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Mr Rob Devenish

Principal

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Geographe Grammar School for 2014. It is an exciting year with a number of

developments in a variety of areas.

We have 39 primary students and 1 secondary. This means we have almost doubled in 14

months. New students seem to be settling in well and making a valuable contribution.

The new classrooms and toilet block contract has been signed and we should see

movement on site early next term. This means the old transportable will need to be

shifted this term and relocated to the empty site beyond the library. In effect this will

decommission the old transportable until fully renovated, probably into next year making

the second shed an urgent need.

The gates have been moved and we are optimistic the walls will be in place for Open Day

even though the timing will be tight. We should have new drinking fountains (bubblers)

and fly screens by Open Day as well.

In all a lot is happening and we are most grateful for the kind services given by a number

of parents who have helped to keep the costs affordable.

While we get excited about the developments happening within our school facilities, there

is something far more fundamentally important. Christian schooling is about

acknowledging the truth of Psalm 24:1,2.

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it:

for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

Here at Geographe Grammar School we will be among the first to say that life is not

religiously neutral. It cannot be. Paul, the writer of Romans in the Bible in chapter 1:25

states the perspective that mankind is by nature religious: the only question being the

object of our religiosity. Theism puts God at the centre. Humanism puts man at the

centre. Either way, man is religious.

Geographe Grammar School endeavours to present to students the options between

humankind being the object of worship in all activities or God being the object of worship

in all activities. The right to choose is a God given right, which we strongly respect and is

not ours to remove. We count it a privilege to have a part in your child’s education and

look forward to 2014 as a year where your children will prosper and find fulfilment in all

aspects of their schooling.

Rob Devenish

Principal

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Marine Studies ........................................... 2

Music .......................................................... 3

French......................................................... 4

Kindergarten and Pre-Primary ................ 5

Junior Room .............................................. 7

Senior Students.......................................... 9

Term 1 Issue 1

2014

Lot 101 Leisure Drive Australind WA 6233

Phone: (08) 9725 8282 Fax: (08) 9825 8270

Email: geographe@scea.wa.edu.au

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Sailing has been extremely encouraging for the coach. To see all children

participating on either a Wednesday or Thursday and developing skills is

nothing short of inspiring. Seeing Lincoln sail out into the Leschenault

Inlet, turn, capsize and come up smiling impressed me.

(His dad’s swimming is impressive too.) Children are generally not fazed

by getting it wrong unless we make a fuss of it. There is something innate

in them that recognises that making mistakes is the modus-operandi of

learning.

Special thanks go to all the parents who have got in the water to help

their children learn. It is truly wonderful to see the smiles on the

children’s faces and the parents’ for that matter.

Our older children are wanting racing now, but are learning that sailing

towards the wind has its challenges. Solution: TOW. Ask any child and

they can tell what it means.

Marine Studies

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MRS AKSE

During the School holidays

Mrs Akse completed Early Childhood Level 1 Music (2 week course) at the Cuskelly College of Music in Brisbane. The Kodaly approach is a very structured and sequential au-ral-based music curriculum. Kodaly believed in the im-portance of the use of the voice for developing the lan-guage of music.

“The characteristics of a good musician are a well-trained ear, a well-trained intelligence, a well-trained heart and a well-trained hand.” Kodaly

This multi-sensorial approach to music encourages children to experience music with movement, visual aids and listening. Young children liter-ally ‘soak up’ every experience like ‘sponges’. Children’s aural and listening skills develop as they learn to recognise and distinguish sounds, finding patterns in sounds, remem-bering and ordering sounds, copying and remembering sounds through songs, rhymes and games. Children also ex-perience the beat and rhythms through active movement in music classes and enjoy the different rhythmic ‘feel’ of words, songs and music.

It is wonderful to see children enjoying singing, dancing and playing clapping games with such fun and enjoyment.

“Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

Sing with thanks in your hearts to God.”

Colossians 3:17

Classical Guitar tuition starting in term 2.

To be involved please see Mrs Akse.

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It is wonderful to have students who actually remember a great deal of what they’ve learned last year! I was pleasantly surprised as this isn’t easy when one doesn’t practice for quite some time. It was lovely to see some new students and to welcome them in the French class. They have demonstrated an amazing ability in catching up!

Learning about fruit, really suited the season and eating a lovely fruit salad was part of the fun when learning the French names of these yummy and healthy things.

The Kindergarten and Pre-primary students were discovering the existence of a country called France and many had their first taste of this beautiful language;

saying their name and learning colours and numbers in French through lots of fun games.

