athletics carnival reddamreddamhouse.com.au/pdf/2016/primary/primaryvol16issue22.pdf · the past...
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Primary @ Reddam
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
The past week saw mass participation in an enjoyable Athletics Carnival, beautiful music performed in the Concerto Competition, casual clothing galore across the school for Mufti Day today – and a whole lot of learning and fun in the classrooms and on the sports fields. There certainly isn’t a dull moment in the life of Reddam House Primary School!
Fortunately the rain held off so that the Athletics Carnival could take place, and a thor-oughly good time was had by all. Competitors showed true grit and determination and their supporters cheered them on with gusto. As always, the teachers and coaches pro-vided the backbone for the event to run smoothly and I thank all of them for their effi-ciency and for the enthusiastic spirit in which they encouraged the students. Thank you in particular to Matthew Carter, Tom Cooper, Phil Kable and the Sports Department for the planning and execution of a fantastic day.
Of course, there were those who stood out at the Athletics Carnival and I would like to congratulate the Age Champions. Runners-up and winners from the 8s through the 12s were, respectively: Imogen Baldassarre, Sky Russell, Tomi Reynaldo, Oscar Bakes, Diana Van Geuns, Eliana Debellis, Benji Rubinstein, Connor Kondilios and Bailey Benmayor, Mor-gan Ratner, Coco Batu- Sampson, Thomas Malki, Daniel Shields, Talia Shapiro, Aaliyah Ib-rahim and Frederika Schneideman, Julian Shalome, Jacob Gerber, Jade Zelinger, Zoe Costello, Brooklyn Berry and Harry Nunn-Price. Congratulations to these young athletes – and to all who participated with such fantastic spirit!
The annual Concerto Competition is always a musical highlight of the year and this year was no exception. We were joined by the internationally recognised violin soloist and string competition judge, Charmain Gadd. Ms Gadd, now retired, toured internationally throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Since then she has continued to teach and she travels to many international string competitions to adjudicate.
The night saw 11 soloists perform with our productions orchestra - RHOBO. In the Upper Pri-mary/Middle School Section there were five participants, two of whom were from the Pri-mary School. Edward Machkevitch performed the 1st movement of the Rieding Violin Concerto in b minor with flair, for which he received a Participation certificate. 1st Place was awarded to Anthony Chuang, who performed the 1st movement of the Cello Con-certo No.1 in C Major by Haydn. My congratulations to both of these students, who are already performing with such aplomb, even while still in Primary School.
Our support of the Jeans for Genes Day goes back a number of years, and while it is ob-viously an enjoyable day for the students to come to school in mufti, it serves a critical purpose. Statistics reveal that ‘although most babies are born healthy, 1 in 20 children are born with a birth defect or genetic disease. On average, that’s one in every
classroom’.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 1
IN THIS ISSUE:
Athletics Carnival
News from Classrooms
Sport Fixtures and Results
As I watched our children enjoying Mufti Day, I could not but think of the many thousands of
children for whom every day is a struggle – and yet, through the Children’s Medical Research
Institute, the organisation behind the Genes for Jeans initiative, these children and their par-
ents are given support and hope. I thank all families for their backing of this fund-raising op-
portunity.
Although the following piece was submitted under the Year 5 and 6 Extension English section,
I felt that it was important enough for inclusion further up the newsletter, as it has relevance
for parents of children of all ages:
Something that arguably only the English Department could get excited about is a spelling
seminar, but this week’s professional development at the Australian Independent Schools As-
sociation proved more than worthwhile for teachers Belinda Tomarchio and Judith Reen.
Overwhelmingly, research indicates that explicit and systematic teaching is effective when
improving literacy standards, and in particular spelling accuracy. While many children are of
the impression that the spell check will take care of mistakes in their writing we know that
spell check cannot differentiate between the thousands of homophones in the English lan-
guage. We also know how one spelling mistake can lower the tone and erode the credibility
of a piece of good-quality writing.
So why is spelling so difficult in English? It is both a blessing and a curse that the English lan-
guage is so rich and varied; it allows us to express ourselves with a wide range of powerful vo-
cabulary but makes spelling a challenge. English contains over a million words (almost dou-
ble that of some European languages), including words borrowed from over fifty other lan-
guages from around the world. Hence the irregularity in spelling patterns. ‘Loanwords’ are a
result of cultural contact between language communities and the rich etymological history
of English.
