UPCOMING DATES

Wednesday 19th September High School Parliament House &

Rock Climbing Excursion Playgroup Ice Skating Excursion

Thursday 20th September Last Day of Term 3

Peace Day Ceremony 9.15am Friday 21st - Friday 28th

September Year 11 Prac Exams and Year 12

Mock Exams Tuesday 9th October

Students commence Term 4

EDITION 104

End of Term Bumper Issue!

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From the Principal

Last week Treetops hosted delegates attending the ‘Meeting in the Middle MontessoriAdolescent Programme Forum’. Some forty delegates from across Australia and NewZealand toured our school and stayed for a Treetops presentation and subsequentworkshops. Jodi Kerslake, our Secondary Coordinator, showcased the strong linksbetween Treetops lower high school programmes and our International Baccalaureateofferings. The Treetops approach is nationally innovative and attracted significant interestfrom other schools.

Delegates also commented very favourably on our site, with not a small amount of obviousenvy. Whilst the Forum is focused upon lower high school year groups, people wereenthused by the nature play opportunities afforded to our primary students. It was a wetday and the array of very muddy boots and clothing outside Wattle and Marri attested toour commitment as a school to the importance of nature play.

New iPads

We are pleased to have received 30 newiPads along with keyboards, an IQ trolleyand military grade covers. To betterenable our students to demonstrate theirlearning we decided to significantlyupgrade our current informationtechnology capacity in the primary school.The new iPads are able to operate thelatest applications and all commonMicrosoft Office software tools.

The new iPads will also give us thecapacity to meet requirements for the fullyonline 2019 NAPLAN test.

Stuart Harris

Children's House

In Children’s House we started the term by studying “Minibeasts”. We began below groundwith earthworms. We learnt that earthworms are very important for the soil as they help tocompost. We looked at snails, slugs and caterpillars and learnt that we should always putminibeasts “back where they belong!”. Our Critters Up Close incursion taught us aboutAustralian critters, and what to do if we encounter any of them. Simon (Lucia’s Dad) camein to talk to us about bees and what it takes to be a beekeeper. We got to see, touch andsmell the hive. We even tasted some capped honeycomb! We have spent many happymoments in the playground with magnifying glasses looking for minibeasts.

The last half of this term we have spent learning about the “Human Body”. We started bylearning the different parts of the body and then discovered why it is important to have askeleton. By exploring how elastic bands work, we were able to see how our musclesoperate. We studied the heart, concocted a blood mixture and discovered the various cellsthat make up our blood. We will conclude the term by learning about the lungs, our brainsand our senses.

Jo (Tasman’s Mum) came in to talk to the children about endangered animals when theword “endangered” surfaced during story time. We were fascinated to learn all thetechniques ecologists use to find what animals live in a particular habitat. Jo gave thechildren cards of local endangered animals and showed us ways we could help the localwildlife.

While some of us are finding this winter rather wet, others have found the potential of amuddy puddle!

Anene Lamb

W

attle

Wattle children had a wonderful time at their sleepover. Everyone arrived very excited to set up their beds for the evening, then we headed down to Children’s House to join them for dinner.

Thank you to all those families who brought along delicious food for dinner. After dinner everyone was entertained by Al Kazaam the magician. I think he was a comedian as well as a magician. We were all in raptures of laughter. After Al Kazaam the Wattle children returned to class to watch a movie and then settle down to sleep. It was an early start to the morning, but everyone packed their mattresses and sleeping bags away before enjoying a delicious breakfast of fruit, pancakes, and cereal. As the mist was rising, the Wattle children were playing happily outside in the playground. All too soon it was time for the parents to come and pick the children up. We ended the morning reading a story. I have been very impressed by what the children have written about the sleepover. It was a great success.

Wattle’s exploration of dinosaurs is continuing. Children have been researching a chosendinosaur, then they have completed a skeleton drawing of a dinosaur. This art piece is as ifthey have discovered the skeleton whilst digging in the ground. They look very effective.The children are now moving on to create a 3D dinosaur. The children chose a dinosaur,planned a 3D model, wrote a letter to their parents to ask them to help collect items tocreate their model and now they are in the building process. The children are creating theirmodel, painting it in white before they will be able to paint it the colours they believe theirdinosaur was in real life.

During our morning work cycle children have enjoyed completing the 100 boards. Usuallythe children complete 1 to 100, but many are now beginning to show different skip countingpatterns. The children continue to enjoy the Montessori chains and using our concretematerials to understand mathematical concepts.

Thank you everyone who has assisted in Wattle this term. Thank you to everyone who hasprepared delicious special lunches for the children, thank you to everyone who has comein to take an activity on a Wednesday afternoon, thank you to all the dads who made timeto come to our Father’s Day breakfast, thank you to those who take the laundry and thosewho bring beautiful flowers to brighten our classroom. Thank you!

Enjoy the holidays.

Natalie Boyd-Ratcliff

Marri

After studying about the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, Marri class divided into groups towrite a script and perform a mini drama. It was lovely to see how they paid attention to thedetails and were able to include facts in their script. They practised the drama and thenperformed it in front of their classmates. If you woke them in their sleep, I am pretty surethey would be able to ramble on facts about Ferdinand's voyage!

The Year 4's in Marri did some paper weaving for Design and Technology. It was rather tricky because glue got stuck to everything. Nevertheless, the Year 4's continued and the results were beautiful paper mats. They added patterns to their mats and for texture they fed some pipe cleaners through.

In Science Marri have been learning about simple machines: pulleys, levers, wedges,wheel and axle, inclined plane and screws. Yesterday we made a flag pole which is anexample of a pulley. Students used skewers, blocks, wool, flags and popsticks. They wereencouraged to work safely and use materials appropriately. Students worked methodicallyand the result was a bunch of Australian flags ready to be hoisted!

