A Message from the Head of Lindfield

What is wellness?

Last Friday and Saturday I attended a conference about wellness for young people in Orange. I was interested to get an understanding about why there is a such a focus and need for wellness which was not present 20 years ago? What is the research that indicates certain wellness strategies are effective for young people and what is the role of schools in this area.

Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is different from the traditional idea of health, which is the absence of illness. It is a process of change and growth.

“…a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

 The World Health Organization

Why is wellness important now?

The presenter talked about the reasons that wellness for young people has come into focus for families and schools. There were some fairly challenging statistics. Youth suicide is the leading cause of death in Australians 15-24[1]. Mental health issues account for over 50% of ill-health statistics in the 15-25 year age bracket[2]. The Mission Australia Youth survey in 2017 indicated that stress was the number one personal concern for young people[3].

All these pieces of data indicate that the way society has evolved and continues to evolve may make life more convenient, connected and commodified but it is not having a very positive on many young people’s lives. We may be collectively wealthier than any previous generation and have more material things but actually we may, as a society, not be very happy.

What are the factors that research has shown to improve wellbeing?

Rusk and Waters[4] looked at the psychological interventions that were most effective for increasing people’s wellbeing. The meta-analysis of all the research studies in positive psychology over the last 15 years identified six domains that are key to our wellbeing.

Strengths Focus- A strength is a positive quality or talent that we choose to use, we are good at and is energising. Traditionally we thought strengths were attributes or skills we were good at. This is not enough. Many of you were ‘good’ at music when you were younger but if you did not practice or do it willingly then it is not considered a strength.  We want our boys to identify their character strengths, improve them, and practice them because they enjoy them.  Teaching about strengths is important in wellbeing. All strengths have positive and negative connotations. An example would be with the attribute of bravery. Bravery is a positive attribute but too much is foolishness and too little is cowardice. (Read more about Strength Parenting below)

https://www.leawaters.com/uploads/3/1/2/9/31290637/child_magaine_article_oct_2016.pdf

Emotion Management – At Lindfield we work on this domain through our 2^nd step program. We help boys identify their emotions and give them ways to regulate their actions in different situations. We do not just focus on positive emotions. Feeling a range of emotions is normal but it is what we do with those emotions that is either positive or otherwise. Some people think that anger is negative and want their children to never get angry. Anger is a helpful emotion, it tells us something has changed in our environment. It motivates us to address the issue. Extreme anger though is unhelpful and what people do with that anger can be harmful.  It is also not helpful to expect our boys to be happy or jolly all the time. Optimism is not always helpful. Over optimistic thinking leads to foolishness and poor judgement, think about this attribute in the context of people who gamble.  

Attention and Awareness – teaching our boys to pay attention and stay in the present. To be able to focus on what is happening right now is very challenging in our connected world. This may be the reason for the rise of mindfulness. Technology and the pace of life for our boys means they are often not attending to what is happening in front of them.  Practicing attention and awareness is excellent for learning and academic achievement as they listen and concentrate better during learning time.

Coping strategies – how to deal with failure. How boys frame experiences influences their resilience. People often talk about themselves as glass half full or half empty. We work with our boys on Growth Mindset, seeing mistakes and challenges as opportunities to learn and build new skills. When a boy is faced with  stressful or difficult situations (not doing well on assessments, not making the sports team they wanted, disagreements with peers). It can be interpreted as I am not good enough or it can be seen as a challenge to make them think/work harder/change something/learn something new. The way a person frames the situation has very different outcomes on their wellbeing.

Habits and Goals – Healthy habits in relation to food, sleep and exercise are important for all of our wellbeing. It was interesting that the presenter said that with any effective school wellness program, you needed to start with the teachers. If we are thinking about your sons and their wellbeing, then it was make sense that you would need to focus on your own wellness as a parent as well. I find it hard to ensure my children eat well when I am reaching for the chocolate.

Newington parents often dedicate every non-working moment to their boys. A message from the workshop last week was that parents also need to dedicate time to their own nutrition, exercise and wellbeing. This will enable parents to be good role models to their boys. If you model healthy habits then you will be helping your boys see the value in looking after their own wellbeing (not traditionally seen as a manly thing to do),  which will help you and your boys cope with life stressors now and in the future.

Setting goals is also very important. The process helps boys think about what they value, what they want to achieve and how they are going to make it happen. It also give boys the understanding about the control they have on their own lives. Setting goals, creating plans to reach them and then celebrating and reflecting on these goals is very important.

