Term 4 Compact Programs Block 1
Years 1 and 2: Language, Literature and Drama
World famous art curator, Madame Fort, has invited you to her latest exhibition at the Museum of Magnificence. This will not be any ordinary visit though. Instead of merely looking at the artworks you will step right inside them!! Using dramatic tools such as tableaux and the Augusto Boal technique, you’ll become performers in a surreal carnival or clowns in a bizarre circus; you’ll become knights on quests, or characters unknown as you create a story from a famous piece of art. Inspired by the works’ colours, textures and tones, you’ll experiment with setting, time and plot. Who will you meet, where will you find yourself and what strange and wonderful things will transpire around you? If a simple picture can tell a thousand words, then a magnificent painting can tell a thousand stories!
You can free-style, wing, write, scribe, draft it, craft it, sketch it, or embody it as long as you create “it”. Can you out-perform and out-create the grandest Maestro of them all, the elusive X?
Zuzi studied at the University of Western Sydney – Nepean (Theatre) and at the University of Technology – Sydney (Communication ). She has worked as an actor, director, scriptwriter, drama coach, radio/TV host and a stunt performer. Zuzi is a published author and a journalist. For over fifteen years, Zuzi has worked with children and young adults encouraging their creativity, developing confidence and essential life skills. Zuzi is an experienced G.A.T.E.WAYS presenter.
Years 1 and 2: Science
Four thousand years ago, a Greek shepherd named Magnes was tending his flock in a field. Climbing onto a rock to see further afield, he found he couldn’t move – his shoe nails had become stuck to the traces of magnetic lodestone in the boulder! Since then, people have been fascinated by the strange properties of magnets and have experimented extensively with them, finding all sorts of weird and wonderful ways to use them. From sticking things onto the fridge, to making motors run; from levitating trains, to making compasses spin, magnets are at work everywhere in the world around us. You’ll even find them used in music, space exploration and art! Prepare to be amazed by the mystifying world of magnets as we explore the behaviour of magnets, some unusual ways in which they can be used, and the forces they exert, as well as how to make a simple electric motor (with magnets) and how to make slime capable of devouring a magnet. This workshop is bound to be ‘attractive’ to inquisitive young scientists – there’s nothing ‘polarising’ about it!
Simon Matheson is a physicist who has been involved in education one way or another for most of his life; first as a student, then as a secondary science and maths teacher, and as a developer and presenter of science outreach programs with CSIRO Education. Simon’s enthusiasm for science education is grounded in the belief that all citizens of the modern world need a firm grasp of the principles upon which science (and, by extension, the world around us) are built.
Years 1 and 2: Language and Literature
Once upon a time, there was a land filled with early birds, silver-lined clouds and eager beavers. Taylor has heard stories of the Land of Idioms, but he always assumed the people who spoke of it were pulling his leg – until he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed one morning and finds himself stranded there with a perfect storm approaching! He twists your arm to help him in his quest to make it back home before it rains cats and dogs. With no time to waste, you cut to the chase and work together to decipher the meaning of some interesting idioms and crack the Idiom Code. Where do idioms come from? What are they? Why do people use them? And how do they help us think and communicate as writers and speakers? You and Taylor will need to put on your thinking caps and stay on the ball as you search for answers to these questions. Fingers crossed it will be a piece of cake!
Megan is a passionate and inspiring presenter, who loves teaching students and who loves teaching teachers. She’s a teacher, an author, a writer, a speaker and a producer. If you’ve seen ‘Project Planet’ or ‘The Sticky Gang’ on the ABC, then you’ve seen some of Megan’s work. Megan is the Global Leadership Coach for Propel Women, actively training over 5000 leaders in 80 nations. Whether it’s in the classroom, the boardroom or the marketplace, Megan is passionate about communicating for life change. She’s been married to Rohan since 1997 and they have two beautiful children, Zarriah and Maddox.
Years 1 and 2: Maths
Two-Dimension-Al lives in Flatland – a place where everything is 2D. He comes from a long line of shapes – triangles, squares and other polygons – all of whom were content with living a regular, boring life in Flatland… but Two-Dimension-Al has a hunch that there is more to life than angles and perimeter. When he discovers the secret ‘Operation Origami’ files of his great-great-grandfather (Orient-Al) in Area 51, he begins to understand that angles can become vertices, and with just a few folds, life can take on a whole new dimension!
Bec is a teacher with passion for Science and Maths. Having bright children of her own who relished the opportunity to be extended, she really enjoys seeing young people have that ‘a-ha!’ moment when they make a connection between theory and practice. Focusing on fun and ‘hands on’ ways into mathematical and scientific concepts, Bec is really enjoying her consultancy role with RethinkPD and presenting for G.A.T.E.WAYS.
