Friday 29 February 2008

Art and Animation Project

We had an exciting meeting yesterday with Hong Kong based Australian artist Beulah van Rensburg, planning a project that we're likely to run in Years 5 & 7 next term. Beulah bases some of her fascinating artwork on found objects, such as old toys and household items.

The project will be a joint effort between the Art and ICT departments and will include construction and animation of models as well as a study of photographic techniques for students at Year 7. It sounds like a really exciting initiative and I'm already looking forward to it!

Start looking out for suitable items as soon as possible. We need old or broken toys, household objects such as teapots, crockery, and maybe even an iron or two!!

Thursday 28 February 2008

You Should Be Dancing....

P2s are continuing to work with Bee Bots trying to get them to move in a synchronised way... almost like dancing! They need to plan their routines carefully, using appropriate terms, such as 'forward' rather than 'that way' and then input their commands accurately, otherwise the Bee Bots might stand on each other's feet!



One of our Bee Bots has now been named Barry after the main character in the film Bee Movie. Well done to Max for being the first to work out the answer.



It was nice to hear from Nicole Sprainger who runs the blog Bee Bots Down Under It looks like they're doing some really exciting things in schools there.

Friday 22 February 2008

Good Luck to Year 6...

They're off on Camp next week and currently it's pouring as I look out of the window! I'm glad I wasn't in the staff room when volunteers were called for!!

Another busy week; two projects that I'll hopefully post about again in the future concern cross-curricular links with Literacy. Year 7 have been involved in shooting a movie in small groups. They have been studying various filming techniques focussing on types of shots and have tried to implement them in their work. One of the key points they have learned has been the importance of planning and scheduling when filming. Shooting always takes longer than it's supposed to and one whole lesson of shooting may only result in a few seconds of usable footage. There's still lots to do with this project before we get to the editing stage but I'm already looking forward to the results, which we'll hopefully be able to share.

Year 6 have also been working on an ambitious project in Literacy, using ICT to create a virtual tour of our school. They've planned their work and spent time photographing various areas and created a script which then has to be narrated into a PC. Most groups are at the stage of adding audio and titles and the final results are likely to be available in the next couple of weeks.

It's great to see ICT being explicitly planned for and fully embedded within the wider curriculum... well done to teachers and students alike.

Meanwhile in the ICT suite the P2 pupils have been using the Bee Bots. These programmable toys are great for learning how to program, as well as providing opportunities for quality discussion using directions and estimating. Our Bee Bots are currently named Bee Bot 1-6 and the P2s have been asked to think of some more interesting names for them. I'd like to name one Barry, and have asked students in P2 to tell me why I think this is a good name. No right answers yet!!

Friday 15 February 2008

Feeling Cold?

Here's one of the entries to the Digital Photography Competition. It should make you feel a bit warmer! Don't forget, you've got until the end of term to get your entries in.



As the ICT room is one of the warmest rooms in the school, we've been a popular destination for pupils and staff all week.

Well done to Miss Gough and Mrs Pratt for getting their blogs up and running. You can visit them via the links below. Why not pop in and say hello in the Comments section.

Kellett Library Blog

Kellett PE Blog