Apart from all the reasons mentioned above, why  should schools teach in wellness?

For the personal outcomes of high life satisfaction, self-esteem, self-acceptance and an optimistic view of the world. There is also an academic pay off for schools. Studies have indicated that schools that have wellbeing programs have performed 11% higher on standardised achievement tests. In Australia, research found that schools which had wellbeing programs were about 6 months ahead of schools that did not have these programs on NAPLAN results. Instead of taking away from achievement in traditional learning domains, wellness programs enhance student learning[5].

At Lindfield, we are looking at how we teach the components of wellbeing through our existing programs and review our areas of foci based on research. The reality is that wellness programs in schools are only as successful as what is in place at home. Our boys will model what is modelled for them.

If you are present and attentive when you are with your boys, if you model positive emotion management and you constantly highlight the strengths your boys possess then they will start to do the same. We want our boys to build wellness as a protective factor against the inevitable stresses and twists and turns that life will present. 

[1] https://www.youthbeyondblue.com/footer/stats-and-facts

[2]http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4326.0Media%20Release12007?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4326.0&issue=2007&num=&view=

[3] https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/publications/research/young-people

[4] Reuben D. Rusk & Lea E. Waters (2013) Tracing the size, reach, impact, and breadth of positive psychology, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8:3, 207-221, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2013.777766

[5] https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/printpdf/820

Benjamin Barrington-Higgs

A Message from our Student Leaders

House Board

The captains have created a new way to share the house points with the school.  In the past this has been done in assembly but we are now showing the points using a board located opposite the Year 6 classrooms. It will be accessible for all Lindfield students including Junior Primary boys as they take regular trips up the stairs.  They’ll visit the board and see how their house is going. The house points board will consist of replaceable cardboard numbers on a cardboard board. The board will have the weekly total for each house, the monthly total and then the yearly table which will stop in term 4 so no one will find out who wins the much sought-after House Shield.

Merit Cards

Merit cards for each house have started now.  Many boys have received the merit cards and are making a big difference to their house. At the trophy cabinets outside the Year 6 class rooms there are now slits carved into the top of the shelf with a scale underneath.  Merit cards are put into the slits and fall onto the scales.  The weight of the cards tip the scale to the leading house.  Whoever wins each week will receive an extra house point which will go to their house total. The merit cards also let specialist teachers give out house points.

House Mascot Art Competition

This term each house will host an art competition for a mascot for each house. This means that the leaders of each house will look at every artwork and choose the one that they think will go with the house the most. For this art competition, students have to draw an animal that cannot be a Wyvern or any sort of dragon. This competition will start later this term and will be due early term 3.  A note will be sent out for more information.  There will be posters around the school as well.

Written by Nick Vicars and Stylianos Vasili

Faith Matters

If I were to ask ‘What are you thankful for?’ the first image that might come to your mind is an American or Canadian Thanksgiving meal. You know, we’ve all seen it on TV shows or movies, and perhaps we’ve experienced it ourselves. Everyone sitting around a dinner table laden with food sharing what they’re thankful for. It’s a holiday dedicated to gratitude. This is something we don’t have in Australia and perhaps as a result we’re not aware at what being grateful means.

Gratitude is an interesting idea, it seems like the older we get the less conscious we become of showing gratitude. A young child is taught to say please and thank you, almost as soon as they learn to talk. Adults will often admonish a child if they take something without saying thank you. It seems that this is one of the most fundamental life skills that we seek to teach children at a young age, yet as we get older, this insistence on showing gratitude seems to decrease.

Gratitude has been a theme we’ve been exploring many times in Chapel Services at Stanmore this year and teachers have also seen the importance in encouraging gratitude with the senior school boys. Perhaps it’s because as we get older the insistence on gratitude decreases.

See, no matter what age someone is we’re all pretty good at showing gratitude for the big things, like a new opportunity or a great major purchase. But I think we often forget to show our gratitude for the small things, like a freshly cooked meal or the children helping out around the house. Too often these small things can be something that we just expect or merely take for granted.

Jesus tells a parable in the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 20 about workers being hired at different times of the day from six in the morning right up until five in the evening. At the end of the day each one gets paid the same daily wage, with no regard for how long they worked, because that was what was agreed to when they were hired. Those that worked the longest were paid the same as those that only worked a couple of hours. The earlier workers were indignant feeling they deserved more. Instead of being grateful for what they received they felt a sense of entitlement.

