Year 5

I am mimicking a chameleon’s eyes. I am going to design glasses that have mirrors angled, so you can see behind you. This will help with driving, preventing pickpockets and help with overall safety. This invention will help parents keep an eye on toddlers, and help teachers watch their class.

Year 5 students and teachers had a wonderful time at camp. We went sailing, fishing, climbed ropes, went on a boat trip to explore the mangroves, shot arrows at a bullseye in archery, had a campfire, built billy carts and tested ourselves in the teacher’s trivia.

I really enjoyed fishing and sailing because we were near the water. I liked archery because I enjoyed shooting arrows; teacher’s trivia because it was challenging; and the campfire because we got marshmallows after we performed.

I really enjoyed the Mars mission video conference because I learned so much and am looking forward to the challenge of driving the rover.

Bella Blair

I really enjoyed using VR headsets to explore Mars because I previously had no idea what Mars looked like and I got to see real images. I learned a lot.

Year 5 enjoyed a video conference with the State Library of NSW where we interacted with other schools around Sydney and looked at a range of sources from the 1800s. Students learned about the importance of preserving primary sources so that we can learn about the past. We looked at diary entries, paintings, ship tickets, photos and ship log books and students learned how much things have changed over time. Students had to be detectives to discover a mystery person from a school badge on a blazer pocket, a poster from the Tokyo Olympics and a scrapbook entry.

Ms Nicola Logan Stage 3 Leader

Year 5 participated in a workshop with Mr Steven Vermey, a lecturer and engineer who helped rebuild roads, schools and buildings after natural disasters in Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor. We used this greater knowledge to design and build our own bridges.

It was a fun way to learn about being an engineer. We made a bridge out of newspaper, a school and bridge out of straws, and used hoses to make an aqueduct. I loved it!

Lara Karlovsky

I really enjoyed the science incursion because we did fun things and learned a lot. I loved building the bridges using straws. My group built a pedestrian bridge with a roof, which didn’t even bend when we put most of our weight on it.

Ruby Congdon

Haikus

Rocky blue surface

Mountains home to Three Sisters

Found, 1813

I am the Blue Mountains

Alexandra Coffey

Busy spice markets

Apple tea in carpet shops

Graceful ancient place

I am Istanbul

Anouk Smith

Calm, peaceful ocean

In time with the motion

Swimming in the bay

Not caring which way

Sailing through the sea

Relaxing’s the key

Look up at the sky

Watching birds fly by Blue, not just a colour

Clarissa Ling

Our Service Learning unit is a good chance to give back to those who give so much to us. Many people in the Waverley community support our school by coming to our fête and other special events. Therefore, it’s important to help others in our community by going to organisations like Clomama. It is a nice and generous act to do for other people.

Year 5 students collaborated with either Newington College or International Grammar School with the aim of developing respectful relationships and essential skills for teamwork.

We initially met through a mystery Skype and collaborated through Google Docs. One group travelled to Newington College and two groups remained at St Catherine’s to welcome a group from Newington College and a group from International Grammar School.

“I liked planning the rap with the boys because by then I was more familiar with them and it went really well.”

Kimmi Bilmon

“We loved meeting the boys because they were very different to what we thought and they were kind.”

Daniela Comino, Lara Karlovsky and Sophia Davies

On 6 November, we again collaborated with Newington College and International Grammar School to face many challenging tasks and test our social skills and teamwork. We had fun building a marshmallow tower using spaghetti, marshmallows, string and sticky tape. We went to Swain Gardens to record our raps about the importance of respectful relationships. We enjoyed making an artefact to match the storyline of our rap using various materials including clay, glue, paint and fabric. We had a great time working with the Year 5 boys from Newington College and seeing the different school environments. The collaboration experience was a lot of fun and we enjoyed interacting with new students.

Chelsea Baker and Jemima Hall