Homemade bath bombs, wooden robots, tie dyed socks, keyrings, jewellery, stress balls, putty and the ever popular sponge-the-teacher, plus so much more, made for a spectacular Year 4 Market Day - a culmination of their inquiry learning.

Last Thursday 23 March, the Primary School Playground took on a new look for the day. The Year 4 students set up their stalls for what was a record-breaking Market Day. The students excitedly set up their stalls early in the in the morning hoping to raise money for WIRES an organisation that supports Australia’s native wildlife.

The students were briefed with the task of creating a stall to raise money for our native animals while using the knowledge they had gained in Science and Humanities lessons throughout Term 1. They had been challenged to design a stall which took into consideration the properties of materials and be as sustainable as possible. In addition, the students have been learning about money in mathematics and are now very excited to put their learning into practice.

The students completed a feasibility study and interviewed their Year 2 Buddies in an attempt to help them design a stall that would maximize the engagement of their peers, and therefore the profits, whilst minimising the waste. This year's stall holders were very creative, and they made conscious choices about the materials they used, avoiding waste, recycling, reusing and repurposing materials to reduce waste and be as environmentally friendly as possible.

This year classes booked in for shopping periods throughout the day to make their shopping experience less hectic and more enjoyable. The first customers at Market Day were the students' parents who turned up in droves. It was very difficult to tell who was having the most fun the parents or the students. The parents threw wet sponges at Mr Ivey, scored points at the basketball hoops and soccer goals, bought dog treats, had their faces painted, had their photos taken at the photo booth and did so much more.

Thank you to our parents for their support of the students throughout the preparation for Market Day as well as their patronage on the day.

Whilst we are thanking people, we would also like to mention Mr Ivey, Mr Surgenor, Mrs Cleyne, Mrs Swift, and Caitlin the gap student from Scotland for being such great sports and sitting in the “hot seat” at the sponge throwing stall. We would also like to the thank the

The day would not have run so smoothly had it not been for the groundsmen who helped set up and pack away and the primary teachers. Finally, the Year 4 teachers would like to sincerely thank the  students for their creativity, enthusiasm, and energy for this project. We are incredibly proud of what they have achieved. The happy atmosphere, variety of stalls and ingenuity that was evident at this year’s Market Day was commented on numerous times throughout the day.

The total amount of money raised this year was indeed a record amount totalling $4045.15. This will be tremendous contribution towards protecting Australia’s natural wildlife.

Many thanks from the Year 4 Cohort and Mr Hilliard, Mrs Blundell and Mrs Bibby.