MACC | Mrs Todd (6T)

Can Art impact the way that we view issues and the world around us? This was the question that was asked of Stage 3 for our final Unit of Visual art for the year. We looked at the above slideshow and discussed the images that we saw. Each picture represents an artists depiction of an issue ranging from pollution in our oceans to highlight gender equality. We discussed why the images were effective, with many students explaining that the images showed how this issue affects the world around us. They also made us more aware and were often more powerful ways to express the thoughts of the artist. Making Our School a Better Place What would you do to help to make our school a better place? What issues are there, that need to be highlighted to help our school be a better place?  These are the questions posed to Stage 3 to consider. They brainstormed ideas in their art diaries in response to the questions. They were then given the following design brief for the project:

Artists often use geometric shapes as a representation of the world that they see around them. This is often combined with primary and secondary colours to abstract more organic shapes and colours. Mondrian was an artist who took inspiration from Jazz music and the city around him. The lines and colours in this artwork entitled "Broadway Boogie- woogie" were his way of showing the syncopated beat in jazz music coupled with the grid pattern of a city. To learn about this abstraction process, the students first completed Mondrian inspired cubes. The students were given the net of cube as a base for their artwork. They drew inspiration from Mondrian's  artworks which they replicated using paper collage, sticking lines and squares over the net. This lesson could also be used for Mathematics looking at 2D and 3D shapes together. The resulting cubes were  Please click on the link to go to Artsy Fartsy Art room Mondrian's artwork is a good example of abstrac

The night was cool...in more ways than one! The Year 6 Farewell is always a lovely occasion. It is an opportunity to celebrate not only a great year but a time of learning and friendship that they have enjoyed in Primary School. The weather was rather inclement which meant that this year's Farewell had to be indoors, but it certainly didn't dampen any spirits. All our students looked so grown up, in some beautiful dresses and hairstyles for our girls, while the boys seem to have grown overnight. We had a brave few who ventured to sing Karaoke style to a range of songs. Who knew that they would know the words to Vanilla Ice's rendition of "Ice, Ice Baby"? A very big thank you to the amazing staff at MACC who made the evening a success. A special mention goes to Miss Annabelle Pope, who made the delicious cupcakes for dessert. It was a memorable evening. Please enjoy some of the highlights from the evening. What was

Fire is one element that shapes the Australian environment to make it unique compared to other environments around the world. It can also have a devastating effect on communities, and is something that needs to be understood and managed. A starting point for our project was gaining an understanding of what fire is and the elements that contribute to a fire burning. A fire needs three elements to burn effectively: We then investigated the geographical processes that occur that occur to contribute to a Bushfire. A geographical process is a process that humans and physical forces combine to shape a particular environment. An example of this would be houses that are built very close to a forest. The task was then to research about a bushfire that occurred in the Australian environment. The students needed to investigate the following questions: The students created a presentation in Google Slides. Here are some great examples of the student's work:

Have you ever wondered the structure of the Earth? What is made up of? What are Geological Processes? These are some of the questions that we have been looking at to learn about the Earth. To help build an understanding of this topic and to start finding some answers, we watched a video to introduce the topic. It explained that the Earth is made up of different types of rock. As an introduction to Geology and different types of rock.  It is made up of different types of rock: Igneous Metamorphic Sedimentary  As part of our inquiry, we went for a walk around the school, looking for different types of rock. We brought them back to the classroom and looked at the rocks that we found. The students formed groups and discussed the similarities and differences. It made some interesting conversations about what the students noticed with the rocks that they had found. They then had to sort them into groups, coming up a variety of categories that they could be sorted into.  

The day is nearly here, that you will no longer be Primary students. The milestone has been reached and the signpost is pointing the way to a new path. It is pointing towards being a teenager- up and down emotions, pimples, part-time jobs, lots more study are all a part of where you are headed. Secondary school is on the horizon and a new path to journey down. It can be daunting and nerve-wracking...and that’s just for your Mum and Dad! What advice would I give to these budding young men and women of the future? Cope with failure and learn from your mistakes: You will make them! They can be your greatest teachers if you let them. They teach resilience, persistence and the ability to never give up. They help shape your character and teach you to be a better person. Like who you are: You are the most amazing and unique individual that God has created. He made you be you! Don’t let others define who you are, resist the temptation to try and be the popular one, or the sporty

Grandparents Day is always special! Grandparents hold a special place in our hearts and lives and being able to celebrate the relationship that we have with them was a privilege today. Each student in Year 6 was asked to bring in a photo of their Grandparents. The photos were displayed with a handwritten note to their Grandparents. They were asked to write about a special memory or to thank their Grandparents for what they had done for them. The notes were so special and touching. The students took a lot of care with the messages that they had written. These were displayed in our Stage 3 quad.  We started the day with an Assembly. Our Headmaster, Mr Korocz spoke to the Assembly about the wonderful honour of being a Grandparent. The choir sang some beautiful songs and Mr Sales had prepared a challenge for Grandparents to make with their grandchild: Matching paper Hats! The girls in Stage 3 recited some poems and Year 4 shared some interesting facts that they found out