What is clear is that we cannot teach spelling in isolation. If teachers were to teach and test
twenty words and three spelling rules per week this would still only amount to roughly 600
words or word families per academic year. Not nearly enough to reach fluency or reasona-
ble accuracy. The secret to good spelling, and to increasing literacy levels overall, is expo-
sure to rich models of language. This may be simple in principle but children are reading less
and less as apps, games, movies and Youtube devours more of their time. According to Niel-
son Book data, only 60% of children are reading for pleasure on a weekly basis.
Researchers such as Rosenshine and Hattie state that beyond Year 2 the only way to expand
a child’s vocabulary is through good books. While silent reading is a superb past-time and
better than no reading at all, maximum benefit comes from time taken reading to each oth-
er. So on these rainy days curl up with a good book and share the joy, even if your child is
bigger than you!’
Congratulations to Nathan Galper in Year 4, who went to a NSW Karate Tournament in Janalli
last weekend. He had four fights, of which he lost two and won two. Nathan came third over-
all, which is an outstanding achievement! Continuing on from his excellent performances a
couple of weeks ago, Egor Grachov won first place in the under 31kg category and first
place in the Special category at the Shinsei Judo Club. Congratulations Egor!
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 2
On Sunday, the Sydney Eisteddfod Public Speaking Competition takes place in the Adelaide
Hall and I wish all our aspiring orators everything of the best. Surely there can be few quite so
nerve-wracking activities such as standing up in front of an audience, and yet I am constant-
ly confounded by the verve and confidence with which our young speakers do just this.
On Monday next week the treat of Music Department offerings continues, with the Composi-
tion Competition taking place, while the Sydney Eisteddfod Public Speaking Competition
continues next Sunday. Rehearsals for the school musical, The Sound of Music, continue, and
there is a very real excitement for this, as songs and dances are learned, and the principle
characters make their way through pages of lines to be memorised.
Dee Pitcairn
Principal
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 3
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 4
REDDAM HOUSE
would like to wish a very happy birthday to
Hayden Phillips, Maritsa Apostolopoulos, Jade Chandra, Mathew Ching,
Maya Bauer, Zoe Costello and Kaolin Wolfe-Coote
who celebrated their special day this week!
We hope you had a fabulous day!
SOUND OF MUSIC REHEARSALS
Monday 8 August 3:30pm to 6:00pm Church Choir, Mother Abbess,
Sister Berthe, Sister Margaretta,
Maria, Sister Sophia, All nuns and
Priests Drama Room
Tuesday 9 August 3:30pm to 6:00pm Captain, Frau Schmidt, Franz, Ma-
ria, Liesel, Louisa, Friedrich, Kurt,
Brigitta, Marta, Gretl, Drama Room
Wednesday 10 August 3:30pm to 6:00pm All students involved with the
song ‘The Hills are alive” with the
Sound of Music Drama Room
Thursday 11 August 3:30pm to 6:00pm All Students involved with the
song “Do Re Mi” Drama Room
Friday 12 August 2:30pm to 5:00pm Full cast Rehearsal. Adelaide Hall
