HILLVIEW STATE SCHOOL Hillview State School Newsletter 9 2016 DO TO SUCCEED Term 4 what a blast!
HILLVIEW STATE SCHOOL 2 Queensland Ballet incredible! On Monday our students were extremely lucky to attend a special workshop with the Queensland Ballet. The day began with lots of excited chatter on the bus. Children near me were chatting about where we were according to what could be seen out the window of our very flash coach. It was terrific to hear children know we were in Jimboomba, Browns Plains and then squeal with excitement as we travelled through Moorooka, We are in the city! said one student. I thought to myself, not quite yet but it s certainly busier than Hillview and so very understandable! One child also said, wow we are in Canungra, I can tell by the cliffs, they are always near the entry to Canungra! We weren t, but I thought it was wonderful he knew about the natural features of that area and it was a landmark for him. Before our Arts rich experience began, we had touched on many aspects of the Geography curriculum, what a bonus! When we arrived at the beautiful old building in West End we were greeted by a very animated fellow, Jacob Williams. He is the education coordinator and our very animated chaperone for the day. There were three main activities we engaged in. Firstly, we learnt about the multicultural influences we see in ballet today. We compared and contrasted traditional dress of Spain, Scotland and parts of Asia with those costumes of ballet that were inspired by them. We learned about the style, purpose and fabric of the traditional designs and how and why the necessary adaptations were made with ballet costumes. Children in the Primary setting are required to respond to dance and consider where and why people dance, at first within Australia and then beyond. This discussion gave many of our children a chance to consider and reflect on what they had learned in our previous unit about cultures in the world associated with the Olympics and make further connections. Later, we learnt two dances, one, The Russian Slap dance and another dance inspired by the Matador or Spain. This gave an opportunity for the children to see first hand how dance (and in fact all the Arts strands) are about communicating stories, ideas, thoughts and feelings. The children quickly followed their teacher s moves with many students in the P-2 class showing great development in their gross motor and coordination! It was quite a feeling to be dancing in a Queensland Ballet studio overlooking Brisbane city. An experience we will all remember for many years to come. However, the greatest moment of all was being an audience member for a rehearsal session. As part of the Dance curriculum students are required to learn how to conduct themselves as part of an audience, focusing their attention on artworks presented and responding appropriately. What an incredible real life experience of the highest quality! The dancers were rehearsing with their teacher and had to stop many times during the course of the rehearsal to make miniscule yet important changes to their movements to ensure their performance was perfect. The dancers demonstrated great patience, diligence, conscientiousness and modesty in all engagements with their teacher. The children watched in awe as these adult athletes obviously masters in their field were continuing to be students and learning themselves, wearing their rehearsal uniforms with pride. A demonstration of life long learning at its best and that with hard work and dedication, childhood dreams can come true.
HILLVIEW STATE SCHOOL 3 Interesting fact1: Ballet dancers go through approximately 3 pairs of pointe slippers a week! Interesting fact 2: Company Ballet dancers work from 10am-6pm each day but also attend the gym in the mornings before work! Interesting fact 3: The art form originated in Italian courts in the 15th century and most performers were male. The first female principal dancer did not appear until 1681 and only forty years later did women start to rival men s technique. And although today, ballet is often considered a women s domain, there are still more male than female choreographers and company directors. (Professional photos were taken on the day. More to follow!) Vehicle show and tell day Please see the attached flier for information about our Show and Tell day on 24 th November @ 9am. We would love to gather an array of vehicles so please let us know if you can join us on that morning. Any vehicles are welcome, including recreational and farming machines. Gymnastics We are doing gymnastics every Friday afternoon for 45 minutes with the DanceFever team thanks to a Sporting Schools Grant sourced by Mrs Thorpe. They are having a wonderful time balancing, jumping and rolling on some brilliant equipment. Prep Orientation We look forward to welcoming our new Preps on the 8 th and 22 nd of November for class and morning tea. The Year 2s will also be spending the morning in 3456 for a taste of next year.
HILLVIEW STATE SCHOOL 4 Swimming We start swimming again on Monday at Beaudesert pool. We will be travelling by bus at 12.30pm and back to school by 3pm. Please let us know if you would like to collect your child from Beaudesert pool. It is a very enjoyable and rewarding afternoon, if you would like to join us to help out. It s always good to have as many adults as possible and we d love your help. You don t have to get in the pool (but you can) and can be another pair of eyes on the sideline. Thank you for always sending a sunshirt (or at least a t-shirt) to meet the requirements under Sun Safe Schools guidelines. Hats reminder With the hot weather back, please make sure that all hats are broad brimmed. Caps don t provide enough protection for play time at school and can t be worn for outside play. Thank you for helping us to reinforce this important rule. Tennis Tennis lessons are going great! Please see Mrs Thorpe if you would like your child to participate in lessons on a Tuesday from 3.15-4.00pm. Lessons are only $10 per week for a small group session with an experienced, qualified coach. P&C The next P&C meeting will be on 8 th November. All welcome! Thank you Mrs Benstead I wanted to thank Mrs Benstead for the excellent job she did as Acting Principal while I was on Long Service Leave. It was lovely to know that the school was in such good hands. Welcome to Ellen Please make Ellen welcome as our new school cleaner. Ellen is temporarily replacing Sue who has moved to Harvey Bay. The permanent position will be advertised in Term 1, 2017. Thank you for your traffic light surveys We really appreciate the time and care taken to complete the traffic light surveys. Thank you for your excellent feedback and this information will be used to drive our strategic planning process for the next four years. It s not too late to have your say. The box will remain in place for the rest of next week.
HILLVIEW STATE SCHOOL 5 Do you know anyone in these photos? My Auntie Christine began her teaching career in Beaudesert with these two lovely classes in 1965 and 1966. Do you know anyone who was taught by this Miss Ritchie? She speaks very fondly of her time in the area and loves that the new Miss Ritchie is here. (Look at the size of those classes- 41 Grade 1s)
HILLVIEW STATE SCHOOL 6 Dates to remember October 24, 31 Swimming November 7, 14, 21 Swimming 8 Prep Orientation 9.00-11.30am 8 P&C meeting 11 NO library van 22 Prep Orientation 9.00-11.30am 24 Vehicle Show and Tell day 25 Library van 28 Year 6 transition day @ Beaudesert High December 2 Christmas Party 5 Year 6 Graduation dinner 6 Year 6 Big Day Out 7 Report cards home 8 Break Up day 9 Clean Up day