Congraulations to the following award recipients:

Class of the week awards:

Assembly hosted by: Olivia Fletcher and Harper Baird

On Wednesday our Transition classes along with Preschool had a visit from the NT Fire and Rescue Service. The visit was a follow on from our inquiry topic from last term which was 'People who help us in our community'. The fireman generously brought a large cabin fire truck and two smaller trucks. The students all got to hear the loud sirens, see the flashing lights, explore the inside of the trucks and students each had a turn of using one of the big fire hoses with the help of the fireman.

In Transition Lane as part of our Media Arts unit this term students have been experimenting with art in different forms. In our last two lessons we have used modelling clay to sculp their very own animals or ocean creatures and used them to create short Stop Motion videos using an ipad. 

This term in 1/2 Tagumasi, our students are excited to explore "How can we be Bucket Fillers?" They’re enjoying identifying how places can be represented through different geographical divisions. Through acts of kindness, they’re learning how people and places are interconnected, both locally and globally. It’s a fun and meaningful way to see how our actions impact the world.

In literacy lessons, Transition Owens have been looking at non-fiction text. Part of this unit has had students distinguish the difference between a fact and an opinion.

Students have enjoyed writing facts about different animals.

News from the Garden:

Term 4 is half over and it sure has been busy in the garden. Some of the highlights have been:

Week 1: The Corn Harvest! It was wonderful for students to see the growth from seed to cob. The cobs harvested were beautiful so we could not resist cooking them up the next day during our Wednesday lunchtime open garden. There was enough corn to feed over 50 children and a few adults too.

Week 2: The Native Beehive Arrived! After many months of organising, learning and collaboration with community members, the native beehive finally arrived with a colony of native bees, tetragonula mellipes. These stingless bees have filled many of the students and adults with awe and wonder. We were grateful for the Woolworths Junior Landcare grant that assisted us in purchasing the bee box for the hive and bee attracting plants. We would like to send out a big thank you to the following people for making Zuccoli Primary School Garden an official home for native bees. We could not have done this without you.

Barry Conde (The Bee Man) - a local native bee expert who kindly shares his immense knowledge on the small, but amazing, sugar bag bees.  Barry has perfected the bee boxes for native bees. He now has them locally made by the Men’s Shed NT. Besides sharing his knowledge with Mrs. Sapuppo, Barry also helped her to safely relocate bees to our school bee box.

Sherronna Nowland - a local native bee enthusiast and daughter-in-law of Mrs. Nowland. Sherronna shared her vast knowledge of native bees with Mrs. Sapuppo. She also gave up her weekend time to meet Mrs. Sapuppo at ZPS where Sherronna provided advice on the best position for the bee box.

Jasmin Mick - Mrs. Mick donated the bees to our school after they were successfully removed by Barry. The bees had taken residence in an inappropriate spot and required removal.

Kate Bamford - a member of the NT Branch of the Australian Native Bee Association who shared her knowledge and enthusiasm for native bees at the beginning of the school’s journey to acquire bees.

Mr. Jordan - who quickly put up the sturdy shelf for the bee box to sit on.

Sapuppo Family - donated the shelf and brackets for the bee box and cared for the bees during the school holidays. When a colony is moved, it is extremely vulnerable to pest attacks and requires extra care until the bees settle and build a tubal entrance for the hive. The bees were at Mrs. Sapuppo’s house for three weeks before moving permanently to school.

Darwin Block Company - for the donation of some of the bricks for our bee attracting garden bed.

Total Hydraulic Connections NT and Mrs. Katie - Total Hydraulic Connections NT for volunteering their time and truck to deliver the bricks to build the new bee attracting garden bed. Mrs. Katie for kindly laying over 50 bricks so the children can plant the bee attracting plants in Week 5 or 6.

The ZPS Students - for beeeeeeeing bee enthusiasts who are leading the way in respecting, caring for and observing these amazing creatures. So much to learn, experience and enjoy.

Week 4: We opened the hive for a sneaky peak…WOW! The bees have been busy the last few weeks creating more cells, laying eggs, protecting, pollinating, feeding, building and generally beeeeeeeeing amazing!

Mrs Sapuppo
(for the Kitchen Garden Team)

Sustainability Squad:

Next week is National Recycling Week which encourages us to rethink waste and make sustainable choices by reducing, reusing and recycling. In recognition of the upcoming National Recycling Week, the Sustainability Squad was involved in a wonderful learning opportunity. Rachael, from A Place for Plastics, delivered an amazing incursion all about reusing plastic waste.  Students learned about different types of plastics and observed how the plastic lids, that have been collected in all ZPS classrooms, can be melted to make beautiful new things including pots and plant labels. Students also made pleather (plastic leather) by layering soft plastics and applying heat. We really appreciated Rachael’s time and knowledge.

https://www.aplaceforplastic.com.au

The Sustainability Squad would love all ZPS families to recognise National Recycling Week by rethinking waste in your homes by trying something new such as:

• reducing plastic packaging in lunch boxes
• purchasing unwrapped produce
• recycling your paper, glass, cans and plastic
• starting a compost for kitchen scraps
• collecting your plastic lids and donating the cleaned lids to Darwin Plastic Makers

Happy Recycling!

Mrs. Sapuppo (for Sustainability Squad and the Kitchen Garden Team)

All students riding a bike or scooter under the age of 17 are by law required to wear a helmet.