Year 5/6 - Senior Unit

Welcome back to Term 2! We have had a busy first 2 weeks back, diving straight back into learning. 

Last week we celebrated huge success with our School Cross Country. We were so impressed with the perseverance and dedication shown by so many of our students. Well done and good luck to all those who are representing Woodend Primary School at Hanging Rock next week. 

On Thursday, we had local author Fiona White talk to us about her book “Wear a Purple Poppy”. Students were highly engaged and built on their deep understanding of ANZAC Day when asking questions and answering her questions. We are lucky to have a copy of this book in our school library now.

Each class made poppies for our ANZAC garden and spent a moment reflecting on the sacrifice that so many gave for our country. Students created a piece of free writing with ANZAC Day as the theme. 

ANZAC by Finley Nelson

A is for the animals who gave their lives,

N is for the nurses who did the unsung job and tried,

Z  i can’t find but a call out to the unseen, the secret the spies, 

A it is agen the army the fitters,

C is for our country our home, our land, 

Anzac doesn’t mean one thing, not fitting or killing, not dying or winning. It just is.

In Literacy, we have been analysing structure, word choice and imagery in poems. We have written Kennings and Senses poems. 

Pirates by Dante

Ocean-floater

Shanty-singer

Cannon-blaster

Anchor-thrower

Sailing-crew

Leading-captain

Treasure-hunter

Sea-raider

Eyepatched-warrior

Canada by Vaughn

Tongue-freezing

Waterfall-falling

Zamboni-driving

Pucks-flying

Moose-walking

Bear-trotting

Godzilla by Austin

Tall-lizard

Big-monkey

Deadly-breath

Sandstorm by Willem

I see a wave of sand and soil lurking over the city. 

I hear myself coughing as sand flurries down my throat into my lungs. 

I feel grains of sand battering at my exposed head. 

I taste sand slowly entering my body sticking to the roof of my mouth. 

I smell the bitterness of sand invading the city, flushing everyone inside. 

Blizzard by Joseph

I see a blinding white blizzard getting closer. 

I hear a whistling wind before a deafening blizzard forms before me. 

I feel a piercing coldness run down my spine while I try to feel the last of my warmth. 

I taste a snow flake on my tongue as I try to breathe through this blizzard. 

I smell the last bit of fresh air as the blizzard swallows every last bit of it. 

Cyclone by Xavier 

I see terror in people’s eyes as something forms in the ocean. 

I hear wind at speeds unimaginable.

I feel rain pouring down as hard as boulders. 

I taste the harsh seawater as it rises to the path. 

I smell salt coming from the rain and ocean. 

In Maths, we have been continuing to work on our Fractions units, looking at the connection between fractions and decimals. 

We have started working on our new inquiry unit about Extreme Weather. Our big idea is  “How do extreme weather events shape Earth’s surface, and how can humans reduce their impacts?” We have started by exploring what we know about different forms of extreme weather. 

Students have come home with Home Learning Books this week. Students have 3 weeks to complete the task with the main aims of the homework being to promote good study habits and build on work completed in class. Home Learning tasks should be completed and handed back to class teachers by Friday 15th of May. Thank you for your support with this. 

Year 5/6 Teachers

Lyndsay Adamson (56A), Sharna Ford (56F), Ann Ireland (56I) and 

Alison Meggs/Iain Sparrey (56M)