Leaving Brisbane Catholic Education?

Our wonderful Year 6 students are due to leave us within the fortnight and we will miss you! We hope you have enjoyed learning with iPads over the past two years.

A reminder that unless you are enrolled in another Brisbane Catholic Education school for next year (such as Clairvaux Mackillop College), your BCE student email addresses will no longer be accessible to you after December 31. If you have used this email address for any online accounts, you are advised to edit your account details before this date and use a different email address.

You’ll find information here about how to change the primary email address for an Apple ID. For any other websites or online services, check your account details or preferences. 

...and enjoy your final 10 days of primary school! 

iPad Apps support Digital Technologies in the Curriculum

The Australian Curriculum includes a new learning area called "Technologies". The Technologies curriculum has been published but is currently "awaiting final endorsement". You can read more about this learning area and view the content on ACARA's Australian Curriculum website. While BCE schools are not reporting in the Technologies area in 2014, it is not too early to begin laying the groundwork for what will be expected of students in coming years and in their future workplaces.

In the video below, you will hear some of the key concepts in Technologies curriculum explained. You will also notice that many of the projects exemplified involve activities that our teachers and students are already doing. Access to 1 to 1 devices will also make the Technologies curriculum much easier to implement.

Both subjects in the Technologies learning area - Digital Technologies and Design and Technology - will be compulsory from Prep to Year 8. Concepts within the Digital Technologies subject such as computational thinking can be supported using free apps such as those listed below.

A.L.E.X.

Kodable

Daisy the Dinosaur

Bee-Bot

While the above apps appear to be designed for younger users, we encourage our upper primary students to install these apps and begin exploring the user interfaces and digital systems which make these games function. If students can be encouraged to be metacognitive about the computational thinking required for success in these apps, they will be well-equipped with the skills required to design their own algorithms and digital solutions, as covered in the Technologies learning area.

AND... (drum roll please)...

Saving the best for last...

Scratch Jnr

Probably the most valuable Technologies learning tool for the iPad is Scratch Jnr. Recently released as a FREE iPad app, we strongly encourage students to install Scratch Jnr and to begin exploring it. Based on the Scratch programming language released by MIT, Scratch Jnr. makes coding accessible to students as young as 5 years of age. Students will hopefully enjoy creating interactive stories, games and animations with the specially modified programming language, developing valuable skills for successful achievement in an assessable learning area as well as for their future. After all...

Coding is the new literacy!

Winners are Grinners : Manga High Champions

post by Axelle

This week St Catherine's had a state maths competition and, of course, WE WON.

Classes from Year 3 up have been hard at work earning points for St Catherine's.Our teachers have been setting us lots of tasks to complete as we need as many points as we can get.

 Year 6 Orange has buddied up with 3 Blue and 3 White and has been teaching them how to use manga high. They have been having lots of fun teaching the grade 3's the qualities of this fantastic maths game. The reason why St Catherine's went into this competition was because there is a fantastic reward. The best school in the state competition wins an amazing $1000 to do anything they want with on Manga High. There was also a little prize that gave the students motivation to keep good spirits and chase the finish line which were gold medals. The great prize was the best class in the school win $125 to do with anything they want. Last year Mr Palmer's class, 6 Orange, won and how they celebrated was they bought pizzas and magnums to celebrate the win. And the winning class is.............well we don't know just yet but we will know before the end of the week. Until then you'll have to wait but stick around and you will find out who wins this great prize.

Safe Surfing Safari-Style : Using Restrictions and Safari History to Keep iPads "Kid-safe"

Why use iPad Restrictions?

iPad restrictions allow parents to control (to some extent) what young users can access on the iPad, maintaining a safer learning environment. Please ensure that iPad restrictions have been set up as outlined in Section 2 (p. 5) of our 1 to 1 Parent Handbook - iOS7 Setup Guide.

Keep your 4-digit Restrictions code in a safe place. If this passcode is lost or forgotten, the iPad will need to be restored to factory settings. ...Not a pretty prospect!

How do I check Safari history?

Spot Safari history checks are carried out from time to time at school, though this can sometimes be disruptive to precious teaching and learning time. We strongly advise that you regularly check Safari history at home to see how your children are using their internet browser.  Here's how:

1. Open Safari.
   
   
   
2. Tap the Bookmarks icon (to the right of the address bar). Tap History.             
   
   
   
3. Scan all sites in the list. Tap any website address to open and revisit that site. Notice the 'Clear' button at the bottom of the list...
   

Why can't I clear Safari history?

When you have checked the list, you should Clear it. However, when Safari Restrictions are set to block "adult content", Safari history cannot be cleared. While this can be a little inconvenient, preventing access to adult content is absolutely essential for student users and we believe it is far better that parents and teachers can check which websites have been visited in the iPad's browser.

If the Clear button is grey and unavailable this is GOOD because you know that adult content is restricted. To clear the history, you will have to take off this Websites restriction momentarily. Here's how:

1. Go to Settings > General > Restrictions 
   
   
   
2. Enter your Restrictions passcode  
   
   
   
3. Scroll down to Websites  
   
   
   
4. Tap All Websites 
   
   
   
5. Now switch to Safari and clear the History (see image in Step 3. above)
6. Switch back to Restrictions > Websites and tap Limit Adult Content 
   

Yes, it's a few extra steps but you'll quickly get used to it. We all hold our children's safety and well-being as our highest priority and we believe this is the best way to safeguard and monitor children's internet activity on the iPads.

What else can I do?

If you cannot be with your children when they are using the iPad, you may choose to:

• Turn off home wireless access: Go to Settings > Wi-Fi. Tap your home wireless network name.
  
