Visit from Mr Vuong

On the 27^th of November, Henry’s father, Mr. Vuong, came to our class to talk about his life, from youth onwards. Mr Vuong started from the beginning, when he was just a child, and, with intricate and precise detail, pulled his biography out of his memory. His story is a rough one, full of twists and turns, yet an inspiring one of bravery and perseverance. Mr Vuong’s tale sprouts from his childhood in communist South Vietnam, where life was ferociously tough, and where the government controlled the land with an iron fist. As time passed, Mr Vuong eventually fled from his homeland and, on a perilous journey across turbulent waters, with some foreign aid, he eventually arrived in Australia, and built a new life here.

I believe that Mr Vuong, with his intriguing story, has really made an impact on our class, and has given us a true insight into life under a vicious communist regime at the same time. We already knew that if you try, you can succeed, regardless of what obstacles or difficulties that may stand in the way. Now, we have a true example of that principle: Henry’s father, Mr Vuong – a truly inspirational man.

 -Amos

Mr Vuong sharing his lifetime experiences with Room 20

Cooking up a storm in Room 20

On Wednesday 4^th December it was Room 20’s first cooking session. We made a mouth-watering Sticky Date Pudding, with luscious sticky toffee sauce on top. With Mrs Stanley acting as our Master-Chef and a ‘busy’ Mr. Petch (who looked out of place in the kitchen), the pudding couldn’t have turned out better! Mrs Stanley is a splendid cook with talent like no other. I dislike dates, but in this luscious Pudding, they are like no other. It’s just like a cupcake, but much better, especially with the scrumptious toffee sauce!

 Sound delicious doesn’t it? Well make it yourself and try it out…

One Batch (makes 12)	Two Batches (makes 24)
250g Dates (1cup), Fresh or Dried 1 Cup Boiling Hot Water 1 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda 125g Butter, Softened 1 Cup Brown Sugar 1 Tsp Vanilla 3 Free Range Eggs 1 ¾ Cups Self Raising Flour	500g Dates (2cup), Fresh or Dried 2 Cup Boiling Hot Water 2 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda 250g Butter, Softened 2 Cup Brown Sugar 2 Tsp Vanilla 6 Free Range Eggs 3 ½ Cups Self Raising Flour

 Steps-

1. Remove pips and chop dates and put in bowl. Add the boiling water to it and Bicarb of soda, mix with a spoon and set aside to cool slightly.
2. On another bowl mix butter with brown sugar and vanilla until creamy.
3. Add eggs one by one to the butter and sugar mixture then add the date mixture and SR flour. Keep mixing
4. Evenly put the mixture on the tray if one batch 12 and 2 batch 24 and put in oven. 180 degrees and for 30 minutes.
5. Then add the sticky toffee sauce on top, serve and enjoy!

Sticky Toffee Sauce Recipe:

One Batch	Two Batches
1 Cup Brown Sugar 300ml Thickened Cream ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Essence 60g Butter	2 Cups Brown Sugar 600ml Thickened Cream 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence 120g Butter

Steps: Put all ingredients in a good quality pot on the stove, stir and boil for 5 minutes

- Intisar

Cooking from Room20

SOLAR BOATS

For the past two terms the year 6’s and 7’s of Wattle Grove have been working hard on their Solar Boats, in the hope of racing them to victory in the small pool of water set up next to the year 3/4 playground, which shall be put to use towards the end of next week. Stay tuned to see the videos of boats such as Adam’s ‘mouse’, Intisar’s ‘Stylish Headphones’, Lachlan’s ‘Old’sCool’, my own boat ‘Ferocity’, Peng’s ‘Flame-ingo’ and Khaled’s ‘Kool’. Unfortunately it’s supposedly “illegal” to buy alligators of the black market.

Currently many students are at their final stages of preparation for their boat, with some looking very precise and accurate. Countless students wish to paint their boat, however, there is a very heavy risk of permanent damage or even destroying the boat, as the paint contains solvent, which eats away the boat and leaves holes in which water can seep through. Fortunately, if two or three layers of primer are coated onto the boat, then it should (hopefully) protect the boat from damage. In any case, many students have made the wise choice to steer clear of spray painting their boat. The vessels should be constructed by the end of the week, meaning we could race them the next week. Fingers crossed for some sunny days ahead.