I wonder how true this story is for our own experiences. How often do we take things for granted or worse expect to get something rather than being grateful for what we receive?

Many of you would be familiar with the work of The Wayside Chapel. Wayside, is an amazing Uniting Church organisation that works for the marginalised around Kings Cross in the city. Rev Graham Long, the Pastor of Wayside who’s finishing up this month, writes a weekly newsletter called the Inner Circle. Last week’s newsletter had a phrase that has stayed with me. As he was reflecting on his time at Wayside, Graham said that he was ‘Paralysed with Gratitude’.

This phrase has really stuck with me. How often are we ‘paralysed with gratitude’, so overwhelmed by all that we have to be grateful for that we are rendered metaphorically paralysed?

I think it’s important that everyone, adults and children alike, reflect on the question ‘what are you thankful for?’. More than that, we should seek to show that gratitude in our daily life. For our boys at Lindfield it’s important that they never forget to show that gratitude for the many great things in their life, both at home and at school, and that’s something that we should always try to encourage in them. But for us adults it’s also an important question to keep asking ourselves too. See if we paused to think of what we are thankful for we too might be paralysed with gratitude for all the many blessings in our lives.

Pastor La’Brooy

Pastoral Care

Recently the boys in Year 5 viewed and discussed a TED talk called the ‘5 ways to listen better’ which focused on the importance of listening skills, particularly in our increasingly digital world. It provoked a lot of interesting conversation and reinforced the skills that the boys develop through our Second Step social skills program. As we know from our own experience effective listening skills are important in our society to enable us to interact successfully with each other.

The following information is adapted from the kidsmatter website and further highlights the importance that parents, educators, employers and students should place on listening!

Active listening: Communication with Children

Communication is a key factor in any relationship, especially those with children. Active listening is a communication skill that can bring greater connection, clarity and understanding to build positive relationships with children.

Often when listening to children, adults may be distracted by something else, fidget, rehearse what they want to say in their head, interject before the child has finished talking/expressing themselves, or have closed body language. All of these things can cause misunderstandings and conflict, affect whether children may disclose sensitive information again and can damage relationships. Active listeners have the intent to listen to the complete message and its meaning by paying attention to what children are saying, how it is being said. It involves being aware of body language, voice inflection, overall attitude and the meaning of what children are saying to validate communication and help children feel supported and understood.

Why is active listening important?

By being active listeners, parents and carers can strengthen their communication and relationships with children by demonstrating interest, care and understanding. Some benefits of active listening for communication and relationships are:

• helping children to feel valued, connected, validated and understood
• building trust and credibility with a child
• helping clarify a child’s thoughts and feelings
• avoiding conflict and misunderstandings
• making it more likely a child will talk to you, express themselves and seek your views in the future

Actively listening to children can begin right from when they are born, as it is important that parents and carers communicate with babies through understanding their cues and body language. By paying attention to a baby’s body language or non-verbal cues, such as understanding different kinds of crying or noticing how a baby moves when they are distressed, parents and carers can understand what and how a baby communicates.

Skills tips: What does active listening involve?

Active listening is a skill that can be learned and practised. It can mean different things in different cultures, with some aspects needing to be altered but active listening involves the following aspects that need to be practised over time:

Give the child your full attention. This may involve stopping what you are doing (e.g. turning off the television, stopping cooking), moving away from a busy place or letting the child know you want to listen and will give them your full attention when you finish (e.g. when caring for another child). When you are talking to a child and you notice your mind is wandering, bring it back to what the child is saying. Prioritising time to listen actively and attend shows a child their feelings are important and that you are interested in what they are thinking and feeling.

Use your eyes to listen. Make eye contact and if possible, get down to their level to show them you are ready to listen.

Listen carefully to what is being said. Listen to both what the child is saying and their body language, without interrupting and avoiding questions that break the child’s train of thought. Focus on what the child is saying and the meaning behind it, rather than what you are going to say next.

Use encouragers. Show that you are interested by nodding your head, smiling or making other appropriate facial expressions, providing verbal encouragers such as “mmm”, “uh huh” or making comments like “I see”, “that sounds hard/tricky/great” to help encourage the child to keep speaking and engage in what they said.

