FABLES

Have you ever heard of the Frog in the Well? Have your parents ever tucked you up in bed and told you the inspirational tale of the Archer? Has the wind ever carried to your ears the heroic adventures of Brave Hero the cricket in the Emperor and the Cricket? Have you ever marvelled at the Millet Dream, wondering over the well-meaning moral “Good things don’t come easily?”  No? Well, I wouldn’t have expected you to, living in Australia in the 21^st century, the Western society heavily influencing the way you think. These unknown fables come from far out China, a country in the prodigious, colossal continent of Asia, famous for their humungous size and prestigious economy. However, another tremendous factor that still remains unknown to this day is their wondrous, noteworthy fables.

So, you may be wondering, what is a fable? According to the Oxford Primary Dictionary, a fable is a short, (usually supernatural) story not based on fact, often with animals as characters and conveying a moral. Every culture has its own fables, which, if you can understand them, remain a strong cultural interchange between countries & their cultures. Here are some of our students’ fabulous re-telling of a fable in their own cultures…

- Bella

The Dove and the Ant

The dove witnessed the ant struggling in a river on the verge of drowning, and saved him from certain death. The grateful ant thanked the dove for his kindness. A few days later, the ant saw a man about to shoot the dove and bit the man on the leg. Consequently, the arrow missed the dove. The ant had managed to save the dove’s life.

The Ant felt great that she had been able to repay the kindness of the dove.

The moral of the story is- one good turn deserves another. He who does good things shall have good things returned to him. A truly grateful heart will make sure he gets the chance to return the good deed or favour to whoever gave it to him.

Amos

The Stork and the Fox

The stork and the fox is just one of my own culture’s fables- stories that express a moral. These morals can relate to our own lives and can give us valuable inspiration. The moral of the stork and the fox suggests that we, as people, shouldn’t challenge each other or state we are better than each other just because we are all different. We don’t need to prove to each other our strengths and weaknesses.

The fable is about a stork and a fox who invite each other over to their houses for supper. However, they soon realise they are not the same. They are two different animals and their eating habits are particularly different. In the end, they are angry with the other for cheating- showing off the way they eat. By this time, you can clearly see what the moral is; Even though there are many different people in our world, it still doesn’t mean that we should look down on others for their differences.

Mikayla

The Old Couple, the Crocodile and the Very Intelligent Rabbit

Long, long ago there lived an old couple who loved to eat crocodiles. The husband was a hunter and the wife loved to sew and mend clothes.

One day, the hunter saw a huge crocodile lying down asleep. As he approached it, it woke up. The hunter was disappointed hoping to have crocodile stew for dinner, made from such a large crocodile. The hunter then decided to deceive the crocodile by then inviting him over to his house and cutting him to pieces. “Hello, crocodile. Would you like to come over to my house for some nomn pao (Cambodian bread)?” the hunter asked the crocodile.

“Oh I would love to!” the crocodile replied. However, the crocodile was also plotting to eat the old man. “My wife would also love your company.” The Crocodile grinned. “How wonderful, to kill two birds with one stone!” he thought to himself.

Secretly, from above, a moon bunny watched them closely. “Judgement must be placed upon them.” he demanded.

Later, when the crocodile slipped into the house, the hunter and the crocodile armed their weapons and prepared to attack when, all of a sudden, the bunny appeared and sentenced both the hunter and the crocodile to hell for their trickery. The hunter’s wife wept for the rest of her life and eventually died alone.

The moral- Do not deceive others.

Elycia

Mao's Last Dancer

Mao’s Last Dancer is a captivating story of immense passion and emotion that overflows into a single ray of hope. Our class has enjoyed reading this book in our novel studies. We have submerged ourselves into the universe of Li Cunxin, a young boy, helpless before the inevitable fate that is bestowed upon him; the life of a peasant. Yet, the future that Cunxin was destined to have (a peasant working on the fields like his father) came to an unexpected end. He was the frog in the well that managed to escape. As we embark on the journey throughout this novel with Cunxin we experience all that has made him the magnificent ballet dancer he is today. Personally, I’ve never had before found that the ink on a mere piece of paper could communicate to the audience with such an overwhelming passion and desire. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this book along with the learning experience Li Cunxin experiences within this novel. 

- Elycia

 

Sleek Geeks
As you may already know, at the beginning of the year (Term 1), Room 20 participated in a Science competition called ‘Sleek Geeks’ run by the University of Sydney. The goal was to create a short video (4 minutes or less), in which to teach the audience about a particular topic in science. For example, a topic chosen was on Photosynthesis, and it explained in detail about how a plant collects sun, feeds itself and grows. At the recent assembly, some lucky recipients were awarded certificates for their films. Congratulations to Adam, Jessica, Lucy, Amos and Bella. I’d like to further congratulate everyone who participated in this competition. All of your videos were spectacular, keep up the good work! In a further not, remember that Sleek Geeks is on again in 2014; start thinking about your topic. Let’s go for gold this time!

