Our Year 4 girls enjoyed an eye-opening excursion at Wingfield Waste and Recycling Centre on Monday 28 March.

The girls were given a guided tour of the facility and learned important information about how waste is sorted, processed, reused or buried. The girls also rotated through stimulating hands-on small group learning activities, which were educational and fun. These activities ranged from using their bodies to turn a trommel to sort various materials found in yellow bins, to using a digital device to calculate and compare the amount of carbon various fuels would emit into the atmosphere to power a collection vehicle. Here are some reflections from the girls’ learning:

‘I learned that if a lettuce head is put in the compost bin, it takes 1-3 weeks to break down, but if a lettuce head is put in the landfill bin, it takes 20 years to break down!’ Alina Teng

‘The most interesting activity was [seeing] how much CO² a truck can produce … in a black balloon you could see the difference between electric, diesel and gas.’ Alice Gao

‘I think the most interesting activity for me was when we had to put cans and paper into this thing that you had to turn around and around, and the interesting thing was that only the cans and containers fell into the buckets below, but the paper made it to the other side.’ Chloe Knox

‘I learned that you can put bones into the green bin and compost bin.’ Grace Lin

‘The most interesting thing that I learned on the excursion was the saying, "If it grows it goes". This means if it grew over time, then it goes in the compost.’ Saanika Singhal

‘I learned that you can compost hair.’ Fatima Muazzam

Chinese Storybooks

This term in Chinese our Year 2s and Year 6s have learnt about measuring words and their role in counting objects. To assist in solidifying this learning, the Year 2s made mini books counting the Zodiac animals in Chinese. The girls worked hard to produce their books and have been sharing and reading their stories with each other.

Similarly, the Year 6s have produced a storybook counting and describing animals at the Zoo. The girls were eager to challenge themselves and extend their stories to include details about the animals’ appearances.

Early in Term 2 we aim to bring together the Year 2 and Year 6 girls to share their learning with each other and read each other’s stories. This will provide the girls with a chance to review and practise their Chinese reading and speaking in an authentic manner