This week, our Year 6 teachers, learning assistants and Mr Clacher – in collaboration with our partners in Winton – created an ‘on campus’ Winton experience at A.B. Paterson College. The purpose of this ‘on campus’ experience was to replicate, as much as possib

le, the unique outcomes borne from the Year 6 Winton Tour.

The College’s philosophy of Teaching for Understanding (TfU) creates a pattern of teaching where students need to be curious. Because curiosity is an engine for learning… it is less predictable but far more powerful than the current alternative: Creating a desire to get their ‘work’ done and finished.

Our Year 6 team has creatively facilitated an experience for our students that was enjoyable, full of leadership opportunities and importantly, modelled the perseverance to not give up when life (and COVID-19) got in the way of our planned trip to Winton this year.

Our students participated in activities ranging from the Age of Dinosaurs, QANTAS museum, the Cosmos Observatory in Charleville and also the Waltzing Matilda Centre and the Combo waterhole.

Below is a snippet of student reflections from across the two days:

My favourite activity was the Stockmen relay race because of the teamwork in the activity and also how fun it was to communicate with your teammates. Last of all, it was hilarious seeing my friends riding around on the horses. Nate Stoddart

The activities were super entertaining, especially when I got to hold a dinosaur in AR! I enjoyed it because I got to hang out with my friends and socialise with new people. The teachers did extremely well in planning the activities. Gabriella Cannen

This term in our Service-learning project we were asked to create a poster to spread awareness about the Save the Bilby Fund. This is a not-for-profit business that tries to raise money to help keep the bilbies from becoming extinct. And, if they can save the bilby population, it will also save another 48 species. Byron McNiven

Experiences, such as the ones created and planned by our staff, continue to demonstrate that learning at A.B. Paterson College unlocks doors to a richer future. We would like to wholeheartedly thank our partners from Winton and the surrounding areas for engaging with the College to replicate as many of the experiences possible in an ‘on campus’ setting.

Simon Edgar - Head of Junior School

On Saturday evening the Dunlop Multipurpose Centre (DMPC) was transformed for the Year 10 Semi-formal!  

You may recall, the semi-formal was introduced in 2019 by the Interact Club as a way to acknowledge Year 10 students moving into the senior phase of learning with the commencement of Unit 1. Unit 1 can be viewed as a fresh start for our students, a time to hit the reset button on their organisation and work habits and thus learning outcomes. Like any fresh start, it is a process, a journey, and that journey requires a plan. Students were asked to consider their plan for the remainder of their time at the College so that they meet their academic, cultural and sporting goals. I must admit, I look forward to seeing how things unfold for this lively bunch of young people!

Whilst safety restrictions – required to host the event – put paid to dancing, it didn’t stop us from having fun. From the lighting, to the photo booth and the laughter-filled ‘pop culture’ trivia, I think it is safe to say that all had an enjoyable evening.

Student statements:

Year 10 Semi-Formal was definitely a night that the Year 10 students will never forget. The lights and decorations, the music and the interactions with other students whilst everyone was dressed up in stunning dresses and smart suits, made Semi-Formal a truly incredible experience. It was a really exciting and special way to celebrate our path into the new ATAR system. Although we may not have been able to dance due to restrictions, we all had just as much fun with some pop culture trivia! We all shared and made so many memorable moments with our friends and peers and we can’t wait to see what lies ahead for us in our senior phase of learning.  Lucinda Harrison - Year 10 

Due to the current circumstances surrounding COVID-19, as a cohort we were more than fortunate to have the opportunity to have our Semi-formal this year. Overall, the evening was a blast. From the photo booth to the trivia, it was just a great excuse to get dressed up. Personally, I really enjoyed having a laugh with my friends and taking some crazy photos in the booth. The Year 12 College Leaders who volunteered, alongside Mrs Jeynes, did a terrific job of keeping us well fed throughout the evening. A big thank you also to the teachers who supervised and gave up their Saturday night. Ava Woodfield - Year 10 

Looking fabulous in our dresses and suits we, the lucky Year 10 students, were fortunate enough to walk the red carpet at our Semi-Formal last weekend. Many students stepped out of their comfort zones and dressed up for the occasion, helping to create an unforgettable and memorable evening. The DMPC transformed from a sporting facility into a glamorous and elegant setting, perfect for the occasion. Following a stressful exam block, the entertainment of hilarious trivia allowed us to relax and have a laugh. Thanks to the amazing photographers and the photo booth, many memories and moments were captured to later look back on. Despite no dancing, the evening was enjoyed and treasured by all. Emma Manjikian - Year 10

Toni Kirton - Director of Positive Education & Leadership

Congratulations to our Years 1 & 2 Poetry Competition Finalists and Winners - your confident presentations were simply wonderful!

