TO VACCINATE OR NOT TO VACCINATE

After watching this media clip,we
have some opinions about vaccination and whether or not it is a good thing!

Madison asks," In the future, would you give your child a vaccination? I certainly would because what if one day, all of a sudden, your child contracts whooping cough? What did you do? Did you not give your child a vaccination?...it is one quick jab and the pain is gone!

Ivan believes: Vaccinations are very important for keeping away diseases but, some believe they can cause side effects. Is this really true? Although vaccinations may cause side effects such as a fever for a day, they are very minor and shouldn't be anything to worry about.

Madeline comments:  Having vaccinations could possibly save your life, though many believe otherwise. Many believe vaccinations have side effects such as disabilities or even death. None of this is true. Vaccinations actually prevent diseases and help create a healthy immune system.

Will C notes: A lot of people don't believe in immunisation beacuse they think it's not natural for the body.However, vaccinations are known to help many people around the world...scientist have proven the bad effects aren't true.

CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL

Congratulations on wonderful running all round, St Lukes! You were worthy winners of the Division Cross Country Event!

 

Today it's CINQUAIN

A cinquain is a poem derived from the Haiku and the Tanka forms of poetry. It consists of 5 lines.

Line 1: Title
Line 2: Two adjectives
Line 3: Three verbs
Line 4: A statement or feeling
Line 5: Synonym (similar word)         By Jamie

Fire
Strong, Fierce
Baking, Blazing, Sizzling
It destroys many lives 
Flames.

PARISH HEALING MASS

Today we went to church for a special healing Mass. It was a moving experience, after Mass, to talk to the parishioners who had received the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

As well as chatting to them we served them lunch. The Middles provided an amazing choir which the parishioners always really love and appreciate!

Corinne and Georgia.

CONCRETE POEMS-taught by Georgia

Concrete poetry—sometimes also called ‘shape poetry’—is poetry whose visual appearance matches the topic of the poem. The words form shapes which illustrate the poem’s subject as a picture, as well as through their literal meaning.

Teacher  Response:Thanks, Georgia. Being the artistic one, I knew this form of poetry would suit you. I love the idea of the flight of the bee. You illustrate exactly what a concrete poem is meant to be. The concrete poems produced by your classmates show they were engaged with the idea. 

I couldn't resist sharing some of the favourite concrete poems I found online!

Today's Poetry Form - QUATRAIN

After Will and Madeline's lessons:

Corinne wrote: ABBA

His big, heavy hooves fell deep in the snow

Shaking away his frosty white hair

His bones ache yet he doesn't care

A long journey worth to see the northern lights glow.

Jamie wrote: AABB
As the leaves start falling down
It's part of the circle of life that's going round and round!
As the cool breeze starts coming on
I can't hear the birds singing their song.

Ivan Chan wrote: AABB
Swaggering along
Singing this song
Eating my chips
Lickin' my lips!

Jonathan wrote: AABB
 Going on a mission
To do some fishin'
Caught one fish
Going on my dish!

Akon wrote:AABB
At the bay
Wanting to stay
Mum said to go
But I said, "No!"

TANKA POEMS

Today I presented the Tanka poem to the class and I thought it went pretty well. I think I explained everything clearly and I think everyone understood. Below you will see my Tanka and those of other students who were inspired by my teaching.

From Corinne:
A shattered window
To send shivers down my spine
Through a creaky door
Is.there any more to come?
These questions I dare to ask.

From Tessa:
Darkness up above
Bright moon with surrounding stars
Bats screeching in trees
Possums running round all night,
Sunrise, possums and bats hide.

Katherine:
The sun shines right down
with rays of heat and sunshine
Rain soon comes around
Wind twirls and whirls through the trees
Weather unpredictable

Students teach poetry : DIAMANTES

LANTERN POETRY

Gemma and Daniel were our poetry inspirers today with their poetry form, the "Lantern Poem." Below are the poems they inspired others to write.

Isabella wrote: Rain Through the green trees In the winter Breeze	Mia wrote: Bee Buzzes Happily Through the summer Trees	Natalia wrote: Fly Buzzes Having fun Swiftly swooping Splat
Tia wrote: Rose Growing Beautiful Very Sharp thorns Rose	Corinne wrote: Rose Petals Soft to touch Into Summer Rose	Ivan wrote: Bling Shiny So much gold Makes me look cool Swag
Joe wrote: Ball On ground Specky mark All those flyers high	Akon wrote: Leaf Beauty  Autumn,Spring So precious, both Blade	Madison wrote: Book Read it You need it You so want it Read

   

HAIKU-students teach one another how to write poetry.

The next poetry topic was "Haiku," and the teachers today were Ivan and Nick.