- Rhian

Solar boats from Room20

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

Freo Fanatics

There is a small contingent of dedicated Freo Fans in Room 20 who are hoping and wishing for a successful Grand Final game. They have had to put up with a lot of criticism over the years, especially from Eagles fans such as Mr Petch. However, this weekend from 12.30pm, our critics are going to be silenced once and for all as they witness one of the best grand final victories ever performed by a West Australian team. Go Freo!

- Abigail

Secrets of the Afterlife Excursion

In Week 3 of Term 3, 2013 (wow, that’s a lot of threes!) Rooms 6, 10, 15, 18 and 20 departed from the school bound for a fabulous excursion at the Museum of WA to explore the new and wonderful exhibit, Secrets of the Afterlife. It was a long and extremely crowded trip (3 to a seat!) and many students were extremely happy to step off the cramped, rattling buses and stretch their legs. Once inside, we began to look around the vast, open lobby and marvelled at the gigantic dinosaur relic gazing upon us. Next, we split into two groups and explored the various relics and marvellous exhibits that were just some of the wondrous secrets and items concealed through the museum’s rotating door.

The Secrets of the Afterlife exhibition is part of a larger collection of artefacts from the world – renowned British Museum. With this in mind, we felt extremely important and privileged to lay our eyes on a fraction of one of the best and most wonderful Ancient Egyptian exhibits of all time. As we walked in through the door, we saw, to our utmost amazement, the Ancient Egyptian Creation myth, which we had learnt about in class, depicted upon a sheet of papyrus. From this moment on, we knew it was going to be an awesome day learning about the Ancient Egyptian culture and beliefs.

-Bella

Ancient egypt excursion from Room20

Robotics with the Robogals...

Robogals is an organisation that encourages girls to participate in Science and Technology.

Earlier on, a few weeks ago in fact, a group of Robogals visited our school on the 17^th September 2013 to give some of our girls an insight into the world of engineering. They helped us to learn how to programme Lego robots on software called ‘Lego Storm’. We had a fantastic day learning about robotics and the different areas of engineering. It was also very inspiring to chat to the university girls who are following their dreams into a world of Science and Technology.

Furthermore, Robogals is running a competition open for all girls in Primary and High School. The competition requires girls to create a video about an interesting science experiment or investigation while learning all about scientific inquiry and concepts.

Some the girls from our class will be participating in this event. You can follow us on the ‘Robogals Science Challenge’ website. Please be sure to vote for the Wattle Grove students.

- Mikayla & Alyssha

Robogals from Room20

Principal's Challenge

Every term, the students of Wattle Grove Primary School work hard (well, most of them, as far as I know) to imbue themselves with the lines and lines of valuable information that are given out to them. Then, at the end of each term, the great day arrives when the principal (or deputy) appears in each classroom and gives the test – the test of memory, the test that shows who has devoted themselves to study.
For me, Amos, the Principal’s Challenge is a wonderful way to improve memory skills. The idea of pushing your mind to the limit, and then being tested on your efforts, is an absolute delight for me. 
It was probably the delight of scoring full marks in the first Challenge that motivated me to work hard for the other Challenges. And the improvement that Room 20 has had, comparing Term 3’s Challenge with the last, is magnificent, if not divine. It was a pleasure to see my classmates strive to achieve that top mark, as well as the number of one hundred percents that surfaced. Congratulations all, I am very proud of your efforts.

-Amos

 

Merit Certificates
Congratulations to Lachlan, Alyssha and Sean. You have all put in a tremendous effort towards your learning. Keep up the fantastic work. You are superstars! 

