Newsletter Maths Challenge

I hope you are all having a go at the newsletter maths challenge. Well done Matthew for winning the last one! Here is the latest one:

Ryan was given an ant farm for his birthday. The farm could hold 90,000 ants. On the day it was given to him it had 1200 ants. The day after that it had 2400 ants. The day after that it had 4800 ants. How many days until the ant farm was full?

Remember to show me before you put your entry in to receive some class money!

Battery Recycling

As part of Wattle Grove Primary School's initiative to become more sustainable and care for the environment, we are collecting batteries for recycling.  Each block has 4 containers - one for each faction.  Students can bring in used batteries and place them in these containers.  Which faction will bring in the most batteries and be declared recycling champions???

Melting Moments:Science

Faction Carnival Cancelled

Due to the forecast rain and storm for tomorrow, the Faction Carnival has been cancelled.  It will now be held in Week 8.  Any student who ordered Subway will still receive their order tomorrow.

Jumps, Throws and Distance Races

Yesterday the jumps, throws and distance runs for the carnival were held.  13 students from Room 23 competed in these and came back with a bunch of ribbons. The second photo below shows that it took a lot out of them!!  Well done to all competitors!!  The rest of the carnival is due to happen on tomorrow, although the weather forecast is not looking good.  Stay tuned for an update - and check for a note this afternoon.

 

No Throw Thursday

No Throw Thursday is about students and staff bringing in recess and lunch foods that don't require any packaging. How can we do this?

1. Bring fruit in for recess - this requires no packaging.

2. Purchase bulk items such as biscuits etc and dispense into a smaller container each day, rather than buying those that are individually packaged. This not only saves packaging but also is a cheaper option.

3.  Pack sandwiches/rolls/wraps into small lunch boxes which won't need glad wrap

This term students are rewarded with a Lunchie for bringing in a no throw lunch on Thursday. Next term points will be allocated to the class and we can win an award. Please get behind this great initiative and help Wattle Grove Primary School become more waste wise and sustainable.

Book Week Dress Up Day

Monday was our Book Week Dress Up Day.  It was great to see all the Room 23 students dressed up.  Some students put a lot of thought into their costumes.  They all looked great and enjoyed parading around showing their costumes and seeing the other classes costumes.  Kaylee and Bailey read out a blurb they wrote about The 13 Storey Treehouse and Abbey helped by holding up an enlarged copy of the cover.

Christian Religious Education - Learning Through Drama

From Miss Calvert

Hello all,
Here are just a few notes:

Test Books
I am still waiting for two students to bring in their Test Books from last term!!  If your child has their Test Book at home please have them put it in their bag and return it to school.

Absent Notes
If your child does not come to school for any reason please contact the office or write a note.  I am chasing notes from 3 students.

Faction Carnival
The Faction Carnival is on this Friday.  Parents are welcome to come and enjoy the day.  Praying for sunshine and not rain!!

Health Homework
Student were given some homework for Health today.  They have to do a safety check on their bikes and helmets.  If they do not have a bike or helmet they can do if for a family member, friend or neighbour.  This is due next Tuesday.

Scholastic Book Club
The latest Book Club flyers were given out recently.  Sales from these help fundraise for more books for the school.  I always find it a great way to buy birthday and Christmas presents for all my nieces and nephews and for birthdays my daughter gets invited to.  Orders and money are due back to the front office by Tuesday 2 September.

Diaries
Not all students are bringing their diaries to class.  This is not only a great way for students to record the information they need to remember for the coming weeks but also a quick and easy way for parents to see how your child is doing in class (stamp means a good day) and an easy way to communicate with me.  

Have a great week
Miss Calvert

Book Week Dress Up - THIS MONDAY!!!!

Don't forget to come Monday dressed in your costume from The 13-Storey Treehouse!!  I'm looking forward to seeing all the creative costumes that walk through the classroom door - infact, I think I may have to give a prize for the best, most creative and inventive costume.

Science Week Activities

On Friday afternoon we celebrated Science week by participating in Chemistry experiment rotations.  All students in Year 3 were mixed into 6 groups and each group completed two activities each. These activities were done between 2pm and 3pm and then we returned to the classroom and the students were eager to share what they had done with the rest of the class. Huge thank you to Mrs Myles who came along to help run one of the experiments (and very sorry I forgot to thank you on the day!!)

I organised two of these rotations - Puffy Paint Art and Sherbet. Here are the activities if you would like to try them at home.

Sherbet

To do this activity you will need:

    icing sugar

    citric acid

    bicarbonate soda

    flavoured jelly crystals

    teaspoon

    dessert spoon

    small mixing bowl

    small snap lock bag.

To make sherbet you will need to:

1.      Add 1 level teaspoon of citric acid crystals to the bowl

2.      Add 1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the bowl

3.      Now add 3 heaped dessert spoons of icing sugar

4.      Add at least 2 level dessert spoons of jelly crystals (or more to taste)

5.      Place a small amount, about half a teaspoon on your tongue

6.      After tasting you may need to vary the ingredients. If it is too bitter add more sugar, if there isn't enough fizz you may need to add either bicarbonate soda or citric acid. Make sure you add only in small amounts, remember you can always add more but it is very hard to remove some.

What's happening?

You have just created an acid-base reaction in your mouth. When you combine an acid (in this activity the citric acid) and an alkaline (the bicarbonate soda) with saliva they mix together to create a gas in the form of lots of tiny bubbles.

This is called an acid-based reaction and it's what gives sherbet its fizz. You are actually feeling the sensation of carbon dioxide bubbles on your tongue. These are the same bubbles that are in fizzy drinks.

