Australia My Country - Creative Writing and Art Competition

Avalon RSL is again hosting the Australia My Country writing and art competition this year.  This is a wonderful competition to show your creative writing and arts skills as well as celebrate the many different faces of our country.  Please see below for all details and entry form – your teacher also has hard copies of the entry form if you need one.  You must have your entry at school by 4^th May to enter.

 

In the Footsteps of Mawson Comprehension Activity

Access the site below to find out about Mawson's EPIC sled journey across Antarctica in 1912.

http://mawson.samuseum.sa.gov.au/epic.htm

Click on the Map in the lower left corner, and starting at Main Base continue north through Mawson's journey.

Use the question sheets to record facts and your responses about the journey that Mawson, Ninnes and Mertz attempted.

Writing Competition

Writing Competition - What Matters? 2015

Want to have your say?  Use your writing skills to state your opinion and perhaps win great prizes along the way!!

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NSW/ACT 2015 Competition Information
What Matters?is a writing competition that gives Year 5 – 12 students in NSW and the ACT a chance to say what matters to them in society today.
How to enter
Write a 400-600 word opinion piece on what matters to you and why. Entries must be typed on A4 paper. Strictly one entry per student. All entries must be accompanied by a signed entry form. Entry forms are available from your teacher or can be downloaded below.
All entrants will receive a certificate of participation.

STUDENT PRIZES

Prizes are awarded in 4 categories: Years 5/6, 7/8, 9/10 and 11/12.

➜ $350 for each category winner and $200 for each category

runner-up. Winners and runners-up will receive their prize at an

awards ceremony, following their participation in a Young Writers

Forum run by The Writing Workshop, in the second half of 2015

at the University of Western Sydney’s Parramatta campus.

Finalists’ entries will be published in print and online.

➜ The Years 5/6 and 7/8 category winners will each receive a

full-day creative writing workshop donated by The Writing

Workshop, conducted by award-winning author Bernard Cohen.

➜ The Year 9/10 category winner will be invited to spend a day at

ReachOut.com, meeting the team and receiving professional training.

They will also be offered the opportunity to be paid $200 to produce

a feature article for the ReachOut.com website.

➜ The Year 11/12 category winner will receive a 1 Year Membership

to the NSW Writers’ Centre and the opportunity to participate

in a one-day writing workshop* donated by the NSW Writers’ Centre.

*Conditions apply. Please see whitlam.org/whatmatters for more info.

OVERALL WINNER

➜ The overall competition winner, announced at the awards

ceremony, will receive an iPad. The overall winner will be

selected from finalists in NSW, ACT and What Matters? Tasmania.

For more information see http://www.whitlam.org/the_program/what_matters_writing_competition/what_matters_2015

The Science of Antarctica - Activity Links

Use this post to navigate to specific sites when working in your Science groups.

1.  Preparing to Visit Antarctic - What shall I wear?  What is it like there? (Week 5)

a. Imagine you are traveling by ship to Antarctica. You will need to pack for your expedition. In your group read the article provided about Antarctic Clothing and list five to ten items they you need to pack for your trip.

Record the information in your science book and label the diagram to show the layers of clothing required (worksheet provided).

Afterwards, dress the Scientist at Discovering Antarctica, so he can work in the cold – check that your diagram has the right layers of clothing.

b. Visit the interactive map of Antarctica at National Geographic to learn about the physical geography of Antarctica.. Click the map to explore and select certain features to investigate further. List five  interesting facts that you find.

c. Complete the activity Sizing Up Antarctica at Discovering Antarctica.. Once you have completed that activity, select The World Upside Down and identify the location of Antarctica in relation to other continents.

d. Complete the activity Seasonal Change at Discovering Antarctica. 

e. How big would Antarctica be if all the snow and ice melted? Read this answer from a leading scientist. What did the scientist tell you? Record the answer in your Science Books.

2. Why is Antarctica so cold?
Cold, colder coldest
Of all the continents, Antarctica is the coldest, the iciest, the windiest, and the highest in elevation.  The average temperature on Antarctic coastal areas is around -12°C. On the icecap the average is -20°C and on the highest mountains the average is -60°C. 

Make a table to contrast these temperatures with the average winter temperatures of Mona Vale (coastal), Katoomba in the Blue Mountains (higher elevation near Sydney) and Mt Kosciuszko (highest mountain in Australia).  

