Category Archives: Primary School

Class Four have just finished the history of writing main lesson – The Writers Craft. The children learnt about the development of writing and writing materials through some practical activities such as collecting clay to make a tablet for Cuneiform writing and making a quill pen and their own ink. We focused on developing our handwriting styles and the children are working towards being able to use a fountain pen for their written work.  It was interesting to look around our classroom and see just how much of the physicality of the room and the things in it are a direct result of the development of writing.  Desks, blackboard and chalk, books and book shelves, pens, pencils, erasers and so on. I noticed a general overall development in the content and presentation of the children’s writing even though these things were not directly taught during this main lesson.  For me this is another example of the “hidden” curriculum at work. The children seem to have developed a feeling of respect and gratitude for the human endeavour that has given us this wonderful tool for communication and self expression.

Sally Delara

A little bit of hail and temperatures dropping below 5 degrees failed to dent the enthusiasm of Class 6 at Cockle Creek last week.  As they headed south on Wednesday in the driving rain, they dropped in to the Wooden Boat Centre at Franklin. The students learnt that as an island state, Tasmania has a rich maritime history and that our native timber species are world renowned for their excellent qualities in boat building. More»

Well, week six of the autumn term is here already.  As the saying goes, time flies when you are having fun.  Class 4 started the year discovering Norse mythology.  We met Odin the All-father, Thor the god of Thunder, Freya the goddess of Beauty and Loki, a cunning and progressively evil character.  We also heard of Yggrasil, the world tree and its inhabitants.  The Norns, the weavers of fate, lend themselves to the teaching of the verb tenses – past, present and future.  The gods were linked to nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.  The children retold the stories in their own words and accompanied these with imaginative drawings.

More»

Montgomery Park in Coningham was abuzz for three days last week with 37 Class 5/6 students, their teachers and a healthy contingent of parent helpers taking part in a Leadership Conference.

Working in eight collaborative groups, students were challenged to apply leadership concepts such as: including others, being interested, fair play, speaking with confidence and encouraging participation, through role plays and demonstrations.

More»

Week one for the new primary students was a time for establishing routines.   When asked what they learned, their response was probably, “Nothing” but it’s surprising how much does need to be learned before the intellectual content can be begun.

For instance; how to sit properly at a desk, how to hold a crayon and support the book, how to organize one’s equipment on the desk, how to sit for a length of time, sometimes against one’s will, and how to listen and be patient.

Amongst short spells of this learning, Class One students are memorizing seasonal verses and songs and will shortly begin recorder, German, Japanese and Craft.

Our introduction to Form Drawing has encompassed the drawing of straight and curved lines in their simple forms and in more complex arrangements.  These two elements form the basis for all writing.

Most importantly, though, Class One students and their teachers are learning how to work together so our future of working with educational opportunities is efficient and harmonious.

What a splendid day it was. Great competition and fine foods. A big thank you to all the parents for the help on the day and in the food preparation.

Class Four has had a very busy year.

This term alone has seen us explore Fractions, take a break from school and head for a three day Camp in the Eastern Shore and, now, we are immersed in the world of the Norse Myths as we prepare to perform our play. In the between times we have hosted a couple of assemblies and used the hall weekly. We have even created a new ball game called T.Q.

Camp was an amazing experience for all. We explored our geography by looking back at where we had come from. A wonderful walk on the South Arm Peninsula gave us views of our side of the river that we had not seen before.

Currently we are exploring the stories that we have learned this year, as we create our characters for our Class Play.

Sunshine, fresh air, laughter, tents, sleeping bags, making pizza, fruit salad, shelling broad beans, walking at sunset, cocoa, torches, cold, clear night that smelt of baked beans cooking in the pizza oven, whispering and giggling. Up at 5.30 am, treasure hunt, cricket, footsie, basketball, splashing in the creek and friends.

I hope you all have a lovely and relaxing summer break

Sally Delara