Reflection 2009
Reflection time
We have reached that time of year again! We have two weeks left of school and it’s time to look back and reflect on the 2009 school year. It’s been a huge year of learning for us, with lots of new experiences! Here are some of the highlights:
Class Blog
This is the end of our first year as class bloggers. It has been a fantastic learning journey, and has opened up the walls of our classroom to include learning partners across the globe! We have made strong contacts with other classes that we will continue to work with next year. Mr Webb’s class in New Zealand, Mr McClung’s and Mr Chamberlain’s classes in the USA are some of the classes we have worked closely with. The opportunities that have come from this are amazing and we look forward to expanding on this in 2010.
Clippers For Cancer
This outstanding event to raise money for the McGuinness McDermott Foundation was a definite highlight of our year. Planned and managed by the boys, this event raised nearly $2000 to support children living with cancer. The boys collected donations and sponsorships leading up to the day of the event where they had their heads shaved to further raise awareness for the cause. It certainly did that, at least within out school community, and we raised more as a single class, than has been done in our school’s history.
We learned a lot from this years event, and planning has now begun for Clippers For Cancer 2010. Thanks to this blog, next years event will include several classes from Hackham East as well as other schools in Adelaide, New Zealand, and the USA!
CLIPPERS FOR CANCER LINKS:
Governor-General’s Morning Tea
Another big event for us this year, was the opportunity to perform at a morning tea hosted by Premier Mike Rann and the Governor-General Ms Quentin Bryce. We performed the National Anthem and two other songs for the audience. The students then had the opportunity to mingle with guests and every child was spoken to by Premier Rann and the Governor-General. This opportunity came after we performed at Parliament House last year. I would like to acknowledge Mr Leon Bignell (Member for Mawson) and the support has has given our class. It is because of this support that these events have been available to us. These opportunities are rare, and have been an important part of our learning this year.
GOVERNOR-GENERAL LINKS
Meeting the Premier and Governor-General
Aussie Rules Footy in Missouri
Working with classes overseas is one of the huge bonuses of classroom blogging. Teaching Students at Noel Elementary School in Missouri about AFL Footy was a great learning experience. I was able to skype in to Mr McClung’s classroom and answer questions about Australia and then the boys wrote a video project to give them more information about our national sport.
AUSSIE RULES IN MISSOURI LINKS
Haka
Haka has been an important part of our class this year. Learning the Haka began as a way to encourage boys to be involved with choir, but has become much more than that. The boys have identified with the culture of the Haka, and have learned about strength (making strong choices), teamwork, respect, pride, focus, commitment, confidence, loyalty and integrity.
We worked very hard to raise the standard of our performance and had the opportunity to perform Ka Mate on stage at the Festival Theatre for 2000 people at the Public Schools Music Festival. We had regular after school rehearsals and even a sleepover rehearsal! We had a lot of help along the way and I would like to thank Sid Hazel and Erina Anderson for their input and expertise.
Haka was a global learning project for us. We received a lot of support and instruction from our learning partners in New Zealand. Through posting videos on our respective blogs, students were able to give and receive feedback from across the world. We are looking forward to working on a new Haka and writing our own school Haka for next year.
HAKA LINKS
Public Schools Music Festival
This year’s music program was based around our participation in the Public Schools Music Festival. It is always great to see our school represented on the big stage, but even better this year that we had nearly all of our class represented in our boys choir. With our choir and Haka performances in the festival, it made for a very busy term 3. It required a huge amount of dedication from the boys, with several late nights and early mornings.
Premier’s Reading Challenge Assembly
Our latest highlight was this term’s Premier’s Reading Challenge Assembly. Earlier in the year, Brodie and Liam wrote to Premier Rann and invited him to present awards at this event. The Premier accepted their invitation and attended this assembly along with the Minister for Education, Dr Jane Lomax-Smith, Mr Leon Bignell and Mr Chris Robinson (CEO of the Education Department).
This was a fantastic opportunity to share our Haka with our school community as well as show the learning that had happened to our special guests. Liam and Brodie ran the assembly. They spoke with confidence and represented our class brilliantly!
Looking back at the achievements of the year is an important thing to do. It lets us celebrate success, and helps us to think about what we’ve learned from the experiences and how that can help us move forward into next year. I am really proud of all of the boys. They are a fantastic learning team, and I can’t wait to see what they can do next year!
Saturday, 28 November 2009
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