Reflect the feeling. After the child has talked about a feeling, thought, experience, etc. use the opportunity to respond and gently describe in your own words what you think the child is feeling and why. For example, “You seem to be feeling a bit upset about not making the football team”. This can help demonstrate empathy (recognising, understanding and respecting the feelings of others) and understanding of the child’s feelings and thoughts.

Use pauses and silences. Resisting the temptation to fill silences is important when children are trying to think about what else they want to say, as it gives them time to think and respond.

Ask open-ended questions. Open questions (e.g. “What are you concerned about when you go to school?”) encourage more detailed responses where children can provide more deep and meaningful information.

Summarise. Summarising the child’s main points can demonstrate that you understand what they were saying and can allow an opportunity for the child to add something.

Make non-judgemental statements. It is important to refrain from judgement statements, such as “You feel scared about silly monsters at night”, that can prevent children from disclosing further information. Try to reflect or paraphrase what a child has said, in your own words in a non-judgemental way, for example “You feel scared about monsters when the lights get turned off”. This lack of judgement invites the child to tell you more about what they are thinking or feeling.

Choose words to start a conversation. You can begin active listening by using questions or statements such as “You seem to be feeling…about…”, “It looks like you feel…with…”, “You sound…at…”, “You seem…because…”.  An example might be “You’ve been sitting very quietly and hugging your teddy bear. It seems like you are feeling sad about something. Would you like to tell me about it?”

Like any skill, active listening takes time and practice to develop but is very rewarding for parents, carers and children. It is not only a skill that can help support healthy communication and strong relationships with children, but also with other adult relationships.

Pascal Czerwenka – Deputy Head of Lindfield

Sources

www.kidsmatter.edu.au

www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_5_ways_to_listen_better

Service in Action

NOAH IN SAMOA

Talofa! (That’s “Hi” in Samoan).

My name’s Noah from Class 5B. Recently, I travelled to Samoa, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean close to Fiji, to volunteer at a primary school with my father, 3 cousins (from MLC Primary School) and their parents. We went through an organisation called Projects Abroad.

We arrived at Apia International airport on the 13th of May. For the next 7 days we lived in a Homestay owned by a local family. This was one of the ways we learned about the lifestyle and culture of the nation. The host, Tavai, cooked us traditional meals including Taro – you’d be surprised at how many different ways you can cook this vegetable! We saw how they lived in a much simpler environment, but they were happy – I think we can all learn from that. We also met other volunteers/families from Switzerland and Germany who stayed at Tavai’s house to volunteer in Samoa.

We worked at a primary school called St Peters Chanel Catholic School. The school was located in the green mountain ranges around the capital city Apia. It was beautiful. There were 73 students in Years 1-8 in this school. They were very friendly, fun loving children. They were very welcoming to my cousins and I. Our aim was:

1. To paint a mural in the school library
2. To build veggie patches and vertical gardens

The library was just an empty room and looked unappealing. We wanted to make it more inviting for the children so they would spend time there and learn. The mural was over 3m long and took us three days to finish. My cousins and I designed and painted it. It was based on one of the famous books by Doctor Seuss, The Lorax, but it also included characters from Fox in Sox and The Grinch. We also included inspiring messages like “Believe in Yourself”, “Learning is Fun” and “Be a Fearless Thinker” in the mural. When it was finished, we explained the mural to each of the classes one by one. I was a bit nervous speaking in front of the children but it was alright.

My cousins and I also helped the adult volunteers build the veggie patches and vertical gardens out of recycled timber. We planted basil, chinese broccoli and lettuce which the school children will keep growing. They will use the veggies in their lunches. The veggie patches will also be used by the teachers in their lessons about healthy eating, botany and environmentalism.

I also read story books to some of the younger classes and my father taught classes about hygiene and healthy lifestyles for children. The school and principal, Mrs Loa, were really excited because we brought 150 kg of supplies donated from Australia. This included lots of sporting equipment generously donated by Newington College like rugby balls, basketballs, tennis balls and softball equipment. Thank you Newington! St Peters was extremely grateful, as they had none of these things which are very expensive in Samoa. They were especially grateful for the rugby balls because they play rugby a lot!

We were interviewed by a journalist who wrote about us in the local newspaper, The Samoa Observer. You can search me up on the internet – there’s a photo of me in my Newington hat!

The most memorable moment for me was the farewell assembly and reading the thank you card written by the students because they were very touching words.

