Welcome to our first edition of Inspiring Connections for 2020.

And what a year it has been! Despite all we have endured as a larger world community, learning has remained at the centre of all that we do here at Holy Trinity. 

As we continue our learning, our learner profile attributes become even more important. 

It is important for us all to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, risk takers, open-minded, caring, balanced and reflective. 

#Choose Kindness 

Inquirer learners develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning, and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Knowledgeable learners explore concepts, ideas, and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.

Thinkers exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.

Principled learners act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice, and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups, and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-minded learners understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

Risk Taker learners approach uncertainly with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.

Balanced learners understand the importance of intellectual, physical, and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.

Reflective learners give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.

We hope you enjoy exploring the learning that has occured here at school, and at home during remote. 

May the upcoming break be restful and reinvigorating for everyone. 

Transdisciplinary Theme

How We Express Ourselves

Central Idea

Expression Requires Consideration of Self and Others

Lines of inquiry

• Ways humans express feelings and ideas
• How expression of ideas affects well being
• Considerations made before expressing ourselves

Concepts

• Form
• Causation
• Responsibility

Learner Profile

• Reflection
• Thinkers
• Communicators

Learning Experiences

Identifying emotions in ourselves and others

Read “Colour Monster” and “The Monsters Inside”

Exploring how artists such as Picasso and Van Gough expressed themselves

Explored Aboriginal symbol used in artworks as a way to express story

Celebrated Reconciliation Week

Immersed ourselves in dance and song to explore musical expression

Adventuring outdoors to express ourselves physically – active play, organised games

Read “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” and experienced how we could fill one another’s buckets in the classroom.

Who We Are

An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values, personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.

During the provocation the learners explored various activities to discover how their interests influenced their identity. The students also had the opportunity to role play groups they see at home and in the community. 

We then explored how our differences make us unique. The students discussed the meaning of the word 'different’ What does it mean? If something is different it is not the same. We discussed if being different was a bad thing and decided that it is good to be different. This is a summary of the discoveries kindergarten made. ‘We are not the same, we do not all like the same things or look the same.’

The students then inquired into how they can group themselves together based on their similarities. Below are some examples.

Kindergarten then investigated different groups they are part of at school and at home. We then wrote about the different groups we are part of and shared these during topic talks.

Next kindergarten inquired into the importance of understanding our responsibilities when interacting with others. The learners identified that many of their responsibilities at school are similar to their responsibilities at home.The students also identified ways to maintain friendships and they also talked about the importance of being nice to each other.

Kindergarten students were interviewed by 5/6 students. The learners were asked to identify what groups they are part of and their responsibilities within these groups.

Michael Feerick

How the World Works

An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; humans and their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

Central Idea:

Observations lead to understanding

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into patterns in the natural world

An inquiry into using patterns to make predictions

An inquiry into the consequences of disrupting a natural cycle

During remote learning, students began to explore changes in the season at home. 

Provocation

When returning to school from remote learning, students began to explore the unit with a provocation, where they were asked to make a pinwheel but were not given instructions. The students were shown the end product and left to work out how to do it by themselves. Some children felt very frustrated, others worked in teams to work it out. Afterwards, with many confused students, we discussed how they could have been more successful in creating their pinwheel. Most students said they would have been successful if they had listened to instructions and watched someone else make one first.

Patterns in the Natural World

Kinder discussed which skills they needed to be able to understand the instructions. They discussed using observation skills to gain an understanding. Then, they applied these skills to find patterns. The students found patterns in the natural world, around our school and created their own patterns. The students also explored patterns in cycles such as the seasons, day and night, days of the week and the life cycle of a caterpillar.

Together, we explored the story ‘When the Snake Bites the Sun’ to understand an Aboriginal perspective of how day and night were created.

We also explored patterns in Maths, with all students having a go at creating their own patterns.

Some students used their observation skills and presented an observational report. They were able to film these with some amazing background.

Using Patterns to Make Predictions

With their new knowledge of patterns, seasons and day and night, Kinder made predictions about the weather. We were surprised to find there was no particular pattern for the weather but we could still make an accurate prediction using our observation skills or senses. Kinder White video called another Kinder class from another school to compare the weather at their schools.

Caitlin Meany

Sharing the Planet

An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

Central Idea

Protective behaviours contribute to survival in the natural world

Lines of Inquiry

An inquiry into the needs of the natural world (Function)

An inquiry into how communities organise themselves to support growth (Connection)

An inquiry into actions/behaviours required to support survival (Causation)

Provocation

Kindergarten could not go to the Zoo, so the zoo came to us! Students and their cuddly animal guest observed animals in their adapted habitats, eating, sleeping, playing and interacting with each other. Students noticed that many animals are like us – they like to eat, play, sleep and spend time with others.

