1 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

What a great start to the second half of the 2018 school year! To see our students back at school after a relaxing holiday happy and ready for learning is a credit to our whole school community!

At our end-of-term 2 assembly we added three students to our student leadership team. I would like to congratulate Caleb Broughan for being our new Sports Leader; Lola de Boer and Olivia Taylor as our Early Years leaders in our school. These three students have continued to step up as friendly, respectful leaders and role models and we look forward to clarifying their duties over the next fortnight.

The professional learning session last Monday with staff resulted in significant progress on our 2018-2021 Strategic Plan motto and commitment statement, and also important decisions made around developing our Bicheno Primary Quality Teaching Framework.

The School Association had a very productive meeting with significant decisions made around shade possibilities for the playground, the Barn Dance planning and fundraising, additional classroom resourcing and Little Blue Sports after school activities for our students (refer to the School Associations section in this newsletter). Our staff really the appreciate the passion, ideas and support all parents involved in the School Association have around school improvements.

The Quality Teaching Leadership training session with staff from St Helen’s, St Mary’s and Bicheno schools was also highly successful and a third session will follow later in the term. This is such a crucial opportunity to not only build leadership across our schools, but also how we collaborate around improving all our schools in literacy, numeracy and wellbeing. All three principals met and submitted an application for a Middle Years Literacy Grant and we should find out soon whether we were successful.

Our Grade 5/6 class had a highly successful excursion to the Musselroe Wind Farm and there were many exciting stories from our students about this exciting sustainable energy project. I look forward to reading their stories in this newsletter.

In the last week our staff, students and parents have commenced the process of building our school motto, our commitment statement and reviewing our school values aligned to our departments as the first overarching framework of our schools 4 year strategic plan. This is the first crucial stage of the plan and must be owned by our school community as it becomes the reference point and filter for the strategies we adopt in our 4 year plan. In the next newsletter we will share these with our school community and will notify you of a date late in term 3 where we invite community for a BBQ to brainstorm future school improvement strategies.

Special thanks to Pam, Dougie and Phil from the Bicheno Community Men’s Shed for their support and persistence working with our students developing our playground recycling stations. The first one was installed yesterday near our Kindy with the next two following soon.

Thanks everyone for your support of our wonderful school!

Rob Presswell

Grade 5/6 Science: Energy

Musselroe Wind Farm

On the 27th of July 5/6 went to Musselroe wind farm to look at sustainable energy.

After we arrived we went into n information centre where it had all the facts about the wind farm and all the stages of how the wind farm became a wind farm.

We met two men called Chris and Tony; Chris was one of the managers and Tony was the electrical worker. We went to a conference room and we talked about how wind turbines , what they are used for, what they do and other things about them. We were given a box with parts to make a wind turbine. We mainly used pipes, fairy lights and plastic blades. We got put into groups to make the mini wind turbines while Tony explained how to make them.

We went outside to try them, they were all a success so we went back inside to put them back then we went for a little road trip with Chris to one of the wind turbines. We went inside one of them and Chris showed us all of the main parts of the inside.

Every one had a great time, we went back to the main station then we went back to school.

By Charli Pou

Musselroe Wind Farm.

On the 27th of July the 5/6 class went on an excursion to Musselroe Wind Farm (Located to the West Eastern point of Cape Portland in Tasmania) to learn about sustainable energy.

After we arrived we went with Chris the education officer, to see a blade of a Wind Turbine that had been electrocuted by lightning, the little metal bits on the blade failed to bring the lightning strike down the tower to the ground. Chris said a thunderstorm 10 to 12 months ago caused 2 million dollars damage. We all attempted measuring it, it was 44.5 metres long. Then we found out that the blade was made out of fibreglass.

The Wind Turbines have to be placed in a specific order so that none of the wind turbines block out the wind for the others.

After we had measured the blade we went with Chris to the worker’s conference room to watch a video on Wind Turbines and how long and how much it cost to build the Wind Farm. When the video had finished we met Tony, an electrician who worked on the Wind Turbines, he explained to us how the turbines work and the parts in them. I found out that the Nacelle (The big box on top of the tower) is as long as our school bus!

When we had finished learning about the electrical parts of the turbines we got into groups and made our own mini ones. When we had finished making the turbines we took them outside to see if they worked. My group’s turbine spun really fast and when it did it lit up Christmas lights.

