West Lakes Shore School R - 7 Student Excellence Newsletter

On Tuesday the whole Pelican unit went to the zoo. We went on an excursion to the zoo because in Science we are learning about life cycles and food chains; and in Geography we are learning about habitats. When we got off the bus at the zoo we got into our group, my group leader was Ms Rozika. All groups had to complete missions/tasks as they made their way around the zoo.

The first mission was to go to the Panda habitat. We had to answer questions about what we could see in their habitat including the advantages, disadvantages and special features. I filled out the worksheet with the help of my team members for this mission.

Next we went to see the Macaw in a bird enclosure for Audrey to record her information for Geography. Once we were done we headed off to do more missions. I had to make sure my group was focused on completing the missions. We didn’t get to complete them all as there were a few issues outside of our control.

At 12.15pm all of the P2 groups headed for the Education Centre. In the Education Centre we built a habitat for a Skink (lizard). We got a sense of what we needed to do when we build our own model of one.

After the Education Centre we visited the Servals (African cat), Orang-utans, the Tiger, Lions and the Tasmanian Devils. After seeing all of those amazing animals, we ate lunch. While we were eating lunch a bird show was going on. Once that had finished we had a quick play on the playground. Not long after this we had to make our way back to the bus to go back to school.

Our time at the zoo was fantastic! We all had such a wonderful time! I hope we have more fun excursions that will be as fun as this one was. We have awesome memories. We learnt what needs to be in a habitat and what animals would like to have.

Lila L - P2

On the 27th and 28th of May, during Reconciliation week our 5 Aboriginal student leaders attended the STEM Aboriginal Student Congress at the Adelaide Convention Centre. The theme was, Living Two Worlds, encouraging Aboriginal students to use Aboriginal cultural knowledges in our modern world. Aboriginal people used scientific and mathematical processes through their daily lives before Australia was colonised, our students are learning about these histories in a modern way, two worlds aligning and working together to build a successful future for our Aboriginal students.

Braden, Pepper, Ella, Jack and Matty got to experience the Adelaide Zoo, where they learnt about habitats and sustainability of our native wildlife. With Aboriginal representatives from SA Water, our students also got to be involved in activities about water sustainability, the future of water recycling and the many uses for water in our society. They also got to experience some time with an Urban Engineer and learnt about Cultural Sensitivity and working with Aboriginal people on city developments.

Some of the highlights from the two days was, THE FOOD! The opening and closing ceremony where they heard from peers and role models like Pantju Nam, a Kaurna man, who was the keynote speaker, he, after completing high school and achieving an ATAR of 96, Pantju was accepted into a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical and Pharmaceutical) at the University of Adelaide. Our students also loved the Hip Hop artist Jimblah and dancer Amber, who were a part of the opening and closing ceremony. Our students also got to spend time with Aboriginal elders which was an important cultural learning experience for them.

 Eva Wilson ACEO and Jane Litchfield AET.

In week five students from year 5 to 7 (Scarlett, Mitch, Owen, Aiden, Nathan, Ruby, Sam, Dash, Emily, Cayley, Georgia, Jasmine, Maddie and Delaney) and Ms Clancy attended our first Student Commission meeting this year at Fulham Gardens Primary School. Two high schools and about seven other primary schools joined us there and we spent the day talking and sharing ideas.

The point of that meeting was for the teachers to step back and for the kids to express their feelings and what can be done to help kids to learn at schools - (their way). The idea is that we will share these ideas with teachers and then teachers will try to make them happen.

The things that we agreed on in our group that we would like to happen more at West Lakes Shore are:

·         More activities with the Kindy

·         More sewing and cooking lessons

·         More choice about how we show our learning.

By Maddie and Delaney

On Saturday 25th May, West Lakes Shore School's year 5,6,7 school football team competed in the Lightning Carnival at Woodville Oval. We played 4 games in total winning convincingly and earning us a spot in the grand final against Fulham North Primary School. After a great effort by all the boys we managed to beat Fulham North and proudly bring home the trophy. It was a great moment. A big thank you to Brad our coach and Kate for always being organised. Owen H-B SD7