Meg’s Class: Term 3 Week 7
Hi everyone,
We started the week with our class election. The leaders of each party prepared and delivered speeches explaining why their party should be elected. We then concluded the session with a vote, with students following the same process used by Australian citizens: signing in, completing a secret ballot, numbering candidates in order of preference, and placing their ballot paper into the ballot box. We counted the votes using the preferential voting system, and the Freedom Party was elected to government, with Grayson becoming Prime Minister.
During our House of Representatives lesson, we transformed the classroom into the Lower House, with students taking on roles that closely reflected the outcome of the election. The Freedom Party formed the government, while the S.T.E.M. Party became the opposition. Three policies were debated, with one bill successfully passing through the House. On Monday, we will hold our Senate lesson, where the Freedom Party will need to gain support for its bill in order for it to become law before they take over running the class on Wednesday morning. Stay tuned for updates! As part of the funding we received to support our Canberra trip, which complements our current HSIE unit on Australian democracy and government, it is important to acknowledge the following support:
The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding to our school in the amount of $30.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards
those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.
In English, we have been using our HSIE unit as a springboard to explore persuasive writing and what makes a strong argument, building on learning from Term 1. Our quick write this week (and next week) asks students to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of representative democracy and consider whether it is an effective system. We have had many interesting discussions, particularly when comparing Australia’s system to the democratic structure of our school. It will be fascinating to see the arguments students develop.
On Tuesday afternoon, the children ran the Jump Rope for Heart “Jump Off” as part of our sport session. Students worked in small groups to organise and run activities for children across the school. A huge congratulations to everyone involved! Please remember to log any remaining skipping hours on the Jump Rope for Heart website. As a school, we surpassed our fundraising goal, which is a fantastic achievement. The website will close on Monday evening, and prizes for participating fundraisers will be sent to the school shortly.
In Maths, we have been focusing on perimeter and converting units of measurement. These concepts will continue to be our focus next week.
Our class photos were originally scheduled for Monday, but due to the number of students absent, I chose to postpone them. We have arranged for Jackie Chan to return this coming Monday so that we can include as many children as possible. Please ensure your child arrives at school on time for photos on Monday morning.
Thank you to everyone who has already completed the Google Form regarding PIPs and our Growing and Glowing PDH unit. If you have not yet done so, please complete it as soon as possible. I will be sharing the PIP presentation timetable shortly.
I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. Looking forward to another busy and exciting week ahead!
With love,
Meg