Chris then took us to a wind turbine and we got to look inside it; it had a ladder, a lift and a crane to lift up supplies. We were at the C circuit, there are 4 circuits A, B, C, and D. If one Wind Turbine in the circuit malfunctions all of the other ones in the circuit stop working as well. There are 14 Wind Turbines in one circuit. Chris said the lift shakes a lot when you go up in it, because of the wind. He also said if you get motion sickness he would definitely recommend the ladder. We got to look up the inside of the 85 metre tall tower.

Did you know that they used a helicopter to put in the Wind Turbines?

We got to run around the base of the turbine while the blades were spinning above, when you got to a certain spot the wind would push you forwards, it felt really weird.

Overall it was a great day and the class really enjoyed it. We learnt a lot about Wind Turbines, they are really awesome.

By Zali Taylor.

Musselroe Wind Farm.

On the 27th of July, 5/6 went on an excursion to Mussellroe wind farm where we were educated by Chris and Tony about sustainable energy and the way a wind farm works and what the workers do each day. The Mussellroe wind farm is located at Cape Portland, Tasmania. When we arrived, we were greeted by Chris, an experienced worker and manager at the wind farm.

Chris took us to an information centre where we learnt about the stages of the wind farm and the aboriginals because they were, and still are the traditional owners of the wind farm. After that we went to see a blade that was struck by lightning and had been repaired. When the turbine was struck, two others were as well and the total cost was one million dollars. The total cost of the wind farm was four hundred and fifty million dollars. We paced out how long the blade was and the answer was 44.5 metres long.

We then went to the conference room where we were educated by Chris and Tony and we were told some interesting facts about how much the wind farm cost and how long it took to build the 56 wind turbines. Next we made our own turbines out of pipes, plastic blades and fairy lights. We took them outside into the wind and made our electricity. After that we went to see a wind turbine. We stood under it and it looked like it was going to fall on us. Chris took us up into the tower and showed us what was inside.

Inside there was a lift and a ladder to get to the top and a machine that told the workers: how fast the wind was blowing, which way it was blowing and which way the nacelle was facing. Overall it was a fantastic day and I would definitely go again and recommend it to anybody who is interested in the way that wind turbines work.

Chris and Tony were awesome and really helped the 5/6’s with their unit on sustainable energy and we also learnt a lot about the way wind turbines work and the way a wind farm like Musselroe operates.

By Ruby Sparshott.

Fun facts about Windfarms

Did you know: At the Musselroe wind farm, there are four circuits. A, B, C and D. There are fourteen wind turbines in each circuit. The way the circuits work is if one stops, all the others after them stop too. For example, if number 6 stops, then 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 stop too, but 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 keep going because they are before number 6. But if number 1 stops then all the other ones will stop because they are after number 1. RUBY

Did you know: It cost one million dollars to replace 2 blades and repair another, when they got hit by lightning? AXEL

Did you know: There are 70kms of road at the Musselroe Wind farm? That’s more road than there is from Launceston to Scottsdale. BAYLI

Did you know: That each Nacelle weighs more than 40 tonnes? They hold the generators which weigh about 9 tonne, the gear box that weighs 28 tonne and the transformer but we’re not sure how much the transformers weigh. BYRON

Did You Know: That one wind turbine produces up to 33,000 volts? CALEB

Did you know: From the ground to the nose cone is 83 meters high? CONNOR

Did you know: The box at the top of the wind turbine (the nacelle) is as long as, and wider than our school bus. GEORGIE

Did you know: There are 56 wind turbines on Musselroe Wind Farm? GRACE

Did you know: That Musselroe wind farm is 18 kilometres long from one end to the other? HALLIE

Did You Know: The whole of Musselroe Wind Farm creates enough energy to power 56,000 homes in Launceston? ISAK

Did you know: That Mussellroe Wind Farm is 5000 hectares in size? LOLA and OLIVIA

Did you know: Mussellroe Wind Farm is located at Cape Portland on the most North /Eastern point of Tasmania? MACEO

Did you know: That everything inside the turbines are being held in place by super strong magnets so that the structure is not weakened by screws? NATARLIE

Did you know: That the blades are flexible so they don’t break, they also change their angle to stop turning when it is too windy? NED

Did you know? There are two sensors on the top of the nacelle that measures the wind speed and direction so they know which way to face and angle the blades. NICKOLAS

Did you Know: Each wind turbine has 3 blades and that each blade is 45 metres long? OCEAN

Did you know: Each turbine blade at Musselroe wind farm is 44.5 meters long? SIENNA

Did You Know? A Wind Turbine has a lift that can carry two people all the way to the Nacelle (83 m high) it takes 5 minutes? “It may not be very smooth but it gets the job done.” [Chris Sims; manager]. SUNNY

Did you know: It cost $450 million to build Mussellroe Wind Farm? TARRANT

School Association update

Canteen:

We hope everyone’s children enjoyed their lunch orders in term 2. To keep offering a regular canteen service we rely on volunteers from our school community. This is also a great way to be involved with your school and meet new parents without committing a large amount of time.

