Term 3 School Highlights

Term Three at Malvern Primary has come to an end. It has been a long term. The winter has stretched on indefinitely. In fact, this morning the radio announced that it has been the coldest winter in 13 years, the wettest winter in 11 years and the coldest September in 20 years! Just our luck to be in Australia to experience the most unusual weather patterns in decades!

I continue to enjoy my time at school. There have been many special events which highlighted this term for me.

GRADE 6 FIELD TRIP TO THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA

I have been privileged to accompany the Grade 6 classes on their field trips this year, and joining them this term for a visit to the Parliament of Victoria was most enriching.

This is the beautiful home for affairs of the Victorian state government.

On the morning of our visitation, the Parliament was in session. Thus we were not allowed to take photos within the Legislative Council nor the Legislative Assembly chambers, but we could sit in the public galleries of both houses and watch the politicians in action!

We also got to meet the representative for Malvern Primary School's jurisdiction.

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AFRICA DAY

In term 3 we focused on a school-wide study of African music.

We had a fantastic time learning a variety of songs and dances, studying the African culture and learning to play the African instruments like the djembe, shekere, and gankogui. We brought a group called Salaka over to the school for a drumming incursion with all the students from Grades 1 to 6.

They hail from Ghana and demonstrated an incredible sense of rhythm and movement for the students.

Everyone got to try their hand at drumming.

Our study culminated in an African Day assembly, where most all the classes demonstrated the songs and dances that they had learned over the term.

Everyone dressed up in African costumes, complete with headdresses, wigs and face paint!

The gym was suitably decorated with masks and decorations that the students had made.

We sold little African doll pins to support an Aids agency in Africa and raised over $3000. All in all, Africa Day was a big hit!

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WACKY HAIR DAY

The Grade 6 classes also wanted to host a fundraiser, and so they organized Wacky Hair Day. It was just amazing how ALL the students participated in this event.

The hairdos that the kids came to school with were incredibly elaborate.

Moms had gone to great effort to buy wigs, colour hair, or purchase accessories for their kids' hair.

There was a special assembly where each class paraded around the gym, while a group of Grade 6 judges offered prizes to the winners. For me, the creativity was most striking. Students had not only coloured or gelled their hair, but they had added balloons,

birds' nests,

the solar system,

ribbons,

and even candies

in an effort to be unique! I became the official photographer for the event.

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THE BALD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

On the second last day of term, another fundraiser took place at school. This time it was for cancer research. It is an annual event at the school where students and parents can opt to shave their heads.

Each person who participates gets sponsored by family and friends. A total of over $12,000 was raised! Local hairdressers donated their time and skills and set up shop, making a long queue of chairs available for the occasion.

For a donation of a “gold coin”, students and staff could come and watch the event.

What fun!

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FOOTY DAY

The grand AFL premiership will be played during the holidays, and football fever is at an all time high in Melbourne these days. All the students are very keen about this sport, so on the last day of term, we had no classes, just a grand footy celebration. All the students came dressed in the footy gear of their favourite team. The gym was decorated;

even the toilet signs were appropriately adorned!

The teams started out as clubs that represented a specific district of Melbourne, but now have expanded to include other cities in Australia. There are shirts, hats, scarves and accessories available for purchase at every footy game and the students were all suitably decked out in their particular team colours! The morning began with a general quiz of football trivia which was given over the PA system. Then there was a special footy assembly for the remainder of the morning,

where the best team effort was awarded a trophy!

Thereafter, anyone supporting a particular football team was invited to come up onto a stage and perform a rendition of their team song before a panel of three judges.

Banners and flags waved as all the students sang with enthusiasm. Even the assistant principal graced the stage with a Can-Can dance! What fervour! Only two of the AFL teams – Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide Power - had no representative at Malvern and the teacher who was the Master of Ceremonies for the assembly had to do a solo rendition! To keep the teams and their colours in remembrance, I have listed them here:

Adelaide Crows

Carleton Blues

Collingwood Magpies

Essendon Bombers

Freemantle Dockers

Geelong Cats

Hawthorne Hawks

Melbourne Demons

North Melbourne Kangaroos

Richmond Tigers

St. Kilda Saints

Sydney Swans (red and white like Canada colours)

West Coast Eagles (only one supporter)

Western Bulldogs (lovingly called the Doggies)

The day was not complete without a school footy luncheon of sausages, meat pies or pasties smothered in tomato sauce! I have really come to enjoy and support the game of footy over the course of this year. We have attended half a dozen games, including one of the semi final games. A grade 6 student met with me weekly to discuss the various team strengths and weaknesses and then I got to place my tips (sophisticated betting!) accordingly. I even ranked 7^th out of our staff of 50 in my footy tipping! Not bad for a rookie!

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ROYAL SOUTH STREET EISTEDDFOD

I have assisted with the Grade 5/6 choir this term. This is an extracurricular volunteer choir that meets weekly before school. There is a very prestigious music festival, known as the Royal South Street Eisteddfod, which is held annually in the Gold Rush

city of Ballarat.

It is held in the grand old stately Her Majesty's Theatre.

The Grade 5/6 choir entered in three classes and I was able to conduct them for one of the classes. After a relaxing bus trip,

we performed first in my section of two selections – a hauntingly lovely lyrical piece, and a lively Newfoundland folk song arrangement called Great Big Sea, complete with spoons and fiddle playing. The students really loved both songs, and I guess the adjudicator did as well! I was thrilled when we placed first in the class of 13 choirs.

We even won a trophy and $100 for the school!

It was a glorious day and we enjoyed spending a short time over the lunch hour at Lake Wendouree Park.

The students sang in two additional classes in the afternoon and placed second.

I am really enjoying the collaboration with the music teacher, and was happy to get the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful festival in Australia! The school acknowledged our efforts at an ensuing assembly and presented us both with a beautiful arrangement of stargazer lilies.

The trophy has now been immortalized in our school's trophy case!

It is now time to relax and rejuvenate.

So, as I write this, we are wending our way for a holiday to Queensland and a visit to the Great Barrier Reef.