A Trip to Luna Park

On Monday June 6^th, the whole of stage 3 went to Luna Park for an excursion. When we all arrived at school, Mr Van De Mortel was checking that all students had brought their pencil case and clipboard. Soon we were all getting our stuff together to get ready to go on the bus. While on the bus, the teachers put on a movie. I wrote some stuff about our trip and some people were singing bus songs. It was a long trip, but finally we were in Sydney.

Just as we were driving down towards the harbour we all spotted the Sydney Harbour Bridge, then the Sydney Opera House. We then turned around the corner when we spotted the Big Mouth of Luna Park.  We were all very excited. When we got off the bus, we went and sat down to have morning tea. After eating our morning tea, we then went to our group leaders to put wristbands on so our teachers know that it’s us and so we can have an unlimited pass. Mr Van De Mortel started handing out booklets to each parent helper. I soon found out that I was in Mr McGrath’s group with Charnice, Olivia, Madaline, Julia, Megan, Sami, and Tahlia.

Mr Van De Mortel then told us that every group had to meet at Coney Island, but before that we had to get our picture taken in front of the big mouth. Then, we were off to Coney Island. Madaline and I linked arms on the way up. When we got there, we had to scan our wristbands to get in, then we had to go up the stairs to the treadmill (which is split into two parts then connected again which makes it harder as it moves differently).  When we all went across it, we made it to the other side which led to four giant slides, more two-part treadmills, car games, house of mirrors, barrel of fun and lots more. We must have spent at least 30 minutes inside Coney Island, but it was time to move on.

 After we left Coney Island, we went to the Rotor which only Olivia, Julia and Mr Mc Grath went on.  The rest just watched and Charnice video taped it.

Everyone went on The Spider and we all had a blast! Then, The Ranger was next.  Only Olivia, Julia, Sami and Tahlia went on that. Next on our list was The Tumble bug, everybody went on that except for me.  Instead, I just looked after the bags for everyone. Which is an incredibly import job.

Next, it was Dodgem City.  When we got there, we put our bags down and hopped in line.  There was a huge line up and there was even more people coming in. So Mr Mc Grath thought that we shouldn’t go on it because it would waste time.

We went on The Wild Mouse which only Megan, Julia, Sami, Tahlia, Olivia and Mr Mc Grath went on.  While they were on that, Madaline, Charnice and I had our lunch and tried to do more questions in our booklet. When they came out, Mr Mc Grath told us to wait where we were while he went and got his photo from when he had his picture taken on The Wild Mouse. When he got back, we were off to the Tango Train.  Everyone went on that except me. Instead, Mr Mc Grath got me to take photos of them on the Tango Train.  And on and the way out, there was a camera so you could get a group picture.

The last ride was the Flying Saucer which only Olivia, Sami, Julia and Tahlia went on. Charnice, Megan, Madaline and I were too afraid to get on it. We were supposed to go on the Carousel, but unfortunately it was closed, so we couldn’t go on.

Finally we went on the Ferris Wheel.  Halfway up, I freaked out and crouched on the floor of the carriage and wouldn’t get up.  I was hugging onto Madaline and Charnice’s legs. They were all laughing. After we got off, we were told to meet at the Ice-Cream Parlor. Soon after, we went to the souvenir shop but there wasn’t much that was of interest to me, so I didn’t get anything.

It was a long day at Luna Park, but we all had a blast! We then left the entrance and we were off to the bus. When we were all on the bus, we were all very tired after a long day and we arrived back at school around 5:30 pm.  Our parents were all there waiting for us.  

By Brianna R

Luna Park Trip





Write On 2011

Entries are due on Monday. Please have your story published and ready to hand in to Mr. Latimore and Mr. V. so it can be considered. Remember that the top 3 stories in Year 5 and top 3 in Year 6 will earn an "in school" prize and the best one will be submitted to the Sydney Morning Herald as our MCS Stage 3 entry. No entries will be considered after Monday.

Catapults



Laura's Great Design

Stage 3 have been completing personal tasks. 

Some of the best were catapults. Here is what Jacob discovered.

