For all upcoming events please see the Penguin District School Calendar

We had our first meeting for Term 2 on Monday evening. I'm very pleased to welcome Janet Mackenzie (AKA Dr Mac) onto the committee. She makes up our 11th and final member, and we are very excited that we now have representation from teachers in both the primary and high school spaces. 

Our discussions this week included:

• A recent grant from the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden fund, which is a great step towards our plans to build a kitchen garden and sustainable FOGO composting. 
• The new recycle rewards program: we are hoping to support the school to become a donation partner, and to also be in a position to recycle the products used at school. 
• Plans for a school event: there is a lot to organise, but we are really keen to make this a reality to help celebrate Penguin 150.
• The Sensory Garden, which is a work in progress. Thank you to those who have already made donations in both materials and time - there is lots happening to make this a brilliant space for our students to regulate. 

Thank you to the individuals who offered to help run a democracy sausage barbeque. We couldn't muster enough help to pull it off, but it was great to have the CLC being used by the community. 

Although our committee is now full we have plenty of space and tasty treats for observers. Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday 2nd June, 5:15pm. 

We hope to see you there!

Sheila Steele

Chairperson 

This term in 1-2A our inquiry unit is all about Earth and Space Science.

Year 1 students are exploring daily and seasonal changes in the weather. They’ve been observing the weather three times a day and recording their findings in a table. We have also been discussing how different weather affects what we wear, what we do and how it shapes our daily lives.

Year 2 students have turned their attention to space, learning about planets, moons, stars and other celestial objects. We’re investigating where each planet sits in the solar system, what they look like, what they’re known for and identifying patterns in their movement and position.

To kick off our unit, all students came up with a wonder to add to our classroom Wonder Wall. Their questions are helping guide our learning and spark even more curiosity.

In 1-2B students have been learning about information texts. After reading a book about the sun, Year 1 students wrote about the suns connection to seasons and the Year 2 students wrote about space and the solar system in connection with the sun. The students then made a poster with their information to practice editing and making a good copy of their writing.

1-2D and 1-2E have had a busy start to Term 2.

In literacy, we have continued to work with the phonics programme, UFLI.

Here are some things we have learnt about in the last 3 weeks:
- closed syllable has one vowel that makes a short sound and ends with a consonant. Met is a closed syllable.
- an open syllable has one vowel that makes a long sound and ends with that vowel. Me is an open syllable.
- the consonant digraph wh, can only come at the beginning of a word.
- ck comes at the end of a word.

In maths, we are learning about skip counting and identifying the patterns that occur.

Last week 1-2C started working on narrative writing. This week we have been working on characters using descriptive drawings and writing.  The students love the creativity and being able to make their own protagonists and antagonists!

Students from Kinder to Year 10 had a great day competing in the Cross Country. 

Penguin District School attended the Science and Engineering Challenge, where our fellow students used communication, collaboration and continuity at Marist College.
Each group were assigned different tasks - some were challenged with two different tasks separated in morning and afternoon and some did a full day activity.
Nate  and I competed in Job Juggling. We had coloured tiles which were to place in certain rows and columns. The number of colours that had to be in each row was given at the start of each job task. The hardest rule being that no same colour could be on the same row or column. Nate and I struggled with little understanding on what to do and left us lowly ranked for that activity. In the afternoon session, we attempted to make wind turbines. Due to our comprehension of physics, we achieved much greater success in this task! The goal was to make fast fans for the turbine. We did this by making similar structured fan pieces that we angled to collect wind and speed. We placed fourth in this afternoon Wind Turbines event which we were happy about.
Personally, I did not attend the other activities so I could not provide a perspective from every person, however if you care to know more, I’m sure the other members wouldn’t mind you seeking them out for a chat. Yes Mr King, that means you too.
What I am able to tell you is that we came fourth for the entire competition – only 30 points behind Devonport High School.
A big thanks to Marist Regional College for hosting. Shout out to the University of Newcastle and Rotary Hobart for also making the day possible. The event was plenty of fun while still teaching and challenging us with science. I would most definitely encourage next years 9 and 10 students to give it a go and remember its about having fun and doing your best.
Finally great job to the students, and the biggest thanks to our mentors: Mr King and Miss Schake.

By Dylan 

https://youtube.com/shorts/1Bde92h-O2Q?feature=share

On Wednesday, Year 9-10 boys played in the first of two NWJFU Gala Days held at Ulverstone Secondary College. The boys played a total of 4 games (all back to back) which saw them compete against teams based in the eastern end of the NWJFU.

All boys should be commended for their efforts across the day, whether you were a person playing your first game or your 51^st game, all showed our school values and had a real crack.

For those who wish to continue to keep participating in some form of Football roster, I recommend contacting the Penguin Junior Football Club as they have been more than supportive of supporting junior football in our area.

Crash Team Racing

Nitro Fueled

Tasmanian Championship