Teacher response: Nick and Ivan, you prepared a wonderful presentation about how to write haiku. The process was clearly explained to the other students. I really enjoyed your own work and, again, you made the "how to" part easy for the class. I will now publish some of the student work that resulted from your lesson!

Joe wrote:                                                                   Tessa wrote:
At the MCG                                                                Outside in the sun
"Up there Cazaly!" they screamed                            laughing, playing all day long
many years ago.                                                         'til the bright sun sets.

Corinne wrote:                                                             Jamie wrote:
Through the tall, barked trees                                    Stars cover the sky
the soft breeze whispers to me                                   sparkling and glittering down
at the crack of dawn                                                    as day turns to night.

Madeline wrote:
Gallipoli plains
The bugle blows long and loud
in nineteen fifteen

STUDENTS TEACH ONE ANOTHER POETRY

Corinne and Kathryn speak! 

At the moment we are doing a students teaching students programme. We are studying poetry and we learnt about a poem called the sonnet. It was a form of poetry used by Shakespeare. Firstly, we researched it and found out that a sonnet has fourteen lines with ten syllables in each line. It has three quatrains with the rhyming pattern of ABAB meaning the first and third line rhyme and the second and fourth line rhyme. This is repeated twice before a couplet, which is simply two lines that rhyme with each other.

We created this poem together!   

Teacher Response: As a teacher, I am blown away by the power of peer teaching. From the outset of this exercise, all students were highly engaged in the lessons each pair was preparing. As the fortnight came to an end, students were keenly selecting the days for their presentation. Engagement during Corinne and Kathryn's presentation was high. All students have had a really good go at writing the first quatrain of their sonnet. We will publish some of their efforts. And how do I feel as the teacher? Excited, engaged and enthusiastically brainstormimg the next possibility.

Corinne and Kathryn: your sonnet is beautiful, reflective and creates amazing images for me. You have captured the essence of this form of poetry. You have attended to the strict requirements of a sonnet's structure. Have you explored one of Shakespeare's sonnets?

 Sonnet 18, Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? is perhaps the most famous. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/18.html  It is thought to be one of the most widely read poems in all of English Literature. Try reading it then click the link for further explanation of the meaning. See how close you were to interpreting Shakespeare's intention!

GUEST SPEAKERS: Health

This week one of our fabulous Mums came to talk to us about her work at the Royal Children's Hospital. She works with newborn babies, especially those born early, in the Butterfly Ward. She cares for them day and night and especially after their operations. Some stay a long time before they are well enough to go home. The Royal Children's Hospital is a fabulous child friendly, fun friendly place.

Cooper and Madison.

BAHAY TULUYAN

Today, we again experienced a visit from Catherine, and the group who work with her, at Bahay Tuluyan in the Philippines.Can you imagine having to live on the street, not knowing where your next meal would come from?  We were amazed at how movingly Diana and Robert acted the story of their lives. It was sad to hear how many people walked past Robert as he lay on the street. It was really moving how someone finally took him to hospital and that his life then changed so dramatically.

At Bahay Tuluyan, the students are taught about their rights as children, taught English and experience games, fun and belonging. The stories we heard were heart wrenching. The presenters' lives have been so hard, yet they' re filled with hope.

WAR ANIMALS

Today we learnt about war animals. "So what are war animals?" you may ask. They are animals that are used in war and they helped the army by doing things they couldn't do.This included pigeons taking messages, dogs listening for the enemy and cats eating the rats and mice that ate the supplies. Horses, mules and donkeys carried the injured men off the battlefield and carried the heavy supplies. We would love to hear your opinions about this video in the comments below. Here are some comments from the students who are arguing about whether or not animals should be used in war. Report from Tom and Will C.
In Ivan's opinion,"Dogs can be great company. But, they can also be trained to sniff out explosives or listen for the enemy."
In Madeline's opinion, "Animals have been, and still are, help we've always needed. However, this is no excuse for animal cruelty. A long time ago, one thousand horse were sent to war and only one returned."
In Katherine's opinion, "Horses were once used to carry food and most importantly, to help wounded soldiers to safety such as the famous example of Simpson and his donkey. On the other hand, it could be dangerous for animals to be at war with no protection and they could easily be killed, die of hunger or suffer from a lack of water."
In Corinne's opinion, "Animals play a big part in today's society and in yesterday's war and should continue their noble work."

HOLY THURSDAY-Student leaders wash the feet of their friends.

Before school finished for the holidays, we re-experienced the events of Holy Thursday with our whole school. Our student leaders followed the example of Jesus, and washed the feet of their friends, parents and teachers. 
May we follow Jesus' example and be servants to one another.

Holy Thursday Liturgy from Marg Yore on Vimeo.