Monday 15 August 3:30pm to 6:00pm
All Townsfolk, The Choir of
Nonnberg Abbey, Father Abbess,
Maria, Sister Berthe, Sister Sophia,
Sister Margarretta. Song
“favourite things”
Drama Room
Tuesday 16 August 3:30pm to 6:00pm All Yodelers, Franz, Frau Schmidt,
Maria, Liesel, Rolf, All von Trapp
children. Song “The lonely goat
herd” Drama Room
Wednesday 17 August 3:30pm to 6:00pm Scene 6 – Captain, Frau Schmidt,
Max, Rolf, Maria, All von Trapp
children. Drama Room
Thursday 18 August 3:30pm to 6:00pm Scene 7 – Herr Zeller, Brigitta,
Captain, Maria, Kurt, The Choir of
Nonnberg Abbey Drama Room
Friday 19 August 2:30pm to 5:00pm Full cast Rehearsal. Adelaide Hall
SPORTING FIXTURES 30TH JULY 2016
Basketball
Girls
10R (Div1) (Jaimee) V All Blacks 14 - 9
12R Div 2 ( Jaimee) V Gems 24 -27
14 E Div 2 (Luke) V Sonics 9 - 35
18 R Div 2 (Jaimee) V Avengers 57 - 27
16E Div 2 (Jaimee) V Furies 0 - 20
Boys
10 R Div 1 ( Marcel) V Hurricanes 7 - 23
12 R Div 2 (Marcel) V All Blacks 45 - 2
12E Div 2 (Marcel) V Saints 8 - 21
12 D Div 3 (Marcel) V Maccabi 4 - 33
14 E Div 2 Primary (Henry) V Bye
14D Div 3 High School (Henry) V Blaze 22 - 25
16 R Div 2 ( Luke) V Magic 29 - 45
16E Div 3 ( Luke) V Phoenix 13 - 27
18E Div 3 Year 10 Boys (Luke) V Ballerz 25 - 28
Rugby
16A V St Josephs College 14 - 40
14A V Scots 31 - 5
Soccer
16 Girls V Queens Park 0 - 2
14 Girls V Queens Park 1- 1
Open Boys V St Patricks College 5 - 1
Year 10 Boys V Kings 1 - 1
Year 9 Boys V Sydney Grammar 0- 1
Year 8 Boys V Sydney Grammar 1 - 1
Year 7 Boys V Kings 0 - 2
12s Boys V Queens Park 5 - 0
11Rs Boys V Maroubra 2- 7
11Es Boys V Queens Park 4 - 0
10s Boys V Maroubra 3 - 1
9s Boys V Queens Park 3 - 1
Netball
Reddam 1 ( Intermediate) V Bye
Reddam 2 (15 Years) V St Catherines 0-16
Reddam 3 (14 Years) V St Catherines 22 - 3
Reddam 4 (14 Years ) V Mascot 6 - 62
Reddam 5 (13 Years) V St Catherines 7 - 34
Reddam 6 (13 Years) V Coogee 36 - 6
Reddam 7 (12 Years ) V Mascot 14 - 5
Reddam 8 (10 Years) V Randwick Rugby 5 - 15
Reddam 9 (Moddies) V South Eastern 8 - 7
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 5
SPORT RESULTS
Touch Football
Reddam V Chicks 12 - 2
SPORTING FIXTURES 6TH AUGUST 2016
Basketball
Girls
10R (Div1) (Jaimee) V Bye
12R Div 2 ( Jaimee) V Bye
14 E Div 2 (Luke) V Newtown 1.30pm Marrickville
Basketball Stadium Saturday.
18 R Div 2 (Jaimee) V Wildcats 5.05pm Alexan-
dria Basketball Stadium Friday. The bus will leave the sports office at Woollahra at 3.00pm
16E Div 2 (Jaimee) V Supersonics 4.20pm Alexan-
dria Basketball Stadium Friday. The bus will leave the sports office at Woollahra at 3.00pm
Boys
10 R Div 1 ( Marcel) V Bye
12 R Div 2 (Marcel) V Newtown 11.05am Alexan-
dria Basketball Stadium Saturday. 12E Div 2 (Marcel) V Bye
12 D Div 3 (Marcel) V Newtown 9.35am Alexan-
dria Basketball Stadium Saturday.
14 E Div 2 Primary (Henry) V Pirates 4.00pm Alex-
andria Basketball Stadium Saturday. 14D Div 3 High School (Henry) V Maccabi 2.20pm
Alexandria Basketball Stadium Saturday.
16 R Div 2 ( Luke) V Inner City 3.45pm Marrickville
Basketball Stadium Saturday.
16E Div 3 ( Luke) V Stars 6.00pm Marrickville Bas-
ketball Stadium Saturday. 18E Div 3 Year 10 Boys (Luke) V Rose Bay 3.45pm
Marrickville Basketball Stadium Saturday. Please check sydneybasketball.com.au to en-
sure there have not been any late changes to
the draw.
