Watch this short video from BTN which is all about “Web Secrets” and tell me in at least two substantial paragraphs what you think. Do you do anything that your parents don’t know about? How much would you be happy with your parents seeing? Why do you think parents want to check what you do? You can answer all these questions (and more) and give reasons for your opinions and answers. What do you think most kids opinions are on web privacy and what are some of the things they get up to? What are parents’ opinions? Remember, parents have been around long enough to have experienced consequences of the actions they made as kids – you have not, you still haven’t experienced the full force of some really bad decisions (and you may not for years). So, who knows best?

Next stop – Amsterdam! In a similar way to Copenhagen, Amsterdam has evolved around a series of canals. The canals are hundreds of years old and the history of the city can be seen everywhere, particularly if you take a trip around on a canal cruise. There are heaps of museums and tourist options and one we took (which will please Ms Svein) was the Van Gogh Museum. I’ve enjoyed Amsterdam way more than Copenhagen, which was a little slow and limited as far as being a tourist was concerned. Amsterdam is much bigger, livelier and historical and I’m just disappointed that I only have three nights here.

Friday will see me board yet another plane to jet back to sunny Manchester. Nice one!

This is one I’m posting from my iPhone, so I hope it works okay. Just landed in Denmark this morning (the country in Europe, not the town down south), and it’s looking pretty good. We’ve only got three days here, but even after one coffee it’s already an expensive place to be compared to Australia. I’m sure I’ll have a good time, though, so don’t feel too sorry for me.

Everyone knows that, of all the countries around the world, the UK has an immensely rich and varied history. Few places have as great a history as the town of Chester. The name itself is historic, its origins being Roman meaning a fortress or fortified town and the Roman presence in the area is still strongly visible. We saw the remains of a genuine Roman amphitheatre with the remains of the thick walls still visible. We also saw the great medieval wall which still showed the scars of the English Civil War (1642 – 1651). The Royalists (those who supported the king) were camped within the town whilst the Parliamentarians (those who supported the freedom of parliament) blasted them with their cannons. The photo below shows where the wall had to be repaired. An even older history is also visible in Chester, one that doesn’t go back hundreds, but rather millions of years. Sedimentary rock which was laid down millions of years ago forms the bedrock upon which the town is built and with lower water levels this is clearly now visible. Check out the photos to see this amazing history.

This week (and for the next few weeks) I’m enjoying a well-deserved (in my opinion) break in Europe. I’ve returned to my home town of Manchester in the UK and am spending time catching up with my family and taking nostalgic tours around all my old haunts. Whilst I’m in the UK the fabulous students from LA14 are in the excellent care of Mrs Vandebroek and continue to blog in the usual way.

Yesterday I had gruelling 18km walk around the hills and countryside of the Hope Valley (apparently the village where all “Hopes” originated). The scenery was incredible and the climb up and down the hills punishing, but the reward was the great photos you see below. I’m sure our amazing art teacher, Ms Svein will enjoy these (sorry there’s so many of them).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This task is all about the year so far. We’ve accomplished so much this year, but what parts of it have stuck in your minds most? Write a post about how you think this year has gone. You may like to consider how you are progressing, maybe how you’ve found the work, perhaps which activity has been your favourite. What are your hopes for the rest of the year? With only 20 weeks of primary school life left after this term how would you like those weeks to go?

Microphones and technology have been a great asset to us in encouraging and exploring opportunities to participate in English activities. We’ve been able to create podcasts on a number of topics and demonstrate our ability to change our speech for different purposes. Some of our podcasts have been very formal and required an interview style format with clear turn-taking, whereas others have been very informal, although these ones also required controlled informality and an awareness that the purpose was still educational. The students have created introductory music and used Audacity to edit them. The podcasts are also a great opportunity to empower students who may struggle to write; they have the option to verbally demonstrate their comprehension of a topic.

Below are two examples of these podcasts. A group of students discussed what they think happens after we die. This may sound very serious, but never underestimate children. They have very valid opinions and are capable of holding very interesting discussions (as you’ll see). The topic came about following the death of a character in a series we are watching. The other podcast is one I did with a student to see how she could address the requirements of completing a persuasive writing text orally.

   

Last week the whole school (yes, the whole school) took part in our annual faction cross country competition. This year was probably our best ever, but that has a lot to do with our awesome Phys. Ed. teacher, Mr Jones, whose twice weekly running club has helped so many students prepare. The students from LA14 were incredibly successful, especially Riley Crane who won the boys’ race.

Last week we were very lucky to have some special guests visit the school. On Friday a group of ten students were selected from our class (by our wonderful Art teacher Miss Svein) to take part in an art workshop with Aboriginal artist, Troy Bannell. Troy uses art to express and educate others about his culture and the Aboriginal heritage of Australia.

We also had a visit from the ex-Wildcats basketball player, Tom Jervis. Sadly Tom transferred to Brisbane this year following a great career at the Wildcats which included two premierships. Our awesome Phys. Ed. teacher, Mr Jones, invited him along to run a basketball clinic with the students and they had a fabulous time.

We’re very lucky to have such excellent specialists who are constantly looking to provide stimulating educational experiences for our students.

Our fabulous little year ones have been very busy writing poems about jelly. Once they’d finished, their wonderful wobbly creativity deserved to be printed out and published in class. Unfortunately, our little buddies lacked the skills needed to type up their literary jelly gems so they asked if we could help. We jumped at the chance and spent a fabulous hour teaching the year ones how to type and format their work. Check out the photos below.