From the Deputy Head
150 Mosaic Garden
Term 3 Integrated Units
Book Fair
Wear your footy colours day
MS Read-a-thon
Forthcoming events

3 August 2001 No. 21

From Head of the Junior School

Welcome back to 6D who have returned from their week at Lake Nillahcootie. I trust each boy enjoyed the challenges presented and made the most of everything that this camp has to offer.

I was also pleased to welcome to the College Mr Ian Leith, who joins the staff in the Physical Education Department. Mr Leith has settled into his new role extremely well and I wish him, and his family, a very happy association with the College.

I extend congratulations to every boy who represented the school this afternoon in the football matches played on the MCG. This was a wonderful opportunity for our boys and whilst this was written before the time of playing, I am aware of the enormous support that the players will have received from students, families and friends on this special occasion.

Following the main game this afternoon, a gift to Melbourne was presented in the form of a larger that life statue depicting the first recorded game of Australian Rules. The game played between Scotch and Melbourne Grammar, as depicted by the statue, has become an annual tradition and one always there to be enjoyed by both school communities.

The statue now forms an important feature in the forecourt area outside the Member's Reserve and I encourage all families to take the time to visit and appreciate this important gift to our state.

Congratulations are also extended to Oliver Hay and Stuart Watson who joined the Senior School Cross Country Team at the Victorian Road Relay Championships last Saturday. Both boys ran well in their 'legs' of the relay and their team finished a credible eighth place in an event that is open to all schools around the state.

Their efforts contributed to the school being awarded second place overall. Scotch won two of the four races contested and missed winning the championship by just one point! Well done to both boys.

I am delighted to advise parents that Mr Alistair Webster has also been nominated by the parent community in the National Excellence in Teaching Awards. Congratulations, Mr Webster and thank you to the nominators.

The school community was saddened to hear of the passing of Mrs Sashie Earle during the week. Deepest sympathy is extended to David, Andrew and Peter (Year Six) and older brothers, Mitchell and Matthew, who are both in the Senior School. I know the school community joins with me in sharing our best wishes and prayers, and in giving thanks for the time we were able to share with a very special person.

Mr McKinlay spoke to the boys during Assembly this week and based his theme around perseverance and believing in yourself. Both of these ideas followed on nicely from what boys experience whilst on camp and when facing the challenges of the unknown.

Accomplishments such as abseiling the tower, rambling across the rock wall, scrambling to the top of the high ropes or tackling an unknown maths problem or a book that seems too hard, often involve taking leap of faith in the confidence that there are support networks around in order to catch us if we fall. In the same way, the Bible reassures us that through faith in God, in the good times and the bad, the reassurance is given that He will hold us in the palm of His own hand, and in this, we cannot fall too far.

With faith in God and a belief in the self, I leave the following as my thought for the week....

There are many accomplishments that will be made by you,
but without faith and believing in yourself, failure is sure to follow.

Guy B Mason

From the Deputy Head

Welcome back to Year 6D from Lake Nillahcootie. I'm sure all the boys thoroughly enjoyed their time, challenging and extending their own personal boundaries. Last week I wrote of the lessons that could be taken back into the classroom and into their everyday life. Perhaps as parents you may like to discuss these with your boys to further emphasise the point that taking a leap of faith can lead to achievements that were once thought impossible. At Assembly on Monday I spoke to the boys about the achievements of the Australian Swimming Team last week and emphasised the point that no matter how big the challenge, or the opposition, with good practice and perseverance you can prevail in the end.

Boys have been reminded to wait in the appropriate area on Callantina Road for after school pick up, instead of playing ball games inside the school grounds. This will help ensure a smoother pick up transition for parents and help ease the congestion of cars outside the school gates.

Week Four will include a Social Service Day on Monday when all boys in the Junior School will be asked to bring to school, and change into their favourite footy colours (as long as they include black and yellow!) and to give a gold coin donation to the Bone Marrow Institute. AIM Testing in Years Three and Five will continue throughout the week and the various Junior School Orchestras will perform on Wednesday evening. The week will conclude with a Waller House Chapel on Thursday, along with a visit from Ruyton Girls School who will be working with Year 6D students. The Year Four concert will be held on the Thursday afternoon. Year Six children will participate in the Day of Excellence on Friday, 10 August. A very busy week indeed! If you require any further information regarding these events, please contact the Junior School office.

Rodney McKinlay

150 Mosaic Garden

All boys have finished the mosaic making and the gluing of tile pieces to make their Australian animal tiles, trivets, birdbath and burning bush. We are now up to the grouting stage.

Some classes have completed their grouting and a number still have lessons of grouting to finish. A special thankyou to all parents who have helped with the grouting process. It is very messy but fun and it has been wonderful to have so many willing parents to help the boys enjoy the process of grouting. The boys have completed some excellent grouting work, with smooth edges. These will look very colourful grouped together in the 150 Mosaic Garden. The completed garden will be placed near the entrance to the Junior School in part of the Rose Garden, with the Burning Bush on the wall.

