Run and Swimming Carnival. As you can see we are very involved learners with much to look forward to!

Kind regards,

Miss Libby, Miss Jas, Laila, Cody, Thomas, Oden and Riley.

Newsletter T4 W5

Welcome to Term 4!  So far we have had lots of fun with Coach Tim playing basketball drills with S3 and sometimes S1.  Students have been trying really hard, following Tim’s instructions and working together beautifully in small groups - throwing, catching, dribbling and shooting.  Their confidence and abilities have progressed in just 2 sessions, from students having a go and following Tim’s top tips!  S4 have also been playing PE games in the gym room.  We’ve done ‘Hot Potato’ – hitting the beach ball to each other for as long as we can, keeping score and trying to beat our personal best.  We have also been playing badminton activities and drills in the gym, leading into practice games using a range of ‘shuttle-cock’ type objects.  In week 6 we have the swimming carnival on Monday and the ‘Colour Fun Run’ on the Thursday.  We’ve had a look at the prizes students can choose from for the different amounts of money raised.  There are some amazing prizes to be collected.  In maths this term some students have explored number concepts and language through song and play with more able students helping out.  It’s so good to see the team work everyone in the class is keen to engage in, making the class a fun and inclusive place for all.  Thanks, Andy, Bernadette, Chrissy and Sabana ?

Welcome to Term 4,

We have been learning basic ball skills for Basketball with Coach Tim.  So far, we can bounce, throw and catch the ball.  We have been shooting goals in our modified hoops and having a great time.

We have the swimming carnival coming up in Week 6, this will be a big week as we also have the Colour Fun Run at the end of that week.  

In class, we have been working hard on our English information reports.  We are writing about an Australian animal and learning about appearance, habitat, diet and interesting facts. Our maths focus has been on counting, adding and partitioning numbers.

Our year 10’s finish up on Friday of week 8 and so do I.  I have had the most amazing year teaching this class and they have been the best students to teach, I am off on an overseas holiday and can’t wait to see you all again next year. 

Thanks for a great Term 4

Miss Karen, Miss Michelle, Charlie, Dante, Declan, Jed, Peter, Tommy and Tyson

Term 4 is flying by already with only 19 school days left of the year for our Year 12 Students! We have all been very busy creating decorations and avidly discussing graduation. The Snack attack café has been a great success for the seniors and they are learning valuable work place skills that they can use for life. We request feedback from anyone that purchases from the café and use this as a valuable learning tool for our students. Feedback is so important for growth and we have been teaching the students how important positive and negative feedback is.

In literacy, students have been increasing their knowledge in characters and setting. The students have all created characters and these will be used to create a fairy tale. Numeracy focus has been on the Australian monetary system. Our students have had many experiences working with money during our mother’s/Father’s Day stall and bunnings sausage sizzles.

This term in our crafting group our focus has turned to creating props for our Harry Potter themed graduation. Students visited the Senior Citizen Hall and have planned how they want to decorate this space. We look forward to presenting some of the resources the students are making at their very special night.

Don’t forget our performance for Shrek in Week 6, Wednesday 6^th November at 1:45pm. We are all looking forward to our end of year excursion to Wildlife HQ on Monday!!!

Dear Parents and Carers,

Term 4 is off to a wonderful start, with students diving straight back into their learning, making the most of their final term for the 2024 school year. It has been fantastic to see such engaging learning taking place in every class, and the growth our students have shown since the start of the year is truly remarkable. A huge thank you to our dedicated teachers and teacher aides for their hard work, and to our parents for their continued involvement in supporting their children's education.

This term, we have had the pleasure of hosting Gubbi Gubbi language workshops for both Primary and Secondary students, where they had the opportunity to learn language related to family members. Additionally, our Early Years students participated in a special Gubbi Gubbi day, which included hands-on sensory experiences and storytelling. This focus on cultural immersion provided a meaningful and enriching experience for all students, deepening their connection to the local Gubbi Gubbi heritage.

Our physical education program is also in full swing. Swimming lessons have commenced for our Early Years and Primary students, while Secondary and Senior students have been enjoying basketball sessions with Coach Tim. Physical activity remains a vital part of our curriculum, aligned with Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum, and plays an essential role in promoting students’ physical development and well-being.

This term also saw our staff participate in Professional Learning Week, where teachers and teacher aides had the opportunity to observe and learn from their colleagues. This has been an invaluable experience, allowing staff to share their expertise and develop new skills in areas of personal interest, further enhancing the teaching and learning environment at our school.

As we approach the halfway mark of the term, we are looking forward to the exciting activities and events planned for the coming weeks. Thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to a successful and rewarding conclusion to the school year.

Warm regards,

Kate

The EY’s students really enjoyed the water play and hot chips they received for the end of term PBL reward.

The rest of the school enjoyed scheduled time in the school made arcade, for the end of term PBL reward. The student feedback was extremely positive for both events.

The PBL team recently purchased more sensory items for the students to use to self-regulate at school.

The PBL team also purchased a selection of prizes for students who’s Ardy ticket is selected during parade.

We have just organised the end of year PBL reward. Students will be attending Gympie 10 pin bowling, on Monday 2^nd December for 1 game, paid for from the PBL budget. Parents and carers are welcome to attend to help students bowl or to sit back and watch the fun.

With assessments over, it’s time to have fun with science. Each sector has been experimenting with float or sink. The deeper water trolley and a great science kit on loan from the Toy Library has given the students new and exciting ways to experience for themselves what will float and what will sink.

The Early Years loved going elbow deep in the water and many were able to count how many items would fit into the plastic boats before they would sink. They discovered that a cloth lily pad will float, but a metal one will sink. Taking turns with the materials was a valuable part of the experience.

Primary students were able to identify a number of reasons why the small boats sank, including filling with water, an uneven distribution of the load, and too many items on board. We read the story of Who Sank the Boat and used it to understand why a boat might sink. They also experimented with how to load the wooden raft to make it tip.

The secondary students were introduced to the concept of density and how air pockets can help even large metal ships to stay afloat. They also noticed that changing the angle of the sail on the boat could affect the equilibrium and cause it to sink. The accompanying task cards encourage them to think logically and problem solve solutions.

Getting a little wet was all part of the fun!

At Gympie Special School, we proudly celebrated AAC Awareness Month, highlighting the growing use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication among our students. Our teachers continue to model both PODD and Prolo, helping students become more comfortable and proficient in using these tools to express themselves.

We’re excited to announce that our speech therapists are in the process of designing Core Word Boards for the playground, which will soon be ready for use. Each week, we focus on a specific word, teaching it explicitly and modelling its use in sentences, which we then incorporate into our writing activities. This approach not only reinforces vocabulary but also encourages meaningful communication in various contexts.

Happy Communicating!

We have been learning how to clean up Special Places in Geography. For the next couple of weeks we are looking at Recycling.  Students sorted images into 4 different bins Recycling, Composting, Rubbish Bin or Clothes Op Shop. Early Years have been looking at places around Australia, then making a collage or other craft.  Last week we looked at the Sydney Aquarium and then the students labelled and counted the animals.

Visual Arts

This term Primary and secondary students have been steadily working through their assessment pieces while exploring collage through their responses to a story and reproducing a painting as a collage. There have been some very interesting works of art produced, with great discussion around materials used and positional choices for characters during the creative process.

Early Years students have been responding to stories through art by choosing their favourite part of the story and recreating it as a collage and a drawing. Students have identified haw they feel and what they like and dislike about characters and events in the stories.

We will finish the term off with less stimulus driven responses and more independent and imaginative works of art being produced.

Thank you. Gavin.