Ms Courtney's Class

At the beginning of this unit students asked questions they wanted to answer. We recorded the questions here as well as in the classroom. These questions helped us to guide the inquiry. We spent time today finding the answers to the questions the students had. We grouped the students into areas of interested and they worked together to record the answers to the questions. They used the knowledge gained from guest speakers, viewings, readings and class discussions throughout the unit to answer the questions. Look at the collaboration and thinking happening! Why and how to people create art?  "To improve their intelligence" "Get ideas from other pieces of art" "Maybe they want people to like their art and how they created it" "People create art in different ways" "I think some artist have emotion and they want to create art because maybe they have a favourite place and want to create it" "People have to pra...

Last Friday afternoon we were very lucky. Tara, Ben's Mum, came to play the cello to us. She spoke to us about the cello, the different sounds it can make and what inspired her learn to play the it. What we learnt: " I learnt that bow is made out of horse hair ". George "  I listened to her and she said that 800 years ago there wasn't any cars. There were horses so that is why the bow is made from horse hair ". Alex " I learnt that the cello is made out of wood ". Nicole " I remember she said that you use rosin to help make the sound louder, the wax sticks to the strings ". Taylor " I learnt that the cello is very old ". Joshua " I learnt that on a aeroplane a cello must have its own seat "! Eliza " She said she started with a violin but she moved on to a cello, she changed because she liked the sound of a cello when she was playing in an orchestra" . Jodie Today James, Ms Anita's husband, ...

Welcome back to term 2! I hope you all had a relaxing break. I math we have started the term off by revisiting 2D shapes and learning about 3D shapes. We have identified the names of 2D and 3D shapes, and the properties of 3D shapes. Before the break we looked at 4 different pieces of art and wrote down the different shapes, angles and lines we could see in the art. We have explored the 2D and 3D shapes we have in the classroom. Students have created their own pictures, made patterns and looked at how joining shapes together can make a new shape.  We made 'clue bags' for 3D shapes. The students listed clues about a shape on the front of the bag and the rest of the class were able to guess the 3D shape. We made 'What does the SHAPE say' sheets. Students chose four 2D or 3D shapes and listed the attributes of each shape.  We completed Mathletics activities on shape. In math we will now begin to inquiry into telli...

As we come to the end of the first term I would like to wish you all a peaceful and safe holiday. It was a very busy start to the school year. The students have done an amazing job settling into a new campus, a new class and for Josiah, Mollymoon and Nicole a new school.  I look forward to seeing everyone after the break and hearing all about your week. Best Wishes,  Courtney 

"It's passion, It's life, it's commitment".  (From What is dance? clip below) Today we looked at different styles of dance and a short clip on how people feel when they dance. We enjoyed focusing on Performing Arts today. What is Dance? - We watched this clip in class. Please leave a comment answering one of these questions: Why do people dance? How does perspective influence dance?

Today's art form is Pop Art. We watched a clip from TATE explaining what Pop Art is and then looking at three pieces of Pop Art. Have a look at these pieces of art again and leave a comment which one you like the best.  Roy Lichtenstein Wall Explosion II   1965 David Hockney A Bigger Splash   1967 Campbell's Soup Cans Andy Warhol  1962

Today we were very lucky to have a puppet and dance show by Sovanna Phum. We watched a traditional dance, this was followed by a shadow puppet performance. Please watch the clips from the show and leave a comment about which performance you enjoyed the best and why you liked it.

Today we celebrated Xander's 8th Birthday with his family. We hope you had a great celebration Xander!

Today we looked at some photos from the Yann Artus Bertrand series ' Earth from Above '. First we compared two different photos and created a Venn Diagram. As a class we selected four of our favourite photos. You need to pick your favourite photo and leave a comment as to why you like it the best.

Our Not a box designs Today we invited EY2 to visit Grade 2 to look at our Not a box. They had also been reading the book Not a Box by Antoinette Portis and created a giant pirate ship , they could fit most of their class into. All the students did an amazing job demonstrating the Learner Profile attributes of Communicators, Knowledgeable and Risk-Takers. The students were excellent role models for the younger students and can be very proud of their work.