Following our provocation we explored the needs of people and animals. We discovered that people and animals have many similar needs such as food, water and shelter. Students noticed that people use natural resources to make things that make life more comfortable and food tasty. We like our chicken cooked and wheat as flour to make cake, bread and pasta. Animals are happy to eat food in its natural form.

Learner Profile

Caring – thoughtful actions, helping others, recognising you are part of a group

Using our new knowledge from asking questions, listening to others ideas and reading books we learned how living things organise themselves to survive. We learned that what we do effects everything around us. We need to look after our own community – pick up rubbish, use water wisely, care for plants in our kitchen garden and recycle and reuse when possible. By doing this we can take care of God’s creation. God created this wonderful world for us and we have a responsibility to take care of it and each other.

Kindergarten students will continue to inquire into how people and animals organise themselves to keep safe and healthy. We will enjoy sharing our learning with you next semester.

Trina Twyford

It is fantastic to be back at school this term with most of our students joining us. The buzz of excitement as everyone reconnects has made us grateful to be taking this positive step towards normality.

Reflecting upon the end of Term 1 where we rapidly pivoted to remote learning, I was very proud of how our staff responded to the changing educational landscape. Catholic Education Office rolled out new tools, ran training for staff and students over a matter of days and as a school we were supported wholeheartedly by our 'IT Champions, Brendon Pye and Beck Casey. Teachers were creative in adapting curriculum, and solution-focussed in applying new technology skills to their remote learning delivery to enhance learning from home. They were brave in engaging with change and gave their time selflessly to ensure they were as ready as possible to give their best to support the students they teach.

Our teachers were continually role modelling for our students that with a sense of calm, positive collaboration and a good degree of resilience, solutions to challenges can be found. 

We were heartened to see our students reflecting on their remote learning experiences and setting goals for Term 3 as they strive to achieve their personal best. 

Term 1 in the library started with devising our Central Agreements, exploring and unpacking the Units of Inquiry (covered in class) and enjoying our visiting author and amazing adventurer Tim Cope. Then it all sadly came to an abrupt halt with COVID 19 sending us off to the remote learning world. That was a huge learning curve for me; however, the kids were all over online learning and embraced the set tasks with much gusto – Thank you all.

Term 2 in the library started with remote learning for the first two weeks and then we slowly started returning to school. Hand sanitizing and social distancing rules were observed, as much as possible (tricky to do when you teach 380 kids in a week. 

Now we are back – The Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge is on again and lots of great readers have already completed the challenge. Redgum Book Club has gone all online – but I am not sure how successful that has been as orders have decreased considerably. Kids, it seems, love to actually read and touch the catalogue.

We are again lucky enough to have three fabulous teaching assistants in the library and Mrs Schofield, who still volunteers once a week. We have 17 wonderful parents who contact books for the library – oh, I almost forgot, we also have the wonderful Mr Simon Bugden who does library lessons with the 5/6 classes on Mondays. Actually we are blessed and the Library is indeed a happy place to be.

God Bless,

Kate M 

Student Voice

Amelia E, 1G
I like lots of things about the library. I love the books we read and the books I can borrow. I also love lunch times when I can do a jigsaw.

Erin R, 3/4B
I like how it’s all sorted. I love the non-fiction section and how easy it is to find an author.

Jackson L, KW
I love reading books with Mrs M and the book, Heads and Tails, was my favourite. I like borrowing books to take home. I also have a broken arm, so I come to the library lots at lunch.

Jack, 5/6R
The library is a nice place to hang out. Mr B reads us a chapter of a new book each week – we get to borrow and listen to lots of new books.

Who We Are (Year Long Unit)

Central Idea: Actions Affect Wellbeing

Lines of Inquiry

• The domains of wellbeing
• The different ways choices impact lifestyle
• How actions contribute to a positive wellbeing

Provocation:

Mr Pye collected the students from morning lines and led them through the Year 1 classrooms. They observed Mrs Hanlon, Miss Mathewson and Mrs White in bad moods, super tired, littering, poorly dressed, eating junk food for breakfast/fruit break and watching their iPad. Mr Pye tried to encourage the teachers to make better choices and offer words of advice. The teachers refused to listen!

Students participated in a conference call with Kids Helpline.

