The spirit of giving is alive and well in our Middle Years Unit!

The Junior Crew would like to pass on an enormous thank you to Stephen and Trish's classes for giving us a Christmas present of cash to spend on lunch at Mc Donald's!

The Middle years group have raised money all year preparing lunch orders for the whole school and decided to give their profits away to every class in the school.

It was very generous and kind of you and extremely delicious for us!

Thanks also go to Jan and Marg's classes. This group of dedicated young cooks have prepared the most fantastic spreads of hot and cold foods for staff to devour at our whole staff meetings each fortnight. Well done guys!

Please do it again next year :)

Connections

Hi Everyone,

The Junior Crew have gone PowerPoint crazy! Over the past two weeks we have learned how to copy and paste pictures, type in text, create special effects and even insert sound files. I am amazed at how quickly the kids have developed their skills using this program and how well they have made connections and transferred these skills to other applications.

I was also pleased to discover that our Friends in Siberia have received the package of books and music that we sent to them a few weeks ago. One of the best things about blogging is how it helps us to connect with new Friends from all around the world. If you would like to read their post about our package click on the hyperlink or on the puzzle pieces.

This week I received an email from Jim Spiralis from the Department of Education and Children's service, Special Education Resource Unit in South Australia. Jim wanted to let us know that our network of blogs has been cited as a special education resource for teachers in that state. Jim also invited me to present at the Special Education EXPO in Hindmarsh South Australia in July next year. I am so excited!

As most of you know, this year I have been completing post graduate studies in Autism Spectrum Disorder. My last lecture was on Saturday. I have made some very special connections with lecturers and teachers who have shared the journey with me which I hope will continue for years to come.

The course has meant that I have had to spend a considerable time away from The Junior Crew this year while I have been completing practicum placements and visiting other schools to provide mentoring and coaching services. While I have been away the children have been learning how to connect with some amazing casual relief teachers and learning how to cope with change. I am so grateful to this group of talented and caring people who have treated my class as if they were their own.

Bakers in the Making

Hi Everyone,
On Friday The Crew spent the morning at a local bakery that has a kids cooking program. We made bread and shortbread in the industrial kitchen with the help of the bakery staff. While the bread was cooking we played in a local park and fed some ducks. The food was delicious and there was plenty to bring home so our families could sample what we had made.
Quite a few of The Crew have decided that they now want to be bakers when they grow up. What would you like to be?
What did you want to be when you were their age?

From Russia with Love

Hi Everyone,

The Junior Crew were very excited to receive a package from our buddies from the 'Friends ' blog in Siberia. They sent us some postcards, badges , flag and a safety poster that was written in Russian. The Crew didn't have to be able to read Russian to understand it because the pictures carried a very strong message and we were able to figure out all of the rules.

Our class has sent some Australian songs on a CD and some picture story books by Australian authors. to our Friends in Russia. We hope they like them.

On the Mend

Hi Everyone,

I have been away from school for most of this week helping my husband as he recovers from surgery. Michelle has been doing a great job of looking after the Junior Crew in my absence. Thanks Michelle!

I will be back at school on Monday and I am looking forward to finding out what The Crew have been up to while I was away.

Congratulations Paula & Kerry

Paula and Kerry got married on Friday. The Junior Crew wishes them happiness for their future together.

We're Back!

Hi Everyone,

This week has been full of events to celebrate. Tim turned 10, Eleanor turned 9 and I turned 44! We have been eating lots of birthday cake this week but nobody is complaining.

Nicole joined us to replace Paula at the end of the week because our other big news is that Paula got married on Friday! We had a great time choosing a present and card for her when we went shopping on Friday. We had a present wrapping 101 session with Sarah because I am not known for my gift wrapping skills and spent lots of time thinking of just the right thing to write in the gift card. Sarah left early to attend the service and she has promised to take lots of photo's at the wedding so that we can see how beautiful Paula looked. We are really looking forward to seeing them.

We also began our new theme 'The Dreaming '. This term we will be exploring Aboriginal Dreaming stories through story telling, drama , music and art works. If you would like to know 'Why the Crocodile Rolls' follow the link to the Student Blogging area, in the left margin to watch a video of the story.

In art sessions, Neville has been teaching the children the meaning of some of the symbols that painters from some of the Aboriginal Nations use to tell stories in their art and the kids will be having a go at painting their own Dreaming stories.

This week I will be sharing my love of Sally Morgan's beautiful art works and we will be searching the Internet for other contemporary indigenous artists and looking at their art works.

Mr Nobody Says...

