5/6 News

The Grade 5/6 students have continued their brilliant start to the year. They are working hard at all the different subjects and one of the most prevalent characteristics of this cohort is how well they work together, and how kind they are to each other and the whole school community. The students have received their first homework task on Monday which is going to run for 7 days, please encourage them to look at what is needed early in the week, so that they are not stressed when it comes to the weekend. The work is on the google classroom so they can always access it.

Mathematics 

We have been working with our students in their Maths 'catch' groups each day. On Monday we have a devoted lesson to problem solving, whereby we focus on a range of strategies to support these skills. For the remainder of the week, students are split across 5 groups which provides for smaller classes. This allows us, as teachers, to offer direct support and explicit teaching, based on need. The students are doing a fantastic job moving between classes and taking what they need, which is a great skill to work on for our students in the senior school. 

Literacy 

Students have started working in their reading rotations with students doing a whole class focus on a Monday. This weeks focus is learning to apply the reading comprehension strategy of activating prior knowledge. Activating Prior Knowledge means using background knowledge to assist in understanding a new text.

1. What do I already know about this topic?

2. Have I read about this topic in a book?

3. Have I seen this topic within a television show or movie?

4. Does this topic remind me of any experiences I have had?

5. What new knowledge would I like to learn about this topic? 

Inquiry Closing the Gap

This last fortnight the students have been watching and learning about Adam Goodes and the role the end of his career played with our understanding of Aboriginal culture. This prompted the children to think about how they can support our first nations people in closing the gap. The students showed amazing maturity and understanding of the topic and why understanding is important.

 'Adam Goodes was a champion AFL footballer and Indigenous leader. In the final three years of his playing career he became a lightning rod for a heated public debate and widespread media commentary that divided the nation. He publicly called out racism, was named Australian of the Year, was accused of staging for free kicks, and performed an on-field war dance celebration. The cheers became boos as football crowds turned on him. Using only archival footage aired at the time, the film holds a mirror to Australia and is an opportunity to reconsider what happened on and off the football field' 

Respectful Relationships 

The students have been working on emotional literacy and why is important to be able to label our emotions. This activity helps to build empathy as they describe how others may be affected. Listening to experiences provides a form of peer support as students hear their peers and recognise what might be an upsetting experience. The activity also builds a richer language through which to describe and understand more intensely felt emotions. The classes watched this video, which helped them put themselves on levels and how they can support regulating themselves when its needed. 

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToQn9EIz_yg 

Religious Education

We have been talking about different faith communities and images of God. Students were asked to draw what they thought God looks like. Below are some images of students work. 

Class Sport 

The students have been playing Kanga Cricket on a Friday afternoon which has been a beautiful way to finish our week. They play against one another in modified games where they are always involved, as you can't go out in this format of the game. Students are allowed to wear PE uniform on a Friday. 

 The skills they are working on a 

• Batting 
• Bowling 
• Throwing 
• Catching 
• Fielding 
• Running 
• Communication
• Teamwork  

School Leaders 

Hi, I’m Bella I am your school captain for 2022. I will be talking about all of the things we have have been doing and learning about. In Inquiry we have been learning about aboriginal rights we watched a documentary on Adam Goodes and I learnt about casual racism and how much people did it. For example how the media reacted  because Adam Goodes stood up to racism. This week grade 3/4 and 5/6 have been doing the beep test. The beep test is where you run up and down half of the basketball court and when you get to tired you step out or you are eliminated and you get a certain score like 8.3 or 4.5 you do this once a term and your scores get recorded and kept. Thank you for reading this either me or another captain will be doing this every two weeks.

Bella Monaghan  

School Captain 

We look forward to working closely with all students, parents the whole school community this year.

Jayne McKay, Alice Healey, Simon Brown, Dara Blake, Trent Thiessens, Lisa Biffin