The Senior class did a drawing about a highlight of their holiday and learned to tell it in French. Colours, numbers and days of the week were revised through games and some serious work. They also started learning to play the game ‘Guess Who?’ using French questions and answers.

Congratulations to the Junior class who created and played their own colour bingo game. They lent it to the Senior class who thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

Good for a laugh: A French friend of mine saw a “For sale” sign and asked why it said: “Very dirty” That is indeed the meaning when said with a French pronunciation!

Les Fruits

French

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Outside Play

Kindergarten and Pre-Primary

Mrs Reid

In the first few weeks

of school the children

learn the social skills

of sharing, taking

turns, co-operation

and considering

others. As you can see

by the photos, the

children are already

beginning to form

friendships.

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Group A (Kookaburras) develop fine motor

skills through play on the Play-dough table.

Group B (Magpies) develop math’s skills

through play in the Block Corner.

ART READING CORNER

SENSORY TABLE CONSTRUCTION AND FINE MOTOR

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Associating a worded number with a concrete amount – students are given a symbolised number and must use the letters to form the word, then create a concrete example, photographing their work on the Ipads.

Junior Room

STUDENTS CREATE A ‘SCHOOL’ IN LEGO

(SPATIAL AWARENESS AND MAPPING).

Numeracy is a focus in all learning

areas in years one to three. In the

junior room students are regularly

immersed in concrete activities that

enable them to think mathematically

and practice their understanding in

‘real’ situations. These activities vary

from day to day, however they all

support learning because they begin

with tactile opportunities that lead to,

thinking, talking, doing and finally,

communicating their conclusions.

Construction enhances spatial aware-

ness and problem solving skills; visual

and concrete counting opportunities

provide repetition in practice that

allows students to move towards

visualisation in later learning when

thinking mathematically. This term

students have been expanding their

knowledge of the patterns in counting.

The pictures below provide an example

of some of the activities they have been

involved in.

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Mrs Hooper

STUDENTS CHALLENGED TO CREATE A TRACK FOR THE

BALL TO ROLL DOWN

(PROBLEM SOLVING, MATHEMATICAL THINKING AND SPATIAL

AWARENESS SKILLS).

STUDENTS WORKING HARD IN THEIR MENTAL

MATHS PRACTICE BOOKS

(PROBLEM SOLVING AND NUMBER REVISION )

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BIBLE STUDIES

In Biblical Studies, students have

been learning that just like us, God

has many names that tell us about

his character. He is Jehovah Jireh

( my provider), Jehovah shalom

(my peace), Jehovah Shammah

(always there for me) and best of

all , Jehovah aba ( daddy). As we

move through the history of

Israel , students are beginning to

see that God was all these things

for His people and because God

never changes, this means He is

still the same today…

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Dancing and singing during devotions.

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"Fill your house with

stacks of books, in

all the crannies and

all the nooks."— Dr. Seuss

Mrs Akse

The Senior students have shown an

impressive effort in home-reading this

term; reading and sharing their

favourite books and authors. Our

classroom has a great collection of

novels with Lexile levels which help

students to select books they can read

and which interest them to encourage

a ‘love of reading’. The online Lexile

quizzes motivate students to test their

comprehension after reading. These

quizzes can also be completed online

at home. Bonus points are added to

students Lexile points after successful-

ly completing a book quiz or reading

response.

Congratulations to Cianna and Dylan

for receiving their 25 points blue

award and Charla for her 50 points red

award certificates.

In class, students are writing reading respons-

es and creating an i-movie Book Review Video

with help from Dylan our i-movie director and

editor. Read this great extract from Joel’s

book review:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie loves chocolate. Every day he would

pass the chocolate factory in his town and this

chocolate factory was the BIGGEST in the

world! But Charley Bucket was so poor that he

only got one chocolate bar a year for his birth-

day. On his way to school it was just torture to

see kids nibbling on chocolate bars.

But soon Charlie’s luck would change. I think

Charlie and the Chocolate factory is the best

book I have read. It is a book full of humour,

action and surprises.

Senior Students

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The senior class are investigating plants biology. Plants are an important part of the world that

God made. He created every type of plant, tree, bush, fruit and vegetable. Learning about

plants and animals, their similarities and differences helps us appreciate the beauty and design

of God’s creation. One difference is that plants do not have skeletons. So why do plants feel

‘crunchy’ when many animals feel ‘soft’? And how do plants stand up if they don’t have

skeletons? These are some of the questions the senior students will investigate scientifically.