I am collecting ice cream and margarine containers for grouting work. Any wool would be useful for the textile units, as well as cork for printing.

Thank you

Susan Ferres - Head of Art and Craft

Term Three Integrated Units

Year Prep

Topic: How are Parks and Gardens Important to Us?

• The boys will be learning about :
• the value of parks and gardens;
• the variety of plants and trees found in parks;
• the parts of plants; and
• the importance of living things.

Year One

Topic: Under Sea

Key concepts in this unit are:

• the sea is a home for a host of plants and animals
• many of these plants and animals depend on one another for their survival;
• marine plants and animals have specific/unique features to assist their survival; and
• we must recognize the uniqueness of our marine environment and care for it accordingly.

Year Two

Topic: Weather and Energy

The boys will learning about the concept of weather as a phenomena in our physical world and discover what causes the weather elements. Related concepts include:

• there are three main components to weather: air, water and sun;
• different elements of weather occur;
• forms of energy are produced from weather;
• weather affects our lives and our environment;
• weather affects what we eat, how we play and dress;
• weather determines the seasons;
• there are four seasons in a year:Summer, Autumn, Spring and Winter; and,
• different instruments are used to measure the different elements of weather.

Year Three

Topic: Diversity of Occupations

The boys will be learning:

• that society needs a range of diverse occupations to function successfully;
• that it takes a variety of prerequisites to become qualified in different occupations;
• that a changing society dictates different career pursuits people partake in; and
• that presentation, understandings and attitude are all key factors in the job selection process.

Year Four

Topic: Space

• The boys will be developing these understandings:
• the Earth's rotation on its axis is related to the day and night cycle;
• structural features work together to form systems in living things;
• gravity is an invisible force that that stops things on earth from flying into space;
• the earth is surrounded by a layer of air called atmosphere;
• sars are huge balls of brightly glowing hot gases;
• asteroids and comets move around the Sun;
• satellites can be natural or man made; and
• space travel has increased and changed as a result of technology.

Year Five

Topic: Early Exploration

The boys will be developing these understandings:

• a variety of explorers discovered Australia before Captain Cook arrived;
• Captain Cook claimed Australia for England;
• Australia was initially set up by the British as a penal colony;
• a large proportion of the white population was convicts;
• Aborigines were in Australia long before any European Discoverers;
• there was confrontation between native Aborigines and the white settlers;
• settlers faced many hardships and life for all involved (convicts, soldiers, officers, free settlers) was extremely difficult;
• exploration was needed for the future of the colony; and
• the early explorers, in many circumstances, overcame tremendous difficulty and hardship.

Year Six

Topic: Government and Environment

The boys will be developing these understandings:

The three levels of government are constantly making decisions, which affect our everyday lives;

Everyone has the opportunity to be involved in and to influence the decision making process in a democratic society;

Various internal and external influences affect the lives of all people in the community;

• feelings
• finance
• Values
• circumstance
• Knowledge
• understandings
• Emotions
• media
• other people
• Moral perspective
• Religious beliefs
• rules

There will be costs and benefits to the community and to different people in any decision made by the Government; cooperation is essential in decision making; we must be prepared to listen, understand and respect others' reasons for their decisions, and question and respond in an appropriate manner; and decisions made by individuals or groups of people can affect the environment;

The Environment unit will be linking with Government unit by looking at policies made at each level of Government re environmental issues, and examining different types of environmental issues e.g. pollution, rainforests, salinity, deserts, melting of polar icecaps, erosion, endangered species, logging, recycling, mining, waste disposal, sewerage, etc.

Brian Sampson - Director of Studies

Book Fair

It's on again! The annual Scholastic Book Fair starts on Monday, 13 August.

Books will be for sale until Wednesday, 15 August.

Selling times are 8.00 am - 8.30 am and 3.15 pm - 3.45 pm.

All boys will visit the Resource Centre for a preview on Friday, 10 August.

So come with your son to peruse and choose some home reading material.

You will also be assisting the library to buy additional resources.

Hope to see you there.

Alison Hindson -Resource Centre Coordinator

Wear Your Footy Colours Day.

This is a reminder that Monday, 6 August is 'Wear Your Footy Colours Day'.

Could the boys please bring their favourite footy clothing to school and a gold coin donation. The boys and staff will wear their favourite footy clothes to raise money for the Bone Marrow Donor Institute.

Ms Read-a-thon

The MS Read-a-thon has officially finished and the money is now due. Please return your form and money to the MS Read-a-thon box at the Junior School Office.

Thank you for your support.

Annmarie Cowley - Social Service Coordinator

Forthcoming Events