Term Four News

Welcome to Term Four! 

Firstly, we would like to acknowledge the Year 5 students for completing such a successful term three. Camp was obviously a major highlight of the term and we were so impressed with the way the students demonstrated our school values and met our SWPBS expectations. They displayed resilience and engaged successfully in all aspects of the camp program. Students also successfully participated in our alternative sport, hockey. 

This newsletter has been put together to answer common questions and help you understand what to expect in term four. This term, we will continue to maintain clear routines and expectations to support positive student behaviour. These are based on our school wide work on:

• Classroom procedures and routines
• School Wide Positive Behaviour System (SWPBS) 
• Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) program

By continuing to embed these approaches, we aim to create classrooms that are safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments for all students.

This term, the Year 5 students will have the opportunity to participate in a range of special events and activities, these include: 

• Walking excursion – linked to our Inquiry unit of Design and Technology. Students will visit the Alphington Community Centre in order to get inspiration to design their own inclusive community centre. More information to come via Compass.
• Buddies program with our Foundation students.
• Alternative Sports program – this term students are participating in wheelchair sports.
• Years 4 to 6 Swimming Carnival at Coburg Olympic Pool.

Literacy

In our Literacy work this term, students will explore the mentor text ‘Kit and Arlo’. ‘Kit and Arlo’ is an action-packed and relatable fictional chapter book. It is a page-turning journey of upper primary school kids – Kit, Arlo, Harley and Vanya – developing and exploring friendships with plenty of ups and downs. ‘Kit and Arlo’, is also linked to the ‘Talking the Talk’ program, as it explores the complex components of consent, including respectful relationships education in an age-appropriate format.

In writing, students will be building on their understanding of persuasive writing. Students will revisit persuasive devices and examine how to incorporate them in a speech. There is a strong focus on how to structure body paragraphs, including a topic sentence, evidence, explanations, and a linking sentence. They will further develop research skills to support their opinions with facts. The speech writing unit is also designed to develop confidence in public speaking. They will present their speech to their peers as part of the process to identify our Year 6 leaders. 

Students will continue to participate in the Sound Waves spelling program, and grammar and punctuation lessons to support clear and accurate writing. 

At home you can:

• Encourage your child to read each day.
• Read and discuss persuasive texts with your child.
• Support them to read aloud with expression and fluency.
• Explore new and interesting vocabulary.
• Support writing at home (handwritten and typed); letters, notes, stories or persuasive pieces.
• Encourage correct punctuation and neat handwriting.
• Model a love of reading and writing and share some conversations about this with your child.
• Take your child to the library or a bookshop and assist them in making good selections for their reading level and interests.

Numeracy

Students will be revising and extending their understanding of concepts covered in previous years. Students will also be introduced to new concepts and topics from the Year 5 curriculum. 

Students will investigate patterns and find unknown quantities. Understanding the connection between multiplication and division, as well as addition and subtraction will also assist in understanding basic algebraic concepts.

Students will use coordinate systems and directional language to locate, position and provide instructions for movement linked to mapping and location.

Students will estimate, measure and compare the mass, volume and capacity of objects. Another focus for the term will be understanding money, budgets, discounts and financial planning.

At home you can:

• Play number games and create multi-digit numbers to compare, add or subtract.
• Practise reading and writing large numbers in words.
• Discuss the cost of different items and calculate different amounts when shopping.
• Count forwards and backwards by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s starting from different numbers (e.g., start at 7, 23, 58).
• Investigate the value of each digit in a number and what the decimal numbers around us mean or signify (i.e. dollars and cents, kilograms and grams). 
• Play Mastermind up to thousands and down to thousandths.
• Practise measuring the mass and capacity of items in your home.

Further ideas to support students at home can be found here: Literacy & Numeracy Tips.

Design & Technology

Students will explore what is a community and what makes an inclusive community. They will conduct surveys and research what people might want or need in a community centre. Students will visit a local community centre to get inspiration to then design their own community centre. Students will design a model of their inclusive community centre, identify the location of the facility, create clear timetables and information around activities offered and design digital marketing resources, including a logo. 

Health & Wellbeing

Resilience, Rights, and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) learning supports our school values of Community, Respect, Excellence and Creativity and aligns with our SWPBS expectations. This term, students will focus on gender norms and positive gender relationships. This will coincide with our text focus, ‘Kit and Arlo’.

Students will consider the influence of gender norms on attitudes, opportunities and behaviour. They will learn about gender equality, inclusion, human rights and the importance of relationships that respect people of all genders. They will learn about safe and unsafe behaviours, consent and their rights to bodily autonomy. They will practise strategies they can use to assert their rights to bodily autonomy. They develop self-care, peer support, peer referral and help-seeking skills. Through stories, discussions and collaborative activities, students will continue to learn how to contribute positively to our school community.

Specialist Subjects 

Performing Arts 

The first few weeks of term will be spent preparing for the 5/6 musical, The Wizard of Oz. After reflecting on our performance, Grade 5 students will review and refine their group musicianship skills and begin exploring songwriting using loops/ostinato.

Physical Education

At the start of each lesson this term we will be warming up using skipping ropes. Students will be challenged to perform footwork tricks as well as rope control tricks, such as crossovers, side swings and wraps. Students will learn and play some of the sports that they will have a chance to participate in as part of interschool sports in grade 6.

Science

Continuing on from last term’s learning covering Earth and Space Science, the students are moving on from space to focusing on sudden and extreme changes to Earth’s surface and atmosphere. They will explore how geological changes and extreme weather events can affect Earth’s surface and atmosphere. Students will investigate earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires and floods, as well as how the impact of these events can be reduced through human actions and technological innovations.

Visual Arts

Our Hero’s Gallery at ART FOR ALL proved to be so inspirational. I hope you had an opportunity to see your artist’s work proudly exhibited beside Vincent Namatjira’s.

This term students will continue to work on their Hermannsburg Potters’ inspired clay pot, completing the lid adorned with an Australian creature. They will expand their knowledge of textile art by designing a personal cushion, stuffing, stitching and decorating it with slow stitching and other applique techniques.

French 

Students will be developing a comic featuring the character (personnage) they will create. Through reading French stories and reviewing their previous work, they will revise familiar vocabulary and practise applying it in their own written and illustrated narratives. This project will strengthen students’ reading comprehension, written expression and ability to communicate ideas in French.

Here's to fantastic term of special events, learning and fun!

Naomi, Blake, Jade, Anne, Tom & the Specialist Teachers