The icing sugar is needed to add sweetness as the citric acid and bicarbonate soda are quite sour. Citric acid is one of the acids found in lemons, oranges and limes. That is why they are called 'citric fruit'.

The other acid in lemons and other citric fruit is called ascorbic acid. This is commonly known as vitamin C. The jelly crystals simply add flavour.

Homemade puff paint

What you need:

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup table salt
• 1 cup water
• Food or paint colouring
• A spoon
• Ziplock bags
• Scissors
• A large mixing bowl
• A piece of cardboard

Activity:

Step 1. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the water and mix to combine until smooth.

Step 2. Divide the mixture into as many bowls as you want colours. Stir in the dye to colour each bowl.

Step 3. Use the spoon to scoop the coloured paint into a ziplock bag. Start to seal the bag, squeezing the air out and leaving about 1 cm unzipped.

Step 4. Push the paint towards one corner and use your scissors to snip off the corner. You only need to cut off a tiny bit.

Step 5. Twist the end of the bag until the paint starts to squeeze through the hole. Let your child gently squeeze the bag as they paint onto some cardboard. They can be as creative as they want!

Step 6. Once the masterpiece has been created, carefully place in a microwave and cook on HIGH for 10 seconds. Check to see the paint is puffing and continue to cook on high at 10-second intervals until the paint is dry and puffy. 

Black and White Day to Save the Tasmanian Devils

Today was Black and White Dress Up Day.  This was to raise funds to help fight DFTD - Devil Facial Tumour Disease - which is highly contagious and killing Tasmanian Devils.  As well as dressing up for the day in black and white, students had the opportunity to enter the poster competition.  In Room 23 we made this posters while a lot of our students were at the Junior Choir Excursion.  And the great news is that Room 23 was the Junior Class Winners!!  and Bailey was the Overall Junior Winner!!  YAY!!

Melting Moments - Science

In Science last week we began Melting Moments.  Miss Calvert gave us two candles.  We passed them around, looked at them and felt them.  We talked about what was the same and what was different and why it had melted.

In our next lesson we put cordial, honey and chocolate buttons in little dishes.  Miss Calvert kept telling us not to eat the chocolates and kept giving a demonstration of what not to do by putting chocolates in her mouth!!

We then put the dishes in the oven.  When we took them out of the oven the cordial was darker and the honey was very runny.  The chocolate melted into big blobs and if we stirred it up it would have been like runny chocolate.

By Jenise, Hina and Asher

iRun for iPads

On Friday we had our iRun for iPads lap-a-thon.  The students were all in high spirits and enjoyed being out in the sunshine running around, and around, and around, and around, and ....  Students enjoyed apple and orange quarters and the sprays of water as they ran through the shades provided by the P&C.  They drank lots of water, and some even tipped it on their heads to keep cool.  After the laps we all enjoyed a nice cold icypole!  Room 23 students ran between 17 and 29 laps!!  Amazing!!

Our inter-school cross country runners arrived back towards the end.  Well done to Kaylee who placed second and Abbey who came in forth.  Bailey and Jack both placed in the top ten for the boys and Karan performed well too. After competing in the inter-school cross country they all managed to run another 7 laps!!

Calendar Dates

It's a busy term - Here are some dates to write on your calendars:


15th August- 9.45 am Junior Choir to visit Donovan Village
                      11.45am Interschool Cross Country
                       2.00pm IRun for Ipads
  22nd August- Science Fair Day
25th August- Book Week Event - Dress up as a character from The 13-Storey Treehouse
27th August- Faction Carnival Jumps and Throws
29th August- Faction Carnival
1st September- Wattle Day
5th September- Senior Assembly
12th September- P&C Quiz Night
16th September- Parent Information Afternoon- Speaking and Listening (More details to follow)
19th September- Interschool Faction Carnival
23rd September- Learning Journeys (Open classroom afternoon/ evening)
26th September- Last day of Term Three

Book Week Dress Up

Monday, 25 August, is our Book Week Dress Up Day.  This year each classroom will select a book and this will be the students theme for dressing up.  Room 23 has chosen The 13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths.  I read this to students at the end of last term so they are all familiar with the characters.  Students can dress up as Andy, Terry, a gorilla, sea monkey, mermaid, sea monster, flying cat, giant banana, shark or one of the other crazy characters from the book.  Start thinking about costumes now.. can't wait to see what the students come up with!!

Cross Country

WOW!!  The school cross country was run this afternoon and Room 23 shone!!  We had first and second in the Year 3 girls - Abbey and Kaylee, and first, second and third in Year 3 boys - Bailey, Jack and Karan.  These students will now attend the interschool cross country - details to follow.  We had 12 students in the event.  Congratulations to all our runners! You all did an amazing job! Obviously all those laps run during morning fitness paid off!

from your very proud Teacher
Miss Calvert

Fighting Back Against the Attack of the Germs

Huge thank you to the Henshall family who donated a big tub of Aqium Hand Sanitiser and Bosisto's Eucalyptus Spray to Room 23. I am especially grateful as I have succumbed to all the germs that have been floating around our classroom lately - although I didn't get too sick and I believe I am on the mend now.  Thank you also to all those parents who have kept their sick children at home so the germs don't spread.  Please remember to either call the office or write an absentee note.  Thank you.

Test Books and Absent Notes

Hello Parents,
Well we have had a lot of absent students lately. It seems there is a bug going around our class. If your child is sick please remember to either write a note or call the school office to let us know.

Also, Test Books were due back Friday of week one. I am still waiting for 4 books to come back. If your child hasn't brought back their book, please have them put it in their bag and bring it in.

 Thank you
Miss Calvert