1-1 Laptops

This is a reminder that all students who partake in the 1-1 laptop program must bring in their laptops fully charged to school every day. If they are not able to do so, we recommend that students leave their laptop at school where they will be securely stored in a locked cabinet.

Inquiry: Maths Investigation Focus

This term our Maths Investigations have been focussed on using arrays for multiplicative thinking (an array is a strategy for organising countable units in large numbers and counting them efficiently).  We have been using the ultimate array for this investigation – a chess board!

The idea of the activity is to see how much of the 8 x 8 chess board can be covered by 1 queen.  How many squares can she cover?  What is the position that is most effective (covers the most amount of squares)? 

We discovered that you can cover a chess board entirely, all 64 squares covered, with only five queens!

We were then challenged to find out what the most amount of squares that could be covered by 4, 3, 2 or 1 queen. 

In week 5, we are looking at changing the board size (the array size) and taking our investigation further onto "how many squares can be covered by just one queen?".  We have already worked out the really easy ones …

On a chess board that is one by one, one queen can cover the entire board (which is one square!)  On a two by two board, again, one queen can cover the whole board; in this case four squares.  When we first tried three by three we thought that one queen covered seven squares.  This was because we were still placing the queen in the corner!  Once we had remembered that we could position the queen anywhere on the board we worked out a way to cover the whole board, nine squares!

So the results so far are looking like this:-

Size of the board	2 by 2	3 by 3	4 by 4	5 by 5	6 by 6	7 by 7	8 by 8 (Normal board)
Amount of squares covered	4	9	12	17	20	25	28

Drawing the different sized boards for working out

A 5 by 5 board: one queen covers 17 squares

 

A 6 by 6 board; one queen covers 20 squares

Initially we thought one queen on a three by three board would cover seven

 

But we forgot we could move the queen! Nine covered this time!

 

Compass School Manager

Princes Hill Primary School is implementing a staged release of our new school management software, Compass School Manager to manage the attendance of students. Parents and carers will need to use this online system to inform the school of any approved absences and late arrivals.

If parents do not use this system, their child’s absences will be recorded on the department database and these will be calculated as part of the student reports each semester. Therefore, it is essential that all absences and late arrivals are explained by parents through COMPASS.

Please make sure that you begin using this system no later than Monday November 11

If you do not have on-line access please make a time to see Tomo Harada or Kerri Gibson to discuss alternatives.

You can access Compass through http://phps.vic.jdlf.com.au or by clicking on the link (on the right hand side) provided on our school website. Compass can be accessed using any device with a browser.

1. Login to Compass using the username and password provided in this letter.
2. Confirm your personal details and change your password.
3. If your child has any unapproved absences or late arrivals, you will see this on the ‘Alert’ panel.
4. Click on the link for more information.
5. Click on any unapproved absences or late arrivals and click on the “Parent Approve” button.
6. Choose the appropriate reason from the drop down menu and any relevant details or comments.

Please report any problems with your neighbourhood teachers.

Message from the Communications Working Party

Here is a message from the Communications Working Party:

Effective communication between primary schools and families has been shown to play a critical role in the achievement levels of students. The Princes Hill Primary School communications working party are developing an improved communication strategy for the school. The strategy is based around the principles of improved approachability, stronger family engagement, enhanced learning outcomes, and greater student involvement.

The Year 2 blog has been modified along the lines of these discussions and all parents and students are encouraged to explore the site and provide feedback on this format and any of the other forms of communication they receive from PHPS.

If you have some ideas about what we can do better as a school in communicating, talk to us.Please send your comments to akealy@unimelb.edu.au or if you would like to discuss this further contact Allison Kealy on 0413 012 177.

Year 3/4 Science Fair!

On Monday 28th of October parents are invited to visit the neighbourhoods to explore aspects of our Science Inquiry with the students in both 3/4 neighbourhoods. The students have been investigating how a variety of scientific discoveries around energy have made an impact on our lives. As well as a strong science focus, our inquiry has also focused on collaboration and teamwork.

The students have been placed into groups by the teachers and these groups are different from the grouping that the students would choose for themselves. These groupings have been an authentic way for us to explore how we work together and plan to achieve goals.

The neighbourhoods will be open between 12.30 and 2.00pm.

This won’t be a science fair in the traditional sense, there won’t be any prizes or competition, we will be focusing on discussing scientific discoveries and how we work together.

This community event will be a great way to draw our inquiry to a close and the day will be documented through film and posted on the blog for those who are unable to make it.

Hope to see you there!

Ballarat Camp 2013

I'm sure you have heard by now, all the exciting things we got up to during our camp to Ballarat this year. During week 1 this term, students have been reflecting on their experiences through writing, videos and drawings. We are posting here a selection of photos we took during the camp but you will also find some photos and reflections displayed in our neighbourhoods very soon.

You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them!

Lunch break during the Ballarat City Tour.

Flag making at M.A.D.E.

The Eureka Flag at M.A.D.E.

A group shot at Sovereign Hill

Talking to a Police Man.

Musket firing demonstration at Sovereign Hill.

Gold Panning.

Education Program at Sovereign Hill.

The Education Program. Students had to find 'gold' and trade for money to buy licences.

During the Education Program.

Gold pouring demonstration.

At the Ballarat Wildlife Centre.

CERES Excursion

Our recent 3 /4 excursion to CERES education park was a fantastic success. We were lucky to have; great weather, a keen group of parent volunteers and a chance to experience four different learning sessions about energy. The sessions were useful for deepening students understanding of energy concepts and stimulated new ideas for our upcoming science fair.

During the fossil fuels session, we learned about coal and how it is able to generate electricity for us in our homes. Some students in each session were given the role of engineer and had to keep watch on the model power station. The bicycle driven generator was an exciting way for kids to think about how a generator works. 

During the renewables sessions, we were able to see examples of solar, hydro and wind power. Students conducted an experiment using mirrors to understand how the sun's energy can be harnessed. The water wheel was a particular hit with students who have been busy trying to construct their own water wheel models at school.

At the eco-house students were able to think specifically about energy use in the home. Heating, cooling, lighting, insulation and ghost power were some of the topics explored in a hands on way. The energy flows and energy transport sessions got all students moving and engaging with the ideas of how we use energy in our diet and daily travel.

The teachers would like to thank all parents helpers, CERES staff and students for making the day such a success.