29 November 2022
Newsletter Articles
Principal’s Address
Dear Parents, Students and Staff,
Welcome to the seventh edition of the newsletter this year. We are in the middle of the busiest term. This term we will have many events ahead of us. Here is the list;
2nd December: Year 12 Graduation
7th December: Foundation to Year 5 End of year Concert and Award
Ceremony
7th December: Secondary End of Year Ceremony
12th December: Year 6 Graduation
Year 12: Year 12 students have successfully completed the 2022 academic year. All the external exams are over. Now it's time to wait for the results. Wishing all students sitting their SACE exams the very best. I wish all their dreams come true.
Semester Exams: Semester exams are fast approaching!. Good luck to all our students for their final tasks during the week 8 and 9.
Year 11 Subject Selection: We would like to remind our parents regarding the new subject selection criteria policy. A letter has already been sent to year 10 parents. We would like our students to realize their full potential, however, sometimes they make choices depending on the environment and friends, not considering their own abilities. Please discuss the subject selection process with your child to get the most benefit for their future.
Pastoral Care Camps: The Mylor camp will be held at the beginning of the school holiday. We believe our year 6-11 students will benefit from it and have much fun during the camp. Please encourage your children to attend.
Traffic Congestion: As everybody is aware, education is crucial to the school community but safety comes first!. According to the law, drivers must not park in drop-off zones as they're no parking zones. Therefore, when we drop off or pick up our children, we expect our parents to abide by the traffic rules. We have received a number of complaints from our neighbours, such as blocking driveways, double parking, speeding, etc. I believe we can handle this problem by showing extra vigilance and responsibility. Thank you so much to those who have been cooperating and abiding by the rules.
Till next issue,
Educationally Yours,
Mr. Gokhan Kot
Campus Principal, Elizabeth East
Junior Primary Curriculum - Chloe Rees
Happy Term 4 everyone! Not long to go now! I was recently invited to see how students can benefit from learning outside the classroom. Outside environments extend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom into a space where students can learn, grow and play with nature. The Junior Primary team will incorporate some outdoor learning into our teaching as the weather improves and we can explore our school grounds in different ways!
A reminder that EOYC tickets can be purchased at the front office for $5. This year we don’t have to cap numbers and can invite the whole family along! The students have been working tirelessly, learning some fantastic performances to entertain you on 7th December at the Golden Grove Arts Centre.
Primary Curriculum - Shalini Moss
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
It has been an excellent start to Term 4 and it is mpressive to seee the positive attitude that students have returned to school with. It is evident they are working towards demonstrating accountability, cooperation and engagement in their learning in the final term of the year.
Next year, we will be working with the updated Australian Curriculum which now sets a higher standard for educational achievement in Australia going forward. It has been decluttered, allowing teachers to focus on what matters most, and it is evidence-based. There is a stronger focus on phonics in English and on mastering essential mathematical facts, concepts, skills and processes. Students will be introduced to concepts and processes at the right time. History has been significantly decluttered too, allowing more time for in-depth teaching. In addition, there is a strengthening of explicit teaching of consent and respectful relationships from F–10 in age-appropriate ways.
Thank you for your support and let’s complete this academic year by working together to ensure your child succeeds.
Front Office News
Inclusive Education
LET’S LEARN MORE ABOUT ADHD
Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active
A child with ADHD might:
- daydream a lot
- forget or lose things a lot
- squirm or fidget
- talk too much
- make careless mistakes or take unnecessary risks
- have a hard time resisting temptation
- have trouble taking turns
- have difficulty getting along with others
The cause(s) and risk factors for ADHD are unknown, but current research shows that genetics plays an important role. Recent studies link genetic factors with ADHD.1
In addition to genetics, scientists are studying other possible causes and risk factors including:
- Brain injury
- Exposure to environmental risks (e.g., lead) during pregnancy or at a young age
- Alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy
- Premature delivery
- Low birth weight
Deciding if a child has ADHD is a process with several steps. There is no single test to diagnose ADHD, and many other problems, like anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and certain types of learning disabilities, can have similar symptoms. One step of the process involves having a medical exam, including hearing and vision tests, to rule out other problems with symptoms like ADHD. Diagnosing ADHD usually includes a checklist for rating ADHD symptoms and taking a history of the child from parents, teachers, and sometimes, the child.