Rugby
16A V Barker, Parade Ground No.6 (where we
train) Centennial Park 12.00 noon Saturday. 14A V SHORE, Northbridge C Ground, 11.00am
Saturday The bus will leave Woollahra at 10.00am
Soccer
16 Girls V Maccabi, Christison Park 1, 9.30am
Sunday 14 Girls V Queens Park, Queens Park 01, 2.00pm
Sunday
Open Boys V St Patricks College, St Patricks Oval
No.3, 10.30am Saturday. The bus will leave Wool-lahra at 9.15am
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 22 July 2016 Page 6
SPORT FIXTURES
Year 10 Boys V Sydney Boys High School, Pa-
rade Ground No.6 (where we train) Centennial
Park 10.00am Saturday
Year 9 Boys V Sydney Boys High School, Pa-
rade Ground No.6 (where we train) Centennial
Park 9.00am Saturday
Year 8 Boys V Kings, Lower Massie 10.00am,
Saturday. The bus will leave Woollahra at 8.30am
Year 7 Boys V St Patricks College, Parade
Ground No.6 (where we train) Centennial Park 8.00am Saturday
12s Boys V Mascot, L’Estrange Park 1.00pm Sat-
urday 11Rs Boys V South East Eagles, Waverley Park 2,
1.00pm Saturday 11Es Boys V Mascot, L’Estrange Park 1.00pm
Saturday 10s Boys V Dunbar Rovers, Queens Park 10A,
12.00 noon Saturday
9s Boys V Easts, Waverley Park 2, 11.00am Sat-
urday
Netball
Reddam 1 ( Intermediate) V Randwick Rugby
Heffron Netball Courts No. 22, 1.40pm Saturday
Reddam 2 (15 Years) V Butterflies Heffron Net-
ball Court No. 22, 9.45am Saturday
Reddam 3 (14 Years) V Coogee Heffron Netball
Court No. 6, 12.24pm Saturday Reddam 4 (14 Years ) V Bye
Reddam 5 (13 Years) V Reddam Heffron Netball
Court No. 26, 11.06am Saturday
Reddam 6 (13 Years) V Reddam Heffron Netball
Court No. 26, 11.06am Saturday
Reddam 7 (12 Years ) V Randwick Rugby Hef-
fron Netball Court No. 6, 11.06am Saturday Reddam 8 (10 Years) V Bye
Reddam 9 (Moddies) V Carnival Day 8.45am
(first game Court 33) Saturday
Touch Football - Final
Reddam V Touch Heads Queens Park Sunday
The Kindergarten classrooms have been filled with chatter about the 2016 Rio Olympic
Games which starts today! Throughout week 1 and 2 we learnt all about the history of the
Olympics and the Ancient Olympic Games and this week our focus was on the Modern
Olympics. Our students each selected a mystery sport to research and teach the class about
for their Show and Tell topic. We learnt about water polo, rugby, basketball, fencing and
many more.
Here are some of the interesting facts that we learnt this week:
Ethan Chang: The most common weapon used in fencing is called a ‘foil’.
Daniel Pinski: Wrestling is one of the oldest Olympic sports.
Ethan Song: The most famous boxer was Muhammad Ali. He was really good.
Nathaniel Weiss: The last time rugby was in the Olympics was 92 years ago!
Ruby Levitt: Water polo is played in a very long pool, 30 metres long and 3 metres wide.
Phoenix Palermo: In Judo matches are fought between 2 people on a large mat. One per-
son wears white and the other person wears blue.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 7
KINDERGARTEN
One of our topics this term in Year 1 is ‘Living Things’. We decided to investigate and observe
how plants grow. We planted our very own snow peas, carrots and beetroot, and supplied
our plants with water and sunlight. However, for one of our investigations we will not be giving
one plant sunlight nor one plant water. We have made our predictions of what might hap-
pen without these two factors. We can’t wait to see the outcome!
This week we also studied the work of the artist; Romero Britto. We made our own interpreta-
tions of his work.
On Tuesday our Athletics Carnival took place and we continued with the sporting theme in
the classroom by finding out about the Olympics! We created our very own Olympic torches
and medals and found out about some of the 28 sporting events that will be held in Brazil!
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 8
YEAR 1
This week Year 2 students have been thoroughly enjoying our History focus on the Olympic
Games. Our students have been interested in learning about the history of the Games, from
the ancient Games to the modern Olympics. We have been engaged by interesting "Show &
Tell" presentations which have reflected numerous sports from the summer Olympics. Our Ath-
letics carnival on Tuesday was a wonderful opportunity to support our friends and show our
amazing team spirit. We are looking forward to watching the opening ceremony in Rio this
week. Year 2 have also discussed our cultural connections with Brazil. Our Geography lessons
this week have focused on the Amazon rainforest.
