13 Mar 2015

Year 6E Morning Meeting

6E students have been completing a number of learning engagements since the start of the school year through an approach that builds social and emotional growth into everything they do. Each morning the 6E students have a “Morning Meeting” where questions are asked to stimulate and challenge their thinking.

Some responses to questions asked during this time have been:

“A colour that best describes me.”

A colour that best describes me is a bright yellow because it is such a happy colour and I am a happy guy. – Jock

A colour that best describes me is yellow because I’m happy, especially when playing basketball. – James B

A colour that best describes me is aqua because it is the colour of water that I love sailing on. – Garth

A colour that describes me is blue because it reminds me of Chelsea in England where I was born and that makes me happy.- Oscar

“What kind of student do I want to be?”

I want to be a helpful student because its a good thing to help others. – Alex Frye

I want to be a helpful student because I like to see people happy. – Liam

I want to be a very curious and inquisitive student so I can question everything. – Jock

I want to be a kind and caring student who is friendly with others. – Luke

“This nicest thing someone has done for me”

The nicest thing my mum did for me is move me to this school so I can learn more become a better person. – James M

The nicest thing my mum has done for me is let me sleep in on the weekends. – Lukas

The nicest thing dad has done for me is introduce me to sailing because I love flying across the water. – Garth

“Something I am proud of”

I am proud when I became the cricket captain for the “A” team this year. – Oscar

I am proud of the time when I won a cricket match for my team by hitting the winning runs. – Liam

Something I am proud of is when I help people because it makes me realise that when I help others I am doing the right thing. – Will Stormont.

I am proud of when I support my team in soccer so that we can do the best we can in every game. – Aiden

“What helps me learn?”

When I am in a quiet environment. – James F

What helps me learn is being focused. – Will Stormont

Listening to music helps me learn and focus on what I have to do.- Lukas

What helps me learn is when I work with other people because I like to cooperate and hear the thoughts and ideas of others. – Liam.

“How my classmates help me learn”

My classmates help me learn because they have different ideas and perspectives that can help get a good answer. –  James F

My classmates can help me to learn by giving me good ideas for stories. – Jock

“A newspaper headline about me would read”

Professor Jock McCloskey wins Nobel prize for quantum physics. – Jock

Fastest progressing sailor in Hunters Hill history. – Garth

11 year old Kalen James to become head cellist in SSO. – Kalen

“Child genius Oliver Johnston invents cure for rheumatoid arthritis.” – Oliver

11 year old rugby superstar Liam Dundon wins the Rugby World Cup for the Wallabies. – Liam

11 year old Australian Aiden Mostofi joins Barcelona FC Youth team. – Aiden

5 foot 3 eleven year old James Brenn joins Cleveland Cavaliers to replace LeBron. – James B

 

 

 

Kindergarten – Belonging

Kindergarten has enjoyed exploring their first unit of inquiry.

To investigate the central idea, ‘Belonging requires an understanding of self and those around you,’ the boys have had fun learning about what it means to belong to a family and school. Social play activities were designed to help the boys develop and apply the learner profile attributes of being caring and principled.

Kindergarten also inquired into personal similarities and differences by conducting human graphing activities, interviewing each other using iPads and drawing self-portraits. Picture books were used to discuss the concept of belonging and individual differences.

 

Belinda Smallhorn – Kindergarten Teacher

 

 

Faith Matters

Second chances

Once Winston Churchill was asked what experience had best equipped him to deal with Hitler leading up to and during the Second World War. To the interviewer’s amazement Churchill recalled the time he’d been forced to repeat a year at school:

“You mean you failed a year at school?”

“I never failed anything. I was given a second opportunity to get it right.”

As John Ortberg writes, “Failure is not an event, but rather a judgement about an event. Failure is not something that happens to us or a label we attach to things. It is a way we think about outcomes.”

