Grade 6 News

This week, our newsletter is brought to you by the Grade 6 Public Relations leaders; Bella, Jack and Charlie.

Important Reminders

Sun Smart

As per our school's SunSmart policy, all students are required to wear hats until the end of April 2024.

Learning in Action

Literacy

Students have settled in well to Term 2 learning. The first week has seen students explore a variety of broader concepts that can be used across multiple text types, such as the main idea, the use of voice in a text, and forming an opinion. These lessons set the foundation for future learning, including the ability for students to nominate a concept for additional goal learning, starting with persuasive texts.

In addition, students have been planning and drafting their first scrapbook writing piece - a narrative! Here is what a few of them have had to say about this writing piece:

I'm writing about when we went to the Melbourne Zoo in Prep. So far, I've written three paragraphs, and I am having a lot of fun remembering what it was like in Prep. ~ Ollie

I'm writing about 3 things we did in Prep such as the Teddy Bear Picnic, Grandparents' Day, and Mothers & Father's Day. I am also telling a story about a few other little things. ~ Zarlie

Preview for Learning: We are about to commence our new learning of persuasive texts. Students in Grade 6 have been learning about persuasiveness for a number of years, so we will challenge students to extend their knowledge and understanding, particularly through the process of forming an opinion, understanding an audience, and an in-depth analysis of persuasive language.

Maths

By Charlotte Potts

Starting this week we have begun to learn about graphs and data as well as how they can be displayed in different styles of graphs.

We have also been looking at the Australian Bureau of Statistics to look at Australia's population and how rapidly the data can change in different ways. As well as looking at the population of the world or Australia we have also been looking at different things like registered marriages, how many people have a certain name or gender, and many other equally fascinating statistics and data. 

We have been looking at numerical and categorical graphs, and how they look and how they can be determined as that type of graph.

Preview for Learning: This term, students will be learning about multiplication, division, and order of operations. Additionally, students will be investigating data, volume, capacity, and mass.

To find out more about what will be covered in Year 6 Maths click here.

Inquiry

By Bella Grace

This term, our Inquiry focus is Geography. In our Inquiry this term we have been learning about different countries, and more recently the 7 continents. We have been going on sites such as GeoGuesser to attempt to name all the different countries. We have also been working on filling in a map. You might ask why we would fill in a map. Well, so far we have outlined the 7 continents, as well as written down the names of those continents, but in the long run, we plan to name most of the countries on the map. On the other hand, we have been studying tectonic plates and the (proven) theory that all of the continents were once combined into one supercontinent.  

Wellbeing

This term, students will be engaging in a variety of activities aimed at supporting student wellbeing. Grade 6 is a crucial time for children, where students are honing their skills in managing their emotions, healthy friendships, and knowing how and when to ask for help. These skills will support students in the transition they will soon be making to high school. The following topics will covered in Term 2:

• Stress Management
• Trust, Courage, and Respect in Friendships
• Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)
• Help-Seeking

Sport

By Jack Garratt

This term, we will be playing in the Lysterfield Netball League. These are every team competing in the competition. Each team has selected a teacher as their coach. The teacher will help with the game on the day to try and get their team to win. If you make it to the end you will compete in the finals where you will be challenged and pushed to win.  

This term, students in Years 5 and 6 will be competing in the sport they have been given for winter round robin. The sports they will be able to compete in are AFL, lawn bowls, netball, and tee ball. They will be split into teams to compete against different schools.

High School Transition

Many families have been working through the process of selecting a high school for 2025. Application forms and information packs are not available until next term, but we thought we would provide some more specific details to assist you in your preparations.

STATEWIDE YEAR 6 TO 7 PLACEMENT TIMELINE 2024-25 – FOR YEAR 7 PLACEMENT IN 2025 SCHOOL YEAR

Calendar and Events

April 25th - Anzac Day Public Holiday

May 9th - Mother's Day Stall

May 23rd - Knox Division Girls AFL Carnival

May 24th - Winter Round Robin Day 1

May 29th - Knox Division Cross Country

May 31st - Winter Round Robin Day 2

June 13th - Regional Cross Country 

June 26th - Celebration Morning

June 27th - Senior Hooptime

June 28th - Last Day of Term 2

Exciting times ahead in STEM!

We are thrilled to share some exciting updates about our STEM program! As we continue to inspire and empower our students to explore the wonders of these vital fields, we are reaching out to our wonderful community for support.

Your generosity has always been instrumental in helping us provide enriching educational experiences for our students, and we are once again asking for your support to ensure the success and sustainability of our STEM initiatives.

Your support makes a significant difference to our students' learning opportunities and the success of our STEM program. Here are a few ways you can contribute:

Opportunities to help: 

• Donations of Timber/Wood, appropriate for construction E.g. Billy Cart bases or other small vehicles.   
• If you own or are a part of a company or business who would be willing to sponsor our engineering program. 
• If you have connections with hardware stores/companies, help us to make contact to obtain suitable engineering resources. 
• If you have any household STEM-related materials such as; plastic bottles, milk bottle lids, masking tape, balloons, wooden skewers, plastic or paper cups, unwanted CD’s or DVD’s, Aluminum Foil please drop them off outside the STEM room. 
• Construction Crew: If you're handy with tools and have some basic experience in woodwork or mechanics, we would be delighted to have your help in the upcoming terms to assist with our Grade 6 Science and Engineering program. Please email sophiechamberlain@lysterfieldps.com or melissaadams@lysterfieldps.com

Thank you for your continued support,

Melissa Adams & Sophie Chamberlain

STEM Leaders

This year, we are inviting all interested Grade 5 and 6 students to participate in the University of Melbourne’s Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition. Students can participate independently or in groups of 2 or 3 to work on a particular research problem, present their findings, and then submit their findings to the competition.

Students will be given time in school to work on their research problem, and it is part of the competition that all work submitted is their own, without any help from teachers or parents. Finalised student work will be submitted to the competition by the school.

Students who have a strength and passion for Maths, are highly motivated, enjoy tackling problems, and persist through challenges are encouraged to participate in this fantastic opportunity. 

Interested students must let their classroom teacher know by no later than Wednesday 1st May. There is no cost to enter the competition, and cash prizes up for grabs!

For more information, see the QR code below, check out their website, or contact Zahra Harvey (zahra.harvey@education.vic.gov.au).