I think the donations and our work will help the school grow a sense of independence. The school will buy less food because they’re growing some of their own supplies. Now the school has reading books and lots more stationery, and a library that is a more appealing place. The children might think it is better to read there and it will be a nicer work space for everyone.

From this trip, I learned that if you have the ability to help someone or something, then you should try. I also learned that you can contribute to something that doesn’t just help you.

Tofa! (Goodbye)

From Noah

PYP – The Exhibition

Stage 1 – Sustaining Earth’s Natural Resources

Stage 1 have been inquiring into what our responsibility is to sustain Earth’s natural resources. We have been acting like scientists by observing and recording data on the weather and soil moisture. Last week we turned our attention to what our responsibility is for looking after waste.

Recently at Newington Lindfield there has been a change in our bin system and how we manage our waste, however we have noticed that many boys are still putting their food waste and paper in the landfill bin. We realised that perhaps many of the boys did not understand the importance of the bins and decided that this would provide an excellent opportunity to teach the boys about waste responsibility. It would also give them an interesting insight into just how much food waste we throw away on a daily basis and perhaps come up with a solution for all this waste.

We gathered in the Year 1 classroom, the boys unsure as to what exactly we would be doing. When Ms K and I asked Damon Chen to empty the first landfill bin onto the floor he was understandably hesitant suspecting some sort of teacher trap, however, after reassuring him that there would be no repercussions for doing so he gleefully upended the bin with gusto. This was followed by 5 more enthusiastic boys emptying the contents of their bins on the floor until we had a sizeable pile of smelly rubbish.

Then came the fun part! Donning rubber gloves the boys sifted through the rubbish, separating the contents into paper, plastic, landfill and food waste. There was plenty of discussion as to which pile certain items should go in, and plenty of laughter and cries of disgust whenever someone came across a particularly fragrant bit of rubbish. When the dust settled the boys were able to see for themselves just how much of each type of rubbish we would throw into landfill every day at Newington.

The majority was paper, followed by food waste, plastic and lastly landfill. This led to a discussion as to what responsibility we have to reduce this waste. We decided that we had to make sure that all paper goes in the paper recycling bin, especially the paper bags that come with the lunch orders. We knew that plastic also goes in a recycling bin and that some of the older boys are investigating this. The big conundrum was food waste. So much of this goes in the landfill bin every day and after our investigations into soil we know how important decomposed organic waste is to soil health. Some of the boys suggested that we could collect all the waste and put it in the worm farm, however other boys quickly countered this by pointing out that there is no way the worms could break down that much food every day. After further discussion we hit upon the light bulb moment that we could collect the food waste from each class and put it in the new school compost containers.

After consulting with Mr Czerwenka and Mr Barrington-Higgs, the Stage 1 boys have been given the responsibility of rolling out the new organic waste bins at Newington. These little bins will sit in each classroom and the boys can put their fruit break scraps in these bins.

Stage 1 are going to create educational posters to let other boys know what can go in them. It will then be our responsibility to collect these bins at the end of every day and distribute it amongst the compost bins and worm farms.

This will allow the boys to take some personal responsibility for waste and rubbish in their school. As a PYP school we encourage the boys to take action based on information they have gathered in their learning. It was very rewarding to see the shock on boys faces when they finally sorted the piles and saw how much food was thrown away each day. Coming up with a solution for this problem will give the boys the confidence to know that they can make a positive impact in their world, for their future.

Angus Lawson – Year 1 Classroom Teacher

Stage 2 – Making rice paper rolls 

Since the beginning of Unit 3, the boys have been practising how to use a pair of chopsticks. Little did they know that using chopsticks would be part of their assessment at the end of the unit!

As you may be aware, making food in a class at school is not an easy task! There are a lot of preparation tasks behind the scene and, therefore, the boys worked very hard to earn the opportunity to make rice paper rolls during a Mandarin class. They practised their given texts to make sure the majority of them could say the words fluently.

In this unit, we learn how to say 春卷 (chūn juǎn) – spring rolls. We were going to make spring rolls, but it’s too dangerous to have hot oil in the classroom with young students. Therefore we decided to make Vietnamese rice paper rolls instead.  To many, rice paper rolls are not something they have regularly on their dinner table, so as a class, we had an interesting discussion of “what should we put in the rice paper roll”. As the boys found out, we could put anything and everything in the rice paper rolls, as long as the boys would finish eating them at the end. To avoid any food wastage, allergy’s and special dietary issues, we asked the boys to bring enough filling to make 2 small rice paper rolls each.