Students considered how they need to take care of their bodies.

We considered different types of food: those we eat everyday, those we eat sometimes, and those we save for rare occasions.

Where we are in place and time

Central Idea: Diversity enriches communities

An inquiry into:

• How has family life changed over time
• The diversity of traditions
• How appreciating diversity helps us understand each other

Provocation: In groups, students were presented with and given the opportunity to sort images depicting people, traditional dress, customs, art, celebrations/festivals.

Students listened to a story, ‘Whoever you are’ by Mem Fox and described the differences and similarities between people around the world.

How the World Works

 

Central Idea: The application of scientific principles leads to efficient use of energy.

An inquiry into:

• The understandings of scientific principles and process
• The efficient use of energy.
• The practical uses of forces and energies.

Provocation: Students were provided with lots of different everyday objects (match sticks, newspaper, wooden pegs, straws, plastic cups, string, rubber bands, paper plates, plastic spoons, balloons, wooden rulers, sticky tape and masking tape).

TASK: In small groups, students were shown the materials and then needed to use the materials to create something that moves.  Plan, draw and label their own ideas independently. In a small group, collaborate, create and make. Demonstrate and Explain  - what materials were used, what we did, how it works.

Planning and Designing

Creating and Making 

Students considered what a scientist looks like.

We designed and constructed a marble run, using the scientific principle of an inclined plane.

We designed and constructed paper aeroplanes. We discuss how the wedge of the planes cut through the air to fly.

We designed and built catapults to reflect levers. The students ensured they had a fixed point to create a lever effect.

 Central Idea: Awareness of unique characteristics enhances life

Lines of Inquiry: 

1. Everyone is unique 
2. Recognising and celebrating the importance of diversity  
3. Strategies to enhance personal growth 

We started the year with a focus on inquiring into what makes us unique as individuals and as learners and how our unique characteristics can enhance our lives.

Students thought about what characteristics make them unique and how this could help their friends.

Yr 2 discussed and reflected on themselves as learners. They realised that they are always learning new things and continually developing their understanding and skills, that they need to take risks and make mistakes to be successful learners. People are always somewhere in ‘The Learning Pit’. The students thought about something they are struggling to learn and named ways they would be able to help themselves move through and out of the ‘Pit’.

In pairs, the Year 2 students had to use a range of materials (man made and natural) to build a structure to protect a sugar cube. They needed to consider the waterproofing, wind and impact resistance of the materials they chose. Their designs were tested with simulated rain, wind and flood. They then reflected on ways they could improve their structures.

Testing Phase:

Remote Learning:

Even though many students were at home, the learning about the properties of materials still continued.

Classification of Materials:

Making a boat to hold as many coins as possible:

 Central Idea: Decisions have a range of consequences

 Lines of Inquiry:

1. The process of decision making 
2. Consequences of decision making 
3. The responsibility of meeting community needs 

The students in Yr 2 have been thinking about how we make decisions and the consequences of the decisions we make.  They used the knowledge they had learned about the decision making process to produce a graphical representation of the steps they would take to make a specific decision.

Kindergarten

This term Kindergarten students have been exploring patterns in music. We have been singing, dancing, moving and playing accompaniment to well-known children’s folk and action songs.

We have been making comparisons and identifying similarities and differences in the patterns we have found in the lyrics, tune and structure of the songs.

Year One

In year one, this term, we have been exploring music from around the world. We have been learning songs and dances from different cultural groups within Australia and across the globe.

We have been exploring the different messages and purposes of the songs and demonstrated our understandings through shared and independent art activities.

Year 2

In Year Two, this term, we have been listening to music from a range of different cultures and looking at the choices the artists have made when composing their piece of music.

We have been discussing how the decisions made about the elements of music effect the sound and the mood of the piece. We have used charcoal, paint, paper mosaics, scratch boards and watercolours to share our responses to the music.

Year Three and Four

Students across years three and four have also been looking at the elements of music and how the elements are used to create a particular sound and feel to a piece and effectively convey a message. We have looked at the impact that music has on our community and how messages about important issues such as poverty and inequality can be shared through music and used to take action and initiate change.

Year three and four have also been looking at the way songs from past can convey important historical information. We have been singing songs from the time of first settlement in Australia and unpacking the stories in the lyrics.

Year Five and Six

In Year five and six we have been exploring how music can be used to evoke an emotional response and communicate a message. Students used Garage band or a similar application to compose their own piece of elecctronic music inspired by an unfolding weather event. Students also selected music and images to create a short i-movie  about a natral disaster which conveys a message of destruction, re-invigoration, strength of spirit, community or beauty.