If you have working with vulnerable people clearance we need you!

1 hour - count and collate the orders.
2 hours – make and pack morning tea and/or lunch

Working group for a Shade Solution for the playground:

We have now received the funds from our successful RACT Community Grant bid.

The next step is for a group of parents/community members to come together and workshop ideas. Please speak to Carrie or any of the committee members if you would like to be involved in this exciting project. As always, we appreciate any amount of time you can give, whether it be only an hour to research or simply to share your experiences with a similar project you may have been involved with.

If you become aware of any grants available to community groups you can email any info you have to megan_coelho@hotmail.com and we will do the rest.

Barn Dance fundraising meeting

Yee-haw! It’s time to start putting together the annual School Association fundraiser: Barn Dance. Come along Wednesday 1st August at 9am to be involved. Everyone is welcome!

Little Blue Sports:

Back for term 3! There will be 6 x Tuesday afternoon sessions this term for grade 3/4 and 5/6. These sessions are focussed around team-based activities with an emphasis on camaraderie and skill development. The coaches will work with the children to explore the nature of teams and the role of individuals within those teams. The SA is fully funding term 3 so these sessions are free of charge for your child.

School Association donation

The School Association fundraises for the benefits of our school children and we are delighted to announce we have gifted $1,000 to each class for resource upgraders and new equipment etc.

What’s happening in our classrooms?

Prep/1

English

Rereading our writing to check:

• If it makes sense
• have we used full stops and capital letters

Maths

• Measurement
• Using 20 frames to show how we use the make to ten strategy (e.g. for 6 plus 8, think: 8…. 2 more to 10 and 4 more …. 14).

Science

Why do I live here?

During this term we will examine a range of living things to explore the links between the external features of living things and the environments they live in.

Social focus

How can we be a good friend?

Grade 1/2

English:

• Comparing characters in stories
• Adding ed and ing to base words

Maths

• Doubles
• Being maths detectives to solve number sentences with missing parts, eg. 4+ _ =9

Social focus:

• What is a good friend? How can I be friendly?
  The Earth and Plastic

Grade 1/2 Plastic Free July

During Plastic Free July, Grade 1/2 talked about what happens to the plastic we use every day and what we can do to replace this.

We wrote persuasive text about it too.

Did you know that lots of animals die from plastic every year? I strongly believe there is too much plastic in the world! Read on to find out more about it!

Firstly, plastic is bad because it kills animals when they eat it mistaking it for food. For example, a turtle can mistake a plastic bag for food!

Secondly, plastic can take thousands of years to break down! Did you know every straw you have used in still on earth?

Finally, plastic can break down into smaller pieces. There is more plastic in the ocean than stars in the Milky Way! Fish can eat the plastic and then we eat the fish!

As you can see, plastic is EVIL!

By Sylvie

Plastic

Imagine going to the beach and there is plastic everywhere. There is no sand on the beach, no clean water and most of the animals are dead. I strongly believe that single use plastic is bad for the environment. Read on to find out 3 reasons why.

My first reason is that plastic is destroying the environment. For example, birds are getting stuck in our plastic rings that are thrown away!

My second reason is plastic is killing our sea creatures. For example, fish are eating it and it’s poisoning them.

My last reason is that plastic takes thousands of years to break down. Instead of getting a plastic bottle and using it once, use it over and over again.

As you can see, plastic is bad for the world.

By Lachie

Plastic

Did you really need that straw? Over 1000 sea turtles die each year because of plastic. If you litter the great patch of garbage would get bigger and bigger and even bigger. I think we should make a type of acid that gets rid of all the plastic in the world. I strongly believe that plastic is bad. Read more to know more.

Firstly plastic is bad because it kills the ocean’s animals and birds.

Secondly it kills whales and turtles when they accidently eat it. For example, if a turtle thinks a plastic bag is a jelly fish and then eats it.

