Year 3

In Studio Learning, as part of our study of explorers, we visited the Australian National Maritime Museum. The main part of our visit was to have a tour of the HMB Endeavour, a tall ship that is an exact copy of the one Captain Cook and his crew used to sail around the world discovering new countries. We went below deck to learn about life on board for the crew and the officers. We learned about a disease called scurvy. We even saw where Captain Cook slept and worked. It would have been very cramped for the 96 people on board.

On a sunny wintery afternoon, Years 3–4 ventured off to Bondi Beach to explore the natural environment with local expert Professor Tom. Our first stop was the lifeguard tower to meet some of the Bondi Rescue lifesavers and to make sure that we were safe on our visit. We started our adventure walking south towards Tamarama. Professor Tom showed us examples of sandstone and honeycomb rock that had weathered over the years. He showed us how human activity changes the Earth’s surface and the impact it has had along the coastline. After our excursion we saw Bondi Beach as being more than just a nice place to have a swim.

Jasmine Zhang

During STEM week, Year 3 took part in mathematics activities with Professor Maths. He was very funny but made sure that we were learning at the same time. We completed the activities in groups, where we had to work together to solve problems. Some of them were very challenging. We had to really listen to our friends and work together, otherwise they were impossible to solve. We put on wigs, glasses and safety vests as we got the problems correct so that we could look just like the professor. It was good to learn while having lots of fun.

As part of Studio Learning, Year 3 went to Watsons Bay to learn about traditional Indigenous customs and ways of life.

Our first experience was using ochre, the Aboriginal body paint, which felt very cool on our skin. Secondly, we tried eating a specific grass found on beaches and ate some wattle seeds that tasted like coffee! We put a boomerang on a wire and spun it around to make a noise to attract whales. We saw tools that Aboriginal people used in their daily lives and learned how to make a fire. We found specific leaves and rubbed them in our hands with water to make soap. We then had delicious wattle seed pancakes with jam and cream. Eventually we went on a long walk to the top of the stairs to see the beautiful view over Watsons Bay.

On Tuesday 20 November, Stage 2 held their annual Christmas chapel service. All the girls in Years 3–4 were involved, either playing an instrument, singing in the choir, ushering guests, reading from the Bible, reciting a prayer or being involved in the address or nativity play. This year we focused on the fact that the true meaning of Christmas is love and although there may be many celebrations and distractions over the festive season, the birth of Jesus is the reason why we all come together.

Year 3 rushed excitedly to school for the library sleepover on Friday 21 September.

One activity was the Amazing Race where we had to race to complete a series of challenges and activities. Then we had fun craft and culinary activities, including biscuit decorating, sing-offs, making dragon eggs and pom-poms.

We had a delicious dinner of sushi, pizza and ice cream, then it was time to watch a movie in the library. We watched Paper Planes while lying on our sleeping bags until 9pm when it was time to sleep. In the morning we had a delicious breakfast of Coco Pops, toast and cereal. We then played in the playground until our parents came to pick us up.