  
  
  Tap Forget this Network.
  
  
  
  
  When you want to allow use of the wireless network again, the password will be required.
  
• Disable Safari: Go to Settings > General > Restrictions. Enter your Restrictions passcode. Tap the button next to Safari, so that no green is visible. Safari cannot be opened now until this button is turned on again.  
  
  
  
• Only allow access to particular websites: Go to Settings > General > Restrictions. Enter your Restrictions passcode. Select Websites.
  
  
  
  Select Specific Websites Only. For each website you wish to allow, copy/paste the URL (address) in here. 
  
  
  
  You will also notice that you can enter particular websites to be blocked. First select Limit Adult Content. Then paste the URLs of specific websites to be blocked or 'always allowed'. 
  
  
  
• Disable Safari and install a Kid-safe browser app instead: ...such as Net Nanny, Mobicip or Ranger Browser (see images below). These apps provide added functionality such as age-based filtering, remote access and restricting internet browsing to specific times of the day.

Ranger Browser, currently FREE

Net Nanny, currently $5.49

Mobicip, currently FREE

Please remember that no settings or parental controls are a magic safety fix - nothing can replace good old-fashioned adult supervision, so let's all stay vigilant!

Exploring Science on the iPad

If you're a budding scientist, or even just mildly interested in the world around you, the following apps may help you get even more out of your iPad. 

One of the best things about these apps is ...they're all (currently) FREE! 

Just click the title or icon to download any of these apps and give it a try...

Rough Science
Three fun and interesting videos from science educator, Sean M Elliot, each with a creative challenge activity that you can complete using your iPad. Topics are: Layers of the Earth | Liquid, Solid & Gas | Adaptation & Evolution. All material is aligned with the new Australian curriculum for Years 5 and 6, which may not bother you so much but will make your parents and teachers very happy indeed! There's even a free teachers' Handbook available for iBooks.

Rough Science

NASA
NASA's official app lets you learn about the latest space missions, view amazing NASA space photos, learn about objects in the sky and more. Discover the latest images, videos, mission information, news, feature stories, tweets, NASA TV and featured content.

NASA

Star Chart
This is my particular favourite - awesome for anyone interested in astronomy or star-gazing. Point your iPad to see what stars you’re looking at, even those on the other side of the planet. You also can view our sky 10,000 years into the past or future.

Star Chart

HudsonAlpha iCell
iCell gives you a 3D view inside three different types of cells: animal, plant, and bacteria cells. Learn about the various parts of the cell with information from the HudsonAlpha Institute. Use your finger to tap on parts of the cell to select and zoom in on that particular organelle. Each organelle comes with a name and a short description of its function in the cell. For a better view of each cell, hold down one finger on the screen, and drag to rotate around the cell. You can zoom in and out by pinching or flaring with two fingers at once.

iCell

Rocket Science 101 (by NASA)
NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) launches real rockets and exciting spacecraft missions every day - now it's your turn! Select your favorite NASA mission and build a rocket to send the spacecraft into orbit. This simulation app will teach you about thrilling missions and the various components of the launch vehicles, how they are configured and how they work together to successfully launch a NASA spacecraft. 

Rocket Science 101

EarthViewer
A powerful app from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Discover what Earth’s continents and oceans looked like 250 million years ago, or even 1 billion years ago! Find out what we know about the climate back when our planet formed. This app is like a time machine for exploring Earth’s natural history.

EarthViewer

Field Guide to Victorian Fauna
For animal lovers all over Australia, this app features detailed descriptions of over 730 species of animals: birds, fishes, frogs, lizards, snakes, mammals, freshwater, terrestrial and marine invertebrates, spiders, and insects including butterflies. You will also find maps of distribution, and endangered species status with stunning imagery and sounds to provide a valuable reference that can be used in urban, bush and coastal environments. The content has been developed by scientists at Museum Victoria, Australia’s largest public museum organisation. 

Field Guide to Victorian Fauna

Cargo Bot
Not strictly "science" content this one, but a good app for any budding or aspiring computer programmers. A series of puzzle games based around a robot character moving crates, lets you practice the logical thought processes necessary for programming skill.

Cargo Bot

Have YOU got a favourite Science app? Please tell us about it in the comments!

Konnichiwa!

Learning Japanese at St Catherine's

A Student post by Lara G.

I wanted to find out what people think about learning Japanese at school.

I like Japanese because I like to lean new things BUT I don't like the tests. (Does anyone?) I think it is good that we have a teacher who is actually from Japan. We use our iPads to get ready for our tests. We have to trace the hiragana characters using the Hiragana app. We also use the Morfo 3D Face Booth app to record ourselves speaking in Japanese.
Here's what others think:

"I love Japanese because of the way Sensai (Mrs Flynn) teaches. I have learned a lot and I think this experience will help me when I go to Japan in June. The way Sensai teaches is fun and interesting. She teaches me so much instead of just repeating the basics."

"It's not my favourite subject. I find it hard but I like it when we get to play games."

An example of a game in Japanese is when Sensai shows us words we've just learned and we have to whack the correct word with the fly swatter. Fun fun fun!

This is the ink that we used.

This is the paper we use and we have to hold the brush like this. 

We practise on this special cardboard with water.

We have to use good posture when we write.

Now it is time to use real ink.

This is what our characters look like finished and on display.

Up close and personal with... Mrs Norup

Celeste and Emma have prepared a Staff Profile on Mrs Norup, using Keynote on their iPads.
We uploaded it to SlideShare.net so you can view it here:

(Click this button to view the slide show in full screen mode)