Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Friday 26th June
Last Day of Term 2
(3 week holiday break)
Tuesday 21st July
Students commence Term 3
UPCOMING DATES EDITION 129
End of Term Bumper Edition
As this is a very large edition of Clippings, you may need to click 'view entire message' at the bottom of
this email to see everything.
If you no longer wish to receive Clippings, there is an unsubscribe link at the end of the newsletter.
From the Principal
Dear Treetops Community,
Thank you for your cooperation and support in making our ‘new normal’ work so well thisterm. We are looking forward to what should be an even more normal Term 3.
We will be having our planned second semester Parent/Teacher Meetings and this will bein week 4 of next term. These meetings are an important part of our reporting process andI would encourage you to take the opportunity to meet with our teachers. As I havepreviously outlined, the Semester 1 reports are a little different this year. We have opted fora format which better reflects this report as being indicative of student progress to date. Inthese reports you will receive a projected grade for each of the learning areas andcomments which speak more generally to your child’s progress and engagement.Additional feedback on specific subjects can be obtained via our Parent/Teacher Meetings.Please note that students receive a final grade after the completion of a full year ofcurriculum content and this is reflected in Semester 2 reports.
Jayne Simpson has a BIG birthday over the holidays, she is turning 60. On behalf of thewhole Treetops community, we would like to wish her a very happy birthday.
I hope you can spend some time together as a family over the break and, at least this timearound, enjoy activities outside of home.
Stuart Harris
Treetops Annual General Meeting
A reminder that the Treetops AGM will be held on Tuesday 28th July at 4pm in theMusic room.
The Board is seeking nominations from interested members of the Association tobecome Directors of the Board. The Board seeks Directors who can thinkstrategically and analytically, act confidentially and can bring experience, time andinsight to the Board. We are looking for individuals that can contribute and areprepared to be involved in governing the school.
If you wish to find out more about what’s involved in being a board director, pleasecontact the Board Chair, Megan Griffiths, for a confidential discussionon: [email protected]
If you are interested in nominating for a place on the Board, please prepare a shortwritten statement about yourself, which area of the school your children attend, yourpersonal vision for the school and how this aligns with the school's Mission, Vision and values, and what skills and attributes you will bring to the Board.
Expressions of interest with attached statements should be sent to the Board Secretary ([email protected]) by Monday 13th July 2020.
Children's HouseAt Treetops we are fortunate to have an outdoor learning program. Outdoor learning haspositive impacts for children – it works on their intrinsic motivation for learning, a principlethat is closely aligned with Montessori. Being outdoors provides enjoyable lessons,increases creativity, and activates thinking outside the box. It also improves children’shealth and wellbeing, social skills and behaviours. Furthermore, it has been proven toencourage collaborative learning and to reduce bullying. Studies have shown that studentswho learn outdoors develop a sense of self, independence, confidence, creativity, decision-making and problem-solving skills, empathy towards others, motor skills, self-discipline andinitiative. So, the next time you pick up your child covered in mud, you’ll understand whywe do this!
On days when it rains too hard to go outside for play, we find wonderful ways to engageindoors.
Happy holidays Treetops families.
Anene, Liz and Paige
Wattle
It has been a busy term in the Wattle classroom. The students have enjoyed monitoring theweather for the past four weeks. Our final week of monitoring has been recorded inJapanese. The students have also been learning about water. They have learned thatthere are aquifers underground, as well as dams above ground.
The highlight of the term for many was the Wattle Art Walk. The art focus this term hasbeen Pablo Picasso and cubism. The Wattle families were invited to come and view theartwork then engage in an art activity. As the families arrived, their child told them a fewfacts about Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh as they toured the art in the classroom.After which, the families engaged in an art activity with their child before enjoying thestudent-baked delights.
Thank you to all the families who have supported Wattle over the term, preparing SpecialLunch, baking, doing the laundry and many other items. Thank you. Enjoy the holidays.Enjoy your children. Wander out yonder and enjoy our magnificent state!
Natalie Boyd-Ratcliff
MarriThe Marri class has been developing their ability to identify fact from fiction and using theinformation provided to form an idea of events that transpired. We have done this byresearching into one of the greatest myths of all time, Atlantis. We discussed what it meansto be biased towards something and learnt that just because somebody says something, itdoes not mean it's true. The class created a presentation on their beliefs about whetherAtlantis was real or not. Interestingly enough, the class is full of believers who considerAtlantis was a real place that disappeared thousands of years ago. It was fantastic to seethe class so engaged and actively debating their ideas with other students.
We recently attempted to create Chichen Itza (one of the Wonders of the World) with aslight twist of creating a hollow temple. The class worked incredibly well and came up withsome amazing ideas.
In Literacy this semester, the class has been learning about many different text types and beginning to use literary devices to create descriptive worlds and influence readers.
In Mathematics, the Marri class has evolved their understanding of the four core components of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, learning these through a variety of ways, such as songs, mathematical games and good old fashioned repetition.
