Dancing Divas!

Well, it is that time of year, again!

Dance fever has swept over Wattle Grove and we are all busily learning some pretty slick moves from the good people at Humphrey's Dance Studio.

Our class is learning a range of dances, including:

• The Slosh
• Salsa
• Hip Hop
• Rock Barn Dance
• The Jive 

Additionally, we are going to be learning some slow partner dances...much to the horror of some students! 

I have been very pleased with the way in which the students have enthusiastically thrown themselves into the lessons, and it is wonderful to see them having so much fun. 

The Yr 6's, of course, are learning all of these moves in preparation for the graduation dance, which will follow their graduation ceremony, on Thursday the 29th of November. 

Speaking of the graduation, can I please remind all parents of Yr 6 students that I require 4 - 6 photographs from when they were wee babes and tantrumming (yes, I know I just made up this word) toddlers! I will put these into their graduation powerpoint, so we can see how much...or how little, they have changed over the years.

Here are some photographs of them dancing!

Arts Festival

Well, the 2018 Wattle Grove 'celebration of the arts' has finally arrived, and what a night it was!

While we have always known that Wattle Grove kids are outrageously talented, it still comes as something of a surprise to see just how outrageously talented they are!

Students from Rm 22 were involved in several events, including:

• the exhibition of art work (a HUGE thank you to Ms Randall - unquestionably the best Art teacher in WA)
• Dancing
• a highly amusing performance of 'Cinderella', performed in Italian (another HUGE thank you to Signora Isaiah - irrefutably the best LOTE teacher in WA)
• The Senior Choir, ably led by the incomparable Mr Honey, who is the best...oh, you know what I'm going to say...
• A guitar recital, where the students got to show us their amazing musical skills
• And last but not least...the unbelievable WGPS Circus!

As soon as he provides them, I will be uploading some of the photographs taken by Mr Meachem throughout the evening. I know he took loads of great shots of all our students dressed in their finery. 

I know you all enjoyed their circus performance as much as I did. They have all worked very hard and are great little performers. Despite being a bit rushed for time, we managed to get all our acts into our 15 minute slot. Special congratulations must go out to our Poi, Ribbon and Dance acts, as they worked out the choreography all by themselves. 

I will leave you with two photos of one particular star, decked out in her costume from our skit: 'A sunny day in the park'. A very shy, retiring little thing, isn't she?!

Keep checking out our blog for more circus photos!

Welcome Back for Term Four!

Hello everyone!

I trust you all had a fabulous holiday and enjoyed your time away from school. I also hope you followed my instructions and did not spend the entire fortnight locked away in your room watching TV and playing games!

Term Four is, as always, jam-packed with events, so prepare yourself for the whirlwind.

Some reminders:
Dancing lessons start this week (Week One) and continue throughout the term. Our class, along with Mr Eaves' class, has our lessons every Thursday from 1.10 to 2.10pm. Most students have already paid their money but there are a few who have not, so please send your form and money to school ASAP.

Graduation Photographs - Ah yes...after 11 terms together, our Year 6 students are reaching the end of their Primary School life! As per usual, I need some photographs from each Yr 6 student, for use in the graduation ceremony PPT. I am looking for between 3 - 6 photos from each student, and from when they were babies/toddlers, or cute K-P youngsters! If possible, we would prefer it if the photos are scanned in at home (as a high res JPEG) and then sent to school on a USB. If this is not possible, physical photos are fine. I need them all in by Week 5.

Yr 6 Camp to Kalgoorlie - this is happening in Wk 4. I have been asked to go along, so the Yr 4 and 5 students will have a relief teacher for that week.

Swimming lessons: Having the three year levels makes things a bit tricky! At this point (it may change), it looks like this:

• Year 4 have their lessons from Monday the 19th to Friday the 30th of November, from 10.20am to 12.00pm.
• Year 5 have their lessons from Monday the 19th to Friday the 30th of November, from 1.20 to 3.00pm.
• Year 6 have their lessons from Monday the 5th to Friday the 16th of November, from 12.30 to 3.00pm.

Yr 6 Citizenship Portfolios: The portfolios are due Wednesday the 17th of October - be sure all sections are completed!

Whew! This is just a small snapshot of the whirlwind that is Term Four! I will provide further information as the term progresses.

Here's to a productive and fantastic T4!

Mr Sanderson

Learning Journey 2018

Our school will be conducting a Learning Journey on Tuesday, the 18th of September, from 2.00 to 3.30pm.

