What’s happening in Year 6

06 CORE 1

The Feast of the Assumption of Mary 

On Friday 15 August, 6 Maks/Dunphy celebrated the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven, body and soul with a visit to her statue in the Grotto. The girls placed a Madonna lily (a symbol of purity and renewal) in her arms. They then prayed the Hail Mary, before reflecting on what she means to each of them.

Eamonn Dunphy and Marisa Maks 
Year 6 Teachers

06 CORE 2

ESCAPE ROOM CHALLENGE

Students have enjoyed completing an escape room challenge in IDU to research and find out different information about voting and elections in Australia. It is part of our Government unit and in preparation for their trip to Parliament House in Canberra in Week 9. They have had lots of discussions about the facts that they are finding and learning some interesting historical facts as well as modern day information.

Leonie Trees
Year 6 Teacher

06 CORE 3 

This week, our Year 6 students participated in Science Week, immersing themselves in a range of exciting scientific experiments and STEM based learning experiences.

During their Science lab sessions, students focused on the concept of elastic potential energy. They had the opportunity to design and build their own catapults using paddle pop sticks, chopsticks, straws, rubber bands and small cups. This hands-on activity allowed them to observe how energy stored in a stretched rubber band is transformed into kinetic energy, launching their projectiles across the room. It was a fun and memorable way to connect scientific theory with practical experimentation.

In class, students also took part in two additional experiments. One of the highlights was the Dancing Raisins experiment, where they explored the concepts of density and buoyancy. As soda bubbles attached to the raisins, the raisins became buoyant and floated to the surface. When the bubbles popped, the raisins lost their buoyancy and sank, creating a fascinating up-and-down motion that sparked lots of discussion and curiosity.

STEM learning was also a big part of the week. Students explored the world of coding and robotics using Sphero BOLT, a programmable robotic ball. They used coding software to program the Sphero to navigate around the classroom, experimenting with different speeds, directions, and routes. This creative and collaborative task challenged students to think critically and apply problem-solving skills in a fun way.

Science Week was a fantastic opportunity for our Year 6 students to engage deeply with scientific concepts, work together, and have fun while learning. Well done to all our scientists!

Monique Taylor and Tiffany Anderson
Year 6 Teachers

06 CORE 4 

We focused on elastic potential energy during our recent Science lesson and built catapults using paddlepop sticks, chopsticks, straws, rubber bands and small cups. Students were able to see how the elastic energy stored in the stretched rubber band was transformed into kinetic (moving) energy in the projectiles they catapulted. All teams had a chance to adjust their devices to manipulate variables to see their impacts on the projectile arc (distance travelled). 

Ann Milicic
Year 6 Teacher