Term 3 Wrap-up

Term 3 has drawn to a close.  Its never a favourite term of mine; I always feel like we hibernate and don't achieve much.  So its a surprise to tally things up and look at what learning has been going on.

Maths:

Billy's been doing a mixture of Khan Academy, Skwirk & Mathletics (year 4 level).  Topics covered have included:  3 digit addition and subtraction, symmetry, probability, word problems, angles and co-ordinates.

He's also been using Timez Attack to practice his times tables, watching Cyberchase for exposure to new mathematical concepts and general 'living maths' practice like mental arithmetic and calculations, handling money (including manning a stall at the Ugandan Fundraiser), measuring etc.

He also learnt more about codes and encoded & decoded messages.



English: 

Reading both for pleasure and towards the Premier's Reading Challenge.

He completed the Premier's Reading Challenge (Yr 3-4 level) reading 20 books from the 3-4, 5-6 and 7-9 book lists.

He's been writing stories as the plots for his computer games.

He memorised a poem ("Extra, extra" by Colin McNaughton) for his drama performance.


Science & Technology:


Watching Mythbusters, Backyard Science, Blast Lab, Our Animals and Series 1 of Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections (Airbus A380, Taipei 101, Super Rig).

Creating video tutorials of how to use Minecraft and RPG Game Maker, trailers and vlogs.

Creating games using RPG Game Maker, and setting up Minecraft servers and talking other kids through doing the same, and creating custom maps and worlds in Minecraft.

Hands-on interactive science at Supernova (Newcastle Museum) and Scienceworks (Melbourne).

Seeing how engines worked at the Spotswood Pumping station and the Maitland Steamsheds.

Learning about pulleys, electrical circuits and levers.

Watching the development of tadpoles in our pond.

Learning some basic animation techniques using Adobe Flash and made a banner ad for his website.



HSIE:


Watching the kid's current affairs show Behind the News, as well as "For the Juniors".

Exploring local history at the Newcastle Museum

Learning about Ancient Greek gods.

Visit to the Goat Soap Lady.

Listened to the book "My Place" by Sally Morgan about the discovery of her Aborginal heritage.



Creative Arts:

Weekly drama class - his class performed a series of poems in a public concert.

This is Billy being a paper boy in his performance of "Extra Extra" by Colin McNaughton.

He attended an 8 week photography course at a local photography studio.

We had a trip to the Maitland Art Gallery.


PDHPE:

Archery - our end of term activity this term was archery bowling.




AFL training & games.  The season has now ended. 

Martial Arts- he graded up to Orange Belt black tip at his recent grading.

Visited the Sports Museum in Melbourne.

Now that AFL has finished, he's been encouraged to participate in daily exercise or movement - eg kicking the ball around outside, playing Wii Fit.  We've also had discussions about nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

Learning basic first aid and discussions about the importance of hygiene in disease prevention.

Community:

Took part in a fundraiser day for Ugandan orphans.

Took part in Disability Awareness activities - discussing disabilities, playing vision impaired soccer, typing shoelaces with no thumbs, opening a box of smarties with one hand etc.

Was involved in packing shoeboxes to send to underprivileged countries as part of Operation Christmas Child. 

Doorknocked to raise money for the Heart Foundation.