Term Three Is Here!

Hello everyone,

Welcome back to Term 3. Well, to be fair, week 4 of Term 3. Where on Earth does the time go?! I know I say it all the time, but seriously, it flies doesn't it?

Term 3 has already proven to be very busy. We recently had NAIDOC week. Students went to an incursion to learn more about Indigenous plants and how they are used for food and medicine and how water was used and preserved.

Last week, Friday the 3rd of August, Room 23 and 30 presented the assembly and I cannot explain just how proud I was of all the children. The amount of information they were required to memorise in order to ensure our assembly flowed was unbelievable! At times I really did wonder if we were expecting too much, but they very ably rose to the challenge and exceeded ALL expectations.

As it was the week after NAIDOC week, we decided to focus on an Indigenous theme with the retelling of the dream time story, 'The Rainbow Serpent'.

Apart from the presentation, students also completed a piece of writing which was displayed on the WOW Writing Board in front of the undercover area. Please come in and read over our awesome stories and research. You could also have a look at our display in Block 3.

As Mini MAC is made up of three year levels, I wanted to create a challenge for each. The Year Ones developed a story using only Aboriginal symbols then they needed to translate their illustrations to written form using their very best handwriting and boy, was I impressed!

The Year Twos were required to develop a story as the Year Ones did, but they needed to not only translate their story but were also asked to type it using touch typing and correct formatting...once again, they knocked my socks off with their abilities. All that computer time is paying off :)

The Year Threes were required to do a research project on inspirational Indigenous women, as the theme for NAIDOC this year was 'Because of her, we can!' Below is a summary of the statement we used in order to 'set the scene' for our research.

Statement by National NAIDOC Co-Chairs Dr Anne Martin & Mr Ben Mitchell

Under the theme - Because of her, we can! - NAIDOC Week 2018 

As pillars of our society, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have played – and continue to play - active and significant roles at the community, local, state and national levels.

As leaders, trailblazers, politicians, activists and social change advocates, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women fought and continue to fight, for justice, equal rights, our rights to country, for law and justice, access to education, employment and to maintain and celebrate our culture, language, music and art.

They continue to influence as doctors, lawyers, teachers, electricians, chefs, nurses, architects, rangers, emergency and defence personnel, writers, volunteers, chief executive officers, actors, singer songwriters, journalists, entrepreneurs, media personalities, board members, accountants, academics, sporting icons and Olympians, the list goes on.

They are our mothers, our elders, our grandmothers, our aunties, our sisters and our daughters.

Sadly, Indigenous women’s role in our cultural, social and political survival has often been invisible, unsung or diminished.

Their achievements, their voice, their unwavering passion give us strength and have empowered past generations and paved the way for generations to come.

Because of her, we can!

Such a powerful statement that really got the Year Threes fired up to do their very best, and that, they certainly did. They researched their chosen Indigenous woman then created a pamphlet featuring their personal details, interesting facts and how she was inspirational to others.

In other news 

We have started our very first novel study! More groups will go through this process as the year goes on. We have started with one of my most favourite childhood books, Charlotte's Web.

We have also been learning about poetry and tried our hand at Diamante Poems. Please come and see our window display.

We have also just begun our project work for this term. Look out for more news of this soon.

Thank you once again for all your support. It is much appreciated,

Mrs C x