In most cases, ADHD is best treated with a combination of behavior therapy and medication. For preschool-aged children (4-5 years of age) with ADHD, behavior therapy, particularly training for parents, is recommended as the first line of treatment before medication is tried. What works best can depend on the child and family. Good treatment plans will include close monitoring, follow-ups, and making changes, if needed, along the way.
If you or your doctor has concerns about ADHD, you can take your child to a specialist such as a child psychologist, child psychiatrist, or developmental pediatrician, or you can contact your local early intervention agency (for children under 3) or public school (for children 3 and older).
ADHD can last into adulthood. Some adults have ADHD but have never been diagnosed. The symptoms can cause difficulty at work, at home, or with relationships. Symptoms may look different at older ages, for example, hyperactivity may appear as extreme restlessness.
You can find more information from the link below.
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/index.html
Counselling
For term 4, the counselling team has been providing support to students with social dynamics, emotion regulation and awareness of achievement. Students are being assisted with strategies to enable them to communicate assertively with their peers in order to find a resolve to an issue. There is always a way to be brutally honest without being brutal. This mindfulness of communication to get our point across without being depicted as rude or overbearing is beneficial to social development and being able to filter our thoughts into positive frameworks.
Awareness of achievement is also being supported via goal setting that is broken down into manageable sections which can be looked back on as visible progress. Sometimes smaller steps can actually help an individual move further in the direction they desire instead of attempting to take fewer but giant leaps. This with intent to help students strive towards their ambitions with a balance of how to get to the top in a more manageable approach. This also looks to reduce stress and anxiety of what is on their plate.
The counselling team will look to continue supporting student wellbeing through the rest of term 4 and into 2023.
Jesse Agostino
School Counsellor
Library - Lisa Preston
This term we are looking at games. It is International Games Month in the Library.
Did you know you can look at reading as a game?
BOOKOPOLY Rules
OBJECT: The Object of the game is to read as many books as possible by working your way through all the types of books in the library.
PREPARATION: Place yourself at the beginning to get ready to READ. Each player can choose the speed and complexity of their reading at their own level.
THE LIBRARY: The Library holds the Titles of the books in the library. But books may also be acquired from home, friends or public libraries.
THE PLAY: Starting Reading, each player can choose books in the Easy Fiction, Junior Fiction, Series, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Secondary Fiction or Nonfiction categories. But make sure you can read the category before moving on to the next category.
PAYING FINES: If you do not return your library books on time you will have to pay the fine to the front office.
BOOK CHALLENGE: When you need a Challenge – Please find a book in the library that is a little above your comfort reading
LIBRARY QUEST: Find a book in a genre that you have not read before…
WINNERS: We are all winners as long as we continue to read
END OF GAME: Last week of borrowing is Week 6 for Elizabeth East campus,
ALL books due by the end of year 14th December 2022
Foundation Year Level
We enjoyed an incursion where we investigated maths games. We used trial and error and our number skills to solve the problems. We had a lot of fun.
We also had great fun at Sports Day this term. We all competed together in our teams and had a fun filled day.
Ahmed said he loved the running race and he won a ribbon.
Shahida enjoyed playing the ball grab game and her team grabbed 47 balls to win.
Shahyan loved the large egg and spoon race - “it was so fun.”
Year 1
And just like that…. the school year is nearly over!
Team Year 1 are continuing to grow in many ways, building resilience and are working hard on their time management and social skills. Our ‘Pinnacle’ school values are a constant discussion, and we reflect on how we should ‘action’ them every day.
This term we are unpacking narrative writing in English. Explicit teaching of adjectives, verbs, adverbs, nouns, homophones, synonyms, and rhyming words still also feature heavily during our English lessons. Handwriting practise continues to be a focus in our classroom and is not confined to literacy sessions but is always emphasised. In HASS we are exploring and researching the recycling process. In Health we are learning about Sun, Pool, Beach, and Road safety.