YEAR 2
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 9
This term Year 3 have been working collaboratively during their investigation of Australia and
the environments that we can find within our sunburnt nation. They have been using iPads in
small groups to investigate a climate zone and they have gained knowledge with their peers
in small presentations.
Australia has six different climate zones. The children have been investigating these different
climates and identified where each of the zones are in Australia. After making a climate zone
map, we were able to conclude that we live in a temperate zone because we experience
warm to hot summers with occasional rain, and cool to cold rainy winters.
The children have enjoyed working with their peers to investigate more about the country in
which they live.
Leo: I liked using the iPads during Geography and Science because we get to find out about
NSW. I learnt that each state has its own flag.
Diana: In Geography we had fun exploring NSW, we used the iPads to look up useful infor-
mation and we had lots of fun!
Benji: I liked Geography this term because we got to use the iPads and work in small groups
to find information.
Bailey: I enjoyed Geography because it was fun working with my group, using the iPads to re-
search facts about NSW.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 10
YEAR 3
This week in History, students have been learning about ANZAC Day. Students researched the
origins of the day and discussed the difference between the concepts celebrate and com-
memorate. Thinking skills were used to explore issues of war and peace. This week in PDH, stu-
dents learned about the long and short-term effects of smoking and alcohol. Students also
discussed the people who form their support network and how they make decisions to stay
safe.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 11
YEAR 4
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 12
YEAR 5 EXTENSION ENGLISH
Role Models
Year 5 students were invited to participate in this year’s ‘Write to Win’ competition run by Pa-
per Mate. For a chance to win, students need to explain in 300 words or less who inspires
them the most in their life and why. We have not collected all of the entries yet but we are
pleased to note that Mums and Dads are coming out on top so far.
Aaliyah Ibrahim
When someone asks me who inspires me in life and why, my
first thought is my mother. There are a number of varied rea-
sons why my mother was my inspiration. First and foremost,
my mother is a humorous, intelligent and beautiful person.
She is always coming up with these hilarious jokes that make
me laugh my head off. She is always there to save the day
when I need help with my homework. When I say my mother
is beautiful I don’t just mean her looks, but I also mean she is
a beautiful person inside.
My mother is also a selfless person. She doesn’t just care
about herself but she cares for others as well. My mother is
always giving money, food and clothes to people that
need it the most to survive. Another day to day example is
when my mother helps people that are struggling with their
groceries to the car. She also tells me to help and this
teaches me to be a good citizen.
My mother is amazing, she manages to take care of five children, including me, instead of liv-
ing her own life the way she wants. Whenever I have a sports carnival, examination, extra-
curricular sports, a play or a competition, she will always be by my side cheering me on. My
mother also wakes up really early in the morning to take me to either training, before school
activities or anything I need to help me with my future. My mother is always there for me,
emotionally no matter what.
Persia Behnia
My inspiration is my mother. I chose her for numerous reasons that I will point out in just one
second but before I do I’d just like to say that she has given up everything to care for my
brother and I. Firstly my mother has to wake up early every morning (even on the holidays) to
take care of me and my brother. In this time, which is also her free time, she cleans the
house, gets breakfast ready and much much more.
Secondly my mum has to deal with my brother, an adolescent male with his hormones
changing who gets very moody. And you thought I was the bomb! Anyway my brother can
get annoying and shouty and my mum is the one who has to pay. Unfair I know, but my mum
fixes things up firmly without ever complaining.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 13
YEAR 5 EXTENSION ENGLISH
Finally, I chose my mum because she has time for her
kids even with a tonne of weight on her shoulders.
Whenever I ask for her to ‘play’ with me or something
she will come to me with a big smile on her face and
her arms wide open to hug me. She also sometimes
gives my brother breakfast, lunch and dinner in bed!
You’re probably thinking “Why is her brother eating din-
ner in bed? A time when the family sits at the table and
talks?” Well, as I told you earlier, he is a moody teenag-
er and sometimes just unbearable.
To conclude, my mother has to; wake up early every
day, deal with my adolescent brother and on top of
that, she has to deal with me, and she has time to so-
cialize with her kids. When I hear the word ‘inspire’ I
think of my mother. That is why I chose to write about
her today.
YEAR 5 MATHEMATICS
In Year 5 Mathematics, we wrote some ‘What am I?’ riddles to help us remember the many
properties of triangles and quadrilaterals.