SHARING THE PLANET

An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

Central Idea: Inequality affects opportunities for a better life.

Learner Profile: Caring, Principled, Balanced

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

• The interpretations of equality                                 

• The distribution of wealth 

• Obligations to create an inclusive world

Concepts: Perspective, Causation, Responsibility

Provocation: Fill You Bucket 

Students were split into groups of 4-5 and asked to line up behind a bucket, some had cracks. Each group was given different sized cups, some broken, with holes. Students were to use their cup to fill their bucket with water from the big water buckets. Some students reported ‘It’s not fair!’, ‘My cup couldn’t fit as much’, ‘Can we swap cups?’

Provocation Reflections

Students reflected on the Provocation and as a whole group discussed answers to the following questions:

• How did I feel?
• What did you observe?
• What would you change?

Interpretations of Equality 

Students were presented with a variety of images depicting equality vs equity. They were to reflect upon what they saw, what they thought was going on and what it made them wonder. This was used to assess students’ prior knowledge. Students articulated - ‘this one is equal as all the people, no matter their size can see’ and ‘giving everyone the same doesn’t always work.’ 

Behind the News - Poverty Line & World Population

Students viewed news segments discussing poverty and world population. Students reflected upon the following questions:

• What are some burning questions you have?
• What action can you take?
• What is something you've learned?

Global School Partners 

Students created an action plan for the next Global Schools Partner Fundraiser to take place at school. Students needed to consider the following questions:

• What are you raising money for?
• How can people in the community get involved if they can't donate money?
• How will you show people how their donations are being used?
• Who will benefit from this drive?
• How will it make a change in their lives?
• Do you think things are equal in our world for different people? Why or why not?
• What do you think we can do to make a change?
• Do you believe we should help others? Why or why not?

Without Limitations 

Students were asked: If you had no limitations, what is something you would create to assist those in need? Students were to draw a labelled diagram and build a model of their creation. We had many innovative designs and models!

Types of Poverty 

Students discussed: How can we define poverty? Is it just the opposite of wealth? Is it just a lack of money? Why is it important to work to overcome poverty? Students completed a ‘Poverty is……’ Mind Map based on their understanding of poverty.

Global Inequalities 

Students were presented with two images. They were asked to consider: What is the artist wanting to communicate with these images? How do these images seek to impact the viewer or reader? Which image do you believe is most effective? 

Kids in Other Countries

Students learnt that life in other nations is often very different from our own. Students discovered how children around the world live.

Newspaper Report & Critical Reflection Assessment

Students created a Newspaper Report about a country of their choice. They researched information about the access to food & water, education and healthcare in this country. Students compared the living conditions between in this country and Australia. 

Student Voice:

‘I want the world to know that we should be thankful for what we have and the opportunities that we have. We take having education for granted and access to healthcare and food and water.’ Alice M

‘I would like to tell the world to just take some time to think how lucky we are to have what we have and not take things for granted.’ Edward H

‘I want the whole world to be equal, people deserve to live a good life.’ Tim L

‘The thing I want to tell the world is to be kind to each other by showing empathy.’ Sara C

‘You can change, we can change. We have to work together to get it done and right now we are not working as well as we can be.’ Raff

‘Some people say that there is nothing that we can do, but they are wrong there are lots of things we can do.’ Matthew James G

‘Do you think the world is fair? Because I don’t, in 2020 over 60 million people were in extreme poverty.’ Nick L

‘We need to think of others and not just think about ourselves because people are dying every day and get sick so we should all be grateful for what we have.’ Blake G

‘There is still a lot of inequality in the world. Some countries don’t even have proper houses. People in third world countries are living in poverty.’ Jessica W

‘Some people don’t have clean water, good food and warmth so maybe we can give them blankets, bottles of water or some food. I am sure they would appreciate that because they will have anything.’ Poppy W

‘Australia is one of the luckiest countries in the world, we should be extremely thankful for the place we live in. In some countries people starve nearly every day, here we throw out food. You can take some action today by not throwing out everything that is fresh and you should also sponsor children that are less fortunate than us.’ Emma N

‘I want to tell the world that people should be grateful and appreciate everything.’ Lucy

‘..if you are greedy and you have way more than you need, remember that you are very lucky because there are some people who don’t have anything they need..and this is inequality.’ Sofia

‘ Right now in the world we are ignoring all the poor people and the homeless people. Some have no shelter and no education for their children. We need to stop and think twice and make a difference in the whole world.’ Victoria

REMOTE LEARNING

Remote learning brought with is a new set of challenges and changed the way that we as teachers and students delivered and accessed the curriculum.

