Newman News Term 4 Week 4 2020: From the Leader of Wellbeing Primary
This week we celebrated one of the highlights of the Year 6 calendar with our annual camp to Forest Edge Recreation Camp in Waroona. A key theme of the camp experience was ‘challenge your paradigm’, meaning to challenge the way we look at the world and ourselves. Students were encouraged to reflect on the difference between the things they think they can do and those things that they can actually do – a great message for students of all ages to consider.
Some students can have a fixed mindset about their abilities or capacity to confront problems or challenges, but this could not be further from the truth. Every student can develop the way they think. Sometimes students can be heard saying, “I’m not a mathematical thinker…” or “I’m not very creative…”, however through practice and opportunity students can learn to develop their styles of thinking and find new approaches to old problems. Students should always have an open mind about new experiences and ways of thinking as this helps make us to be better thinkers, gives us confidence and helps to make us stronger.
Year 6 Camp
This week students from Year 6 had the privilege to take part in their camp at Forest Edge Retreat in Waroona. Students have been waiting patiently since April for this big adventure and they were not disappointed. Students took part in several activities including big fox, abseiling, pamper pole, kayaking, raft building, screen printing, target shooting and the crate climb challenge. It was wonderful to see students coming together to enjoy these activities and many students have been able to form new friendships over the last few days. Many students reported the best aspect of the camp was the opportunity to try so many things for the first time and I think lots of students surprised themselves with the new talents they discovered.
I would like to thank all students for the positive way they participated in the Year 6 Camp this year. I would also like to thank the hard work and dedication of our Year 6 teachers, Mr Hunt, Mrs Short, Mrs Le Sanders and Mrs Horn for all the work they did behind the scenes in preparing such a great experience. To Miss Cresp, Mrs Fitzpatrick and Mrs Biancuzzo who gave up time with their family this week to be with us, we thank them too. Finally, we must thank the amazing team of instructors and support staff at Forest Edge Recreation Camp. Their affable and easy-going nature combined with a focus on safety and supporting our students really made everybody’s camp experience wonderful.
We can’t wait to do it all again in 2021!
Student Reflections
“I thought camp was quite fun. It was a good experience because you got to do new things that we hadn’t tried before. It was also great to get out of our comfort zones and just have different experiences. My highlight was the kayaking because I had some experience in it and it was great to work with my friends in a two-person kayak and support others who were doing it for the first time. Overall, camp was really fun!” Michael Harby
“I thought camp was a really great experience and came with a whole lot of new opportunities to try things we’ve never done in life. It was a great way to meet new people and make new friends. The whole thing was awesome. Even though some of the activities were scary they were still amazing and it was awesome to conquer these challenges. The thing that I am most proud about is the Pamper Pole. A lot of people were scared to do it, but I managed to make it to the top and jump off. Camp was simply outstanding!” Molly Hayes
“When I first got to camp, I never thought that just a day later, I would be climbing to the top of the roof in the eating area! My first activity was abseiling, and even though it looked really challenging, I expanded my paradigm and went for it. It gave me the courage to try out all the other activities at camp too. Hanging out with my friends and favourite teachers was awesome. The food was delicious, and the instructors were all really nice. Being on camp made me feel really happy and doing lots of different activities has made me feel more confident around friends and challenging activities. The thing I’m most proud of is that in all the teams I worked in, we all worked well together and communicated well. Overall, camp was tremendously fun, and I am really glad we were able to go!” Maddy Chakaodza
Year 5 Leadership Retreat
Today, students in Year 5 spent the day with 24:7 Youth Ministry engaged in a retreat based on leadership. As our Year 5 students prepare to become the leaders of our campus next year, it is important that we spend time helping them to understand and develop the capacity to lead. A large number of students have nominated for the 2021 Student Council positions and these students have already attended two workshops hosted by myself and Mr Martino our Leader of Mission and Catholic Identity. Students will draw on these experiences at today’s retreat to write a letter to Mr Finneran outlining their suitability for a leadership role, as well as what they understand to be effective leadership. We are looking forward to announcing our new Student Leaders for 2021 soon!
Gifted & Talented Showcase Evening
The students who have participated in the Gifted and Talented (GATE) program this year will be hosting a learning showcase on Wednesday 11 November from 5.30pm – 6.30pm. The showcase will centre around “Project Homeless” which is an authentic problem-based learning project.
The project incorporated a range of strategies and social justice issues which matched the learning styles and needs of more academically able students. These strategies include:
- Enable the development of higher order thinking skills and strategies
- Demonstrate logical, critical, creative, lateral, and parallel forms of thinking
- Develop and apply creative problem-solving skills
- Encourage collaborative work; and
- Inspire students to have FUN whilst ENJOYING an authentic project.
Students are very excited to share their innovative ideas, completed projects and learning experiences. Their dedication, hard work and commitment to this project is to be commended.
The GATE evening will be hosted by Mrs Renae Zelich, Leader of Learning and Miss Davina Sankar who has also been supporting the program. I would like to thank both of these staff members for their dedication and hard work in supporting our students and giving them an opportunity to showcase their wonderful learning.
Arts Festival Highlights
Last week, students from Lavalla gathered at the Marist Auditorium to showcase some of their talents. There was a large number of visual arts on display and it was great to see so many students taking their families on a tour to show them their great work. The evening also saw several students perform instrumental or vocal pieces. With limited opportunity to present this year, it was wonderful to see so many families attend and support these students. We owe a big thanks to Mrs Farrell, Mrs Grayden and the Arts Department for putting on such a wonderful event.
For more information and images from our 2020 Arts Festival click here.
