Anzac Art

We had a smaller group of us together on Friday afternoon. Our rugby players were at the Rugby Fun Day at Burnside Park, while several of our ICT experts offered to assist in the junior school in mentoring roles.

The remaining group of us created Anzac art work. We used pastels and discussed how we can blend this medium for effect, as well as how the use of contrast can have impact on the eye and add boldness.

We were trying to create a vision of some of the battlefields that many Anzac soldiers have fought and died on. Although we have learned a lot about the Gallipoli Campaign, we have also learned that Turkey is only one of many places that the Anzacs have served together.

A number of our children attended dawn services on Anzac Day, so we look forward to hearing their reports on what they were like.

We will soon have this art work on display in the school office, so feel free to come and have a closer look.

Mindfulness In Room 14

This term we have begun looking into what being more mindful in Room 14 might mean.

A quick Google search will tell you that mindfulness is about attention, awareness, focus, presence or vigilance. It is about being in the moment. The opposite of these things being mindlessness, inattention, distractedness and lack of judgement - All of which can negatively affect learning opportunities.

Here we are doing a 5 minute guided relaxation session after lunch one day this week:

Mindful students in Room 14 will…

• Take the time to stop and reflect at various times throughout the school day, asking themselves "How am I doing?"
• Display a personal awareness during guided group sessions with Mr K, showing a focused and attentive approach to our discussions.
• Actively listen to others sharing their books for Readers' Café and ask thoughtful questions, while being conscientious and well-prepared to share their own books.
• Enter our classroom after break times in peace, clearing their thoughts of negative distractions and getting themselves ready for the next learning session.
• Manage their daily planner well, choosing appropriate times to update it and evaluating each week with honesty and a mindset that they can improve.

And the list goes on. These were a few of the statements we have already come up with about Room 14.

Also, now with our 1:1 system in place, we have begun to discuss the importance of balancing digital devices with other areas of our lives. Most adults will certainly be able to relate to this, as the world of social media and 'anytime, any-place' connectedness has become more and more a part of many of our daily routines, sometimes to the detriment of our physical and emotional well-being if we allow ourselves to become too engulfed in it.

A focus on being mindful this term will hopefully give us more of an insight into our own learning and personal interactions, as well as an even happier classroom. Here is a news report on how mindfulness practices are being used in one school.

Although like the school in the video above, we will only be spending 5-10mins a couple of times a week on the guided relaxation aspect of mindfulness practice, it will be interesting to see where we go and what benefits we see in both our learning and our sense of well-being.

The Anzacs

Our trip to the Air Force Museum was a great spark for investigations into the Anzacs and why we commemorate Anzac Day.

The Wonderwomen literacy group have been exploring the beginnings of WW1 leading up to the Gallipoli campaign, the Daredevils have been researching and sharing their thoughts on why we commemorate Anzac Day and the class as a whole has been looking into what actually happened at Gallipoli.

There has been some fantastic learning being uploaded to our digital portfolios and some real shifts for some of us in how we view war in general. We know that we have a lot to be thankful for.

We have all written a short statement about why Anzac Day is important to each of us. Sonya, Danielle's mum, has been working with Danielle, Jen and Phoebe to create an Anzac sculpture for a display at the Canterbury Horticultural Society. We will post more pictures when finished. It will include our short statements about Anzac Day, which we have also mentioned below.

 

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Term Reflection And Goal Setting

This week for home learning we wrote a personal term reflection. We included learning highlights and challenges from our year so far.

Today some confident children chose to get up in front of the class and share their reflections with all of us. They had thought deeply about their term and identified personal next steps leading into term two.

We all then shared our reflections with a buddy and used the challenges we faced to help us create some important goals for next term. We displayed these on our Steps to Success wall under the headings - 'Skills' and 'Attitudes'.

It was rewarding to hear so many highlights from this term. We are all looking forward to an exciting term two!

Enjoy the Easter break everyone.