Monarch Community Report
Our 2024 Education Scholarship Recipient
Congratulations Salam Fakhri!
Salam received the Hume City Council Education Scholarship for outstanding outcomes across all curriculum areas, his efforts as school captain and being a model citizen in our school community displaying caring for himself, others, his learning and the community at all times.
Reading
In Reading, students have been working on improving their reading out loud skills. They have been focusing on refining their fluency which included intonation, expression, pace, tone, and volume. Students also worked on improving their comprehension skills. We looked at inference, evaluation, and reorganisation question types. Students were looking at finding the main idea and summarising texts they read.
Writing
The 5/6 students learnt how to plan, draft, edit (individual and peer), revise and publish a narrative. Students followed the ‘story mountain' strategy where the progression of a narrative is depicted in the rising and falling of the mountain. Students were encouraged to write using suspense, mystery and action to draw the reader into wanting to continue reading their story.
Numeracy
In Numeracy, the 5/6 students learnt about chance and probability, developing a deeper understanding of likelihood, predicting outcomes, and understanding the various ways events can unfold. Their engagement extends beyond theoretical understanding as they actively participate in hands-on activities, such as experimenting with dice and playing probability-based games.
The 5/6 students also explored the concepts of capacity and mass. The concept of capacity involves understanding the amount of space an object can hold. Students explore units of measurement related to capacity, such as millilitres, litres, etc. They engage in hands-on activities and experiments to measure and compare the capacities of various containers. Students learn to estimate, read, and interpret measurements on containers, gaining practical skills in understanding and using capacity in real-life situations. For mass, students learnt to quantify and compare the weight of objects.
Additionally, they explore the conversion between different units of capacity and mass,
enhancing their ability to work with diverse measurement systems.
Inquiry
Monarch students have been learning about how to sustain the environment, the society and the economy. They have been immersed in the work of geographers by analysing: extreme weather and disasters, producing food in Australia, analysing maps, changing environments over time and the cost of living. Students are beginning to research their chosen countries to present about in our Travel Expo.
Upcoming Events
Final Imagineering workshop - Monday, 20th of November
Kaboom Sports - Tuesday, 28th of November
Swimming - Week 10 & 11
Grade 6 Graduation - Thursday, 14th of December
FunFields Excursion - Tuesday, 19th of December
IT’S NOT OKAY TO BE AWAY!
While it is important for your child to stay home to recover if they are unwell, it is imperative that your child comes to school. Teachers make every effort to provide sequential, challenging and engaging programs. These programs do not factor in absences. If your child is absent they miss out on vital instructions and basic skills. Effects of absences accumulate over time and can have implications to future as well as current academic achievement.
If your child is to be absent, it is your responsibility, as a parent, to alert the office or classroom teacher to this situation - this can be done via Compass, in person or phone call to the office.
IT’S NOT GREAT TO BE LATE!
It is imperative that your child is punctual to school every day. There are so many things to do in a day at school that being late causes frustration to all concerned. Students miss out on the roll call, vital information about the day or events which are coming up, notices and teaching instruction. Of course, if your child has a medical appointment, it is far better that your child comes in late than taking a whole day off. However, sleeping in or being slow in the morning is unacceptable. Again, this sets an unfavourable pattern for later in life.
Homework:
Each week students will have homework to complete. The homework consists of nightly reading and a mathematics activity on Prodigy or My Numeracy. Homework is expected to be completed and handed in each Friday morning through the school diary. It would be helpful if you worked out a homework schedule with your child, which will help them to organise their time and reduce stress for them and your whole family. Make sure you take into consideration all of your child’s out of school commitments such as sport, dancing, music lessons and social events etc... Hence the invaluable use of their school diaries.
Water bottles:
It is important to supply your child with a suitable drink bottle filled with fresh water, to use whilst at school. The bottles should be brought to school every day to drink whenever they please. Water helps to improve concentration as well as used to quench their thirst especially after sports. Your understanding will be greatly appreciated.
Fruit, Vegetables and Food:
We are still trying to encourage families to cut down on processed foods such as chips, chocolates and lollies for play lunch in exchange for fabulous fruits and vegetables. We are also trying to encourage students to make healthier choices for lunches and snacks. Please send your child with fresh fruit and vegetables to eat throughout the day. Also, pack a nutritious lunch for your child to eat daily.
Finally, please feel free to speak with your child’s teacher or our Learning Community Leader - Zeinab. If he or she is unable to speak to you immediately, as their teaching duties are their first priority, they will be more than happy to make an appointment with you to discuss any of your concerns or questions.
Thanks for reading,
From The Monarch Team.
Zeinab, Paul, Shae, Ella, Michele and Con