Maitland Area School

Today, as I was passing the Tech Studies Centre I was delighted to see the Reception class were having one of  their weekly lessons with Mr Greg Beeston. I could not resist but to grab my camera and capture their enthusiasm and desire to learn. I was even politely corrected that  “They’re not goggles Mrs Hector , they’re safety glasses”  when I commented upon the eye wear ! 

The students were completing their pinwheels. They had previously constructed the paper template and decorated it. Today there was cutting, folding, hammering and connecting happening. The wonder on their faces when they shared the finished product with their classmates and others put a smile on my face and gave me cause to again be thankful for our Area school setting. 

Students and parents were welcomed by Librarian Deirdre Moloney who introduced the  Book Week theme - 'Champions Read' (very fitting in this Olympic year!) - and our two judges Caroline Brown and Loren Mills.

Reception teacher Brooke Edginton and myself took the Reception students and a group of Japanese Exchange students to the Kindy on Tuesday August 14 as part of the school's ongoing transition programme. The Receptions thoroughly enjoyed the chance to socialise with the Kindy children and say hello to their staff. The Japanese students also enjoyed the visit, demonstrating their hoop-rolling skills and interacting with children of all ages.

The Shell Questacon Science Circus was in town this week running science workshops for our R-7 students on August 13-14.

The lively presentations, run by science graduates studying for a Master of Science Communication Outreach, focused on 'Balance' and 'Flight' and were warmly received by our students.

Classes made paper aircraft, modelled twirling seeds, rode a balloon hovercraft and attempted to construct bird nests from straws to support water balloons.

Feedback from the staff and students was very positive and the entertaining, knowledgeable and very personable presenters commented favourably on our students' involvement and behaviour.

We've been working in our Literacy Centres . I like the barrier game where one person calls out an instruction and another person puts it on the right spot. I've also been writing about tornadoes.

In Daily Fitness we've been playing a great game called Steal the Pirate's Treasure. You have to sneak up and take bean bags from a hoop

We've been learning our dance for the Dance-a-thon in Music. Our song is called 'Back In Time'.

I've learned about uppercase and lowercase letters in Handwriting. Lowercase letter' h' is my favourite.

On Thursday, July 19, the R/1/2 classes travelled to Adelaide to see 'Disney On Ice: Let's Celebrate'.

The excursion was the culmination of a term long theme based on Fairy Tales and was only possible by the hard work of teachers Brooke Edginton and Sarah Atkins, fund-raising with the help of our supportive parents and financial assistance from the Entertainment Centre.

What was the night like? This is what Macy had to say:

We travelled to Adelaide on the bus. and watched 'Ice Age' on the way. Nobody was sick on the bus.

We went to a school called Settler's Farm for tea and played in their playground. They had a flying fox.

It was dark by the time we got to the Entertainment Centre. We got in partners for lining up. The teachers gave us a ticket each. A few kids dropped their tickets but got them back. The tickets were scanned and we went in to our seats.

Mickey came on first. My favourite part was a Halloween party. There were ghosts, a little witch girl, two monsters and a vampire.

I was very tired on the way home but I didn't go to sleep. I really loved it.

Look! We made the cover of the school newsletter!

Great fun was had by the Junior Primary classes and families at the "Fairytale in Maitland "event on Tuesday June 26th.

The programme include the viewing of the movie 'Tangled ", Games, Guess the Lollies in the Jar competition and a shared sausage sizzle dinner.

Teachers Sarah Atkins and Brooke Edginton decorated the Performing Arts Centre beautifully and dressed as characters to add to the excitement of the evening.

Thankyou so very much to family and community members who donated goods for the raffle and helped in many other ways, such as cooking the barbecue. It is difficult to name everyone individually as it was such a collaborative effort so please accept this as our personal thanks.

It was the R/1/2 AE classes turn for assembly on Friday, June 15. Wow, what a show they put on!

The  students read a big book, demonstrated making tallies, shared their clocks and presented two stick puppet plays, 'The Three Pigs' and 'Jack and the Beanstalk'.

The students were well supported by a terrific turn out of parents and the class was the first to have their assembly 'live to air' on the PAC's big video screen.

Well done!