As part of our ongoing commitment to provide for all learning abilities within the school, the ‘ZOOM’ program provides extension and enrichment activities for our gifted and talented students from years 1 to 7.
The program is run as a series of short courses with small groups of students being withdrawn from their regular classes for anything from an hour per week to one full day. Students are selected using a range of information such as NAPLAN results, Year 4 PEAC test results, general intelligence tests, in-class assessments, behavioural checklists and teacher recommendation.
The ‘ZOOM’ courses are developed and run by members of the school team who have a strength, interest or passion in a particular learning area and in past years they have covered such things as French language, Auslan, screen printing and pottery. In 2012, there has been a Thinking Skills Workshop for years 5 – 7, a Beginners’ Electronics course for boys from years 1 – 4 and a Creative Writing course for girls in years 2 – 3.
A lemon-powered battery
This picture shows some of our year 3 boys creating a lemon powered battery as part of the Beginners’ Electronics course. They managed to produce one Volt from only five lemons, and were surprised to find that it works with potatoes as well. Something to remember for your next power outage, perhaps!
Click below to see some samples of poetry from our Creative Writing course. The girls have been learning how to use techniques such as metaphor, alliteration and onomatopoeia to create mood and colour in their writing.
