Book Week this year had the theme of Book Safari and we had a great time.

The teachers and our Librarian Mr Vitale organised all sorts of activities in the Library.

We had a Jungle Safari Performance which many of the students went to see.

During this week we have all worked really hard to earn money to buy more Home Readers for our school. We raised nearly $3000.00.

We had a Guessing Competition with the following great prizes: a bike, a DS Lite and games, an ipod shuffle, a teddy bear and a whole pile of Guiness World Record Books.

The Guessing Competition was drawn on Friday after our Book Week Parade.

The parents ran a Cake Stall so there was plenty of bad stuff to eat.

Wow!!! All the amazing characters that were walking around our playground were incredible. Check out the photos of the ugly group who are more often identified as the teachers.

The other photos are of the students who won their stage Best Dressed Competition as well as one of our teachers who won the Best Dressed teacher Competition. UGLY!!!!!

This is a huge conference where over 13 000 people come to learn about the latest trends in technology.

People meet other people and talk a lot but mostly teachers spend time going to lessons and learning.

We’ve learned about;

• how powerful Google is as a web based engine for searching the Internet and that it helps focus and then organise your searching
• iphones and ipod touches and what great learning tools they can be in the classroom
• all sorts of amazing Apps from web 2.0
• literacy and how it’s so much more than reading and writing and how it is nearly impossible to test using old test formats
• making the classroom a happy and fun place to be
• what students think about the way they are being taught and how they would like to be taught using technology
• the importance of the web as a place for publication
• the new web, web 3.0

The back paddock of our school became a campsite today. The fire was lit and as flames became glowing embers S3E began entertaining each other with the stories, plays and dances they had been working on during the past few weeks of exploring aboriginal culture.
All got dressed up . . . of course.
Damper and honey were cooked on the campfire.
Smoke got in our eyes and our damper was hard to cook!
But hey what a great way to learn and share what you’ve created and learned.
And I nearly forgot . . . the witchetty grubs!!!!!

As part of our whole school program classes have begun   to explore various aspects of Aboriginal Culture.

There are some very interesting sites available to explain a bit about Australian Aborigines. The stories of the Dreamtime and Dreaming are ways in which the Aborigines explain the world around them. 

By the time we celebrate NAIDOC Week 2009 the students will know heaps about Indigenous Australians

Watch this blog as well as our class blogs to see the amazing things happening in our school and to find out some great information to help with schoolwork and homework . . . 

Are any other schools doing great stuff on indigenous peoples? Would you share your learning with us?

Our debaters did very well today in their debate against Beverly Hills North PS. The competition was very close with both sides performing well. Our girls presented very well, they spoke clearly and they had used their time well. Beverly Hills North had a slightly better line of thought.

This debating competition is very challenging as the debaters have an hour to prepare their debate with no teacher or adult present.

Congratulations to both teams.

All students in Stages 1, 2 and 3, with parental permission, are participating in the Premiers Reading Challenge. They have to read 20 books before the end of Term 3.

The students will be rewarded for their efforts with a certificate from the NSW Premier Mr Rees and they will be contributing to their class of the year points.

Parents can visit the Premiers Reading Challenge Site and check out the reading booklist and requirements for the Challenge.

The conference featured Will Richardson an American educator who leads the world in thinking and providing practical advice on how to use the Web 2.0.

(If you aren’t sure about what Web 2.0 is click on the blue link and view a video which explains it.)

Mrs Pericles and Mrs Dyer had the pleasure of presenting work done by our students at the Network Literacy Conference organised by Syba.

Their presentation was designed to show the teachers present that while it was hard work using web 2.0 and technology with students the experience and the results are worth it.

We have been looking at the words in the problems, working out what the question is asking you to do, using concrete materials to work out the answers and then showing the problem in a creative way.

Each class presented their work – everyone came up with something that was creative and unique.

Congratulations to all students and  teachers for the outstanding work you did over the term. The display looks amazing!

Here is what everyone got up to:

The Team of Celia, Naomi, Ramiz and Natalie convinced not only the audience but the adjudicators that Canteens should not serve junk food.

They had a strong team line which their opposition, Strathfield South Public School found it difficult to rebut. Each of our team who had to rebut did a great job.

The Chairman, Justin and Timekeeper, Timothy ensured the debate ran smoothly.

The audience of S2/3P and S3H were attentive, informed, polite and enthusiastic in their congratulations to the debaters.

Thanks to the Coach, Mr McGuinness.