CLASS PARTY

Thank you to all of the parents, guardians and children who contributed to the class party for Room 12 and 17. We all had an amazing time eating food (what a banquet!), listening to some good 80s tunes, dancing, singing and playing games. We even had a certain surprise visitor (Miss Gibbons, or should I say Miss Claus?) drop in to see if the children were all on the good list in time for Christmas. It has been a wonderful year and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe new year.

DANCE PARTY CELEBRATION

Our Dance Party was on Monday 11th December, and even though it was extremely hot, the children had a magnificent time. It was great to see many parents, grandparents and other family members at the event, as well as those who braved the hot conditions to have a dance with the children. Congratulations to Mitchell who was awarded the Academic Award and to Declan for the Most Improved. A fine effort throughout the whole year and much deserved. Well done, boys.

Well done to Mitchell and Shayla who also won the Dance Gold Medals on the day and to the children who were lucky enough to receive a scholarship from Humphrey's Dance.

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Congratulations to Jessa and Jazib for their outstanding efforts throughout the year. You both are very deserving of the Merit Award. Keep up the wonderful effort.

We also saw Jazib receive his Blue and Red Literacy Pro Certificate - what an incredible reading effort!

Talking about incredible reading, Declan earned his Gold Certificate! To get a Gold Certificate means you have to be awarded with 500 points. He has read over 400 books this year to earn his Gold. We are all so proud of him. He has already told me that he will be aiming for Platinum next year. Well done, Declan.

Room 17 also saw many Year Level Challenge winners. We had quite a few students in the Most Improved, Top 5 and 100% categories. A superb effort from all - well done.

Most Improved

Top 5

100%

Congratulations to Jacob who received the School Board Encouragement Award. This award is for one student every year, in either Year 3, 4 or 5 who displays kindness, respect and thoughtfulness throughout the entire year. It is an incredible recognition and very well deserved. We are all so very proud of you, Jacob.

The celebrations didn't stop there because Room 17 was also announced as the Literacy Pro Champion Class of 2017. The students in Room 17 read 13,012,942 words and had a quiz pass rate of 81%. This is an extraordinary result which shows great dedication and a commitment to achieve. Thank you to Mrs Rasquinha who supported the children with their reading every Wednesday afternoon and to Mrs Forrest (aka our 'Secret Weapon') who rewarded the children's efforts (with tasty cupcakes) whenever we reached our class goals. Well done, Room 17 - you are amazing!

HELPING OUT

One of the most rewarding parts of the job is seeing past students who you have taught and finding out what they have been up to. Bella was a PAC student at WGPS in 2013 and 2014. I had the privilege of teaching her for two years and she came back to our school a few times throughout the year as part of a work experience opportunity in collaboration with her high school. It was fantastic to have her in Room 17. Bella offered great assistance to the children and the kids loved having her in our room. We wish her well for her future studies and can’t wait to hear all about what she gets up to. Thank you, Bella.

SWIMMING

Swimming lessons will commence in Week 9 on Monday, 4th December. There will be eight lessons in total and all lessons will be at Belmont Oasis. A permission slip and Water Excursion Consent form have been sent home, and thank you to everyone who has already submitted the forms and paid for the excursion. For the families who have not yet handed in the forms and money, these are due by Wednesday, 29th November.

Students may wear bathers to school under their uniform or change at recess. Students will only need to take a towel, goggles, school T-shirt and footwear (may be thongs) in a labelled bag/plastic bag to the pool. Some lessons may be conducted in the outdoor pools therefore, it is recommended that children are provided with sunscreen, rashies and hats. Children will get changed back into their clothes on their return to school. Please label all of the belongings to minimise any loss of possessions.

FINAL WEEK WITH MISS GIBBONS 
Hello to all families and students of Wattle Grove Primary School.
I have completed my final week of placement in Room 17 and it was a fantastic week with lots of learning involved. Here are some of the lessons from this week. 

In History, the students learnt more about the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We focused on the importance of shelter and the students were challenged to work in groups to create their own shelter out of newspaper and tape. It was a lot of fun and interesting to see concepts that each group came up with. Following this challenge, the students worked independently to design their own shelter out of natural resources. Check out some of their designs below.

Click on their names to see their work: Shayla, Elijah, Luke, Jazib and Lina.

In Mathematics, the whole class has been working hard on a project to create their own city made of math. Each student was responsible for designing a section of the city using shapes, angles and symmetry. They also calculated the area and perimeter of elements in their city plan. After the plans were complete, the students were able to create buildings and structures using 3D nets. Students were encouraged to be creative and combine shapes to make their city come to life! Once each student completed their section, we joined them all together to create one gigantic city. What an impressive result!

Overall, my time spent at Wattle Grove Primary School has been outstanding. I would like to thank the students of Room 17 and Mr Petch for welcoming me into their class, it has been a wonderful experience that I will never forget.

AN UPDATE FROM MISS GIBBONS

Hello to all families and students of Wattle Grove Primary School.

It has been another fantastic week in Room 17, we have been very busy and learning a lot of valuable new knowledge. The students have been working hard and making the most of the last few weeks of term.

This week for Big Write, the students had the challenge to write a persuasive letter outlining a school rule they believe should be changed. There were a lot of fantastic arguments, one of the most popular was that we should abolish homework once and for all! Each student worked hard to include positive and negative vocabulary in their text and built their argument using emotive language. Congratulations on some fantastic results, Room 17. Check out some of the writing from the students below. Click on their names to read their work: Jai, Luke, Steffani and Dean. Each of them received a letter from Ms Roberts for their wonderful effort.

In History, we have been learning a lot about the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This week, the students completed a Venn diagram to show the comparison of foods consumed in the past and present. Our class quickly noticed that there are some foods that many people still consume today such as kangaroo and fruits. The final results were a very colourful and informative addition to their HASS workbooks.

This is just a snapshot of some of the wonderful work we've been doing this week. I look forward to posting an update on what we get up to in my final week.

GARDENING AND MARKET STALL

Room 17 have been extremely busy working out in the garden throughout the year. Today we ran a Market Stall and raised a total of $134.20. Thank you to everyone who supported the stall and purchased some produce from the 'Market Sellers.' The children had a great time and it is wonderful to be able to participate in events.

We also did some cooking with Mrs Forrest and Miss Gibbons. Spinach and ricotta sausage rolls were on the menu and went down a treat for afternoon tea. Thank you to Mrs Forrest for volunteering her time to help the children cook their delicious treats.

Thank you also to Jessa's mum (and brother, Nate), who made the class some meatballs, pasta and pasta sauce with ingredients from the school garden. The children loved their feast.

Room 17's efforts were also acknowledged at the assembly for Literacy Pro. Everyone has now obtained their Bronze Certificates and many of the children have set their sights on Silver by Week 9, or Gold. Congratulations! Thank you to Mrs Forrest for making the class a set of 'Bronze Cupcakes' for everyone. 
Room 17 also got the Art Award and the Bookclub Award. Well done!

Humphreys Dance is in full swing with the children learning a range of different dance moves. Miss Gibbons and myself are trying to keep up with the moving and grooving of the routines but we realise that we haven't quite got the hang of it... yet!