CHANNEL 9 - CHRISTMAS CAROLS
On Tuesday the 11th of November, the Wattle Grove Primary School Choir took a trip to Channel 9 Studios in Dianella. With excitement building up, we had the ultimate opportunity to record a Christmas carol (Jingle Bells) for a short advertisement. This of which will be displayed on Channel 9 during the Christmas season. Everyone who was included in the trip was surely overwhelmed entering the studio into a world of Camera, Lights and Action! After several takes we had a surprise visit from Libby Stone, a news reporter on the Channel 9 news panel. She visited us for a quick chat while we began to ask a myriad of questions. Recognising our excitement, we were taken to the news set where we continued to swarm her with a number of questions. Being handed a small bag of Channel 9 merchandise, we all said our goodbyes and returned to school. Overall it was an incredible adventure and definitely an experience we will always remember. Thank you to Mrs. Mullan for organising the excursion, we loved it!

- Mikayla

KALGOORLIE CAMP

On Monday 27^th October, we had to get up bright and early to arrive at the East Perth train station by 6:30am to board the Prospector to leave at 7:00am. At 11:00am, we stopped at Merredin train station for 20 minutes to stretch our legs and get some much needed fresh air. After a few hours of watching movies, TV shows, and listening to music and laughter, we arrived in golden Kalgoorlie at approximately 2:00pm. We got our luggage on the buses which took us to Goldfields Camp School, where we learnt the rules of the week and headed to our dormitories; C.Y. O’Connor and Paddy Hannan for the girls, Bayley and Ford as well as Flanagan and Shea for the boys. Once we were settled in, we headed up to the Super Pit lookout where we got a breathtaking view of the largest open-cut mine in Australia. From approximately 600 metres above the base of the pit, we could only gasp at the enormity of its size. At the lookout, the huge Haul Packs (approximately 18 metres high) looked like tiny children’s toys. We then returned back to camp for a delicious dinner of shepherd’s pie and sticky date pudding, before watching Frozen, speciality of Ms Roberts. This was only day one.

Day 2:

5:30-6:00am – Wake Up and Shower (cranky teachers!)

6:00-7:30am – Free Time (Mr Petch’s atrocious hairdo!)

7:30-8:00am – Bush Breakfast (oh no, not Mr Petch cooking! -Jaffles)

8:00-9:00am – Get ready for the day and clean dorms (had to get a whole team to clean Mr Sherlock’s dorm)

9:00-4:00pm – Activities for the day (Quartz crushing/gold panning, Coolgardie tour [Jack Carins’ Humpy, Pioneer Cemetery and Warden Finnerty’s House])

4:00-5:30pm – Free Time (noisy basketballs)

5:30-6:15pm – Dinner (that one time of the day when we were well-behaved and orderly -Butter Chicken)

6:15-7:30pm – Showers and Free Time (Workout Session)

7:30-8:30pm – Night Time Activities (Quiz Night –Congratulations to Amos, Henry, Adam, Peng and Blake, Champion Team)

8:30-9:30pm – Preparing for Bed and Relaxing Free Time (Gambling Lollies)

9:30-9:45pm – Lights Out (dorm lights anyway)

9:45-10:00pm – Sleeping (at least when the teachers came in)

Day 3:

5:30-6:00am – Wake Up and Shower (cranky teachers!)

6:00-7:30am – Free Time (Mr Petch’s barbaric hairdo!)

7:30-8:00am –Breakfast (Snags, Cereal, Egg, Toast, Yoghurt, Fruit, Cheese & Bacon Party Pies)

8:00-9:00am – Get ready for the day and clean dorms (had to get a whole team to clean Mr Petch’s dorm)

9:00-4:00pm – Activities for the day (Loop Line Museum [Mr Sherlock, what’s a Pearl Jam?], Boulder Burt St Tour [Finishing at Boulder Town Hall], Hannan’s North Tourist Mine [Panning for Gold], KCGM Tour [sadly cancelled due to lightning… Petchy...!])

4:00-5:00pm – Super Pit Lookout (we rocked Mr Meachem’s bus! -literally)

5:00-5:45pm – Dinner (that one time of the day when we were well-behaved and orderly –Roast Beef, Gravy and Vegies)

5:45-6:30pm – Prepare for swimming (bathers, thongs, towels, etc.)

