The story of past generations has been recently explored by students in Years 1 and 2 at Cornerstone.   The history of those who have gone before the children has been considered, and to make the stories come to life, a special guest was on hand this week.

86 year old Mrs McLachlan came and spent some time with these students, and shared some of what life was like in the ‘olden days’.  Children were encouraged to ask questions, and they ranged from how old our guest was, and how old her children were (which included Year 1 teacher, Mrs Sully), through to what jobs she used to have to do.

The children were mesmerised by Mrs McLachlan, and she related beautifully to them.  At one point she laughingly suggested that she was so old that many of the students probably couldn’t even count that high.  Her bright and cheerful disposition made her a popular guest.

Special thanks must go to Mrs Sully, for arranging for her Mum to join the classroom events of the day, and to Mrs McLachlan for her willingness to share part of her story with us.

The relationship and partnership between staff and parents has always been central to the academic and social success of students at Cornerstone Christian College.

In 2012, an extension to our partnership program is being introduced across the primary school.  Over the coming months, Parent Representatives will be assigned to most of the primary classes, which will help foster a sense of connection between families, as well as being a vehicle for school partnerships.

Leading the way, is Miss Durell’s Year 1/2 class.   Parent, Kath Bailey, has taken on this important role, and within days of school commencing has already had a group of Mums out for a coffee morning, as well as an after school gathering of parents and students.

It is hoped, that as the program is rolled out, and that as the school grows, the special community feel that exists at the College will be maintained.

‘Kath has been such a blessing’, Sarah Durell said.  ‘She is so enthusiastic, and keen to develop relationships and foster a sense of community.  I am so thrilled to have her as the point person within my classroom’.

After school on Monday, a significant number of the Mums and children, along with Sarah Durell, made their way to a local park for afternoon tea.  Whilst the children played, the parents made new acquaintances with parents of their child’s class-mates.  It is not expected to be the last outing of its kind – and over the year, it is certain that relationships will further develop.

A wonderful initiative.

Mrs Ali’s Year 2 class recently spent the day exploring  some of the historical beginnings of Busselton.

The students, along with staff and parent helpers, made their way to Wonnerup House, when they were able to see first-hand the way of life experienced by our early pioneers.

From seeing the kitchens and cooking implements, through to sitting at an old classroom desk in the original school room, the students were not only able to explore the homestead at the heart of Busselton’s history, but also to see how much has changed since those early years.

The seats in the classroom, were pronounced as ‘uncomfortable’, and the beds ‘lumpy looking’.  It is clear that in the past, life was harsh.  The owner of the land, George Layman cleared the property of huge Tuart trees by hand.  Today’s students are accustomed to a gentler way of life, but the experience of witnessing what these early settlers endured was an education in itself.

Whilst the students were on the groups of Wonnerup House (which comes from the land being called ‘Wannerup’, an aboriginal term meaning place of the ‘Aborginal Woman’s Digging Stick’) they had specific questions they had to answer, which would leave the experience of the excursion having distinct learning outcomes .

A lovely time of exploring history and enjoying a beautiful setting at the same time.  Well done Mrs Ali.

Our Year 2 students have recently been showing incredible leadership and presentation skills for ones so young.

The students in Mrs Ali’s class, have recently been preparing talks about Australia.  They were required to outline the history of the Australian and Aboriginal flags, identify all the States and Territories, give specifics about the floral emblems of particular states, as well as details of native animals, state borders,  and historical facts.

The work put in was quite remarkable.  Beautiful posters, creative books, and even PowerPoint presentations were displayed to the class, whilst the creator had to talk clearly and precisely about the details of their research.  Mrs Ali marked the students on their work, their knowledge and their presentation.

For ones so young, the future looks bright for public speech and presentations.

Brilliantly done, Year 2 students.

Mrs Ali’s Year 2 students have had to plan how to span!

Some early introductions into design and construction have been made recently, and whilst learning is still in progress, some of the students are showing some engineering know-how.

The Year 2s were split into teams, and required to create a blue-print for a bridge, made of paper, that will be able to support a toy car crossing a span of water.  The plans were completed earlier, and today, construction began on their bridges.

Some were solid and chunky.  Others were more fine, but showed some quite precise engineering.   Several teams were making use of bracing to ensure stability was achieved, whilst others were quite happy to focus on appearance.  Some teams are beginning to realise they may need to adjust their blue-prints to meet the objectives and were literally back to the drawing board.

For several of the more successful attempts, painting was being undertaken by the end of school today, with testing due to occur in the coming days. 

Well done Year ’2s.  We may well see your skills utilised on real bridges in the future.

Mrs Ali and her class of Year 2 students were art in action recently, when they hosted the Primary Assembly.

Dressed as flowers, birds and animals, the students made a colourful spectacle as they acted out a drama about the creation of the world.

The students did a remarkable job of entertaining the audience, as well as providing leadership over all of the events of the assembly. 

A large number of parents were present to watch their children perform.  Mrs Ali’s strengths in music and the arts was clear – with the costumes and presentation being quite remarkable.

As well as the Year 2 student’s performance, the audience was treated to hearing a student play the piano, witnessed the presentation of the Striving for Excellence Awards and an Ambassador Award, and heard a poem written by a Year 6 student.  Additionally, acknowledgement was given to the wonderful work done by two staff, Mrs Carol Cameron and Mr Eric Moorcroft.  Miss Durell’s Year 5 class was the winner of the Tidy Classroom Award.

Sensational work, Year 2′s.  You should feel immensely proud of your presentation and performance on this occasion.  We thoroughly enjoyed seeing you in action.

The Year 2 and Year 3 classes were recently on an excursion to the Old Buttery Factory in Busselton. 

Miss Dowell and Miss Voigt, along with a team of parent helpers, participated in the Factory’s annual Open Day events.  The students were given an enormous range of activities to sample, from making butter, grinding grain, learning morse code, and rope making, through to watching sheep shearing and blacksmiths in action. 

Volunteers from the Musuem came together to provide a terrific day of entertainment and education for schools in the region and it was a very interactive and informative day.

The weather was a little blustery at times, but for the most part, was pleasant enough for staff, students and parents to sample all that the Museum had to offer.

This end of term treat was thoroughly enjoyed by the students involved.