Both L.A. 22 and 23 are doing an Inquiry Unit of work …
REFUGEES. WHY?
How are the lives of children affected by war?
How does my life differ from that of a child in a war-torn environment?
What is
* a refugee
* an asylum seeker?
What can we do to help newly arrived refugees?
We began Week 5 with something special, a visit by four students from Thebarton Senior College. All had come to Australia from other countries, The Congo, Liberia and Afghanistan.
I thought having a student nearer in age to the class talk about their experiences, would have more impact on our students.
I asked them to address the following:
· Explain what was going on in their country which forced them into being a refugee/asylum seeker?
· What personal experiences did they and their family have to confront leaving their homeland?
· How did they get to Australia?
· What problems did they face when they arrived in Australia?
· How was their family assisted?
· How do they cope at school here?
We all learnt much about the lives of these young people who have seen and suffered much. We also learnt how lucky we were.
Each and everyone of them implored us to value our lives here in Australia, our freedom to be educated, to speak out and, most of all, knowing know we are safe.
In groups we are writing their stories. We also wrote and thanked them for being brave enough to talk about things which must have brought back painful memories and also to wish them luck in their new lives here.
Here are the refugees’ tales and two of the thank you letters we sent them.
May 28, 2008
We’ve had them for nearly a week, and don’t they look GREAT! Well worth the wait! Students were reminded of the honour wearing their own special school carried with it, to wear it with pride and to treat it with respect. Many thanks to all those students (especially the Jumper Committee), parents, school staff and teachers who were involved in its design and production.
May 28, 2008
Learning to dance.. what a fun way to keep fit! Every Monday for Term 2 Learning Areas 22 and 23 are combining to learn the dance steps and social skills that go with dancing.
We began with a line dance then moved on to a progressive ‘Charleston’. This was a girls- choose-your-partner although , as we found out, partners changed quickly.
The modern Hip Hop featured in Week 3 followed by a partner disco dance this week.
As the pictures and video show, we’ve all been enjoying the sessions.
May 18, 2008
We were lucky enough to have players from the SANFL Football Club, THE EAGLES, work with students to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Their first session focused on the eating habits and social behaviours which build healthy bodies and healthy minds.
The following two sessions (which had to be postponed several times because of the extreme weather) saw us practising football skills.
The students looked forward to the players’ visits and enjoyed all the sessions.
April 10, 2008
What an exciting year our final year at school promises to be.
Something special is that we are the first Year 7 class the school has had for a long time. As a result it is important we role-model work and behaviour standards for others.
We are going to develop our very own BLOG on which we can keep a record of our progress. This will be linked to the LEARNING AREA23 BLOG which will highlight class activities, projects and work.
Your parents will be invited to look in at the blogs and even comment on them.
So…. let’s get started!
Cheers,
Mrs T.
March 12, 2008