“Making rice paper rolls is really not that difficult…”, as the Year 3 and Year 4 boys will tell you. The most challenging part would be using the chopsticks to pick up a rice paper roll, dip it into the sauce and send it safely into the mouth. Some had to abandon the chopsticks and use their fingers instead!

The boys had a fun experience of making the rice paper rolls. A big thank-you to all the parents for preparing the ingredients!

Ms Eva Angel – LOTE Teacher (Mandarin)

Year 4 are Migrating!

As a provocation to the start of our third Unit of Inquiry the boys were set a scenario – they would be migrating to a different country and were limited in what they would be able to take with them to their new country.

Each boy was supplied with a small brown carry bag.

The directions stated that if it would not fit in the bag then they would not be able to take it.  For personal and precious items it was suggested a photo could be included for our purposes as long as in reality it would be of a suitable size to fit in the bag – no bikes etc.

As part of the introduction to the Unit we were lucky to have Mrs Gough share her personal experiences of her mother who had migrated from Italy to Australia. The boys were fascinated to learn of her journey from Italy to Australia and intrigued by the items she brought with her that included a cane implement for airing blankets – part of her childhood memories and a sewing machine so she could make clothes for her family.

The choice of items to be included in the bag by the Year 4 boys was interesting and varied but more importantly the reasons for including items was insightful and meaningful to each individual.

A small selection of our ‘bags’  have been included in this PREP Talk.

The provocation for this UOI (UOI 3) was that Mrs James sent us home with a heavy duty brown paper bag in which we were to put the things we would take if we were migrating to another country.

These were the things I would pack:

• A blanket, to keep me warm and to use with sticks for shelter
• A ball, to keep me entertained and to stay healthy
• Some paper, to draw on, to burn for light and to take notes
• A pen, to draw (entertainment) and to take notes
• My kindle, to read (entertainment)
• Clothes, to keep warm
• Toothbrush & toothpaste, to keep my teeth clean
• Soap, to wash with

These are the 8 things I would take with me if I was migrating to another country.

Charlie Cooper

What I packed…

For our UOI we participated in a provocation. We packed what we could fit in a medium sized brown paper bag to know what it is like to be migrating and unable to take all our things.

I packed my iPad so I can keep myself entertained and look at photos of my family. I packed a phone so I can call people if I get into trouble and call my parents but it might be useless if I go to a very remote place. Spare clothes would be good if my current clothes were to get dirty. A water bottle is extremely useful in a country that has unclean water so I can boil it. I brought real photos because they are better then electronic ones!

I need to be healthy so I packed a tooth brush and paste and a hat to minimize fatigue and keep my head warm at cold times.

I obviously brought money so I can buy food, water, more clothes, etc. If I was migrating to another country that’s a bit like Australia and my family was coming I wouldn’t be too concerned though it would be better if I could stay in Sydney because I would have all my friends.

On the other hand, if I was migrating right now to another country that I don’t know and I don’t have my parents or my family then I would be a mix of scared, sad and nervous!

Ashok Reddy

Migration Trip

Hello. At school we have been learning about migration. As a task we had to get all the stuff that would be important to us if we were migrating to another country. Here is a list of things I took and why.

• book – I took a book to be entertained and to share with others.
• soaps – I took soaps to be healthy and to not smell bad.
• clothes – I took clothes to be warm so if I go to a cold place then I would be not be cold.
• phone – I took a phone because I might want to call my family and play games on it.( I hope we would have power!)
• soccer ball – I took a soccer ball to share with friends and to play with my new friends.
• rubrics cube – I took a rubric cube to share and to have fun.
• toothbrush – I took a toothbrush to be healthy.

Nathaniel Warwick

Migration UOI

We participated in a provocation for our new unit of inquiry about migration. We each took home one strong, medium paper bag with handles. This paper bag was the only bag we were allowed to have. We had to pack the things we would take if we were migrating to a different country.

 I included –

• A rubric cube for entertainment and perhaps it would be something I could play with if I made a new friend.
• A pen to draw on paper. I could notes or makes sketches about places I went to
• A second pen if the first pen runs out
• Paper to draw on
• A water bottle to have clean water
• A book to read and share
• Shoes for long walks
• A change of clothes to wear

I would feel exited because I’m going to make new friend and go to a new school and learn new thing about that country.