Years 3 and 4: History
The race is on! Though, to be accurate, this particular race isn’t new - it’s been running for a very long time… People have been moving around the globe in patterns of migration for millennia – and today it’s your turn! You’ll step into the shoes of a group on the move, leading them through challenges that real migrating populations have faced since the dawn of time. With the goal being to survive in strange new lands, making the best of anything and everything you find along the way, danger lurks at every turn. Will the migrants who are counting on you be attacked by wild animals? Will you survive flood and famine? Pestilence? Warring clans? You’ll have tough choices to make in order to maintain your group’s fundamental needs and to grow your numbers to a sustainable level. And you have a LONG way to go. Round and round and round the globe – where you’ll stop, and how many of your tribe will still be with you, nobody knows!
Politely declining job opportunities at NASA and Ball Aerospace, and his ultimate journey toward space, Scott Hahn chose instead to investigate the world at hand. “What commonalities,” he wondered, “does the human race share across all cultures?” Having eventually landed in Australia, a teacher, Scott strives to bring these understandings and other big ideas to his students, helping them realise the central role they play in an ever-unfolding history.
Years 3 and 4: Science
Freaky fronds, prickly pears, spikey shrubs and catapulting cacti - when they can’t run away how do plants protect themselves and spread their seeds? In this workshop, designed especially for green thumbed young scientists, we will look at botanical warfare and defences, and discover the sneaky methods plants use to lure pollinators into carrying out their masterful plans for domination of the garden. Sticky or thorny, with wild roots or super thick bark - with your newfound knowledge, what kind of vicious vegetation would you choose to engineer and grow that could survive this harsh landscape?
Laura has many years of experience in leading science workshops for primary school students, as well as experience mentoring youths and undergraduates through intensive project-based courses. She has a multidisciplinary background, holding a Masters in Illumination Design, a degree in Fine Art and further studies in biology, science communication as well as curatorial and museum studies. Laura is looking forward to working with eager young minds with a passion for science.
Years 3 and 4: Maths
Farmer Pythagoras is in trouble! His perfectly fenced fields of prize-winning pumpkins and ponies are no longer perfect after his plump pigs escaped from their pen and destroyed all his fences. Oh no! Now he needs your help to measure and re-build the paddocks in the shape of right-angled triangles using geometric tips and tricks from ancient times. Armed with a knotted rope, a set square, and geometric and algebraic know-how can you help him protect the pumpkins, placate the ponies and put the pigs away before the deadline to enter his produce in the upcoming Royal Show? During this workshop we will learn about Pythagoras’ Theorem of right-angled triangles and why this fascinating equation is so important. Please bring a ruler, glue stick and scissors.
Michelle worked as a local reporter for a newspaper and a radio producer before studying primary teaching. She loves nothing more than tackling a challenging problem. Michelle is thrilled to be putting this passion to good use, inspiring the problem-solvers and mathematicians of the future. She developed a passion for working with gifted and talented students while in the mainstream classroom and has presented for G.A.T.EWAYS on a number of occasions.
Years 3 and 4: Language and Literature
Distressed damsel meets scary monster and is rescued by brave hero – this just might be the oldest story in the world. It might also be the newest story in the world because it is constantly being re told in so many different settings and genres. The images of threat and heroism illuminate your mind with all that this dragonslayer story stands for and you want to share your take on this with someone else… to whisper the tale around the campfire as a Secret Storyteller, or to take up your quill to write for some distant, future, unknown solo reader who will only understand your sense of wonder through the beauty of the words you leave behind. But the dragonslayer deserves more! Your version of this legend also deserves to be performed for the masses as a grand story that unites us as a community. It is up to you, the master storyteller (a very Public Performer), to call upon all your magic arts – to consider dramatic elements music, props, scenery, actions, whatever you can imagine – to make this story come alive, large and bold, from the page to the stage.
Secret Storyteller or Public Performer? In this workshop you’ll take on these roles in turn, consider what is needed to convert a sensational secret tale to a public performance piece, and immortalise two brand new versions of this tale for all of us forevermore!
Years 3 and 4: Technology
Are YOU smarter than a crow? Could you hunt in the ingenious ways that whales and dolphins do? Can you plan effective strategies for capturing prey when you are held to the limitations of an animal’s body? In this workshop we will explore the ‘brains’ of the animal kingdom, discover what distinguishes them from one another and find out if the amount of ’grey matter’ actually matters. We will assess the evidence as to whether animals have emotions like us, and investigate the difference between intelligence, instinct and reflex. Together we will ponder the question of whether humans really are more intelligent than animals. What do you think? The results may surprise and intrigue you!
Kerrie has a keen interest in gifted and talented education and is an experienced primary school teacher who has worked in Australia and abroad. She has worked for G.A.T.E.WAYS for over 5 years with a variety of age groups. She has a passion for creating exciting, fast paced, learning for gifted children. Kerrie has completed mini COGE and COGE at GERRIC, UNSW and is currently completing a Masters in Gifted Education.
