3/4C @ The Junction
Where it all comes together…
New Year… New Blog…
Feb 2nd
Many of the students from 3/4C are now in 5/6C and would love you to come visit their new class blog by clicking here. Link is now fixed!
What a year…
Dec 27th
3/4C share their top 5 things that they learned or enjoyed at school this year…
Merry Christmas!
Dec 20th
As much as I look forward to Christmas and a lovely relaxing break, recharging the batteries for a new year, it is always sad to say farewell to your class.
I’d like to say a big thank you 3/4C for being a magnificient class, with such an enthusiasm for learning. I’ve loved how you’ve embraced all the new challenges presented to you and how you go above and beyond when completing many of your tasks. I am especially proud of your ability to work both independently and also as a cooperative and collaborative team member. Your positive comments and encouragement for one other shows how kind and generous you all are.
I’d also like to say thank you to all the wonderful parents of the students of 3/4C for how you’ve supported your child/ren and the school this year. Thank you for making all those special days, like Harmony Day, sports carnivals, concerts, assemblies etc, extra special by being there when you can. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season too!
So from 3/4C and myself, to everyone who has visisted our blog this year, we wish you a ripper Christmas and a snappy New Year!
We created these images on the iPad and then combined them with a QR code using the Visualead website to create these awesome interactive images! P.S Don;t forget to scan the code!
Super Villains
Dec 17th
We have been learning how to portray characters using body language, facial expression and by varying our pitch, volume and pace. Students have really enjoyed learning and performing the play ‘Super Villains’ from the school magazine. If you were a Super Villain or Super Hero, what would you be called and what would your super power be?
The Rube Goldberg Challenge!
Dec 15th
On Tuesday students had the opportunity to put to the test their very own Rube Goldberg contraptions. These contraptions have been built, tested, tweaked and retested many times over the past few weeks, only at school. The aim was to pop a balloon in a rather complex fashion, using each of the six simple machines – lever, pulley, wedge, screw, wheel and axle and an inclined plane. I was very impressed by the individuality of each group’s contraption and how well the students worked as a team to make collaborative decisions. Although not all of their contraptions were successful on the day of testing, every group gave clear, detailed descriptions of their contraption and explained how each of the simple machines worked together to perform the task.It was a fantastic learning experience!
Part of the task required students to document the processes they went through to create their contraption. Students used the iMovie app to complete this part of the task. As each of these are completed we will upload them for viewing.
Rube Goldberg Design Challenge
Dec 10th
Final preparations are underway, with students testing and tweaking their contraptions today, ready for testing tomorrow.
The aim of the challenge is to use all six simple machines in a complex chain reaction to ultimately pop a balloon.
We will post videos of the final explanations and contraption tests shortly.
What do you call a 20 sided polyhedron?
Dec 7th
An icosahedron!
We’ve been busy learning about 3D shapes. One of the most interesting 3D shapes is the 20 sided polyhedron, the icosahedron. We used Christmas cards to create these awesome decorations.
Want to make your own? Check out this video tutorial at about.com.
Owly Fun!
Nov 29th
We’ve had a lot of fun with the Owly comics by Andy Runton these past few weeks. We have been learning how to interpret stories using only visual clues, such as scenery, facial expressions and body language. We also had a go at writing our own interpretations of an Owly comic in narrative form to improve our use of speech marks. Read some of our wonderful stories below. The Owly comics the narratives were based on can all be found here.
We also love drawing Owly. We tried our hand at giving Owly a number of different facial expressions to show different emotions. How do you think Owly is feeling in each picture?
Two Broken Wrists!
Nov 27th
Here is a special blog post written by one of our class members who recently broke both of her wrists:
On Wednesday 10th October, the first week back at school, I was on the monkey bars and I fell off, landing with my hands in front of me. I was taken to the John Hunter Hospital by ambulance and even though I was in pain, I still felt excited riding in it. I had my arms xrayed and they discovered I had two broken wrists. The doctor put plaster casts on both of them.
The following Monday night, I went to Lingard Private Hospital to have them operated on. It was very scary going to theatre but it was fun having my own room with remote controlled bed and tv.
After three weeks of plaster, the specialist changed them over to plastic splints which were lighter and cooler. The things I didn’t like about the plaster were that I couldn’t swim and they were very itchy. When the splints were put on I could return to swimming training and that made me very happy.
On Friday, six weeks after my accident I had the splints removed. I was happy to have them off but also felt anxious as I had become so used to having them on. My wrists felt very weak without them on and I have to do exercises everyday to help build my strength back up.
Thank you to Ms Chaffey, my friends and all my class mates who helped me through that 6week period.
With plaster
With plastic splints
No casts!
2012 Edublog Awards Nominations
Nov 26th
Each year the Edublogs Awards are held to showcase fantastic blogs. This is our first year using Edublogs and also our first year of nominating. My nominations for the following categories are:
Best Class Blog:
Fabulous 5S – I’ve been following Mr Squires and his class for a number of years now. I always enjoy visiting his class blog to see all of the very interesting and varied activities the students are doing. I love all the different ways he presents the photos, videos and work samples.
Best Teacher Blog/ Best New Blog:
Mr Mac’s Blog-Thing – This blog belongs to a colleague of mine who has just started his blogging journey, hence the nomination for best new blog and best teacher blog. If you’re into games based learning and finding ways of effectively using one iPad to engage learners in deep learning opportunities, full of open ended challenges, then check out this blog! Keep checking back too as it is updated regularly with new ideas I’ve been inspired to try in my classroom.
Best Librarian Blog:
The Daring Librarian - Another fabulous resource blog. Such a caring and sharing person is Gwyneth. I love her posters and haveshared many of them with my own colleagues.
Best Educational Wiki:
ICT Magic – I could get lost for days in this website. So many links, well set out and it is one that I use on a very regular basis. If I’m stuck for finding a website for a particular purpose I have in mind, this is always the first place I head to.
Best Free Web Tool:
Animoto – This one has been my favourite for a long time. So easy to use and with free education accounts, it allows all your students access. Creating videos to share photos, short video clips and work samples is so easy with this tool. Love it!
Best Mobile App:
Educreations – I’ve delivered several inservices and presentations on this app because I believe it is such a powerful tool to have access to in the classroom. It allows students to record thoughts, combined with images, drawings or photographs. It’s a fabulous assessment tool, as you can have students explain maths concepts and it makes their thought processes transparent. The website to manage your videos is also so easy to use.