Was Winston Churchill a failure? Or Sir Edmund Hillary? Ortberg continues:

Sir Edmund Hillary made several unsuccessful attempts at scaling Mount Everest before finally succeeding … Every time Hillary climbed, he failed. And every time he failed, he learned. And every time he learned, he grew and tried again. And one day he didn’t fail.

God is the God of second chances. Instead of seeing apparent failures as stumbling blocks perhaps we should see them as stepping stones.

 

Peter Morphew – Chaplain

 

Science Club Co-Curricular

This term our Year 3 and Year 4 boys have been having a ball in Friday afternoon Science Club. They have been doing lots of fun, simple experiments and learning about the physics of the wonderful world around us. Our areas of exploration have been as diverse as; aerodynamics, liquid density, molecular polarity and chemical reactions. We even had Mr Cooley join in with our aerodynamics session!

Here’s what the boys have to say:

“I learnt a lot about lava lamps and how to put a skewer into a balloon” – Nishi

“We’ve loved learning about aerodynamics and how things work” – Christian

“I never knew that you could put soap on a balloon and it won’t pop” – Josh

“I love Science club” – Justin

“Making paper aeroplanes was fun” – Thomas

“I love learning all the things that Ms Lowe has to teach us because it’s fun and we can enjoying testing out other experiments at home” – Ryan

 

Christina Lowe – Year 5 Teacher

 

Year 1 – Interconnectedness

As part of their first Unit of Inquiry, Year 1 have explored the ‘interconnectedness of their senses.’  After coming up with an initial set of inquiry questions in the boys’ first library session, we aimed to answer as may of them as possible throughout the unit.

The unit leant itself well to ‘hands on’ practical learning and the boys carried out a variety of experiments as part of their research. They had a go at taste testing, smell testing, and using ‘feely’ boxes to try and determine what various items were. As part of their work on visual impairment the boys had a go at being blindfolded and had to complete a series of hearing challenges in the playground. This latter experiment really helped to emphasise the ‘interconnectedness’, that when we lose the use of one of our senses the other senses become even more important.

We used ICT wherever possible to enhance the boys’ learning on the senses, and they were given many opportunities to use their iPads throughout the unit. We went on several ‘sensory walks’ throughout the school, photographing what we could see, smell, touch, hear and occasionally taste, to help further our understanding. We have had a great 6 weeks learning about sight, hearing, smelling, taste and touch and we’re now looking forward to our next unit.

Sam Watson – Year 1 Teacher

 

Toys ‘n’ Tucker – Christmas 2014

Last Christmas the Newington College Lindfield Community were very generous in their donation of food for Anglicare.  In response to this generosity Anglicare have sent a Certificate of Gratitude.

 

 

Toys and Tucker cropped a

 

Stage 3 – Street Art Skateboards

Over the course of this term, Stage 3 boys have been distinguishing the difference between street art and vandalism in order to determine how they can be responsible artists and citizens. The boys observed the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring – two famous New York street artists who were individually renowned for their awareness-raising art.

Each boy was given a plywood skateboard deck, to be transformed into an example of provocative street art. The boys were to ensure that they had elements of style drawn from the artists we studied and were also to choose from a selection of methods in order to realise their skateboard design. These methods included hand painting, painting with sponge rollers and stenciling. The unit has been challenging as the boys have been learning the importance of the design process, rather than focusing on the end product. Street art always has meaning and is there to challenge the viewers or to raise questions, which is what Stage 3 have been uncovering in their art.

To culminate the street art unit, boys will be displaying their skateboards around the school, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for their fully sick designs!

Phoebe Burnett – Art Teacher

 

 

Chinese New Year

The Newington boys welcomed the Year of the Sheep with hand made red paper cuttings, red pockets, auspicious decorations, candy boxes, paper firecrackers, red streamers and hand puppets. According to an old legend a monster named ‘Nian’ (年) would come out to scare the Chinese villagers on the eve of the Chinese New Year. In order to scare this monster away, the villagers put up red decorations, as the monster is afraid of the colour red. They would also fire red firecrackers, as loud noises also makes the monster run away. Chinese people also believe that red is an auspicious colour.