Star of the Week
We love celebrating all things positive in Room 20 and we are pleased to announce we have recently had a new addition to the class; Mr Happy Box. Every week our class members acknowledge the wonderful attributes of others and place their hand written notes in Mr Happy Box and on the Friday we pull one note out at random. The person whose name we pull out becomes our.... Star of the Week!!!
Congratulations to Mikayla for being our first ever (official) Star of the Week. Mikayla was nominated by Elycia for: always being happy. Mikayla's smile is wider than the horizon and has the ability to brighten up any room! (Nice words, Elycia!).
This week's Star of the Week was awarded to Shahana. Shahana was nominated by Nikole for: being a great member of the class and most of all, being my friend. (A nice warm-fuzzy, Nikole). Well done girls!

Book Week 2013

Book Week from Room20

Art on Show
Last term, we entered a Therapy Focus Arts Competition, having to illustrate a page for a story. A few weeks after entering, our Art teacher, Miss Larkin, told me that I was in the top hundred. The artwork I had created was open to the public for them to vote on their favourite piece. 
At the beginning of the term, I was informed that I had actually won the competition and have been invited to an awards night on Thursday 29^th August. My drawing will be published in the story book. My parents and teacher are very proud and I am thrilled to get my artwork published in an actual book.
- Bianca

Update: Last night, 29th August, Bianca, her family and some Wattle Grove staff attended an awards ceremony for the book launch of 'Jake Rides the Roller-coaster' held by Therapy Focus at Westfield Carousel. We were all so proud to see Bianca receive widespread acknowledgement and an amazing prize pack for having her work published in the book. Well done on a fantastic achievement, Bianca! Room20 and our school are extremely proud of you. Here are some photos of the night:

 

Speak Up... Update 
The Speak Up Award is a competition that brings the chance for school students to talk about a topical issue out loud in front of an audience. The speech has to fit into the time frame of three or four minutes, however, it cannot be ridiculously short like thirty seconds or anything of the sort – I don’t see how a highly formal speech can possibly be that short.

The first round of speeches took place in the classroom. Students presented their speeches, and were marked by their teacher and some of their classmates. The top contestants were chosen to enter the second round.

The second round of Speak Up was the school competition. The selected contestants presented their speeches in front of the entire (senior) school, and the judges, who were some teachers, picked the top three from that round to go into the next round.

The next round was an inter-school competition. The school winners were sent by Mrs Mackenzie, the principal, to South Perth Masonic Hall. The speaking area was quite small; much smaller than I expected. Speakers stood on a tiny blue platform in front of a ‘large’ room, with the audience in cushioned chairs in the distance. The audience had less people than I had thought – only the other speakers and their parents and teachers! I had expected something like a TED talk setup, but no – it was almost amusing to see such a tiny little room, for such an important speech.

The judges – a couple of men – sat at a table on the side. They never seemed to look up, except when the speech was finished. Their pens all seemed to be continuously scribbling things down on their papers.

The range of speech topics was quite wide – from the evolution of music, to endangered animals. Yes, it was wide, despite the fact that there were only twelve speakers on the day. Personally, I think Speak Up is a wonderful opportunity to tell society what you are passionate about, and what you care about. But I don’t think the fame and glory that you get is what matters – it’s more about getting a message across to society, and informing people about what you want them to know.

Interschool Cross-Country

In Week 3 some classmates and I went to interschool cross-country. We participated in the event with other students from the school. It was held at Dawson Park Primary School and I’m sure everyone who ran would agree it was a pretty confusing course. It was for years one through to seven.

 From our class the runners were:

Girls: Lucy

Boys: Henry & I.

Places:

Lucy: 2^nd

Henry: 4^th

Blake (me): 3^rd

Here are some intakes of the runner’s personal experience of the day.

Interview with Henry:

What did you think of their track?

 “The track was okay but I prefer our track much more.”

Why?

 “Their track was rough and confusing whereas our track was much more flat (had slight hills) and was clearly marked out.”

Did you like going to interschool?

 “Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

What was your favourite part of the day?

 “Mainly the running, but I did enjoy watching and cheering my school on.”

Interview with Lucy:

Have you ever been to interschool before?

 “Yes, last year.”

What was your favourite part of the day?

 “I liked Watching everyone run.”

Did you enjoy the conditions, what were they like?

 “Yes, it felt nice on an overcast day.”

Did you like going?

 “Yeah, it was fun.”

As you can see, it was a fun day had by all. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for next year’s event.

- Blake