Enjoy the holidays!
Hylton and Sandy
KarriIn Civics and Citizenship this term, Karri students have been building their understandingof the concepts of justice, rights, and responsibilities. They have also investigatedAustralia's democratic system of government, including state/territory and federalparliaments. In pairs, the Karri students created their own triorama to showcase the rolesand responsibilities of local, state and federal governments.
After learning about the process of legislation, Karri brainstormed some ideas for a ‘Bill’that they would like to vote to become a ‘Law’ in our classroom. They set out the desks toresemble the Legislative Assembly, and we role-played reading and debating each bill.Students were split into the Government and the Opposition. We also had a Speaker, aClerk and a Sergeant-at Arms. Students embraced their different roles and did a reallygood job of discussing the pros and cons of each bill. It was planned that we would visitthe Parliament of Western Australia this term, hopefully we will still be able to do this atanother point in time.
This week Karri really enjoyed designing and testing their own science experiments thatfocused on the topic we having been learning about this term: light! Some groupsdemonstrated the process of refraction by using a cup of water and observing how thedirection of the arrow changes when placed behind the cup.
Another group measured the amount of light that is able to pass through different liquids,such as water and oil. One pair created a periscope to show how a mirror causes light tobe reflected.
Students worked really hard to design, plan, and run their own experiments. Many showedfantastic collaborative skills when working together, and problem-solving strategies whenthey had to overcome challenges and make adaptions to their original plans. Students alsoenjoyed sharing their findings with the rest of the class and listening to what the othergroups discovered.
Katie Simpson
Art and D&TIt has been another busy semester in the Art and D&T classrooms. The Primary studentshave been working hard on their drawing for the Environmental Art Project based on thetheme of clean energy. Student artwork will be on display later this year at the MundaringArt Centre.
Jarrah students are creating a children's book based on the different sounds of a roostercrowing around the world. They researched cultural icons and stereotypes, and usedwatercolour, mixed media and Photoshop to create their final work
Wandoo students studied figurative art and gridding techniques to create unique self-portraits combining photography with drawing and painting.
IB students are finishing their exhibition work, getting ready for their show at the end ofTerm 3. They are currently working with pyrography, woodworking, clay and printmakingtechniques.
Peter Zylstra
Japanese
To link with their study of animals, Children's House students have been learning how todescribe the colours of animals in Japanese. In addition to spoken word, students are ableto use Japanese sign language to convey factual information about their personal worlds.The students are becoming very expressive in their use of sign language.
Marri and Karri students have begun their learning journey of the hiragana script. Althoughlearning a script can seem daunting, it differs to our alphabet in that each character has aconsistent sound, unlike English letters (consider how many ways we can pronounce theletter a for example!).
Lower Secondary students have now completed their study of housing. Jarrah students
Japanese
produced some amazing Japanese-inspired homes. This one from Will was especiallydetailed, made from bamboo and including a traditional Japanese-style bath or ofuro.
Wandoo students also studied housing, but have finished the term completing a personalproject. Students were given the freedom to explore an area of interest and its links toJapan. Some magnificent art was completed, as well as a Japanese-themed music playlist,a recording of a popular song translated into Japanese, as well as projects about martialarts, traditional sword making, and the origins of kanji.
Tuart students have completed major assessment tasks, with Year 12 students preparingfor their final Individual Oral examination in Term 3.Sharon Crossman
MusicIn Term 2, we have explored all sorts of ways of making music through all class groups.We consolidated much of our learning due to COVID, and had time to moveforward towards the end of Term 2.
In Children's House we sang, danced, made rhythms with cups, and moved to music usingcolourful plates as an expression of how the music makes us feel.
The Wattle class sang, danced, and played the drums and ukuleles. Wattle very muchenjoyed filming their part of an upcoming, whole school contribution to performance.
In Marri we sang, danced, played ukuleles and experimented with beat and rhythm.
The Karri class dived into music theory and experimented with different combinations ofthree sounds on a beat.
In Years 7 - 10 we consolidated and moved forward with theory, played a lot of keyboard,ukulele, guitar, bass guitar and drums to narrow our preferences for our upcoming classensembles for Semester 2.
Keep your eyes peeled and ears to the ground for upcoming opportunities for the studentsto share what they have been learning with you towards the end of Term 3 and into Term 4.
Have a safe and wonderful break everyone!
Mary Pollard
Term 2 has seen beautiful weather, and beautiful weather means lots of exciting sport!
Children’s House have tried many new activities this term in the form of circuits. We havetumbled, balanced, kicked, and thrown ourselves into many different sports, trying outsoccer, lacrosse, gymnastics, and football.
In Wattle, students have started learning some team games, such as tunnel ball. We arehoping that in the future we might be able to have a fun tabloid sports day with the olderclasses. Wattle have also been learning how to bush dance, and have ‘The Stockyards’quite perfected.
