Grade 5/6 Berwick College Visit

On Tuesday the 10th of November, a large group of grade 5 and 6 students travelled with Mrs Naismith, Mr Pryor and Mrs Gardiner to Berwick College for a chance to experience two of their classes.  We were split into two different groups; one group did a maths class and the other group participated in a sports class.  I was in the sports group and we got to meet the sport teacher and see the school’s massive gym!

When we entered the Berwick College gym, I was amazed by how big it was; it must be 3 times bigger than the Berwick Lodge gym!  Then the sport teacher introduced himself and explained what we were going to do in the class.

First, we played a game called ‘revenge ball’, which is similar to a game we play at our school.  It was fun because I liked the rules more than our school’s version of the game.

Then, the sport teacher taught us a game called ‘war ball’, which is like like ‘bombardment’ but with different types of balls that have different uses.  It was challenging to remember all of the rules, but after a while we seemed to get the hang of it.

At the end of the lesson, we thanked the teacher for having us and for teaching us two new games.

Everyone who attended on the day enjoyed meeting the sport/math teacher at Berwick College.  The experience has made me feel a bit more comfortable and relaxed about going to high school, and now I am excited about orientation day!

Thank you to the 5/6 teachers for organising the great event.

By Sarah 6G.

 

2015 Asian Expo

The students in grades 3 and 4 spent the majority of term 3 learning about the countries Japan and China. The day had finally come for them to display their work and share their learning.  The groups of students studied an aspect of one of the countries, such as food, clothing, celebrations and language.  The expo, in which the students displayed their work, was open to the whole school community.

The group who studied Japanese clothing had made a poster with all the information they’d learnt.  They’d gathered facts about traditional and modern clothing.  Another group, who also studied Japan, had learnt all about language in Japan had found out some very interesting historical facts.

A group who learnt about China had chosen to study flora and fauna.  Their display consisted of an intriguing model of the different habitats.  “I mostly enjoyed making the model and working with my friends!” Said group member Abby.  She was gleaming with excitement, as everyone admired her work.

A group of boys, who explored the different kinds of Chinese food, said that the project was fun.  One of the boys said, “I liked learning about Chinese food because I like food!”

On the whole, it was clear that the 3/4 students thought that the project was fun and educational.  keep in mind that if you would like to see their work, head to Berwick Lodge next year to see the Asian Expo!

 

CYC City Camp

On 27th to 29th of May 2015, the Grade 6s at Berwick Lodge went to school camp in the city!  3 teachers, 1 teachers aide, 4 parent helpers and 81 excited students travelled by bus to the city to stay at CYC City Camp on the corner of Collins Street and King Street.

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Day 1

On the way to school camp, we had a very comfortable ride on the bus.  Fortunately, there was hardly any traffic on the road, therefore we got to camp on time!  I got to sit right at the front of the bus with Chloe M, where we could both see the road in front of us.

After we dropped of all of the luggage at CYC, we walked to Southbank to eat snack with our group leader.  Then we made our way to our very first activity in the city; a visit to the Immigration Museum.

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At the Immigration Museum, we participated in a program about Australian immigrants.  We had to investigate the suitcases that we on the table and use the information in them to find out whose suitcase it was.  Next we got our ‘Passports’ (activity books) and looked at around the museum.  I learnt very much about some of the people who have immigrated to Australia.

 

 

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After we visited the Immigration Museum we ate our lunch.  Our next activity was the Yarra River Cruise.  On the River Cruise, I sat next to Neha and Amber B.  We got to see a various Melbourne landmarks such as Hisense Arena, (and other sporting grounds) Melbourne Arts Centre and Federation Square.  The water was tranquil and the ride was very relaxing!  After the River Cruise, we walked back to CYC to access our rooms.