Turn off the:

• TV
• Radio
• Lights
• Game console
• Computer
• Heater
• Air conditioner

I don't use them while you are out of the room!

You can make a difference to climate change :)

Positive Pester Power

A message from the Crew!

Did you know that if you wash with hot water and tumble dry you will make 6500 grams of green house gas?
If you wash with cold water and line dry you will only make 200 grams of green house gas.

Please wash in cold water!
You have the power to make the difference to climate change!

Solving the Problems of the World

Hi Parents and friends,
The Junior Crew kids are on an environmental mission. We intend to use 'Pester Power' as a positive force. This week our task is to ask family and friends to switch to washing clothes in cold water. The evidence for switching really does speak for itself and it is such an easy way to help protect the environment. Click on the picture to take a look at the Visy Enviromaniacs site which is packed with great games to play and information about how to protect our environment. Will you help us solve the problems of the world?

Cooking - We like it hot!

Hi Everyone,

The Junior Crew kids have been learning how to make simple meals for themselves this year using all sorts of plug in 'makers' . We have made a variety of pies in a pie maker and sandwiches in a sandwich toaster and over the past few weeks we have learned how to make omelets in an omelet maker.

Learning to use these simple electrical gadgets has meant that all of the children are able to make themselves simple healthy snacks independently. We do watch over the kids while they are cooking to ensure that nobody gets burnt.

When this group of kids were younger they learned how to spread fillings, stack them into sandwiches and how to make simple drinks and desserts by combining ingredients. They also learned how to use a peeler and how to use knives and cutting boards for chopping. This week we have mastered the art of cracking eggs and whisking!

Using heated electrical equipment independently is the next important step in being able to move onto creating whole meals when they reach Middle Years .

Click on the picture to read some fantastic omelet recipes.

Asia Pacific Autism Conference 2009

Hi Junior Crew and Friends,
Today I few to Sydney to attend the APAC 09 conference. I will spend the next 3 days listening to experts form all over the world share their knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorder. Click on the plane to find out more about the conference.
Paula and Sarah will be supporting Melinda who will be looking after the Crew in my place for the rest of the week.
Yes Tim, I remember saying that I will bring you all back a present from Sydney if you are good. So Crew, make sure you keep up your end of the bargain!
Sue

Signs of Winter, Signs of Spring, Signs of Creativity.

Hi Everyone,
The Junior Crew and staff have been hit by one 'bug' after another this term. Even my lap top got a virus and has been taken away to be fixed.
The Crew have noticed some signs that Spring will soon be here . We have posted some art work in our Virtual Gallery based on our observations of trees in the school yard.
Check out the Kids Blogging Area for ideas the Crew had to reuse or recycle plastic bottles and coffee lids. Very creative indeed!

Settling in for the Day & the 21st Century

Hi Everyone,

The Junior crew kids arrive at school all sorts of ways. Some walk, others come by car but most arrive on buses. The children start arriving at school at 8:40 am and the last one arrives at about 9:10 so we spend until 9:15 each day working on settling in activities.

Tim has been working on this rocket made from recycled materials for over a week. It's fantastic !

I was watching an environmental program during the school holidays which cited that 95% of products manufactured in any one day are thrown away within a week of purchase.

I'm not sure about the accuracy of the statistic but it made me think that it is important to give every object that is manufactured more than one use. I'm glad that the Crew bring in lots of boxes and containers from their home recycling bins to make things with and that the materials used for Tim's rocket have had more than one use before they end up in land fill.

We are all starting to 'see the signs' that our environment is struggling to maintain and repair itself because of our misuse of resources. The Junior crew challenge for this week is to find ways to use an object at least one more time or purpose before it is thrown away. Are you up for the challenge?

Running to Town

Hi Everyone,
Our class blog featured in the 21st Century e Learning Conference today. I participated in a online presentation which showed others how blogs can be used to create links between mainstream and special education schools and help teachers and students in the two settings to learn from each other. I didn't even have to leave my home to show people all around Victoria how capable and amazing our kids are.
In maths sessions this week we are looking at measurement topics. Last week we borrowed a trundle wheel from the Seniors classroom and measured the bicycle track on our school oval. We discovered that it is 140 metres long. We also know that it is a 6 km trip from here to the centre of the next town. Google Maps is such fun to use!
Over the next few days the Crew will be running around the track to see how long it will take us to run the equivalent distance to town. I love integrated units of work. Maths + great exercise+ sensory modulation = 1 fantastic activity.
Click on the hyperlinks or picture to visit the Google Maps site.