In Mathematics Team Year 1 are currently investigating money, volume, and capacity. Sports Day was a huge highlight for all involved. Current End of Year Concert rehearsals are also providing us all great excitement and delight.
The learning taking place is wonderful. The rest of Term 4 will be a blast!
Year 1 – Teacher
Ms. Christina Surmèi
Year 4
This term is flying by!
We have been learning about Persuasive text types in English. We began by writing about a topic of our own choosing (most of us picked soccer). In Maths we have been experimenting with money. We have been learning how to budget and calculate change when purchasing items. We had a fun maths incursion where we worked with the year 5 and 6 classes to solve interactive maths problems. Our favourite was the knotted chain activity where we had to untangle ourselves with a partner.
We look forward to ending the year successfully!
All the best from the Year 4 class and Miss Marcoionni :)
Year 5
This term the students in year 5 were lucky to have a Math incursion at Pinnacle college, where they had the opportunity to interact with 17 large colourful hands on activities.
When experiencing ‘World of Maths’ the students have an opportunity to learn and express a variety of different skills and strategies needed for problem solving in real life situations.
The two main purposes of the sessions are:
- Solving problems from a given situation on each activity
- Serves as a guided discovery lesson where your students will discover and identify many mathematical concepts and ideas in a fun environment.
During the session students will analyse mathematical problems through investigation, comparison and reflection.
Year 6
What an exciting final term we are embarking on!
We began with our Sports Day at Bridgestone Athletics Centre, which was a huge success. We were also lucky enough to have near perfect weather on the day.
We’ve been very busy learning about Poetry, Designing a Theme Park and developing our understanding of Chemical Sciences through Reversible and Irreversible Changes. We were also lucky enough to have a ‘World of Maths’ Incursion which was a lot of fun and challenged our way of thinking Mathematically.
Over the coming weeks we will begin our Transition to High School as we celebrate our entire Primary School experience which will culminate in our Graduation in Week 9.
Secondary Maths
Fascinating numbers around us
1. The number 9 (Coincidentally ranked 9)
This is my favourite number and it’s probably for trading reasons but I also find it visually and mathematically beautiful. In geometry we tend to find it hidden in a many places, such as:
The circle. It has 360 degrees (3 + 6 + 0 = 9)
The circle cut in half. Each half is 180 degrees (1 + 8 + 0 = 9)
The circle cut in quarters. Each quarter is 90 degrees (9 + 0 = 9)
The circle cut in 8 pieces. Each part is 45 degrees (4 + 5 + 0 = 9)
The circle cut in 16 pieces. Each part is 22.5 degrees (2 + 2 + 5 =
9)
The circle cut in 32 pieces. Each part is 11.25 degrees (1 + 1 + 2 +5 =
9)
A regular polygon inside a circle. Each angle is 60 x 3 (180 = 1 + 8 =
9)
A square. Each angle is 90 x 4 (360 = 3 + 6 + 0 = 9)
The following figures and their angles.
2. The number 73
If you’re a fan of The big bang Theory, then you must’ve heard Dr. Sheldon Cooper stating why 73 is the perfect number, here’s the quote:“The best number is 73. Why? 73 is the 21st prime number. Its mirror, 37, is the 12th and its mirror, 21, is the product of multiplying 7 and 3.”’“In binary 73 is a palindrome, 1001001, which backwards is 1001001.” The quotes are taken from the show from Episode 10 season 4, which coincidentally is the 73rd episode of the show (and the year Jim Parsons the actor portraying Sheldon was born).
3. Euler’s number
Named after Leonhard Euler, e is an irrational number and the base of the natural logarithms. Interestingly, euler’s number is known to around 1 trillion digits of accuracy [source: mathisfun.com]. It is found following this formula:
As n approaches infinity, we get a clearer vision of the value of e. When n = 100,000, e = 2.71827. An interesting property that e has, is that its slope is its value. It is also used in finance to calculate compound interest. I believe those of you who have already taken the CFA test are familiar with this information.
