Our final term in Marvellous Marsden has arrived. There are just so many things that we are looking forward to as we approach the end of the year.
This Term we are going to be studying Global Connections, and we will be learning about how Australia is connected to other countries, about other cultures and about Aid Agencies that help other countries in need. We are hoping to Skype with schools in other countries to help us to learn about their cultures. We are looking forward to learning even more complex maths and we are really looking forward to blogging with our 'Blogging Buddies' in Canada and USA. We start our Gymnastics program next week and are very excited about it.
The Year 6 Farewell is something we all have in our minds, even though it won't be until the 10th December. We are designing invitations and thinking about decorations. Term 4 is when we nominate our school leaders for the following year, and 8 of us are thinking of preparing speeches in the hope of being elected. We only have one boy and one girl Captain.
The highlight of Term 4 is going to be Multicultural Day. On this day, all of the students at our school come dressed in their cultural clothes, perform dances and songs, and bring amazing food from their cultures to share at the 'Culture Crunch'.Warwick Farm has MANY different cultures from all over the world. Just in our class, we have students from the DR Congo, Vietnam, New Zealand, China, India, Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, Afghanistan, Samoa, Phillipines, Tonga, and of course, some of us were born here in Australia.
There are so many other things that are going to make this Term fantastic and we look forward to sharing it all with you here.
What are you looking forward to most this term?
Does your school have a Multicultural Day?
What Country or Culture are you from?
On Friday Marsden had a lot of fun using a website called BeFunky. We used the Old Photo effect to create wanted posters of ourselves. It was fun trying to get into character for our photos, and we were amazed at how simple the free site was to use. Take a look at our individual blogs to see all of the student's posters. Did you enjoy using BeFunky?
Will you use this tool again?
Which of the effects on the site did you like the most?
| After breakfast on our second day, we learnt more about what school life was like in the Goldrush era. We are glad that we didn't go to school in those times because the punishments were very harsh, like getting hit by a strap, ruler or a cane.
We went to the tavern and the teachers sang 'God Save the Queen'. We played Bingo, then we made damper. While the damper was cooking, we made a toy called a whirligig. It was made with a cardboard button and string and it was really hard to do. Some of us mastered it, but some of us failed miserably. Finally our damper was ready and we got to eat it with Golden Syrup. It tasted delicious. | After our delicious damper, we played a variety of 1850's games. Outside, we played horseshoe quoits, hopscotch and skipping.
Inside, we played paper games called Boxes and Tic Tac Toe, which is the same as Noughts and Crosses. We also played a really fun game called Pennies, where you had to knock a penny along a table to try to make it stop inside a target. We also played dominos. The whole time we were playing, there was a freaky Peacock watching us through the window! | We had lunch after the games and then headed to the Souvenir Shop where we were able to buy something to remember our trip. There was time for a few fun photos and then it was time to head back to school. When we got home, we were exhausted and a little disappointed that it was all over, but glad to see our families. Did you come to Mogo?
What was the best part of the trip?
If you didn't come, what do you think sounded like the best part?
Where do you think would be the best place to go for an overnight excursion?
Getting Ready After our scary school lesson, we went to the tavern to prepare the hall for the bush dance. Corey, our guide, told us we were going to have a competition to make the longest paper chain to decorate the tavern.
We weren't allowed to be too loud or too quiet and we couldn't leave our table, otherwise they would take 1 metre off our chain.The people who cut their paper really thick only made a short chain. One group of girls were very clever and cut thin strips so their chain was enormous! The girls who won were allowed to stay and decorate the hall. | | | | The Bush Dance When we had all finished our dinner, it was time for the Bush Dance to begin.There were 2 men who played the violin and guitar and called out the steps. We discovered that Mr Marsland loves Bush Dancing and he joined the band, playing the lagerphone.
The violin player also showed us how to do the bush dances. He demonstrated with our teacher, Mrs Chegwidden. Bush dances are just the same steps repeated over and over, but some got faster. Some of the dances were hard to follow, but others, like the Heel Toe Polka, which is one of our favourites, we already knew.
We had an amazing time dancing with our friends. We laughed lots, some of us fell over, but we had a great time. We were really tired at the end but it was worth it! |
| On Tuesday 3rd of September, Stage 3 left for our exciting overnight excursion to Old Mogo Town. We have been learning about the Australian Gold Rush and we went to learn more and to see what life was really like on the goldfields.
