Year 5/6 Team News

Hello Year 5/6 families, 

Welcome back to Term 2! We have had such a great, albeit busy, start to the term. We enjoyed the first of our Parliament Incursions, began training for winter interschool sport and enjoyed watching our teachers engage in a live debate. I am sure they have lots to share!

Student Voice:

Parliament Incursion!

Recently, our students took part in an exciting and immersive Parliamentary incursion, learning exactly how laws are made in Australia. Below, Aleya and Charlie share their experiences of stepping into the roles of our nation’s leaders.

Aleya’s Report: Leading the Opposition

First, we learned how Parliament works and how laws are created. They go through the House of Representatives (the green house), the Senate (the red house), and lastly through the King or the Governor-General.

To practice how we vote, our teacher selected six students to lead different parties: the Peace, Equality, Happiness, Animal, Environmental, and Relaxation parties. After the votes were counted, the Peace Party won, with the Equality Party coming in second. This meant the Peace Party became the Government, and the Equality Party became the Opposition.

Most of us were given special roles for our role-play, including the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Speaker, Clerk, Serjeant-at-Arms, and the Whips. Each role had a script to follow, except for the Serjeant-at-Arms. Instead of a paragraph, he received a costume and a mace, acting as a guard for the Speaker in case of an emergency!

Charlie’s Report: From the Prime Minister’s Desk

Our session began with the basics of government: learning about the House of Representatives, the Senate, and how bills are passed. We then held an election where students volunteered to lead six different parties. Everyone voted for their favorite, with the winner becoming the Prime Minister and the runner-up becoming the Leader of the Opposition.

During the role-play, we had a full chamber including a Clerk, Speaker, Serjeant-at-Arms, and the Government and Opposition teams. We even debated a pretend bill to get rid of PE! I personally really enjoyed the incursion and would definitely do it again if I had the chance.

What's Coming up in the Classroom:

Reading: To start the term, we have begun a short class novel, 'Black Cockatoo'. In Weeks 3 & 4, we will be looking at how to discuss quotes from the text in both verbal and written form. We will also explore symbolism of images used in the text. To balance our novel study we will be learning how to annotate texts with increased complexity and challenging vocabulary. This will involve both fiction and non-fiction texts. 

Writing: During weeks 3 & 4, students are preparing to undertake a love debate of their own. This will form a large part of their speaking and listening mark for Semester 1. They are working in teams of 3 on a given topic as either the affirmative or negative teams. They will learn what is required in preparation, including how to think ahead and counteract arguments. 

Numeracy: Students are continuing to work through the 4 operations unit. During Weeks 3 and 4, students will learn about multiplication and division, with a focus on recalling number facts and applying these to various solving strategies. In multiplication, this involves using the box (grid) method and in in division using the short algorithm. 

Inquiry: We have kick started our inquiry unit with a bang! Our Parliament Incursion part 2 will occur in Week 3. During Week 4, we will launch our investigation project on democracy. This includes being broken into 5 different political parties with one of the 5/6 teaching team. In inquiry sessions we will come together to explore what roles party members are take on in the race for WPS election! 

Willy Kids/Respectful Relationships: In Term 2, Willy Kids are Respectful. During Weeks 3 & 4, Willy Kids are Grateful. We will begin to reflect on what gratitude means and how it can be expressed. In RR, students are exploring what it means to have personal and cultural strengths. This fortnight we look to explore our own strengths and where they have come from. 

Term 2 Interschool Sport:

Week 2: Away v Newport Lakes PS

  * Week 2 match venues are: AFL @ Byran Martyn Oval, Netball @ Newport Lakes PS, Soccer and Softball @ Digman Reserve, Hockey @ Newport Lakes PS. 

 Week 3: Home v Williamstown North PS

    * Week 3 match venues are: Netball, Softball @ WPS, Soccer & AFL @ Fearon Reserve, Hockey fixture TBC. 

Important Dates:

• Parliament Incursion- Week 3 (Monday & Tuesday)
• District Cross Country- Week 3 Thursday 
• Mother's Day Stall- Week 3 (Thursday) (Cross country students will be able to attend the stall in the afternoon when they return to school). 
• 5/6H hosting assembly- Week 8 Friday (All other 5/6 classes are hosting in Term 3)

Have a lovely fortnight everyone!

Warm regards,

The Grade 5/6 Team - Christina Crosland (5/6C), Molly Hedditch (5/6H), Melati Cordell & Laura Bartholomeusz (5/6M), Matt Eason-Jones (5/6E) & Edan Baccega (5/6B)