- Adam

Room 20 Sleek Geeks!

 

Persuasive Writing 
We, at Room 20, always have something to say. So, every single one of us absolutely adore writing persuasive texts! Every week we have been writing persuasive texts on the topic of our choice. So far, there have been many astounding persuasive texts on many different issues. Topical issues include car-pooling, racism and war which have all been discussed in fine detail. Everybody’s persuasive writing skills are improving significantly. We would like to share some of the most inspiring and well written examples from the class. Click on the link below to access the examples. I hope you enjoy reading them.

- Abigail

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jzB9RavGBTluKzSMoDOk-ta99XaaLb8UMfjQOkc2nN4/edit?usp=sharing

Sweaters for Syria - Thank you WGPS
When I heard about the crisis in Syria I wished there was something my family could do to help.   There are over two million refugees and half of these are kids, just like you and me.  My Mum read about the Sweaters for Syria campaign that the Salvos were running.  We contacted our friends, family and the WGPS community asking for donations.  In just a week, we received over 400 items. We were blown away by the kindness of everyone who donated. Thank you! Your donations will arrive just in time to help as the worst winter they will have ever experienced arrives.   You have saved lives!

- Lucy

*** Lucy, we are all so proud of you and your family. Thank you! You are an inspiration.

Lucy with some of the donations collected from the appeal.

 

Remembrance Day

They are the fallen ones, the ones who carried the lives of their men, country, and others on their backs. The ones who left behind what they held dear to do what they thought was their duty. They are the fallen ones; the Soldiers. And, we remember them.

Yesterday, Room 20 pursued their ancestral links all the way back to World War I, discovering what it truly meant to serve your nation. We discussed what we knew about Remembrance Day and learnt things we didn’t know, for example the position of a horse’s legs on a statue is a symbol of how a person may have died in battle.  We learnt about the Unknown Soldier and explored what significance he represented for our nation and others. We also designed our own memorial garden considering the overall layout and the types of plants, trees and other symbolic items to include. It was great to learn about Remembrance Day and to also reflect on our lives today, so, soldiers - we remember you.

-Rhian

 

ICAS Testing

During Term 3, many students participated in the ICAS (The International Competitions and Assessments for Schools program) 2013. The ICAS, (some refer to it as the University of New South Wales Test) is a testing program which students from around Australia, New Zealand and Oceania are tested and ranked/measured against each other. A new ICAS test is developed annually for each subject in each year group.

Approximately six weeks after students' responses are received for processing, students then obtain a report, identifying the students test results. Students with the top score in each subject in each year level are awarded a medal, and the remaining participants may receive a high distinction (Top 1%), distinction (Top 10%), credit (Top 25%) or even a participation (remaining participants) award.

Congratulations to Bianca, Amos, Peng and Khaled for receiving a distinction in Mathematics for the 2013 ICAS test. Adam, our lucky participant was the only person that achieved a distinction in English – we all congratulate him.

Good luck to everyone who is willing to participate in the 2014 ICAS, I wish you luck…

  - Khaled

Our Mathematics Stars

Well done, Adam

Principal's Challenge

Last term, we had yet another Principal’s Challenge. Now, there has been a lot of competition against the year 6 and 7 PAC classes and we have been lagging behind those kids all year, it was now our time to shine. The year 7 PAC won last term, which made us even hungrier for a win. We wanted rights to that title so we studied extra hard and it paid off. When it was time, we had no idea what the percentages were. Wishing we’d win, our knees were shaking, and the anticipation was overwhelming. The Principal, Mrs Mackenzie finally announced the winner… ‘The winner is… Year 6 PAC.’ We were all overjoyed! We were so happy but we didn’t forget to congratulate the year 7 PAC for their competition. It is great to be the champions for term 3. Now we only have one more term and I am thinking that this prestigious title will remain with us for the rest of 2013.

-Deckard

Champion effort, Year 6's

Top 5 Recipients

Principal's Challenge 100%'ers

Most improved Principal's Challenge recipients

Swimming

From the beginning of week three of term 4, the kindergarten to the year 6’s attended swimming lessons to discover how to master the art of swimming. Room 20 departed from Wattle Grove Primary School on a bus along with our fellow classes, half of Room 15 year 6’s, Room 8 and Room 12. We thoroughly enjoyed our experiences and learning new skills. I looked forward to every lesson for I was very fond of my humorous teacher. Intisar and I were always found laughing our heads off. We ended up performing 10 push ups and 30 the next day; important muscles for the laps that we had to do. On the final day everyone was granted with a session of fun and games before being told our results. We learnt an incredible amount and I feel my confidence has excelled in water. Many of us had passed our levels. Ultimately we had a blast during our short time at the pools.

                                                                                                                                                       - Henry