Alannah Grocott:
My angles add up to 180°.
None of my angles are equal.
None of my sides are equal.
What am I? I am a scalene triangle.
Zoe Topper:
I have 2 acute angles.
I have 2 obtuse angles.
My opposite sides are parallel.
What am I? I am a parallelogram.
Jasmine Kaushansky:
I am a quadrilateral.
I have no parallel lines.
My two pairs of adjacent lines are equal.
What am I? I am a kite.
This week in Science, Year 5 have been investigating how light travels in straight lines. We set
up a simple experiment using mirrors to reflect light rays around an obstacle. One of the
groups used some clear red plastic to create a laser beam effect. We also looked at materi-
als that were translucent, transparent and opaque. Great work this week Year 5!
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 14
YEAR 5 SCIENCE
YEAR 6 SCIENCE
Year 6 continued with their investigations into air and weather. We looked at the various cli-
mate zones within Australia and the key differences between weather and climate. We also
recapped on the water cycle and defined key terms such as evaporation, transpiration and
condensation. Good luck to Year 5 and Year 6 students in their Science cycle tests next
week!
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
This week Year 6 were asked to consider why we read historical fiction
and what it is that young Bruno, the nine-year-old protagonist, has failed
to understand in the story so far.
Daniel Maynard
We read historical fiction like The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas because it
helps the reader to relate the characters in a way textbooks can't and
helps to build a more vivid picture in the audience’s mind. Reading a his-
torical textbook or just learning the straight facts can help you to under-
stand history but not really relate as a true human being at that time
would have seen their world in first-person.
Another reason to read historical fiction rather than textbooks is historical fiction like 'The Boy
in the Striped Pyjamas can help improve our literary skills. Instead of History and English being
separate subjects, both can help provide valid information momentarily and merge together
to create greater learning. We can learn both the facts and first-person experiences of life in
that era.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is about Bruno, a nine-year-old boy growing up during World
War II in Berlin. Throughout the book Bruno remains innocent about what is happening in his
world. He grows in his understanding of what is happening around him but what Bruno has
failed to understand is all the political notions building up in his country and the rest of the
world. He also believes that the world is a happy place with no hate or injustices filled with
lovely people. Even though ironically his father is high up in the Nazi order.
He also doesn't know what a Jew is and is surprised when he first hears the word, even
though most children in Nazi Germany were trained to hate Jews from an early age. Jews
were also depicted as being ugly and selfish money-lovers even in propaganda such as car-
toons and colouring pages Koko Bates
We read historical fiction like The Boy in Striped Pyjamas because it allows us to learn events
through a victim of the Holocaust's eyes. A character we can identify with helps to illustrate
the type of things people had to go through and makes the learning process easier and
more efficient as well as making it seem life like. If we learnt only through textbooks and
dates, it wouldn't create the same deep understanding of the Holocaust and we could un-
consciously dehumanise the victims. Without books like The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, and so
many other narratives historical events like the Holocaust could only be seen through dates
and textbooks. The Holocaust is an important event in history and must be remembered by
future generations to ensure this doesn't happen again.
Mia Seisun
We read historical fiction novels like the 'Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' so that we can see the
events unfold in the eyes of a character who was directly involved. This is better than reading
textbooks that give us dates and times and strictly follow these events in chronology for the
novel takes the reader on a journey from the point of view of a character who has been
caught up in these events and is seeing them unfold without knowing the outcome.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 15
YEAR 6 EXTENSION ENGLISH
We also read historical fiction for a more entertaining way of learning about these events. A
book about a journey or someone's story is highly entertaining but is also educational if it's
about true events. A historical novel is also easier to pick up than a textbook for it is more intri-
guing and exhilarating than a textbook because it discusses human qualities like passion,
love, hatred and ignorance. While textbooks are written to inform the reader historical novels
are meant to build empathy and simulated experiences.
In the novel, what Bruno has failed to see the evil that is being supported by his father. Bruno
doesn't see this for he is a naïve child. He is able to see the concentration camp with his own
eyes yet he is too caught up in his own petty problems, such as his new house, that he has
blinded himself to the sins his father is committing. Instead he thinks of his father as a great
man and idolises him throughout the book. A quote to support this is; '… "Those people... well
they're not people at all."