On Thursday the 9th of November I went to the KOALA book awards we got to listen to authors saying what their favourite word is and why it was very interesting. Some were even funny! Once the awards were handed out we got to go to the bookstore and buy some books and then get them signed by the author that wrote it. After we got our books signed we headed off back to school but we made a stop at McDonald's first and then we drove on the bus back to school. by Amy

In many interviews with sports stars, particularly if their behaviour is the result of poor choices, the word "role model" is often used to highlight their bad behaviour. For example, a football player got into a fight recently with a player from another team, it was said that his behaviour is a poor role model. So what is a role model? Is it someone who posts lots of photos of themselves on Instagram? Is it someone who can do anything they want and are selfish in their behaviour?  A role model is someone who inspires another. How have you inspired others today? Are the choices that you making showing how others can achieve? Or is the example you are setting, leading others to make poor choices about behaviour and attitude? Think about the qualities of what makes a good role model. What qualities or behaviour would lead you to become a better person? Which of those qualities do you have? Which ones do you need to work on? 

On Friday 3rd November, was our last Orientation Day for Year 7. The day started with Mr Camilleri talking about all the different things that could be expected in Year 7 and then onto secondary. He also discussed the core values of Mount Annan Christian College. The reason for this is to highlight how these values underpin many of the things that we do at MACC. The rest of the day was looking at the different subjects and activities that the students can look forward to at MACC, such as agriculture and Science. A big thank you goes to our prefects for organising an Amazing Race, that took Year 6 all over the school. The prefects did a fantastic job of cooking lunch as well! What did you enjoy the most about Orientation Day? What do you look forward to in Year 7?  

On Thursday 26/10/17 seven MACC student primary-high school competed in the CSSA State biathlon and triathlon at the International Regatta Centre, High school students had to swim 400m, run 3k and bike ride 5k and the primary school students had to swim 200m and run 2k. The people who went we're Ryley, Nathanael, Sian and Charlotte in primary school. In high school it was Jack, Jack.S and Bracken. Nathanael and Ryley in the team SPLASH AND DASH came 23rd, Nathanael swimming and Ryley running. Jack.S in the individual triathlon came 2nd which was amazing. Not only is a triathlon swimming and running it is also a bike ride which he had to do. Jack.S, Jack and Bracken in the team triathlon came 3rd with Jack.S bike riding, Jack running and Bracken swimming. Sian and Charlotte did a team SPLASH AND DASH coming 2nd with Sian coming 1st out of the water and Charlotte 2nd overall, they also broke the previous record but did not set the new one. Sian in the i

To understand many concepts, we need to have some background knowledge. I often think of building knowledge is a little like creating a net of information, which we then use to catch more concepts and ideas. This knowledge helps build a foundation to understand a subject and greater way. The recent project that Stage 3 has just completed was about the structure of the Earth. The task was to find out how Scientists believe the way the Earth is structured. A model of this information needed to show the different layers and what they were called. The students also had to write some information about what they found. Being creative was also a consideration as well. The students found that after completing this project, that their background knowledge is much greater. The projects were brought into school this week and showed a very high standard of work. The excitement about showing each other what they had done was fantastic. It was also evident that much thought, creativity

This term in Science, we are looking at Natural Geological events, which is a scientist's way of saying that we are looking at Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tsunami's. The Earth's surface is always moving because of its structure. The continents of the world sit on plates. When these plates move they cause tremors and Earthquakes. We took the opportunity in Mathematics, to look at how these are recorded by Scientists. The information is used to help predict earthquakes. We discussed the magnitude of Earthquakes and then used this information to create a graph. The activity is below: It was a challenge to decide on which graph to use but everyone came up with some great results: Some students chose to complete their data using a Word Document  What was the most interesting fact that you learnt about Earthquake Data? How well did you create a table using Data from Earthquakes? 

Stories can help us see, the experiences and emotions of other people. Using stories to empathise with another person's life can be a powerful way to change the views that we might hold about other people. It puts us into their shoes, and see another person's life through their eyes. The Burnt Stick is a book written with that intention. The story is about an aboriginal boy called John Jagamarra who was taken from his family when he was 5 years old. He was taken by the Welfare man to live with the Fathers at Pearl Bay Mission for Aboriginal Children, to learn the ways of the white man. The students in Stage 3 have been learning about how to write a personal response to a story. Personal responses come in many forms but always need to have a summary of the story and a personal response or opinion about it. The criteria for our personal response is: The starting point for the writing was to brainstorm ideas about the feelings and thoughts about the story. W

We have been working on a project that has been looking at how cities or towns are built. The complexities of many people living together arose when we started looking at the needs that people have. It also highlighted the challenges that councils face to meet those needs. What is a Town Council? We discovered that a Town or City  Council is made up of many different people. They all have different roles that play an important part in planning a town and then maintaining the many services that arise. Our local council is made up of councillors who have been elected to the council. The Mayor is the lead councillor who has the final say in many decisions. What we did The first activity that we looked at was to role play making council decisions using the following prompt called "Peopletown". The students worked in groups to consider the challenges of a variety of scenarios and then redesigned the city based on their decisions. It certainly showed how compl