Year 1 Winners –Ivy Sun, Emika Clark & Benjamin Jiao
Year 2 Winners – Maxim Nadezhdin, Adam Khan & Isobelle Delacy

Bravo! Our Years 3 & 4 Junior School Poetry Competition Finalists and Winners have done themselves proud, showcasing fantastic Australian traditional, humorous and own composition poems. Well done everyone!

Year 3 Winners – Charlie MacDonald, Isla Gharaie & Zahra Vanes
Year 4 Winners – Ivy Hamilton, Constance Huang & Olive Davis

A.B. Paterson College Junior School Poetry Competition has boasted a fantastic standard of competition across all year levels. The experience of our seasoned Years 5 & 6 poets and performers was on show on Tuesday - with a wonderful range of facial expressions, as you can see in the images.

Year 5 Winners – Samuel Longhurst, Cyra Abedian & Siena Bulmer
Year 6 Winners – Benny Gauld, Aran Silva & John Ziukelis

This term in English, our Year 1 students have continued to engage in The Big Talk process while consolidating their understanding of each of the four VCOP characters. The term ‘VCOP’ stands for Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation and one component of VCOP is to develop students’ writing skills through talk. In Year 1, the children have been enthusiastically engaging in The Big Talk process in their daily English lessons, which is sparking rich oral discussions and laughter!

At the beginning of this term, Year 1 revised each of the four VCOP characters and the ‘power’ they bring to students’ writing when used appropriately. We discussed Vinny Vocabulary who is a word wizard and the leader of the VCOP gang. Vinny is the knight in shining armour who helps make one’s writing amazing by encouraging writers to use WOW words and really interesting language. With his pencil sword and protective helmet, he can fight off boring words and capture brave and exciting words that make writing sparkle and shine!

We then moved on to explore Connie Connective. Connie is an inventor and her job is to fix things and help students with their writing to connect sentences together. She helps writers to use some cool connectives in their writing to make it great. Connie knows that too many connectives will make a writing piece weaker, so she encourages writers to join their sentences together powerfully!

Next, we moved on to Ollie Opener who is a show-off and an attention seeker, always leading the way. Ollie understands that a great opener will grab the reader’s attention. He will help writers use some interesting words and phrases to start their sentences.

Finally, we revised Penny Punctuation who makes sure students’ writing is organised and has a structure. As Penny takes each writer on an adventure, she teaches students how to use different forms of punctuation to create fabulous pieces of writing. 

As the Year 1 students have been studying ‘Mini Beasts’ in science, one exciting writing activity the children engaged in was when they were given an interesting image of an insect to use as a stimulus. The students then spoke with their peers, describing their ‘Mini Beast’ using adjectives and many features of VCOP as possible. It was wonderful to see all students so engaged with this task as they welcomed their peers’ different thoughts. The purpose of this is to allow all students to verbally share as many ideas and words as possible; with the view to explore new and exciting vocabulary along the way whilst engaging in rich language stimulation.

A few of these oral language discussions have been recorded below.

Did you know that a tiny, miniature stick insect is brown, green or grey in colour? Elise Langerak, 1D

I think a mini stick insect looks like a tree branch or a thin twig! Luke Williamson, 1D

I’ve seen a green grasshopper living all around our previous world! Audrey Helsen, 1D

A grubby caterpillar likes to eat green plants and lush green leaves – mmmmm…. yummy! Jackson Wheeler, 1D 

Our next step is to translate these spoken oral discussions into our written work. Overall, it has been wonderful to see all children so engaged with The Big Talk this term and the Year 1 staff are excited to see what Term 4 brings!

Trent Davis – Year 1 Teacher 

A big congratulations to our Year 10 Business students who have spent many hours planning, developing and marketing their $20 Boss

businesses, taking and filling orders for a diverse range of handmade products, and manning their lunchtime market stalls. They have, no doubt, learned so much over the past weeks as they experienced some of the highs and lows, successes and failures that go along with running a small business. Well done!