Upon their return to school students shared some thought on their remote learning duty. We know this was different for each child with some remote learning at school and some working at home.

‘I enjoyed spending more time with my family and playing with my brother.’ Emily

‘I found asking questions challenging.’ James

‘I enjoyed working at my desk at home and not having to wait at the car line every day.’ Liv

‘At home I learnt lots of new things, one of the things I learnt was organisation, being more organised helped me be more productive, this also helped me work harder and try my best.’ Sami

‘I enjoyed that my older cousin (that is training to be a teacher) was able to help me with my work.’ Mary

‘I will try to bring back my independent learning to school so I can progress so that I can fully work and learn without help.’ Edward

‘I enjoyed sitting on my bed while hugging my teddy, while doing my work.’ Adelaide

‘I enjoyed picking when I did things (I got to pick fun ones first)!’ Eva

‘Hearing my brothers and sisters screaming was challenging.’ Amelia

‘I enjoyed eating and sleeping in on weekends.’ Grace

‘I found not expressing my ideas with classmates challenging.’ Alex

‘I enjoyed having some peace and quiet. I also liked having my own big desk... I enjoyed having my dog sit next to me when I was working.’ Mathilde

During this time it allowed our students to be creative and encouraged us as teachers to find new ways of keeping our students engaged and connected. One of the highlights of remote learning was the weekly fitness challenges. During the learning, students participated in themed fitness circuits, the Shark Ab Challenge, a scavenger hunt, Mindful Yoga and some Just Dance workouts. 

Students enjoyed being able to video their workouts and some got very creative including by using equipment found around the home, or adding some music and voiceover work like you would hear in a real gym.

**videos from fitness challenges** 

Maths saw students continuing to explore the topics of Chance, Data and Probability and we loved the picture graphs of how much tinned food and toilet paper each household had. Students also spent some time tracking their movements when learning elapsed time and practising how to tell time on an analogue clock - a skill fast being replaced by fitbits and digital time stamps. Students were asked to consider the likelihood of events occuring and to use the language of probability to predict the outcomes from tossing coins and dice. 

Religion, during remote learning, took on the theme of stewardship. We looked at how we are caretakers of God’s creation and what God would want us to do. This tied in very well with our two units of inquiry which centred around showing empathy for others and how we can share the planet equally. Students focussed on some of the parables like the Good Samaritan and made connections between the stories and actions they can take in life which reflect Jesus’ way of living. We also spent some time looking at Easter and its importance as part of the Church year. 

Students were encouraged to become writers during remote learning. They covered a multitude of text types including persuasive letters to report writing and narratives. Teachers uploaded entertaining youtube clips and videos of themselves teaching to encourage students to produce good quality writing. One of the optional tasks for writing included a 100 word story for the online Storyathon competition. Students were encouraged to write a story about ‘Living in Lockdown - A Different World.’ Short sentences and strong messages were encouraged in this challenging task. Congratulations to all the children that took up the challenge and entered their story in this competition.

Students, teachers and parents embraced technology as a way of communicating and connecting with each other during the remote learning. Here are some examples:

This term in Italian the students have continued to practice their ability to speak, read, listen and write. Kindergarten has been learning about seasons. Year 1 has inquired into different types of communities, in particular, family and Italian family traditions. Year 2 was busy discovering about housing in Italy, especially in Venice and Alberobello. They also looked at different materials used to make various houses. To support the “Sharing the Planet” unit of inquiry, 3/4 has been studying about countries, cities, and nationalities. 5/6 have inquired into weather and have started doing research about the Italian government system.

Questo trimestre in italiano gli studenti hanno continuato a praticare la loro capacità di parlare, leggere, ascoltare e scrivere. L'asilo ha imparato le stagioni. L'anno 1 ha indagato sui diversi tipi di comunità, in particolare la famiglia e le tradizioni familiari italiane. Il secondo anno è stato impegnato a scoprire case in Italia, in particolare a Venezia e Alberobello. Hanno anche esaminato diversi materiali utilizzati per realizzare varie case. Per supportare l'unità d'inchiesta "Condividere il pianeta", 3/4 ha studiato paesi, città e nazionalità. 5/6 hanno indagato sul tempo e hanno iniziato a fare ricerche sul sistema del governo italiano.