Years 5 and 6: Maths
In the years BC (Before Calculators) John Napier, Scottish mathematician and engineer, invented logarithms using powers and bases, and integration of algebraic knowledge as well for good measure. This suddenly made complex calculations much simpler– but for whom? Astronomers of the time, yes, but who else? And how are they used now? In this workshop you’ll explore a range of applications for logarithms and their supporting concepts – in calculating and graphing the exponential decay related to deforestation, in analysing data related to viral growth, and in tracking octaves and frequencies in music, just to name a few. You’ll see they’re more common than you think – naturally you’ll want to know more!
Ruth is an experienced high school Maths Coordinator and Gifted and Talented Coordinator. Her love of teaching both primary and high school students allows her students to develop an appreciation, understanding and confidence to explore the world of maths. Ruth has taught maths to gifted and talented students as well as sessional maths teaching at Macquarie University. She has also trained school teams for the da Vinci Decathlon. Ruth is looking forward to continuing and extending her passion and enthusiasm with G.A.T.E.WAYS to motivate and inspire tomorrow’s mathematicians.
Years 5 and 6: Language and Literature
Food, glorious food! Whether it be luscious cream buns or thin grey gruel, authors take great delight in including the sharing of food in their writing. This is quite a difficult task, given that the simple act of eating is not inherently interesting! Whether it be a magical first meal at Hogwarts, a crazy Mad Hatters’ Tea Party, or a scant dinner in the orphanage with Oliver Twist, they are carefully scripted and deliberately chosen. As for the menu, fried chicken is fried chicken – or is it? There needs to be a compelling reason to include this particular steaming, crispy dish in a story instead of, say, pancakes and ice-cream. After all, these scenes act as springboards for essential plot development, defining genre, introducing and enforcing themes, and revealing more about the characters and the relationships between them. Tuck in your serviette and prepare for a feast of the imagination as we explore how authors such as Charles Dickens, J.K. Rowling and Lewis Carrol have used these piquant passages to enrich their narratives. Then ditch your fork for a pen and compose your own scrumptious scenes to add to a tasty tale!
Layla teaches English Literature to both primary and secondary school students. She is passionate about the need for writers to have the time to develop their writing skills by exploring a wide range of written and spoken texts from the past and present. She exhibits her own paintings and applies her training in the Arts to enable her writers to use art as a further source of inspiration. She has a firm belief in the capacity of children to think outside the box and her creative writing students from primary school to university have done just that. She delights in using technology and multimedia as texts as well as drawing on traditional literature.
Years 5 and 6: Science
Think about an object – anything you like. Now imagine that thing made smaller. Make it smaller again. Come on, a lot smaller! Repeat that magnification process maybe a hundred or a thousand times. What would your object look like then? What are the smallest things that you can say it is made from? That's right! You got it - atoms!
In this workshop, we will investigate the origins of atoms. We know that everything is made of these tiny little things but how were they made in the first place? We now know in 2020 that most atoms come from stars but this has not always been common knowledge. By looking into the history of the atomic model it becomes obvious that what we know about atoms now only exists because of a succession of discoveries by prominent physicists like Albert Einstein and Ernest Rutherford (with some knowledge courtesy of Billie Eilish thrown in!). This workshop is a great opportunity for physics buffs who want to understand how the universe is made at its most infinitesimal level, and who want to investigate the formation of atoms way beyond cutting things into small pieces. Are you ready to get atomised?
Years 5 and 6: Maths
Please note: You’ll get the most out of this workshop if you’re confident with times tables and competent with fractions.
It’s time to put away the pen and paper – or it will be by the end of this workshop! Amaze your friends, family and teachers with your phenomenal powers of mental computation after investigating a range of non-traditional methods of calculation. It’s not about just having a better memory for arithmetic, or just practising complicated sums over and over and over - you’ll explore how to approach seemingly impossible equations involving multiple steps without the assistance of a calculator, just by learning to look at the numbers from a different angle. Creative thinking and computation aren’t always concepts we think of as going hand in hand but they certainly do in this program!
Esther is an entrepreneur and an educator with over ten years teaching experience. She holds a PhD and runs her own business called 3C Learning. Her passion and understanding of students’ different learning styles has led her to develop many enrichment programs, including gifted and talented programs for GERRIC and for G.A.T.E.WAYS.
Testimonials
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"From an organisational perspective we have found the G.A.T.E.WAYS Online programs very easy to manage. At our school we have set aside Wednesday afternoons for G.A.T.E.WAYS and we alternate each week between the older age group and the younger students. The students gather together in the hall and they connect online with their G.A.T.E.WAYS group. There is a lovely buzz in the air as the students interact with the facilitator and other children from around Australia."
"Given the current climate and its implications for all stakeholders, it is wonderful to know that teachers of Gifted and Talented students can continue to access the fantastic suite of G & T programs previously offered by G.A.T.E.WAYS in an online format and feel supported by the team in the process."