Archie Allen

Migration

I would be going to migrate to America and I packed these things. I packed stuff for a colder temperature and I would not be coming with my family. I would have to fit every thing in one

tiny bag. I  could not take any more than just that bag it was a challenge i could have fitted more but i think it was pretty good. I packed …

1. iPad – I packed this because I could call emergence services, to keep me entertained and to keep money.
2. Soft toy – I packed this because it reminds me of home and I can cuddle it at night.
3. Tooth brush to keep my teeth clean and healthy.
4. Shoes and socks so I can walk outside.
5. Clothes to keep me not naked and to keep me warm.
6. Family photos to remind me of my family.

Callan Glover

Migration Experience

Mrs James sent home a note and a paper bag. It was about our provocation for our next UOI.

We had to pack things in the bag that we would take if we were moving to a different country for a period of time. We could only pack things that could fit in the bag.

I chose:

• warm clothes to keep me warm
• a family photo to remember my family
• an iPad to entertain myself
• money to buy things
• a phone to keep in contact if I had access to power
• a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes and to keep my head warm
• canned food to eat if I get hungry as canned food lasts for a long time
• tooth brush and tooth paste to keep my teeth healthy
• asthma puffer to use if I’m sick especially if I am going to a high altitude country

Aaron Blayney

Migration Bag (UOI 3)

Mrs James told us that we were going to pretend that we were going to migrate to a different country to see what it would feel like.

We were given a small brown paper bag to put our things in.

I brought:

• a toothbrush and toothpaste to keep my teeth clean and healthy
• a change of summer clothes and winter clothes, pyjamas, so I can be warm
• a book for entertainment
• my iPad, for entertainment as well
• money, so I can buy things and if the country has different money I can exchange my money for my new country’s money
• snack food, so I can eat things
• family photo, so I can remember my family
• pencil and paper, so I can draw and take notes
• passport, so I can get on a plane
• soft toys, for a memory and so I’m not lonely at night
• watch, so I can look at the time

Miles Tian

Migration Trip

In our UOI 3 we have been learning about migration and how it changes peoples lives.

For our homework, we were given one paper bag to put in important things that we need to migrate to a different country. If things are too precious we take a photo of the item. If the item is bigger than the bag and you take a picture of it, you cannot put the photo into the bag because the item that you photographed is bigger the the bag (example: a bike). Here are some reasons why I took these things.  

You need to eat something like Cup A Soup or canned food because it is instant and it is also long lasting

You need to stay hydrated so you need a bottle of water. It gives you energy and you can refill it

• Soft toys to keep me warm and to remember family
• Clothes to keep warm
• Bible for entertainment
• Money to buy stuff
• Map if country does not allow phones
• Passport for permission to go to a different country
• Picture to remember family
• Paper and pen for entertainment and reminders
• Medical kit for injuries

Peter Ngo

What I packed …

• water bottle because I need to drink clean water if they don’t have clean water
• wooden elephant because it reminds me of my cousins
• Ray Ban sunnies because I need to keep the sun out of my eyes
• motor bike shirt because to cover myself and reminds me of my dad
• pants because I need to cover myself
• watch because I need it to know the time
• family photos to remember my family
• socks for comfort when wearing shoes
• undies for cover
• singlet for cover

Marcus Chan

In my migration bag I included a soccer ball so I could entertain myself and because it would be a good game to play with other children and a way to make friends.

I also included a soft toy dog as it reminds me of my dog I wouldn’t be able to take.

The last item I chose was a selection of books. The books could keep me entertained and the ones I chose reminded me of my childhood because my Mum and Dad read them to me when I was young.

Baxter Plank

Mrs James – Year 4 Teacher

Stage 3 – Media

Investigating the Media

In Years 5 and 6 we have been exploring the concept of Media and how ‘Media can create, alter or manipulate images and perceptions’ as part of our unit of inquiry into the transdisciplinary theme, how we express ourselves.

This theme is an inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

Our inquiry has led students to understand that the concept of Media is far wider than just television which was a common early understanding. The boys know realise that there are many different forms of media as they have investigated print media, outdoor media, online media, television media and radio media. They are exploring what makes each of these forms of media effective and have been able to identify how they have changed over the years.