Rene McNeil

Karri

Karri have had a very interesting few weeks, finishing their Science unit on the Earth - fromthe "Big Bang" to the present, and even beyond!

Our next unit is 'energy' - so as they say "watch this space", or better still peek through thewindow of Karri and see the progression of our 'Solar Passive, Environmentally Friendly,Sustainable homestead!'

Karri students enjoy the opportunity to have input into their education. One Year 6 studentwas heard to say "we should turn this play prop into a recycled vertical garden, using oldbottles". The next idea was to turn it into a school garden that everyone could pick from. Follow up to this was the problem of heat and watering - the solution?? Irrigate from thetop down, so the thirstier plants are on the bottom. The next idea was to use the sides astrellis for peas, but the brakes went on at growing corn in an area 100cm x 80 cm. That canbe the next project!

Child directed, or interest-based learning is one of the greatest things in a Montessorieducation.

On the subject of food, Karri have been "indulging" in the subject of technologies,specifically food technologies, with groups preparing tasty treats for the class. Studentsmust be organised with their ingredients and utensils, and have sorted the method intotasks for each member. So far we have sampled : brownie slice and tacos. The next in lineare hamburgers, pitta bread pizzas, and apple crumble! Yum.

In Maths we have been doing Cartesian planes, and have perfected our geometry skillsusing angles, area, surface area, volume, and are about to embark on translation, rotationand reflection. Fun times ahead!

Emma Moore

High School

Individual Projects

As our Year 11 and 12 students prepare for exams, the Year 10's are finalising theirindividual projects. The individual project subject was a pilot scheme for 2018. It wasdesigned to give Year 9 and 10 students the opportunity to expand an area of interest anddevelop project management skills. Individual projects so far completed include robotics,special effects make-up, fan fictions, house design and photography. Most recently, twostudents taught themselves how to ice cakes.

Meeting in the Middle

Treetops hosted teachers from all over Australia last week as part of the Meeting in theMiddle Conference for Montessori adolescent programmes.

High School Formal

Year 9-12 students from Treetops joined other students from Perth Individual, KingsleyMontessori, and Rockingham Montessori for a formal dinner and dance at AQWA. Aftermocktails in the aquarium, students enjoyed a buffet dinner (including a donut wall fordessert).

Jodi Kerslake

Art / Design & Technology

Primary students are finishing up their artwork for the Junior Art Exhibition at the DarlingtonArts Festival, based on the theme of faces. Students are working in clay, wire, plaster,paint, drawing and any other materials that add inspiration to their excellent ideas.

High School Art and Design students are also completing their projects for DAF, workingwith printmaking, photography and a variety of other media.

Year 12 IBDP Visual Arts students have been working hard to complete their Art Exhibition,and have appreciated all the help from the rest of the High School for this big event.

Treetops was successful in receiving a Waste-wise grant to reduce waste throughcomposting. High School student Oscar initiated this project through D&T class lastsemester, and will now be teaching the rest of the school tips for effective composting withour new tumblers.

Peter Zylstra Art Specialist

Japanese

There is a buzz in the air as we come to the end of the term. We have been fortunate tohave university interns for ten days this term. All three are education majors and are hereto assist in classes and observe differences in education systems in Japan and Australia. Abig thank you to our Treetops community for warmly welcoming our visitors.

I would also like to mention what a significant contribution Hikari has made to Treetops thisterm, not just in the Japanese classroom but also with her engagement in Children'sHouse. Hikari has always been generous in giving her time and has made the most ofevery opportunity to engage in the Treetops community. We will be sad to see her go andwish Hikari every success for the future.

High School students and parents: stay tuned early next term for information about theJAPEC tour to Japan in July 2019.

Sharon Crossman Japanese Specialist

Music

What a big term it's been for Music!

The beginning of the term was spent in preparation for Music Night and the last half of theterm has been spent consolidating skills and expanding our repertoire.

Term 4 brings The Darlington Arts Festival for the whole school and Recital Morning for ourprivate instrumental students.

Have a great break everyone, I'm looking forward to next Term!

Mary Pollard Music Specialist

Science

Physics, Laws of Motion and ENERGY! This term Years 7-10 have been learning abouttypes and forms of energy. We started the term building straw towers to see which wouldhold the most weight and be the tallest.

The Year 7/8 class explored types of energy and energy transformations. Studentsparticularly enjoyed laboratory simulations of the energy transformations that happen at theskate park and building electric circuits (especially when those caught on fire…digitally ofcourse!). Then we actually did catch snack food on fire to measure the amount ofkilojoules in different types of chips.

The Year 9/10 class explored energy and outer space, how satellites remain in orbit andthe differences in weight and mass. Back down on Earth, students created presentationsand books on Newton’s Three Laws of Motion to explain car crashes, rocket launches andparachute jumps. We ended the term comparing human athletic abilities to those of apes,with as little monkeying around as possible!

The IB Biology students did a great job maintaining their focus and energy for completionof our ecology study and finalisation of individual assessments. Onward to revision andpractice, practice, practice!

Kim Steimer Science Specialist

Thank You P&FThe school would like to thank the Parents & Friends Committee for the purchaseof a number of items. Mary (Music) has received a set of condenser microphonesfor the Music Programme - these will be used at school events such as RecitalMorning, Shuukai, Family Gathering etc. Peter (Art and D&T) has received avideo camera and accessories, which was received just before this year's MusicNight and used to record the event. Peter will use the camera for ongoing Art andMedia projects, and to record other school events.

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