Over the weekend of the 26th and 27th August, two Primary School teams participated in Tournament of Minds 2023 at ANU University. On Saturday 26th, six students from years 4-6 responded to an Arts challenge.
The Anonymous Art Activists had to create an immersive experience for the audience and tournament judges. They created a highly effective immersion with a city soundscape, 3d model and ballet performance showcasing how Banksy is an artist with a powerful message.
On Sunday 27th, seven students from years 4-6 formed the group ‘Blast from the Past’ choosing the Social Science discipline. The team created a humorous and thought provoking time convergence between the Plague and Covid 19. In fact, this team performed so well they reached the Branch Final which is being held this Sunday, the 10th September! They will participate in a three hour challenge to determine who will represent the ACT in the International Final in October.
Everyone had a great time and the sun was shining. Both teams should be proud of their teamwork, collaboration, communication and creativity. It has been a privilege to watch these students create unique responses to challenging scenarios.
Thank you to the students and all the parents who helped make the day run smoothly
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‘The Dino Nuggies’ represented Amaroo School in the Secondary Tournament of Minds challenge at ANU. In response to ‘The Arts’ challenge, the team created an amazing immersive experience to present to the judges. Thank you to the Arts staff who supported the students with materials and construction.
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STEM News - Robo Cup 2023
Our highly talented STEM RoboCup Team of Patryk, Suhani and Muthu, ably assisted by Mr Cambourne, came very close to victory in this year's RoboCup competition.
The team built, coded and practised weekly, and their hard work has paid off with a strong 2nd place. Their Lego robot was able to navigate a changing maze to find a can and push it out of danger. They led the competition for much of the day but a tricky coding problem in the final round lost them points and they were pipped to the post.
The competition is great fun and develops the students coding and hardware skills. It builds their problem solving and team-work abilities so has real-world applications too. Both students and teachers can network with other highly talented and intelligent individuals who they’ll no doubt be sharing classrooms or lecture halls with in the future.
A big thank you to Mr Camboune for organising the excursion and giving his time to support the team.
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Primary EAL/D - Who are we?
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Alison Kelly works with EAL/D students in Kindergarten and with all students in Year 1 and 2. You can contact Ms Kelly by email at alisonc.kelly@ed.act.edu.au |
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Who are EAL/D learners?
EAL/D learners speak a language or dialect other than English, and need support with the English language in order to participate effectively in the school curriculum.
What have we been learning about?
K-2 learning with Ms Kelly:
In our weekly literacy groups we use storybooks and picture books to ignite our language learning. We use cue cards to spark our interest in the subject matter. We practise our reading and share information with our peers. We develop an appreciation of authors and illustrators. The related activities have a varied focus each week, such as increasing vocabulary, rhyming words, retelling stories, answering comprehension questions (some easy and some more tricky!), English grammar, linking to our Inquiry units, increasing our general knowledge, comparing information, practising our writing skills and developing our oral language skills (speaking and listening).
Please ask your child/ren about our ‘Book of the Week’ and perhaps they can share some facts and information about our learning with you.
Years 3-6 learning with Ms Hammond
In upper primary we have been exploring how paper is made. Vocabulary associated with trees and how language changes with context is a focus for learning. For example the trunk of a tree is called a log when felled. Our learning intention is to use topic specific vocabulary accurately when explaining processes.
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How to help your child at home?
Learning to read and write in your home language will help your child learn to read and
write in English too. Children use their skills from their home language to help them learn
and understand concepts in English.
Things to try:
- Use your home language with your child every day. This helps to maintain your home language and keeps your own relationship with your child strong.
- Read books and watch TV shows in your home language with your child. It doesn’t have to be educational, doing these things for fun is important too.
- Share songs and stories from your childhood. Parents have a rich heritage to pass on and children enjoy hearing about their parent’s childhood.
- Visit your local library. ACT libraries have books available in many languages to borrow and have bilingual storytelling events for young children and their parents.
- Share your culture and traditions. Teachers value the role parents have in sharing culture and traditions and welcome visitors to the classroom. You might like to speak with your child’s teacher and organise to share a book or story with the class.
- Look for activities in the community. The ACT has many cultural events and activities throughout the year. Meet other families who speak your home language or join with other families to start your own event.
- Continue to use your home language as your children get older. Sometimes children prefer to speak English as they grow older. Talk with your children about the benefits of knowing two (or more) languages. Continue to speak in your home language and stay committed to using it as your family’s language and culture is something to be proud of.
Using Your Home Language, Parent Factsheet, ACT Education Directorate
Celebrating Amaroo’s diverse community with Multicultural Day
Multicultural Day will be held on Friday, 3 November 2023 (Week 4, Term 4). We will start our special assembly with a Parade of Nations, and we encourage your child/ren to showcase the many countries and cultures here at Amaroo School. Last year many of our EAL/D students proudly represented their country/culture of origin, and this year we would like the parade to be even bigger! Please email Alison Kelly or Susan Hammond if your child/ren would like to participate.
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LEARNING SPOTLIGHT - PRIMARY
Year 4 have been learning about materials and forces in our inquiry unit this term. We have been researching how different materials and forces are used and applied by athletes to improve their performance.
This week, year 4 students visited the Australian Institute of Sport to learn all about the equipment and training regime used by professional - and even Olympic - athletes! The excursion included a tour of the facilities and a session in the interactive SportEx exhibit, where students had the opportunity to engage in a range of sporting experiences such as performance football, rowing, wheelchair racing, basketball, and more!
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LEARNING SPOTLIGHT - LANGUAGES
It was wonderful to see Year 8 students joining in the spirit of book week by actively engaging with the French language and using it to communicate with others.
The Year 8 French students at Amaroo School shared readings of French stories, recognizing words, verbs and phrases they had learned to communicate a certain topic to an audience.
This was a great way for students to practice their language skills and build confidence in speaking French. This type of activity also helps students expand their vocabulary and improve their reading skills.
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CAPTAIN'S REPORT - SECONDARY
Hello Amaroo School community! It is your Captains speaking! There's a lot going on, so let's dive right in.
First off, we've got brand-new recycling bins that are going to be placed in every classroom in the high school to help us be more eco-friendly. A massive thankyou to the P & C for their contribution to this and to the fundraising efforts of the students.
We know it's a hectic time for all the students at the moment with mid-semester assessments closing in; hats off to everyone for working hard and managing their time! Remember if you need help there is always AmStudy, which runs every Monday and Thursday in Cooinda Terrace.
Year 10s, can you believe you've only got ten weeks left at Amaroo? Between college visits and subject selections for next year, we are very busy.
Ms O’Malley and the SL@AM team are getting prepped for Amaroo's Got Talent next Friday! We are expecting an amazing show case of talent across the school.
Big cheers to everyone who helped with the ACT Boys Netball Carnival on Thursday; Amaroo School smashed it as the coordinators. And lastly, Jersey Day was today, and you all looked brilliant in your team's colours.
Archer, Sabina, Hester and Sarah
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AMAROO SCHOOL PARENTS AND CITIZENS ASSOCIATION UPDATE
Amaroo School P & C - Preschool Pictureplate fundraiser
The P & C have organised their annual Pictureplate fundraiser for the preschool students. Notes and templates have gone home with your child. If your child is not in preschool and you would like to order a plate, please contact Amanda.molloy@ed.act.edu.au for a template and payment information.
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