4. The Fibonacci sequence
Leonardo Bonacci also known as Leonardo Fibonacci (which is a nickname to say son of Bonacci), has created one of the most fascinating series in our universe using simple addition techniques while observing rabbit populations. Now, to be fair, there is some evidence that suggest Indian mathematicians knew this sequence beforehand, we will stick to the widely accepted fact that Fibonacci came up with the sequence (Although, knowing the bright scientific and mathematical history of Indian researchers, I wouldn’t be surprised to know that they were the ones who discovered it first). Fibonacci numbers are simply obtained using the following simple formula for n > 2:
This gives us the following sequence that goes to infinity:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, ….
The beauty of this sequence is that it is related to nature. For example, it appears the flowering of the artichoke, some flower petals such as Daisies, honeybees, etc.. Does it even occur in the galaxy spirals?
There is even a very interesting observation based on facts that suggests that the dimensions of the Earth and Moon are in Phi relationship, forming a Triangle based on 1.618, by Gary Meisner. But what is Phi, and what is this 1.618?
If we take any two successive numbers in the sequence, their ratio (Xn / Xn-1) gets closer to 1.618 which is what we call the golden ratio:
3 / 2 = 1.5
13 / 8 = 1.666
55 / 34 = 1.61764
233 / 144 = 1.61805
…
317,811 / 196,418 = 1.61803
Going to infinity, the ratios get closer to 1.618, also known as Phi (ϕ). We will discuss Phi in greater details down the list.
5. Pi (π) & Tau (τ)
The famous irrational number representing the ratio of circumference of a circle to its radius. Who among us hasn’t come across this number?
If we draw a circle with a diameter of 1, then the circumference will be equal to 3.14159… which is simply represented by the letter π. It is simply the circumference by the diameter. Now, we do not need to revisit middle school geometry concepts, so, I will just list two interesting properties of π:
Its digits go on to infinity with no pattern.
We all know the 22/7 approximation for Pie. But no ratio can give out the exact value of pie because it’s an irrational number.
Why did I include Tau? Some mathematicians have been debating the usefulness of π and propose Tau instead which is simply τ = 2π. Many mathematicians argue that Tau is more suited for calculating circles. Their intuition is correct when we want to dig into the details, but who doesn’t love Pi(e)?
A fun fact to mention is that there is a Pi day which is celebrated each year on the 14th of March (US date display is MM/DD, thus giving us 3/14).
6. The golden ratio
We have already discussed this ratio, but it is probably the most important ratio in the world (It was named by the Greeks). Here’s a list of its characteristics:
- The reciprocal of 0.618 is simply 1 + 0.618. Hence, 1 / ϕ ≈ 1 + ϕ
- It appears in Nature (as previously mentioned). Some tree branches are an example. The main trunk will grow until it produces a branch thus creating two new starting points. One of the starting points will grow two others while the other will not. The pattern is similar to the Fibonacci pattern.
- It is believed to represent Beauty and even though this belief is not proven, it remains interesting to know how our minds define beauty. For example, the face. Now, the following is probably not the most accurate research made but Dr. Schmid has a 10 scale ratio with 10 as the highest (most beautiful person) with most people scoring between 4 and 6. The beauty metric is first measured by the length and the width of the face then divides by the width. The optimal result is 1.618. Meaning a beautiful person’s face is 1.618 longer than it’s width. Later on, other ratios are calculated such as the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin. Finally, symmetry tests are performed to check out more beauty metrics. Dr. Schmid says that the length of the ear should be equal to the length of the nose on a perfect face, among other characteristics.
- It is believed that the ratio of our arm to our forehand is equal to ϕ.
- It is present in Geometry. Many buildings and artworks have the Golden Ratio in them, An example would be the Parthenon in Greece.
- The pantagram has the golden ratio embedded inside of it.
Secondary Science
Year 9 students studied Tectonic Plates this term. They learned about how the continents were together as one land called Pangaea 200 million years ago. They tried to bring the maps of continent pieces together like a puzzle in order to make their own Pangaea following fossil records, similar vegetation and shore lines. They finished the topic by inquiring about the technologies used in order to develop the Theory of Plate Tectonics and presented their findings to their classmates.
Year 10 students designed a first hand investigation of their own chosen factors that affect acceleration as part of the Motion topic. Some factors they investigated are mass, friction, angle of slope and force. They prepared their own set up and completed a full practical report based on their results.