This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to see the amazing work that has been completed throughout the term, and to better appreciate the type of concepts and skills that we have been learning.

The students have put together a large poster which showcases their learning from Semester Two. They will then explain the learning behind activity, and the skills that were being developed. 

In addition, we would also like to show parents some of our 'whole group' learning activities. This will provide parents with a greater appreciation of how, in MAC, we endeavour to 'dig deep' into ideas and develop complex conceptual understandings. To this end, we would invite parents to come at 2.00pm, as all the students will be there to participate in our class mat session. 

We are looking forward to seeing you in Rm 22!

Carl Sanderson

Book Week 2018

The students from Rm22 have had a fantastic time throughout book week 2018. We had previously created small book plates that listed our favourite books, the best part of the book, and why we liked it so much. We then invited other classes to do the same and we ended up with over 350 bookplates from students who (apparently) love reading as much as we do! Ms Ryan was nice enough to take these and mount all 350 of them onto beautiful posters, which were designed and decorated by her class. These posters have been on display throughout book week and we have enjoyed watching students share their favourite books with family and other students.

 The book week dress up parade is always a favourite, and this year we had nearly every student dress up as a character. As you can see from the pictures below, we had all sorts of colourful characters represented. Mr S dressed up (again) as a character from ‘Star Wars’ – something he called a ‘jawa’…whatever that is! Our class was part of the first parade and it was wonderful to see so many creative costumes. Wattle Grove parents are way too clever!
 Late on Friday afternoon, we then went across to Mrs Beste’s Yr 1 class and did some shared reading. Each student buddied up with a younger student and then we read to them and they read to us. We were all very impressed with the fantastic reading by the Year One students! It also gave us an opportunity to reread some classic fairy tales, which (despite the boys’ protests) was a lot of fun.
 

We can’t wait until next year!

It's Great To Be Back!

Hello everyone!

Well, I made it back safely from my whirlwind tour of the USA. I had many amazing experiences and, over the course of the next week, will upload some of my photographs, to give you a taste of the things I got up to.

I am very pleased to be back in Australia and am looking forward to a wonderful Term Three.

Just a few logistical things to note:
School Photographs: The school is scheduled to have our school photos done tomorrow (Wednesday the 25th July), but due to our joint MAC excursion to the Fremantle Literature Centre, Rm 22 photos (along with family photos) will take place on Thursday the 26th of July, so the students will need to be all dolled up and ready for their close-up then!

Our trip to the literature centre (Wed 25th) will be a lot of fun. We are attending a workshop on poetry writing, so it should be very interesting. Just remember:

• Students need to pack a recess and lunch 
• Students must wear full school uniform
• The weather is looking rather dodgy - a small umbrella or a rain jacket might be in order!
• We will be leaving WGPS at 8.30am SHARP, so please make sure the students are at school no later than 8.15am.
• We will return to school by 2.30pm.

Thanking you,

Carl Sanderson

Woo Hoo! We're Off To The Zoo!

Just over a week ago, an intrepid group of students from Rm 22, led by their fearless teacher and a gaggle of bold parent helpers, embarked upon an excursion to the Perth Zoo.

Over the past 13 weeks, our class has been learning about evolution, natural selection and how organisms adapt to survive in their particular environment. It is a fascinating subject and quite astonishing to think that all life on Earth, from the most unassuming insect, to the tallest Sequoia Tree and to the mighty Blue Whale, all evolved from a single celled organism some 3.8 BILLION years ago!

On our stroll around the zoo we saw tigers, lion, sun bears, bats, tamarinds, gibbons, rhinoceros', giraffes....and of course, we got to see Tricia the Asian elephant, along with her friends (a trip to the zoo without seeing the elephants is just plain unthinkable!).

We also took part in the Asian Trek educational activity. We discussed the deleterious impact that mankind is having on the lives of several different Asian species. One of the worst is the clearing of jungle habitats to make way for Palm Oil plantations. We discovered (to our alarm) that palm oil is present in 50% of ALL packaged products! Because the demand for this oil is so high, more and more plantations are springing up, and the animals who live in the area and being squeezed into ever smaller regions.

The day was a complete success and we all had a fantastic time. HUGE thanks to Mrs Williams, Mrs Kelly and brave Mr Queiros, who gave up their valuable time to help supervise 30 highly excited students, and make sure none accidentally wandered into the tiger enclosure!