During our Art lesson today we studied different paintings and discussed how they made us feel and why we thought the artist painted them in the way they did.  This is what Felicity said about a famous painting by Salvador Dali called ‘Persistence’:

“I think he feels that time melts away“

I then handed the class over to Ben.  He is a very good artist and he taught the class how to draw amazing eyes.

He was able to teach the class how to achieve different tones and textures by applying hard and soft pressure while shading with their pencil.

Here are some photos of Ben in action and some students working on their art.

Collaborating is such a powerful tool in learning.  Students come with a wealth of prior knowledge that needs to be tapped into and shared with others.

During their investigations on a Natural Disaster, 6L students were able to share things they were learning, useful sites or clarify requirements of the task using Corkboard.me.  Check it out here.

When you go to http://corkboard.me you are instantly given your own corkboard with a unique URL address.  Share this address with your team and you can post information and pictures that is accessible to the rest of your group in real time.  There is also a chat function.

Here are some shots of the students at work…

A regular feature of 6L will be journal writing – capturing ideas and opinions about a variety of topics.

Today the topic was “I think children should be allowed to…“

Here are two great entries:

I think children should be allowed to be themselves around other people and not have to be someone different to impress anyone so they can be popular.

Children should be able to act how they want without other children judging them by what they are doing.  For example, if a girl liked dancing but the rest of her friends didn’t, that doesn’t mean she has to deny liking dancing just because her friends don’t like dancing at all.

If you have to change yourself because your friends don’t like what your hobby is then that is not right.  You should be able to like what you like.

By Lauren M.

I think children should be allowed to have no homework because at the end of the day they have already had enough work and they or their parents could have something on and they can’t fit it all in.

I think children should be allowed to have a magic finger so when they touch something and they think of what they want they immediately get it.  I think it should be allowed so if they’re in a test and they can’t figure out what the answer is they just touch something and they get the answers.

I also think that children should be allowed to tell their mum and dad what they want and they will get it for them.  I think this because if you don’t have a toy and all your friends have it then you are going to feel left out.

By Patrick G.

Our novel study this term is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

After writing some predictions on what they thought the story would be about, the students in 6L worked in pairs to research C.S. Lewis and discover a bit about his life.

Here are some photos of them working hard…

The air was electric as students returned from holidays and assembled in CD Court.

The new term had begun and everyone waited with nervous anticipation to discover which class they would be in.

Who would be their teacher?

Which friends would be in their class?

Thankfully they didn’t have to wait to long.  Students waved goodbye to their parents, dropped off their bags and began the journey that would take them through another year of schooling.

Students in 6L…welcome to the journey.  It is great to have you.

I’m looking forward to the ride!

From Mr Lindsay.

Dear 6L,

I can’t believe it.

You have just left to enjoy 6-7 weeks of holidays and fun with your friends and family.

A new journey begins next year as you start Senior School.

It is a strange thing being a teacher.  We pour our heart and soul into our class and we become almost like family.  Then Term 4 ends, you wave goodbye and walk out the door…and that’s it!

The whole year I have lived and breathed learning with you.  I have tried to instill the values that I hold dear and have been working alongside you, constantly trying to help you achieve your best and inspire you to do better. We have laughed a lot and shared some amazing memories.

And now the school year is at an end.

I will miss you all.  You have only just left and I miss you already.

I wish you all the best and pray that you will pursue excellence in all you do, remembering that God loves you and is always with you (Jeremiah 29:11).

Farewell, 6L 2011.  Make sure you come back and visit me.

Mr Lindsay

As a conclusion to our Unit on Antarctica, students had to write a report to the Australian Government arguing their case whether Antarctica should be a place of collaboration and co-operation OR it should be a place of competition.

The top 3 reports are below in a Flipsnack.

As we move into holidays it is important to remember that we need to stay safe, particularly in a country like Australia where beaches and pools are a normal form of recreation for many of us.

The Royal Life Saving Society came out and ran a Water Safety program with Year 6 to educate them on the potential dangers around water and how to be prepared to prevent injury or death, as well as offer assistance if someone else is in trouble.

They learned about the AquaCode:

1. Always go with someone when swimming

2. If you get in trouble just float and signal for help

3. Reach to rescue – use an object to reach for a person in trouble rather than jumping in.

We also learned about DRSABCD (Here is a link)

D = Danger

R = Response

S = Send (for help)

A = Airway

B = Breathing

C = CPR

D = Defibrillation

Watch the students in action:

Students in 6L had completed a book which captured highlights of their time in Junior School.

With nearly less than a week left in Junior School, the students in 6L took their books that they had written and illustrated down to one of the Kindergarten classes.  Pairing up with a Kindergarten student they read their book and answered any questions that the Kindergarten students had about school and what to expect as they move through the Junior School years.

It was great to watch the way the Year 6 students got alongside the Kindergarten students and care for them.

When they had finished the Kindergarten students were able to choose a story that their Year 6 buddy read to them.

Here are some shots of the students working together:

We have really enjoyed learning about Antarctica this term in 6L.  We have completed Glogs on different animals, gone undercover as workers in Antarctica, created Prezis on the Antarctic Treaty, and much more!

The students had a lot of questions.  I tried to see if we could set up a Skype connection with an expeditioner down in Antarctica but that proved to be difficult, so I sent an email to the Australian Antarctic Division and a lady by the name of Rosie was able to offer us great help.

She suggested that we put a list of questions together and email them to her and she would pass them on to someone working down in Antarctica.

So 6L got to work.  We set up a TitanPad and collaboratively researched different aspects of Antarctica and compiled a list of questions that we wanted to ask.  Click HERE to read the questions. (The list was actually MUCH longer but I had to cut it down as best I could).

The most amazing news came back from Rosie only a couple of days later.  She said that some expeditioners down in Antarctica were going to put a video together for our class and answer our questions!!!

And here it is…

6L would love to thank Rosie for all her help in connecting us with an expeditioner down in Antarctica and we really appreciate the time and effort that Mark Williams (Station Leader at Mawson) put in to filming his answers and sending us a video.  The class was in stunned silence after we watched it as I don’t think they could believe that someone from Antarctica had directly contacted them.