What is a catapult?

A catapult is a large military machine that was used to hurl objects such as rocks and spears. These catapults could generate tremendous force and hurl large objects over long distances.




Talicia Went for the Medieval Look

How does a catapult work?

A catapult is a machine that stores energy and quickly

releases this energy to fire a projectile.



How have catapults been used by mankind?

Catapults were used for wars and battles to destroy their enemies from a distance, by knocking away the city walls.



Jacob's Catapult Worked Well

 Today catapults are used to propel aircraft from aircraft  carrier decks and for dropping bombs from boats and submarines. They are also used for fun.

Jacob M.

Bark Needed

Don't forget to bring in some bark for Art this week. Bring some to share too!

And the Winner is.......

Congratulations to the Laughing Clowns - winners of the first science open learning challenge with 1405 points. Runners up were the Dodgem cars on 1289 points and the Ferris Wheels on 1233.

A Passion For Compassion

A heart for Compassion

On Wednesday the 1st June, our guided reading group went to the head office of Compassion Australia.

Firstly, we gathered together at school to get our names marked off. We were quickly on the bus and our journey began. When we were on the road we started to play the game sweet and sour. We passed lots of trucks and cars and most of them were sour. We had lots of fun.

After all our fun and games we arrived at the Compassion Head Office at 9:30am. We gathered our equipment and started to head into the main building. We waited at the bottom of the stairs and soon our guide Matt came out of the office. He introduced himself to us and then we followed him inside. When we entered the office we saw some paintings done by indigenous Australians and lots of other amusing things. Next we went into a room and the presentation began.

We all sat down in chairs and took our equipment out. Matt started the presentation by talking about what Compassion Australia does. He said it was a company who supports all the less fortunate children and communities in the world. He also stated that there is Compassion offices in 26 different countries all around the world. He showed us a PowerPoint of what Compassion does and how they help the less fortunate. After that he showed us who is responsible for beginning Compassion. Compassion was started by a man named Everet Swan. Compassion started in 1953 and by 2009 over 1 million were released from poverty.

Next, we went for a tour of the office and split into 2 groups. I went with Matt and our wonderful guided reading teacher Mrs Witenden. When we were taking the tour we were allowed to take photos of anything and I took lots! We went up the stairs were everything of significant value is kept. Some of the staff took pictures of us holding up some pictures of children from countries less fortunate than ours. After they took our pictures our journey was just about over.

When we retuned to the foyer, Laura and I went outside and took some pictures of the front office. Soon we were back on the bus and I was thinking that with Compassion the world is a better place. It would nice to think that we can stop world poverty and people from every country can live a life that we take for granted in Australia.

By Georgia C

Preparing an exemlpary piece on Contact and Non-Contact Forces.

Exemplary Pieces.

Congratulations to all those people who acheived 100 ponits which we call 'exemplary pieces' for the Thrills and Spills open learning challenge.

Everyone wants to do their best and sometimes it takes a bit longer to produce a quality piece to be proud of. An exemplary piece is one that we could show to others and say, "This is what we were aiming for." But how do you make it happen?

Here are five easy steps.

Step 1: Read carefully and get it clear.
Make sure you read the whole task and know what you are aiming for.

Step 2: Learn about it.

Research it well and try to understand the facts that can be used. Then decide how to explain them in your own words and include them. (Don't just copy and paste - that is plagiarism)

Step 3: Choose a way to present it.
Will it be presented as a model, a brochure or a poster? Will you use a physical medium such as paper, cardboard or transparency or a digital medium such as word, publisher or powerpoint presentation?

Step 4: Write it.
Plan, draft, edit and publish your work creatively. Try to make it express your own unique personality.

Step 5: Evaluate it. 
Does it meet the requirements? Is everything included?

God has made you special and given you amazing gifts. 
Mr. Latimore and Mr. Van de Mortel hope that you show everything you are capable of and enjoy the rewards for all your efforts.

Luna Park Excursion

Hope you had a great day and if you took any great photos email them to the school office.

We will post your recounts - just write about the best part of your day and we will post it on this blog.