Finally plastic is evil because it does not break down for years and years.

As you can see the ocean is in danger because of plastic.

By Oscar

Plastic

Single use plastic is bad for the environment because it takes a long time to break down, causing pollution. It also goes into our oceans and kills animals because they eat the plastic, thinking it is food. I strongly believe that the world should stop using single use plastic. Please read on to find out more about it.

Firstly, why take straws? They are another piece of plastic that damages the world. Do you really need that straw? You can just use your mouth.

Secondly, sea turtles eat the straws, thinking that it is food and die because people in the world are littering. It is not hard to put your rubbish in the bin. Don’t be lazy!

Finally, thousands of other sea creatures eat, or get stuck in plastic as well and also die. Imagine if you were a bird with plastic around your neck and you were slowly dying. That’s what it feels like so stop littering!

I’m sure you’d agree with me, after you read this, PLASTIC IS EVIL! Everyone in the world should stop littering.

By Millie

Don’t use single use plastic!

(but lego is ok)

Did you know that in America 500 million straws are used every day? Did you know that you can drink with your mouth, not a straw? I think single use plastic should be banned from the earth. Please read on to find out more.

Firstly, supermarkets are not super because they have a lot of single use plastic. People put this in the bin and it ends up in landfill or blows in to the ocean.

Secondly turtles mistake plastic for their dinner and they die. Also, when birds eat the plastic and feed it to their young they might die.

Finally, plastic bottles take thousands of years to break down. You should use metal straws and drink bottles instead of plastic because you can re-use these over and over again.

I’m sure you believe me that single use plastic should be banned from earth!

By Rob

Grade 3/4

In Computer science we have been learning about writing algorithms and how computers need a really specific set of sequenced instructions so they know what to do. We have also been learning about debugging programmes to get computers to work properly.

In STEAM we have been investigating how a 'mousetrap car' works in preparation for the science week competition in a couple of weeks.

In Literacy we have been writing a list of instructions (algorithm) to use in our computer programming. Basically, it is very similar to a 'Procedural text' with lots of explicit instructions.

Grade 5/6

In Maths we have been learning about, different types of fractions and their parts. We have been learning to find equivalent fractions and to add fractions with a common denominator. In English we have been analysing covers of our new class novel and extracts from the text to make predictions on the plot of the story and working on our independent writing projects. In Science we have been learning about wind as a sustainable type of energy and discussing what we learnt from our visit to the Mussellroe wind farm. We have been developing our scientific drawings by drawing an annotated diagram of a wind turbine. In HASS we have been learning why Australia has so many cultures, languages and beliefs by considering what immigrants bring with them when leaving their own countries to make Australia home.

Indonesian

Kinder will be continuing to focus on the ELLA program.

Prep/1 and 1/2 are engaging with an Indonesian text using graphics and key words to support understanding. We are reading a big book in Indonesian called "Ini Fenty" (this is Fenty) which is set in Halmahera, Indonesia.

The 3/4 class are beginning a project to create a 'Barong' and to use adjectives of size and colour throughout the process.

5/6 class are creating text to convey information about themselves using an Indonesian text as a template.

Saya senang bertemu dengan Anda/ I am happy to meet you.

Whole school social focus: Developing a growth mindset

Grade 1/2 Book Club

At the end of Term 2, Grade 1/2 held a special book club at Pasinis! We discussed our class novel ‘The Witches’ by Ronald Dahl over hot chocolate.

Launching into Learning August Calendar

Parent Workshop opportunity

Parent Survey Invitation

Term 3 Little Blue Sports

School Association Footy tipping margins update

Round 17 and 18 winner was Carrie Wallis!

Important dates

Information for parents

A friendly reminder that the school has a duty of care for student from 8:15am, extending to 3:15pm. Students on the school grounds outside of these operating hours must be under parental supervision. The school toilets and classrooms are closed at 2:45pm. There are public toilets located next to Little Penguins Child Centre.

Rob Presswell

School Information

Phone: 63751222
Email: bicheno.primary@education.tas.gov.au
Principal: Robert Presswell
School Business Manager: Sandra Silberberg

Teachers

Kinder and LiL: Eliza Spykers
Prep/One: Emily McCormack and Jen Sliskovic
Grade 1/2: Bron Pierce and Ali Jones
Grade 3/4: Matt Woolley
Grade 5/6: Jill Bosua
Support Teacher: Robert Presswell

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