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When I walked inside the hotel-like camp, I was not expecting to see what I saw!  Everything was so glamorous and new, but my room was even better!  My room was on the Mezzanine; between the 3rd and 4th floor.  The ensuites were very classy and the windows has a view of the streets!  The staff at CYC were friendly and welcoming too!  We got to choose our beds and shower before dinner.

After dinner, we all walked to Crown to play Ten-Pin Bowling.  We all had a sensational time, and I was on a lane with Elly, Lexie, Simone, Leah H and Chloe M.  I came second, with a final score of 54, and Simone won with 57 points!  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the night.

 

Day 2:

Our first activity fro day 2 was Captain Cook’s Cottage.  At the cottage, we had alook around and observed the old building.  We read some information about Captain Cook and life in those days.  We even got to go upstairs and see the garden outside.  All of us had an outstanding time at Captain Cook’s Cottage.

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Afterwards, we went to Parliament House.  My team (team 2) got to watch Question Time, which was an exceptional experience.  Team 1 got a tour of Parliament House, but both teams got to have a little look around.  Parliament House was an incredible place to visit on camp as we have been learning about Government this term.

 

 

 

IMG_2214For our next activity, we were lucky enough to have a tour of the Shrine of Remembrance.  First we watched a short video about ANZAC and each of us was given a poppy to place in the Shrine.  When we reached the top of the Shrine, I placed my poppy and remembered the soldiers who fought for our country.  We walked back down the stairs and paid a final visit to the newly-built entrance area, which was where some kids placed their poppies.  We all made our way back to CYC to have dinner and get ready for the night activity.

 

 

 

 

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The night activity for day two was a ride on the Melbourne Star!  Everyone was worked up with excitement as we travelled by tram to Harbor Town in Docklands.  The Melbourne Star was such a breath-taking experience for us all!  I was in a cabin with Mr Andrews and as our cabin rose into the sky, we were all mesmerised by the views!  As it was night, we could see the gleaming city lights in the distance.  Also, Miss Tan and Mr Kelly visited us after our ride, which was fun.  The Melbourne Star was definitely a highlight for everyone!

 

 

 

 

Day 3:

On the morning of day 3, we all needed to pack up our bags and rooms.  Afterwards, we collected our pre-ordered packed lunch and got ready to board the bus to the museum.  Everyone was a bit sad about leaving the amazing hotel, but on the other hand, we were all eager to visit the museum.

Our visit to the Melbourne Museum was the final activity in the city.  My group viewed the Forest exhibition first, and we learnt about forest flora.  Next, we viewed the First Peoples exhibition, which was about the Australian Aboriginals.  Elly and I worked together to find the answers to the questions on the worksheet.  Before we left we quickly viewed the Melbourne Story exhibition.

On the way back to Berwick Lodge, we relaxed and talked to our friends about our experiences on camp.  The bus ride was quick and we arrived back at school on time!

Overall, CYC City Camp was my favourite Primary School camp!  I thoroughly enjoyed learning about all of the wonderful places we visited.

 

BY SARAH 6G

 

Interschool Sports – Netball

Every Friday, the Grade 5s and 6s are involved in Interschool Sports, and this morning, we played our first games against another school.  The school that we played against was Berwick Fields, and they had some great players on their teams.

In this blog post, I am going to write about the Netball teams.  Both of Berwick Lodge’s teams won the games but Berwick Fields had some brilliant players!  In both games, Berwick Lodge won by just 1 point and it could have been a draw if it wasn’t for the fantastic Netball players on our teams!

The game that I watched was extremely close, with Berwick Fields in the lead for most of the game.  Berwick Fields had some great strategies that helped them get the ball often and score plenty of goals.  But in the final quarter of the game, Berwick Lodge began to score goals that made the score even at times.  Berwick Fields kept scoring goals that made their score greater than Berwick Lodge’s, but in the last few minutes of the game, Berwick Lodge scored goals that made their score 1 point greater than Berwick Fields.