"They're not?" He asked unsure of what father meant.' (Page 41, chapter 5).
This proves that Bruno is either gullible or unwilling to try and find the root of the situation and
simply puts too much faith in what his father says. Bruno has also has failed to see that some-
thing is wrong with his parents’ relationship. His mother and father had been fighting for nights
before he went into his father's office yet he did not mind it. He accepted the fact that his fa-
ther treats women such as his mother and Maria the maid very poorly and without respect.
Bruno is too young to understand the need to question his father's authority. Instead he cop-
ies his father and treats Gretel poorly and is not told off, yet when Gretel treats him poorly she
is in trouble immediately. This shows that his parents are playing out gender roles. The relation-
ships are symptoms of what leads to the mass evil being committed on the other side of the
fence.
Throughout the novel I wished that Bruno would feel more obliged to question rather than
accepting that that there were other people on the side of the fence that are being treated
as third class citizens. He simply accepts the fact that the soldiers treat the man who peels
the food and the maids awfully even when they are in his house and haven't done anything
wrong. Anybody who accepts these facts is unable to think for themselves or are too blinded
by ignorance. Bruno's father also shares the same trait of letting things go too easily. A quote
to support this is, '"Accept the situation in which you find yourself and everything will be so
much easier."' Who would say this to their child? The world will never be a better place if we
don’t question the mistreatment of others.
Rosa Gordos
An Australian soldier's experience fighting in the Battle of Gallip-
oli, a rich aristocrat hiding during the French Revolution or per-
haps a young boy whose father works for the Fuhrer; these are
all examples of the wonderful genre, historical fiction. Historical
fiction often has the perfect combination of fact and fiction to
engross the reader and is arguably one of the best genres. His-
torical fiction brings past events to life through characters. It al-
lows us to see through the eyes of someone experiencing
things that actually happened. We live the characters' opin-
ions, thoughts, actions and feelings. From these kinds of novels,
we can learn from mistakes we made in the past, understand
our present better and perhaps predict the future.
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YEAR 6 EXTENSION ENGLISH
Young children can often be naive, easy to manipulate and sometimes completely oblivious
to what goes on around them. Bruno demonstrates this throughout most of the novel. He has
no idea that his father supports and works for a man called Adolf Hitler, who is killing thou-
sands, even millions of innocent Jews. The little boy is only nine years old so it's no wonder
that he is unaware that such a terrible project is going on under his nose. Bruno doesn't know
what the camp which is visible from his window represents. He doesn't know about the horri-
ble conditions the prisoners endure. He believes that the boys in the camp are lucky because
they have other boys to play with and at one point he even says to one of the inmates that
he wishes that he could go into the camp.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 17
YEAR 6 EXTENSION ENGLISH
We had a very busy week in the French classes. While the Kindies were singing and dancing,
learning the parts of the body, the Year 2 students were learning to use a French-English dic-
tionary around the theme of vegetables. In the advanced class, Year 4 students were learn-
ing to talk about the weather and preparing a weather forecast, which they will present to
the class next week.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 18
FRENCH
LIBRARY
There is a new issue of the Scholastic Book Club this term. Please make sure all orders are in
by Monday.
I would also like to ask everyone to please take a good look around at home and return any
Reddam library books you might find. I will print out an individual list for each student so you
will know which books I am looking for. I really appreciate everyone’s assistance with this
task. A big ‘thank you’ to all those parents and caregivers who have already found and re-
turned books.
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 19
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
Age Champions Champion Runner Up
8's Girls Imogen Baldassare Skye Russell
8's Boys Tomi Reynaldo Oscar Bakes
9's Girls Diana Van Geuns Eliana Debellis
9's Boys Benji Rubinstein Connor Kondilios/Bailey Benmayor
10's Girls Morgan Ratner Coco Batu-Sampson
10's Boys Thomas Malki Daniel Shields
11's Girls Talia Shapiro Aaliyah Ibrahim/Frederika Schneideman
11's Boys Julian Shalome Jacob Gerber
12's Girls Jade Zelinger Zoe Costello
12's Boys Brooklyn Berry Harry Nunn-Price
BONDI COOGEE BRONTE
1293 1123 1254
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 20
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 5 August 2016 Page 21
The Reddam House Primary School Newsletter Volume 16 Issue 21 Friday 22 July 2016 Page 22