7:30-8:30pm – Night Time Activities (swimming at the Goldfield Oasis [not exactly swimming, but…])

8:30-9:30pm – Preparing for Bed and Relaxing Free Time (showers and Spooky Story Night [don’t scream tonight Mr Petch!)

9:30-9:45pm – Lights Out (dorm lights anyway)

9:45-10:00pm – Sleeping (when Mr Petch finally stops screaming…)

Day 4

5:30-6:00am – Wake Up and Shower (teachers learnt to have their coffee before we woke up)

6:00-7:30am – Free Time (Mr Petch decided to “fix” his hairdo before he came out)

7:30-8:00am – Breakfast (Bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast, cereal, fruit, yoghurt)

8:00-9:00am – Get ready for the day and clean dorms (the teachers’ dorms were FINALLY tidy… sort of…)

9:00-4:00pm – Activities for the day (Kalgoorlie tour [Hannan St to the Kalgoorlie town hall], West Aus. Museum [Mr Sherlock, what’s a Metallica?], RFDS, Bureau of Meteorology, shopping for snacks for the train ride back)

4:00-5:30pm – Free Time (parkour session)

5:30-6:15pm – Dinner (that one time of the day when we were well-behaved and orderly – Chicken Parmigiana)

6:15-7:30pm – Showers and Free Time (scaring Mr Sherlock with fake snakes and spooky stories)

7:30-8:30pm – Night Time Activities (Game Night – foosball, air hockey, Uno, spooky stories, table tennis, spoons, basketball)

8:30-9:30pm – Preparing for Bed and Relaxing Free Time (Spooky Story Night)

9:30-9:45pm – Lights Out (on time for once)

9:45-10:00pm – Sleeping (once Mr Sherlock stopped squealing like a girl – I’m sorry, young lady)

After we’d woken up and had a shower, we started packing ready for our lasting journey back home to Perth. We had a succulent breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, baked beans, cereal, fruit and yoghurt, before heading to Kalgoorlie’s infamous Two-Up ring, where we got to bet fake money on the outcome of the coins. We all started with $50, except for Mr Sherlock, who somehow managed to acquire thousands after the first match. In the end, there had to be only one winner. That winner was destined to be Tyler, who defeated Mr Petch in an epic battle of the pennies. Mr Petch was very upset about that, as we had to try to cheer him up on the bus ride to Hammond Park for lunch. After lunch we returned to the camp school to grab our luggage before heading to the train station. Soon after, we once again boarded the Prospector on our way back to Perth. We waved goodbye to glorious Kalgoorlie, and after a lengthy train journey of watching movies, TV shows, and listening to music. We arrived back home at approximately 9:50pm, where we said goodbye to our friends and headed home. Camp was too short.

                                                                                                                           - Adam and Blake

LEEMING PRESENTATION NIGHT

On the evening of Tuesday night on 4^th of November the two PAC classes from Caladenia and Wattle Grove united at Leeming SHS to showcase their hard work and effort to parents, staff and esteemed guests.

Each group of students had their own subject to display and expand on, within the areas of English and Maths. In the English section, each of the students’ created Superhero Comics and a related Movie Trailer, along with many philosophical discussions that definitely intrigued the parents. Whereas in Mathematics, our students were delighted to discuss topics regarding the enigmatic Soma Cube and of course the Mineral Oil PC that sparked the interest of the guests. The bisecting angles group demonstrated the surprising art of using a compass and a ruler to bisect angles.

Undeniably, students enjoyed the night just as much as the parents did and we hope that our relationship with Leeming SHS will maintain its state and flourish even more.

Photos to come.

PENG'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE
The Learning for Life Program

This is a charity program for kids that support children who need help with learning. I was part of this program, and there are always yearly writing competitions. This year, I actually won the competition. It was on the topic My Biggest Challenge was… written in at least 100 words. I wrote about my past life in China and the challenges that I had faced during that period of time. The prize was a $50 JB HI-Fi gift card. The newspapers decided to get my story and they took a photo of me, so I was quite proud of myself. 

- Peng

We are all so very proud of you, Peng. Congratulations once again. You're a star!!!