We arrived at school VERY early, at 6.00am. 46 excited children boarded the coach and headed South. Our first stop on our adventure was at the Kiama Blowhole. You could hear the waves coming and knew when it was going to spray. It was very beautiful, but, unfortunately the waves weren't very big, so the Blowhole wasn't as exciting as we hoped. | | | | We got back on the bus and started the very windy trip to Mogo. Some of us didn't like the bends and got a little sick. We arrived at Mogo just after 11.00 and were very excited to wait in the camp kitchen to find out who we were sharing a cabin with. We had some free time to settle in our cabins and decide who got the top bunks. Some of us played necomb ball, soccer or football. | | After our free time and lunch, we were split into 2 groups and began our tour of the Historic Old Mogo Town. All of the buildings were real buildings from the Mogo Gold Rush that had been moved from the main street to the camp. We went into a real mine shaft that was 5 metres underground. We went into a 5 star gold rush hotel. It was awful! There was a sign saying 'No more than 5 people in one bed', and they told us that they only changed the bath water after 10 people bathed in it. | | | One of the most fun activities of the afternoon was when we learned how to pan for gold. It took AGES, and all we found were tiny little specks of gold that were practically worthless. It helped us to understand how difficult it would have been for people in the goldfields.
We also saw real mining tools like a cradle and a massive machine used for crushing quartz. It was really loud and it made people deaf who worked on them in the past. They also got mercury poisoning. | | We went into the post office, the jail, the blacksmith and the police station. We were shocked to find out that the barber was also the doctor, surgeon, dentist, chemist and undertaker. We found out that the red and white striped posts at a barber represent blood and bandages! There was also a terrifying death mask, made after someone was executed. The mask looked very real and was wearing the person's favourite hat and shirt.
We went into a hut that was where wealthy people would have lived. The fridge looked like a bird cage. People would only build a hut if they were staying in that area, but many people moved around searching for gold.
In the afternoon we had a pretend 1850's school lesson in the chapel. 6 students were chosen to be his student teachers. They ran a spelling test then there was a pretend argument between Frank and Sausau. Sausau caught Frank passing a letter and Frank threatened him and was told he would be hit 9 times with the cane. Just as he bent down to be hit, the bell rang. Saved by the bell!
This Sunday is Father's Day in Australia. Father's Day is celebrated on different dates around the world but in Australia it is always on the first Sunday in September.
Father's Day is about thanking our dads for all of the things they do for us. In some families, all of the cousins, aunts and uncles all get together to celebrate with a special meal, or activity. Other families celebrate at home with just their immediate family. Some families remember Dads who are no longer with them. It can be a very happy celebration but for some families it can also be a bit sad.
Father Written by Jennifer S. WilliamsWhen I scratched my knee, Or if I bumped my head,. When I was afraid of the dark, Or that thing under my bed, When I cried in the night, Or even in the day, You were there for me, To make it all okay. You tickled my feet, And laughed at all my jokes. You taught me to believe, In having high hopes. You are my father You did what you had to do. But more than a father You are my friend too. You made everything good, That was once bad. I just want you to know I love you Dad. Source: Father, Fathers Day Poem http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/father#ixzz2dQqGxgo1 | What are some of your favourite memories with your father?
Will you be celebrating (or did you celebrate) Father's Day? How?
Can you write a poem for your dad?
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On Wednesday 21st August, our school celebrated Book Week and held our annual Book Week Parade. All of the students and teachers were asked to come to school dressed as a character from a book. We were impressed at the creativity of some of the students with their amazing costumes.
The parade was held at 2.00pm and all of our families were invited to attend. We enjoyed watching the parade and cheering for the younger students, and of course, we loved showing off our own costumes. What did you come dressed as?
What did you think was the best costume of the day?
Did you buy a book at the Aboriginal Book Swap?
Last week during literacy, Marsden used a website called iFaketext.com to create fake text messages. Because we have been reading Letters From the Goldfields, we thought it would be fun to pretend that the Gold Rush was happening in our era. Our teacher created a video to teach us how to create the text and use the Snipping Tool to save it as a jpeg. We watched the video at home so that we were ready to create our text in our computer time during Guided Reading sessions. Using the knowledge we have gained through reading, research and discussions, we created text messages that might have been sent from the Gold Fields, if mobile phones had existed in 1851! This text was created by Vinit. Did you enjoy using iFaketext.com?
Did you have any problems?
Can you think of any other uses for this website?
2 weeks ago, Marsden studied a procedure on how to cook sausage rolls. Mrs Chegwidden found the recipe on one of our favourite cooking websites, Taste.com.au. Because it was Ramadan when we read the recipe, we decided to wait two weeks until none of our classmates were fasting. This week we finally cooked them, with the help of our wonderful Grandfriend, Mrs Mac. We used Halal sausage mince, and made a second batch using chicken mince instead as some of the students are not allowed pork or beef for Religious reasons. They smelled amazing as they were cooking. Have you ever cooked sausage rolls before?
Did you enjoy your sausage rolls?
What is your favourite thing to cook?
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