Find and record in your Science books the following temperatures:
The freezing point of water
the temperature at which human flesh freezes 
The coldest temperature recorded in Antarctica 
The warmest temperature recorded in Antarctica
The coldest temperature recorded in Sydney
The warmest temperature recorded in Sydney
Human body temperature
The boiling point of water


On the thermometer worksheet, add a range of temperatures to include the above and mark each on the thermometer.

In your Science groups, brainstorm some reasons why Antarctica has such a cold climate.  Use the websites below to research the reasons why and create a poster showing your findings to present to the class. 
 
Science Learning
NASA Climate Kids

Windy, windier, windiest
Not only is Antarctica the coldest continent in the world, it is also the windiest. Because Antarctica is dome shaped and has an extremely cold interior, the cold air from the centre flows out and accelerates down the coastal slopes of Antarctica’s ice sheet. These katabatic winds reach more than 80 kilometres per hour as they collide with warmer air from the ocean. This causes severe blizzards, cloud and fog. Strong coastal gales can often reach 190 kilometres per hour and there have been reports of winds of up to 320 kilometres per hour.





Read this letter from an Antarctic explorer describing the winds in Antarctica and this brief article about why Antarctica is so cold. Include a diagram that explains Katabatic Winds on your poster.

Weather Data Collection - What is the current temperature in Antarctica? Ongoing daily observation and collection of weather data (see Assessment below).  Add a column to your data graph that shows Sydney's temperature each day as well.
 

Assessment

From the beginning of the unit students check the temperature in Antarctica at the same time every day for the length of the unit. Students collect data, using a table to record the daily air temperatures, wind speed and rainfall at Mawson Station. At the end of the unit create a graph to display the data using Excel.

You can find the current temperature at Mawson station here.

Awesome Antarctica Websites

This term Year 6 will be learning all about the most pristine environment on our planet - Antarctica!

We will gather a collection of awesome websites to assist our learning.

Click the links below to learn more...

In the footsteps of Mawson - discover all about the famous Douglas Mawson and his journeys to Antarctica.





Cool Antarctica - Facts, figures and interesting findings about Antarctica



Classroom Antarctica - Great online learning with resources for teachers and kids




Discovering Antarctica

Australian Antarctic Division - Australian Government site - heaps of great info!

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

When accessing links from this page, click on 'View the current live site' as many of these links have been archived on the SCAR site but are still active independently and are great sites!

 

Antarctica Online - Great images and information!

 

 

 Quick facts and interesting info about Antarctica from Odizzi

Fun filled facts about Antarctica from Enchanted Learning

 

The Encyclopedia of Earth!

Explorers

Antarctic Time Line of Discovery

Antarctic Animals – Useful Links

Antarctic Learning : Great labelled diagrams of Antarctic animals.

Visit the links listed here and take notes on the animal you are most interested in. Record your findings in your Science book and save accompanying pictures and labels.

Antarctica Plants and Animals and the Food Web

Animal life in Antarctica is generally confined to the coastal areas because all of Antarctica’s animals depend on the ocean for food. Click the link at the start of this paragraph to find information on a variety of Antarctic animals.
 

Birds
Among the species of birds in Antarctica are several kinds of Petrel and Tern, the Sooty Albatross, White Sheatbill, Great Skua, and Antarctic Fulmar, and several species of penguins.
 

Albatross
 Watch the video Albatross at Discovering Antarctica. You will need to select the videos button. Once you are on the page choose the title listed above.
 

Penguins
 The penguin is probably the best known Antarctic form of life. The bird, unable to fly, waddles around land in an upright stance. In the water, the penguin is a strong swimmer and is extremely agile. The Adelie penguin, about 18 inches tall, winters on the ice pack and nests along the coast during the summer. The Emperor Penguin, which is twice as tall as the Adelie, is the only animal that breeds during the cold Antarctic winter.  Click here for further information on Emporer Penguins and links to other Antarctic animals.
 

Killer Whales
 Visit the Antarctic Connection to learn about killer whales. Watch a video of killer whales on You Tube.
 

Seals
There are several species of seals that inhabit the continent of Antarctica including the Leopard,  Crabeater, Ross, and Weddell seals.
Check out the links of each seal listed above.
Visit the National Geographic site Leopard Seals. Play the video to find out more.
Watch the video seals at Discovering Antarctica. You will need to select the videos button.



 

A Journey to Antarctica with Chris Olsen

View some shots of Year 6 amazed by and enjoying the interesting presentation we viewed in Week 3 by Antarctic Explorer and Conservationist, Chris Olsen. A Journey to Antarctica with Chris Olsen on PhotoPeach

Continents of the World

Learn all about the continents of the world by visiting this fun and interactive website.