Newsletter – Term 4 – Thornlie Campus

Welcome to Term 4, the most busy term of the year. Masha-Allah the year has gone by very quickly and we could not have done this without the continued support of our parents!

Our Sports Carnival, which is one of our most exciting school events, was held on 2 November. All students’ practiced very hard and demonstrated true sportsmanship as they represented their team factions with pride on the day. Research indicates that increase in physical activities for children results in them performing better academically. It also tells us that having positive feelings in our hearts raises our self-esteem as individuals.

This year the Sports Carnival was spread out over two days due to the weather. On 02 November, the students participated in the running races and other races which were held at the Langford Oval and the next day they participated in the jumps and throws events, which was held on the school grounds.

The Year 1 team would like to say Jazak Allah to Sr Heba Ridha (our Physical Education Teacher) for organizing this successful event. We would also like to thank our P&F helpers who supported us on the day.

This term the Year 1 cohort organized a STEM excursion at Scitech for our students. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics which is commonly used in education. Science is all around us. Technology is constantly advancing and making inroads into every aspect of our lives. Engineering helps to design, plan and problem solve challenges. Mathematics like science is all around us and used in our daily functions. Through our daily actions, STEM encompasses all aspects of human life. This makes STEM education an integral part of the curriculum as it encourages innovation, creation and critical thinking, all of which is important for the future growth and sustainability of our country’s economy.

Students had a fantastic opportunity as they engaged and participated in hands on learning experiences on the day. Thank you again to all our parent volunteers who gave us their time and supported this excursion making it a huge success.

Last but not the least, Year 1B also hosted a very successful parent morning tea this term. Research shows that parent and family involvement in a child’s education is critical to the learning and development of the child. This was clearly visible in the interactions between parent, child and teacher. Insha Allah we hope to organise a parent afternoon for Year 1A as well. Watch this space!!

Thank you everyone for your ongoing support. We look forward to ending this term and year on another high note Insha Allah.

– The Year 1 Team

Feels like only yesterday we were welcoming nervous year 2 students into our classrooms and suddenly we have reached the end of the year and we begin to say goodbye to our brave and brilliant year 2 students. Our students have worked extremely hard to prepare for year 3 and we can confidently say they are ready! Just look at what our year 2 students have achieved this term in STEM.

This term’s STEM project was integrated into our science program. This term’s focus was materials and their properties. Our year 2’s STEM objective was to design and build a paper bridge that could hold the weight of a toy car. To go about this let us take you through the design process and see what each step entailed. The design process involves ask, imagine, plan, create, improve, and share.

ASK: Students investigated different types of paper such as baking paper, wrapping paper, tracing paper and tissue paper. Students were instructed to ask which paper is the strongest. They gave their hypothesis then the children experimented with different types of paper to see which one was strongest. They did this by hanging 10g weights at the end of papers and seeing which paper could hold the most weight before tearing. The class kept a record of their results using tables then to make it easier to read and analyse they placed the data collected into graphs, enabling us to integrate some of our math skills garnered over the year.

IMAGINE: Based on the information collected through the paper investigation students were given the objective to design a bridge (constructed mostly of paper) that could hold a toy car. Students we instructed to think carefully about the paper they would choose based on its properties. The class then looked at examples of famous bridges (landmarks) in the world and what made them so strong. This allowed us to integrate our HASS knowledge and skills learned over the year. Students looked at beam bridges, truss bridges and suspension bridges. Students took notes on design and structure and imagined the type of bridge they would build.

PLAN: The class was then placed into groups where they brainstormed ideas and planned how to best build a bridge that could hold a toy car. They decided on materials they would use, planned their design then sketched and labeled their diagram (art integration)

CREATE: The following week students excitedly brought in their materials and worked together to construct their bridges. Once complete students tested their products. There was some success and of course some disappointments, but this is exactly where the learning takes place. Through failures flourish success, so long as you are persistent, a concept learned and practiced in our health lessons.

IMPROVE: Many challenges were faced and resolved such as finding the right materials, construction and working together as a team. These challenges affected results which showed the importance of teamwork and communication. Our students then learned to work together to improve their design through modifications before sharing their bridges with the class.

SHARE: Students enjoyed sharing their prototype with the class and learning from each other and now we are excited to share our bridges with YOU!

– Team Year 2

Year 3B – Exciting Events

Learning is really exciting in year 3B.
It was cool to code with ‘Ozobot’. We did colour coding on paper, Coding with ‘OzoBlockly’ in laptops and using Ozobot apps in iPads as well.
We have learned how to do the dot paintings and the meaning of aboriginal art symbols and have created a story using the symbols with dot painting. It was amazing! Moreover we have used tessellation technic to create art. It was great!
After researching about an animal, students have created a 3D habitat of their animals using recyclable materials. They were awesome!
Browse our pictures … you will definitely feel the power of EXCITEMENT!!

– Rahnuma Nasrin
Teacher Year 3B

Assalamualaikum,

SubhanAllah we are nearly at the finish line. It’s amazing how fast the year has passed but then again time flies when you’re having fun! The year 4’s have already learnt so much this year and have continued to do so in term 4.

At the end of term 3, we were fortunate enough to be able to go on an excursion to Fremantle Prison. The students went on a tour and saw some of the prison cells of convicts that we had previously learnt about in class. Students were able to have the opportunity to experience what it was like for the convicts many years ago and witness their contributions to society. It was great to be able to see the things we had learnt about in real life! We learnt so much and had an enjoyable day.

This term in HASS the year 4’s have been learning all about the 3 R’s of sustainability and what it means to live sustainably. By reducing, reusing and recycling we are able to prevent waste and conserve natural resources. After watching the documentary “Brave Blue World” we have found that if we don’t change our way of life, many people won’t have access to clean drinking water in the future. In saying that, there are also a lot of individuals trying to make a difference for their community by inventing new technology. Who knows, maybe one of our very own students will bring about change within our own community.

As part of the Science curriculum this term, students learnt about different types of materials and their properties. Using this knowledge, they were then required to design and construct their own patchwork bag for STEM. Students had to keep in mind the type of bag they planned on creating and its purpose and therefore find suitable materials. MashaAllah, the creations that the students came up with were just outstanding!

As the year comes to a close, we can’t help but feel bittersweet. We’re so proud of how far the year 4’s have come this year but are sad about having to let them go. We’ve made some great memories and hope that the students will cherish them. We wish them the best of luck as they go on to year 5 and continue to learn and grow as individuals.

JazakAllah Khair

– The Year 4 Teachers:
Mrs Abrahams, Miss Edwards and Sr Aisyah

It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of Term 4, 2021. The Year 5 classes have been working very hard this year and have achieved some amazing outcomes. Students have been developing their personal identities, discovering their strengths and weaknesses, discussing their emotions and feelings, identifying their values and developing their decisions.

The Year 5 students displayed a great deal of enthusiasm when they were tasked with the challenge of designing and building their own form of model using Popsicle sticks. Their eagerness were very rewarding and inspiring. The amount of creativity and skill that has been displayed with the resulting creations, is very impressive. Please do take time to look through the photos of these stunning creations.

We would like to say thank you to all of the students for their hard work and commitment over the year, and to the parents for supporting and encouraging their child to do extra revision at assessment time. We are very proud of our students’ achievements and enthusiasm, and wish them the best in the next academic year.