Last week we heldthe Montessori Schools and Centres Australia (MSCA) Head to Head Forum in our school hosting Montessori school leaders from around Australia.  The Forum was a gathering of Principals and Deputy Principals to share ideas, develop practice, tackle challenges and provide collegial support.

The Forum started with a tour of Southern Montessori School (both the primary school and middle school campuses) and then we headed to Wairoa for the remainder of the Fourm.  A variety of presentations and rich discussions filled the two days and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.  Participants shared a dinner on the Thursday evening and enjoyed being taken on a tour of Wairoa by our adolescent students.  The Cycle 4 students did an amazing job of catering for the attendees on the Friday offering an amazing spread for morning tea and lunch and everyone was impressed by their skills and what they were able to deliver.   Thank you to Monica Bello (Kitchen Specialist) and the students who worked with her to cater for the event.

Being a well-established Montessori school, it’s important for our school to take leadership nationally within the Montessori community and encourage connection and collaboration and host events such as this.  The Forum is an annual MSCA event and next year will be held in Perth WA.

Thank you to our school community who supported the Festival of Arts last night, it was an exceptional night filled with visual art, music, dance, and performances. The evening was topped off with the highly antipated art auction, which raised $4580! We would like to extend our appreciation to Georgia and our Fundraising committee for organising the food, bar and the art auction, and a special thanks to all who placed bids.

 We’d also like to thank the many volunteers who generously helped us on the night including the parents and alumni who did an outstanding job with food and catering - Paul, Amanda, Jack, Nicole K, Peter K, Jodie and Alexis, thank you for giving up your night to assist at the barbeque and in the kitchen. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Vanessa, Suzie, Shannon-Rae, Deb, Imogen, Nyssa, and Jared for supplying the cakes and sweets for our dessert bar, and to Bec for her donations and expertly managing the bar during the night. We appreciate the kind donation of white wine by Riposte Wines.

 Thank you to Sanjay, Lisa and David, our music teachers for their time and dedication in coordinating the performances and to Ibu Ellis for the fantastic Indonesian inspired acts. A big thank you also to the talented artists Tessa and Marley who created art work on the night. 

 Of course, a special mention to all our students who participated with such joy, enthusiasm and confidence, and to our teachers for the work that goes into presenting the arts program and the task of converting classrooms into art galleries.  

This term we have been learning about our body and in particular our senses. We have utilised a range of specialised Montessori equipment to ‘isolate’ the concept being explored. In these photos Gracie-Mae, Zayn and George are pairing the Thermic Bottles. The bottles contain warm, tepid, cool and cold water. Students work to pair the bottles that feel the same.

The children have loved going a bit ART crazy in Cycle 1 this term. We have studied base colours, colours that compliment, colours that contrast, new colours and shades; all in our attempt to create striking Pop Art. We have studied Andy Warhol in Lauren and Ruth’s class and used a variety of techniques to paint and print our own collections inspired by his work. We have printed leaves, drawn repeating patterns, designed shoes and dabbled in photography and the deconstruction of facial features.

Gustav Klimpt inspired art has also generated some buzz amongst the children as they have experimented with gold in all kinds of textures. The work on our canvas has been committed to say the least with the children planning and trialing colours, printing leaves in consideration of pattern, size, paint, pressing techniques and also experimenting with ways to highlight. We are so excited to present our piece at the Festival of Arts. 

Corey shared “Gustav Klimpt used gold because his dad was a gold engraver”

Ayushan shared “Andy Warhol makes pop art, it's so bright”

Piper shared “Yellow and purple would go well next to each other because they help each other stand out”

This term Cycle 2 has embarked on a study of sculpture and ceramics. We have worked with a variety of mediums such as clay, wire, and an array of natural found objects and recycled items. Through this study, children have learnt about the unique characteristics of sculpture, including its ability to exist in three dimensions. Students have honed their skills in manipulating shape, line, and form, by experimenting with different techniques such as pressing, bending, squeezing, tearing, and twisting materials to create their own unique sculptures. Our focus on plan drawings has also expanded the students' artistic repertoire, supporting them to bring their 3D compositions to life.  This investigation has provided a great opportunity for hands-on learning and artistic expression. We look forward to sharing our fantastic artwork at the Festival of Arts.

Throughout Term 1, Cycle 3 has had a focus on building a sense of community amongst students and staff members. In groups, students have been assigned STEM challenges, such as building the highest newspaper tower. They have participated in collaborative art projects and worked hard to problem solve brain teasers. Community and collaborative activities are a focus in Term 1 due to their inclusive nature. Students are grouped with those who they may not spend time with and they are supported to collaborate. The inclusive and cooperative interactions between members of Cycle 3 create unity.

The Cycle 3 community comes together on Friday afternoons, and new friendships are carried out into the school during lunch play.

"It is fun!" - Clancy 

"Community games bring everyone together" - Hazel

"I like hanging out with people from the other class" - Mackenzie

"The brain teasers were hard, but fun to work out. We had to talk a lot" - Cycle 3 Student.

Full preparations are underway for the upcoming Twilight Market in Wairoa. Year 7 students are busy perfecting their dishes for the Taste of the World section of the market, with each group offering a main dish and dessert from their chosen cuisine. Meanwhile, Year 8 students are handling the infrastructure of the market, including cashiers, drinks, art activities, and music. Year 9 students are focusing on preparing their unique products for their individual enterprise showcase at the market.

The catering crew has been working hard and had great success with the Wairoa Café, where they received a flood of orders and delivered delicious food and coffee with the help of Lauren and Monica. They also provided fantastic food and service for the Head-to-Head forum, where Montessori school leaders from across Australia gathered and praised the catering team led by the talented Monica.

In ICT classes for Cycles 2 and 3, students have been studying algorithms and incorporating artistic elements into their projects. Utilising Scratch as a programming tool, they have created interactive art pieces inspired by line and movement. Students have experimented with Buzz bots and programmed Beebots to generate randomised art. In addition, they have learned about binary code and produced pixel art utilising spreadsheet software. To expand their understanding of hardware, students have worked with microbits, makey makeys, and robotics kits to produce interactive and kinetic sculptures. To create 3D models, they have used tinkercad and have printed some of their designs using a 3D printer. They have also created merge cube images that can be viewed from various angles. All of these creative works were on display during the Festival of Arts.

Students have been busy working on new repertoire for the year, which has included developing new music skills, ways of listening, aspects of song structure and ultimately a chance to play/perform music in a live scenario. This week's Festival of Arts was that opportunity.

Preschool have been learning ‘The Arthropod Song’ an arrangement originally organised by Maree, the previous and delightful music teacher. We’ve been able to develop this song into a 4 verse setting that explores some unique biological & environmental aspects of Arthropods.

Students in each level are working on time signature rhythms within contexts to 2, 3 & 4. Cycle 3 will eventually tackle the tricky world of Compound (6/8) contexts. Cycles 2 & 3 are tackling these concepts verbally, using body percussion and with alternate drum, sticking skills. 

I’m keen to develop a song-based acknowledgment of country with students in Term 2, so that we have more than a spoken version on hand.

Last week our school celebrated Harmony Day which is a part of 'Harmony Week'.  It is an opportunity to celebrate the remarkable cultures that make up our country. Australia is one of the world's most multicultural countries  – from the oldest continuous culture of our First Australians to the 49% of Australians who were born overseas or have a parent who was.

Australia's cultural diversity is a great strength and brings with it a whole host of traditions, religions, languages and food. It helps us to do things in different ways, reduces discrimination and lets us accept difference.