Using the various forms of media to advertise has been one of our areas of focus in an attempt to determine what makes the media effective at creating, altering or manipulating images and perceptions. In doing so the boys have started to consider the features of advertisements that are used to attract their target audience (contrast, connection, salience, branding and many more).

As this unit progresses we will explore Public Service Announcements and the purpose of these announcements in an attempt to understand how the media is used to change behaviours to suit particular purposes. The unit of inquiry will culminate in the boys designing and creating their own public service announcements to promote awareness of locally significant issues that they will explore in the coming weeks.

We look forward to sharing our learning experiences (through SeeSaw and homework activities) with you over the coming weeks.

Sam Watson and Pascal Czerwenka – Year 5 Teachers

The da Vinci Decathlon

This is the second year that Newington College Lindfield have participated in the da Vinci Decathlon held at Knox Grammar School. The Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students. Our boys competed in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and general knowledge.

The Decathlon places particular emphasis on higher order thinking skills, problem solving and creativity. As the students work in teams, collaboration certainly becomes the focus of the day.

This year we entered a Year 5 and a Year 6 team. Prior to the Decathlon the boys were required to meet weekly in order to gain experience in working with each other and solving various tasks and challenges. We are already looking forward to next year!

Freddie Year 6: ‘Expect the unexpected.’

Stylianos Year 6: ‘I really loved going up and receiving an award for all of our hard work.’

Nirav Year 6: ‘Collaboration is the most important thing that I learnt.’

Noah Year 5: ‘I liked the general knowledge questions because they challenged me but my favourite was code breaking and cartography. I liked drawing the contour lines on the map.’

Billy Year 5: ‘I liked that if I didn’t know the answer I could ask a friend to help.’

Angus Year 5: ‘The day was a great experience, it was fun and challenging. I worked on the Art and poetry, creative producers and general knowledge. The poetry was my favourite.’

Lachlan Year 5: ‘The theme of the day was ‘The Unexpected’, I really enjoyed doing the engineering task, we had to design a way out of a 40 story building if there was a fire. I loved catching the train there and visiting a different school.’

Rupert Year 5: ‘I had an awesome experience at the Decathlon, the activities really challenged me but in a fun way. I liked hanging out with my friends and there was a challenge for the most unexpected table cloth design!’

Aleca Bradshaw and Philip Trethewey

The Great Amazing Race

Great Amazing Race!

A group of around twenty-five Year 5 boys, along with their mums, spent an energetic Sunday afternoon racing around the city, participating in the Great Amazing Race.  Starting at Belmore Park near Central Station, teams of 4 or 6, worked through a series of challenges set up at sites all around the city.  From acting like ‘zoo animals’ in front of the Hyde Park Fountain, trying to catapult balls into a designated area at Cook and Phillip Park and encouraging random strangers to form a conga line in Martin Place, the teams showed great ingenuity and determination in completing all their challenges.  There were also a series of bonus challenges that were set which gave extra time credits towards your team’s finishing time, these included taking a photo of your team posing like the Opera House…with the Opera House in the background (not so easy with ferries and cruise ships obscuring the view!).

It was a close race with at least five teams in equal second place, but the winning team was Team 8 – Lachie Brownrigg and Jack Mannix (and their mums Vanessa and Isabella).  Lachie and Jack share some of their thoughts on the day…

What did you enjoy about the race?

We enjoyed the teamwork required and the team spirit everyone showed. We also liked the satisfaction of figuring out the answer to questions and being able to move onto the next task. It was also good seeing parts of the city that we hadn’t seen before. 

Did anything surprise you during the day?

The biggest surprise was the win! We think the bonus points from having the longest conga line helped us in the end. That was really funny as we needed to ask strangers to join us. We were also surprised how well our mums could find their way around the city!

Did you learn something on the day you didn’t know before?

We learnt that the people in our team all had different strengths, which meant that we needed to communicate well to figure out the clues.   We also learnt that one of our mums is really competitive! 

What would your advice be for someone who will do the race in the future?

Everyone in the team needs to be working together so communication is important.  Also, don’t rush, as one silly mistake could cost a lot, and read the information you are given CAREFULLY!  But most importantly just enjoy the day, as it goes by so fast!

Huge thanks to Jo Stewart, Year 5 Class Parent, for her fantastic organisation of the day.  Everyone had an absolute ball and if you would like to find out more about the Great Amazing Race, please feel free to contact Jo.

Vanessa Brownrigg and Isabella Mannix