In Year 4, we called August ‘COMMENT BONANZA MONTH.’
The focus was to teach as many people as they could how to write a great comment and share their learning with their family.
At the beginning of the month we predicted we would receive approximately 50 comments and that we would get many at first and then less towards the end of the month.
WELL, we in fact received 212 comments and were busy feeding our comment monsters almost everyday!
62 Mum and Dad comments
20 Brother and Sister comments
8 Aunties and Uncles comments
2 cousin comments
2 grandparents cookies
6 family friend comments
9 teacher comments
103 blog buddy comments
Have a look at the world map on our sidebar to see where these comments came from.
Here are our Cookie Comment Monsters.
Leave a comment and tell me someone you taught how to write a quality comment.
Fabulous efforts 4T and welcome to Spring!
Did you know that most materials we use can be organised into 6 main categories?
Well, as 4T found out on Thursday at the Hands On Science Incursion – they can! There are 2 main groups and 3 sub categories:
NATURAL MATERIALS
– Animals
– Plants
– Rocks and Minerals
PROCESSED MATERIALS
Originating from:
– Animals
– Plants
– Rocks and Minerals
Along with the guidance of workshop leaders Liz and Janelle, 4T participated in a range of experiments where they tested various materials to see which was greatest at insulating heat, the strongest, absorbent and most flammable!
Here is a quick snapshot of the measuring, hypothesising, testing and recording from the day:
Hands On Science
Read the individual student blogs to see a write up of the students’ favourite experiment.
After a term of questioning, researching, clarifying, publishing and presenting, our First Contacts Integrated Unit has come to an end.
During the unit we explored the following questions:
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Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
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What was life like for the Indigenous Australian people before the arrival of the Europeans?
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Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
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What was the nature and consequence of contact between the Indigenous Australian people and early traders, explorers and settlers?
We even researched our own family history to learn our own immigration stories. Watch our video to see the origins of our families and the year they arrived in Australia.
4T’s 2017 Immigration story
What is your family’s immigration story and what was their reason?
“Goodmorning M’am.”
“I’ve got the scurvey!”
“Watch out for them giant rabbits!”
The 4T students were nowhere to be seen on Monday, in their place were dirty, untrustworthy First Fleet convicts! During the day, the convicts participated in many different activities.
4T First Fleet Convicts
They learnt calligraphy, studied old objects, were in a race against the clock to build a structure for the colony and mapped out the actual size of one of the First Fleet convict ships, the Friendship on Cluny. Some convicts were even sentenced on the spot by Magistrate Mitchell.
Convict Day activities
In the afternoon, the convicts were relieved from the duties for a short time to share their expertly written convict diaries and other learnings throughout the term with the free settlers (parents).
Meet the Convict Open Afternoon
Check out the individual student blogs for their own recounts of Convict Day.
What is the most interesting thing you learnt about convicts?
What an action-packed couple of days Year 4 camp has been. Not only did we learn about the natural environment and Indigenous culture, we have also done a heap of team building and exciting activities. Yes, we even developed our understandings about what it really means to set the table and clean up. Gee we had fun!
The 4km Silvan dam walk to the Mt Evelyn Recreation Camp was a bit of a hike, but was well worth it when we were welcomed by Shawn and Geoff from Indigicate. He invited us to participate in a traditional aboriginal smoking ceremony. Engulfed by the smoke, we had to make the loudest sound we could (anything will do, there were some interesting versions) to alert our ancestors that we were there at the camp site, but also to protect us during our stay. Jake said that the ancestors would be looking for how brave our heart was.
During our stay, we spent the next two days participating in so many fun and educational activities which included:
- Hut building
- Damper making
- Giant swing. Here is a video of Mr Lowe leaping into the unknown and facing his fears. All the teachers had a shot, even Mr Ingles and Mrs Russell!
- Kaos scavenger hunt
- Low ropes course
- Wildlife encounter
- Indigicate aboriginal culture experience
- Night walk
- Movie night
Just before our 4KM hike from Silvan Dam to Mt Evenly Recreation Camp
To see more photos of our fabulous time at Camp, log on to the 4T Integrated Folder on ClassE.
We all showed terrific courage and curiosity that throughout the different challenges, both physical and mental. We also tried to remain positive by encouraging others to do and be their best. It was an amazing experience.
Check out the individual student blogs of 4T to read more about our camp experiences.
Tell me about your favourite part of camp?
Tell me about the times you were curious or you showed courage on camp?
WOW! What a Wednesday, in case our days weren’t busy enough, today 4T took part in two activities – one to make us more aware of ourselves and our thoughts and the other to participate in something with classrooms from all over Australia!
Firstly we had a visit from our wonderful school psychologists Jen and Jessie who came to speak to us again about our Brain 1 and 2 and how we can keep our Brain 2 in check. Especially in the playground when we can be carried away with playing games and sports or seeing our friends.
We watched some videos called ‘Uncle Drew’ where we examined the effects of judgements that we make of others.
Our Number 2 brain does not like having to persist or to try new things. They can easily get into negative habits of being silly, poor choices, not being friendly or not listening. Everytime we give something a go and try to think differently we are growing new neural pathways in our brain to change our thinking. This actually requires courage and strength!
After recess, we participated in the National Simultaneous Storytime. This is where at 11.00am schools all over Australia stopped to read a story at the same time. This year’s story was Tony Wilson’s, ‘The Cow Tripped Over the Moon.’
Relive the fun and watch Tony Wilson read his story below.
This book made us think about our achievements and the role that persistence plays in reaching them.
What achievement are you most proud of? What did you have to do to get there?
TIMELINE IN PROGRESS
So far, we have been researching the period in history before the English came and settled Australia. Below is a timeline that shows all the important dates that we have discovered in our research up until now. Over the rest of the term, we hope to continuing adding to this as we read Jackie French’s novel Tom Appleby Convict Boy, and prepare to write our historical narratives based on a real life convict.
Tell us about your knowledge of Australia’s history for this time period. Are there any dates you think that might be worthwhile including that would help us with our writing of our convict journal?