This week the students used celery stalks to see how water travels from the ground up to the

leaves of trees.

Try our experiment at home using a flower. Mix food colouring in two different

colours in two glasses, so they are different colours. Use a white flower, like a

carnation and very carefully split the bottom half of the stem with a knife so it

looks like it has two legs. Put one leg of the flower into each glass. Leave it for

an hour and watch what happens. If you leave it over night you should be able to

make a flower with different colours on the ends of the petals.

SCIENCE

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Swan Online is a great schooling system. It has managed to create classes out of nothing. From people in Kununurra to people in Perth they can all get together and work on the same project and collaborate in a great working environment. Although it may seem that you have to be computer savvy to use this system it’s all very simple and the teachers will answer your questions personally.

Doing schoolwork is the exact same as if you were in a classroom of 20. You can do things like dissect hearts and brains, write narratives and biographies, create castles and learn about the ancient societies of the world, you can even learn how tax and interest rates work.

The education which comes from Swan Online is based on how you work as well as others; say if you were in year 7 and you could do year 9 class standard work you would be put with the year 9’s and still communicate with all the year 7’s. The social aspect of Swan Online is very casual you Skype your teachers once a week and get together to discuss what you are doing that week. If you can’t attend a Skype session then you can sometimes have a private one for catch-up. Swan Online is one of the very best schools I have been to, its easy to use, it teaches me what I want to know and I have friends from all over WA.

MEET DYLAN STUDYING

THROUGH SWAN ONLINE

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Book and Biscuit Night It was fantastic to see parents and grandparents enjoying reading

together and sharing favourite books. See photos below.

Constable Care Incursion

On Tuesday 11th March students enjoyed a Constable Care

incursion on safety and the role of the Police in the Community

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WOOORDS Wooords is a word game. Move letters like fridge magnets to make as many words as possible.

Wooords is easy to play and fun to play with your friends or just challenge yourself.

MATHMATEER Mathmateer is a math game covering counting, odd and even numbers, basic number facts and

times-tables. When the rocket reaches space the fun begins. Tap the numbers as quick as possible before it lands. Try to beat your own high score and earn money to build and design your own

rockets.

MATHLETICS Mathletics is now available as a free app. All students can also access their

account at www.mathletics.com.au

OUR FAVOURITE APPS

Great app to learn French

Free on itunes.

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Thank you to Harvey Community Radio for broadcasting our school notices every Friday between 4pm and 5pm on 96.5fm

If the office is closed, our Principal Mr Rob Devenish can be contacted for enrolments or emergencies on

0408 557 929 Please leave a detailed message with your number

if the phone is not answered.

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GEOGRAPHE GRAMMAR SCHOOL Term 1 Calendar 2014 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

WEEK 1

3 FEB

4 FEB 5 FEB 6 FEB Class Parent

Meetings 2.30pm

7 FEB Violin

WEEK 2

10 FEB

11 FEB 12 FEB Sailing

13 FEB Sailing

Music Meeting 2.30pm

14 FEB

WEEK 3

17 FEB

18 FEB 19 FEB Sailing

20 FEB Piano Sailing

21 FEB Violin

WEEK 4

24 FEB Book &

Biscuit Night 6pm

25 FEB 26 FEB Sailing

27 FEB Piano Sailing

28 FEB Violin

WEEK 5

3 MAR Public Holiday

4 MAR Assembly &

Sausage Sizzle

2.15pm

5 MAR Sailing

6 MAR Piano Sailing

7 MAR Violin

WEEK 6

10 MAR

11 MAR 12 MAR Sailing

13 MAR Piano Sailing

14 MAR Violin

WEEK 7

17 MAR

18 MAR K/PP Dolphin

Discovery Runners &

Fitness Club

19 MAR Peel Zoo Years 1–3

Sailing

20 MAR Piano Sailing

21 MAR Violin

Harmony Day Morning Tea

WEEK 8

24 MAR

25 MAR Runners &

Fitness Club

26 MAR Sailing

27 MAR Piano Sailing

28 MAR Violin

WEEK 9

31 MAR

1 APR Runners &

Fitness Club

2 APR Sailing

3 APR Piano/Sailing

Music Concert 2pm

4 APR Violin

OPEN DAY SATURDAY 5th APRIL

WEEK 10

7 APR

8 APR Runners &

Fitness Club

9 APR Australian Chamber Orchestra

Sailing

10 APR Piano Sailing

11 APR Hike 1

Whole School

Students return for Term 2: Monday 28th

April 2014