The boys learnt about the practices and the food eaten during the Chinese New Year, as well as the popular ‘Gong xi gong xi’ (恭喜恭喜) song that is sang throughout the Chinese New Year. Each boy also took home with them a red packet.

 

Emily Lo – LOTE Teacher

 

A Message from the Acting Head of Lindfield

Last week I presented two Parent Information sessions on the topic of boys’ writing as a core building block for the individual growth and social wellbeing of every classroom learner. My presentation was based upon contemporary research and observed experience over many decades in literacy lessons from Pre-School to Year 6. In particular, I wanted to share my understanding of the unique approach that boys have to writing tasks – and how this approach can be nurtured for self-expression that is truly transformational.

For every classroom the ultimate goal is to have a community of learners who are well “grounded”, respectful of each other – and their learning, self-disciplined, open-minded and imaginative. For these learner profile attributes to be achieved, the boys must be trusting of their natural instincts and willing to take learning risks. Through this process they will truly come to know themselves.

As modern society evolves at a breathtaking pace previously unknown to humankind, it is timely to reflect on the language that has been handed down to us from the beginnings of civilization. One example is the Greek word “humus”, meaning soil or earth. Humus is the base word for “human” and “humanity”. In other words, we can trace our humanity back to our integral relationship with the earth that sustains our existence. Also from “humus” comes “humour” and “humility”. We may be familiar with the term “earthy humour” or the terminology “earthed” or “grounded” to describe a person of true humility.

What then is the profile of so many 21st century learners’ lives if unearthed from this time-honoured relationship with the natural environment? In a frantic, modern world potentially removed from this daily grounding, it can be a challenge to feel harmoniously balanced with the rhythm of the natural order.

Loris Malaguzzi, the founder of the inspirational Reggio Emelia Early Years Learning Centres identifies the environment as the third teacher – after the child’s parents and teachers. To observe a young child exploring in the world of nature is to observe a learner truly in a state of wonder and harmony with his/her own being.

Therefore, families and their growing children need always to be conscious of the necessity of maintaining this sense of natural balance and connectedness in their everyday lives. It is all too easy, for example, for boys moving towards the teenage years to disappear into a cyberspace world for entire weekends and thus lose traction with the full potential of their human journey. For all that is gained in the online world – the cost remains an ever-widening gap in touchstone connection to the immediate world that we all share. And for young writers it is this touchstone humanity that the classroom needs to explore and nurture.

Writing for boys, at least in part, must be the telling of their own stories. The unique “voice” of each boy, with its individual perspective, playfulness and quirks is what makes his writing compelling. And when boys discover this inner voice, they will further expose, to themselves as much as the reader, who they really are and what they really think.

While very many of the classroom writing tasks will be prosaic in nature, demonstrating the logical construction of ideas and the use of sentence structure knowledge, there will always be opportunities, even in these exercises, to show something of one’s own life/background/individual perspective/sense of humour. And beyond these of course, will be the numerous small writing tasks that are designed for the boys to explore their soaring flights of imagination – and perspectives on contemporary issues. If these tasks are short, regular and quirkily packaged, they will elicit an exceptional range of responses, and much deeper thinking about the course of everyday lives.

In a primary K-6 setting, every child coming through the school gates will be experiencing a day filled with the potential of new sights, new feelings and new encounters. These experiences will offer fresh insights and understandings. To have the opportunity to share these experiences with classroom peers – and hear their responses – builds a class community of reflective, respectful, responsible students – constructing an ethical framework for the future. Yes, a caring, principled, risk-taking writing environment can achieve all this.

As the cartoonist, poet and philosopher Michael Leunig wrote:

Let It Go

Let it go,

Let it out,

Let it all unravel;

Let it free

And it will be

A path on which to travel.

 

John Cooley