When the game was over, the two schools shook hands and demonstrated good sportsmanship.  Overall, both games were challenging and exciting, and it was a pleasure playing our first Interschool Sports game against Berwick Fields!

 

Making Ice Cream Experiment

Hypothesis:  I believe that this experiment will be successful because it seems like the recipe is correct.

 

Equipment Needed: 

– Ice                                                               – 1 small and 1 large zip lock bag

– 1/2 cup of milk                                         – 1 tablespoon of caster sugar

– 6 tablespoons of salt

 

Method: 

Step 1: Mix 1/2 cup of milk with sugar in small zip lock bag. (close)

Step 2:  Fill large zip lock bag with ice and salt.

Step 3:  Place small zip lock bag inside large zip lock bag and close.

Step 4: Shake hard for 5 minutes.

Step 5:  Eat and enjoy

 

Conclusion:  My hypothesis was correct and my experiment worked.  The chocolate milk changed from a liquid to a solid and it was delicious.

 

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What I Have Learnt In Term 1 2014!

In term 1 2014, I have learnt heaps of really cool new things, such as negative and positive numbers, fractions, different kinds of graphs, and of course, History and Geography of Singapore, Jupiter and it’s moon Ganymede!

My most favourite thing that I have learnt in term 1 is about Jupiter and the largest moon, Ganymede.  We learnt about them in our Web Quest that we have been working really hard on in class.  The main idea of this project is to create a travel agency that can take people on holidays to a particular planet. (Mine is obviously Jupiter.)  My group had to put our resort on Ganymede, though, because Jupiter has no solid ground and mainly consists of gasses and liquids.  The Web Quest also encourages us to consider all of the dangers on our planet.  My job was the Astronomer!  I really liked the Web Quest because I am really interested in space, and it was fun making the brochures.

Apart from the Web Quest, I also enjoyed learning about Singapore for our Asian Expo.  My group had to focus on the history and geography of Singapore.  I have made a poster about the highest hill of Singapore, called the Bukit Timah, and also the National Park near it.  I enjoyed it because it was a great opportunity to learn more about geography and what it means.

Overall, I have had a really exciting first term, and can’t wait to be introduced to more and more topics and projects next term.  Hope you enjoyed reading my post!

 

 

Grade Five Scienceworks Excursion

On Friday the 7th of March, the grade fives at Berwick Lodge went to Scienceworks for an excursion.  We were put into groups with either a parent helper or a teacher, and we visited many different sections of Scienceworks.

The bus left at about 9:00, and it took about 1 hour to get there.  We went over the Westgate Bridge and could already see Scienceworks!

The first thing we did when we arrived at Scienceworks was eat our snacks in an outdoor area with an oval behind it.  After about half an hour, my group went to ‘Thinking Ahead’ which contained fun futuristic activities and displays.  We all had heaps of fun there and enjoyed it.

After we had explored ‘Thinking Ahead’, all of the groups met up at a laboratory section.  We watched a presentation about the Earth, Sun, and Moon.  We learnt all about the stages of the Earth and Moon, and about how small the Earth is compared to the sun and how far away it is.

Next, we went to the outdoor area again to stop and have our lunch.  Then we had a walk around the oval to stretch our legs.  We still had two more activities to visit.  The next section of Scienceworks my group went to was called ‘Mathamazing’, which contained mathematical illusions and puzzles.  We had heaps of fun there trying all of the puzzles and illusions.  Everyone enjoyed it.

The final activity that we did at Scienceworks was go to the Planetarium.  I think that that would have to be everyone’s favourite part.  When we walked into the Planetarium, we had to find a seat.  Then a man introduced us to the Planeterium and told us when to recline the chairs.  It was a great experience lying back and watching a short movie called ‘The Problem with Pluto’.  Then we had a look at the night sky and the man showed us all of the constellations and star signs.

When we arrived back at school, everyone was tired and ready to go home.  We all enjoyed ourselves at Scienceworks and would all like to visit it again sometime soon!