Sewing Seeds for Needs in Year 4
In Year 4, we’ve finished our year together with a flurry of activity. The Year 4 student’s business, Seeds for Needs, finally had the chance to sell its goods to the community at the Arty Market. This experience has been an incredibly rich learning opportunity for our whole group, with opportunities to grow their communication skills, interpersonal skills and their understanding of the complexities of running a business.
Further, their principled decision to give to their community, and advocate for the ethical and considered use of financial resources, is a wonderful example of the way they are enacting our school values.
The hours leading up to the stall were really a sight to behold, as they organised, negotiated, communicated, and contributed to something larger than themselves. You could feel the energy and sense of possibility amongst them. And while the stall was a resounding financial success – with our students raising a total of $500 dollars for Edgar’s Mission across their two events – the true success was reflected in their feelings of connectedness, purpose, agency and service.
Our final unit of inquiry has been one of significant learning and growth for our students, as they’ve inquired into the central idea, that through exploration of expressions of culture, beliefs and values we can learn more about ourselves and others. Our unit can easily be summed up in some of the extraordinarily rich thinking shared by students using the thinking routine, ‘I used to think… Now I think…’, where they reflect on key ideas and how their understanding has grown or shifted. These examples are wonderful snapshots of their deepening understanding of the concept of perspective, and their developing stance as open-minded global citizens.
I used to think culture was the whole world. Now I think it is what people believe in or where they live. - Max C
I used to think if everyone does one thing, that thing is normal. Now I think that normal shouldn’t be a word. Everyone thinks they are normal because that’s how they have lived with their traditions. – Teagan
I used to think that the way people dress, like people wearing punk clothing, meant they were bad. Now I think that is how they express themselves. – Joshua
I used to think that a culture was where you had come from. Now I think culture is anything you like to do and also where you come from, like dancing, singing, language, traditions, food, clothes and also beliefs. – Amy
I used to think the way people dressed showed their personality. Now I think it doesn’t matter how people dress, they can dress like a mean person but be nice. – Max S
It has been such a joy to spend the past few years learning alongside this class of champions. They are a remarkable group and I’ll treasure these times with them all. I wish you all a happy and safe summer holiday.
MR CLAPHAM
Year 4 Teacher