Physical Education
Marri students have also been involved in learning team games, such as leaderball andtunnel ball. We have investigated the egg and spoon race, but so far we have only usedplastic eggs. Marri students have also started learning some athletic skills such as turbo-javelin and shot put as part of a weekly circuit.
Karri students (while also learning some team games such as leader ball and tunnel ball),have also been involved in multi-sport circuits, but have started learning about fitness, andhow to 'get fit'. Students have been involved in some fitness testing, using 'personalbests' as a measure of improvement, and our circuits now have a focus on an aspect offitness. We think the circuit aptly named ‘thigh shredder' earned the name quite rightly.
Karri students have also been building on their skills in lacrosse this term, and it has beenexciting to see their enthusiasm and progression.
Emma Moore
STEMChildren’s House has had an outdoor STEM focus this semester, building terrariums,potato patches, scarecrows, and the most fun of all: an outdoor ‘maker-space'. As Wattlestudents built their outdoor Indigenous shelters and bush shelters, Children’s Housedecided they might like one too!
Wattle have focused on Indigenous STEM, even building a life-size shelter. During ourThursday outings, and in conjunction with some episodes of plentiful rain, we have alsodiscovered dam building. Not strictly an Indigenous activity, but we took the learningopportunity by the horns, and engaged in the art of 'claying up' a dam. Wattle have alsomade indigenous toys using a weaving technique employed by many Northern Territorygroups, and Message Sticks which were used in a relay-style method to send messages todistant tribes.
Marri students started the year with a Science/STEM focus, building bee hotels, kitchengardens and raised gardens. They investigated seed germination, pollination, and the lifecycle of bees. Prior to COVID home schooling, students made Bean Boxes to show howplants grow toward light. When we all self-isolated, these boxes were rescued by Sebby,who graciously decorated his brand new home with trailing pea plants.
Some of our students were involved in an incursion with Chris from Million Trees, plantingseeds. These native tree seedlings will now be raised on our school grounds, andhopefully be big enough to plant out this winter.
In Term 2, Marri made a jump to a purely STEM outlook, and along with Karri, investigatedlighthouses - the engineering and design behind the some of the most unique lighthousefrom past and present.
Karri students have been involved in three in-depth tasks this year. The first was aninvestigation into passive solar house design. Students completed detailed plans of theirown homes, and then looked on Google Earth to see the exact direction their homes faced.We used our updated designs to decide whether or not our homes conformed to passivesolar design, and decided where changes could be made for our homes to be more energyefficient. Students then went on to plan and 'build' their own passive solar homes. As timewent by, the passive solar features may have been forgotten slightly, as artistic licence tookover. There were some truly amazing designs.
The third investigation (and the beginning of a series involving the Seven IndustrialWonders of the World), focused on the Bell Rock Lighthouse - the engineering that wasinvolved in building a lighthouse on a rock 14km from the coast of Scotland. A rock that issubmerged for 22 hours a day! Students researched a lighthouse of their choice,presenting their findings in a report, but also reproducing the lighthouse using similarengineering principles used in the original build. Karri students are also becoming quiteadept at mixing cement to make concrete, as they reproduce the first course of dovetailedrocks in the Bell Rock Lighthouse (but on a much smaller scale).
Emma Moore
TuartYear 12 Tuart students have now completed their Semester 1 examinations. It waspleasing to see our students approach their exams with calmness and perspective.Although the final year of schooling can be a stressful journey, our students are showingthe benefits of a consistent, dedicated,and well-balanced approach to study.
Congratulations to Year 12 student Yanesca, who has received confirmation of an earlyplacement at the University of Western Australia. Yanesca is a diligent and consideratestudent who we are proud to have at Treetops. We wish her all the best in her future studyat UWA.
Sharon Crossman
EnglishThis term in English, Jarrah have been introduced to the world of Shakespeare through amodern-day time-travelling novel! They’ve worked on modernising scenes fromShakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, throwing themselves into their roles!
Wandoo studied the classic text Of Mice and Men this term in English. They have learneda lot about the context of the 1930s in America, engaged in fantastic discussions, and hada lot to say about the ending!
Kasey Boyd
Humanities and Social SciencesFor HaSS this term, Wandoo have been looking at Business and Economics. We trackedstocks on the share market, and worked together to raise the living standards of a fictionalcity!
Kasey Boyd
ScienceJarrah students wrapped up the Chemistry unit with their individual science fair projects.Each student had to research, design, and carry out their own scientific investigation. Wehave a wide range of projects including bacterial growth, creating magnets, combustionreactions, and hearing tests. Everyone is working hard on their analysis and preparing topresent their projects during Science Week next term.
Kim Steimer
Students in Wandoo have been studying the Theory of Evolution in Science. In this activitythey made an evolution timeline.
Wandoo also used their creativity skills to make DNA molecules in Science. Putting theoryinto practise, Wandoo obtained some fantastic results. The students successfully extractedDNA from strawberries and kiwi fruit.
Suzanne Blake
