Grade 5 News

Important Reminders

Sun Smart

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

Homework

Homework for 2024 has begun. The homework week will run from Monday to Monday. During this time, students are required to:

*Read 4 nights and record their reading in their diary.

*Complete activities in Mathletics that equal, at least, 750 points.

Please see your child's teacher if you have any questions regarding homework.

Learning in Action

Literacy 

We have continued work on our Novel Study over the past fortnight. Students are enthralled by this intriguing World War I story, and reading some background non-fiction information about WWI has helped them better understand the events within the text. 

Our discussions and analyses of the text this fortnight have included learning about round and flat characters, and inferring character traits from their behaviours and actions. Round characters are those that change throughout the text, and flat characters stay the same.

Through our grammar lessons, we have learnt more about 'kernel sentences' - sentences that 'pop', and how we can improve our own writing to make it pop for our readers. We have also learnt about independent and dependent clauses, in order to better understand the structure of the sentences we read and write.

Preview for Learning

Next week, after the long weekend, students will complete the first NAPLAN test which will be on Writing. They will type a narrative or persuasive text based on a prompt, and be given 40 minutes to complete the writing task to the best of their ability. 

Maths

Over the past fortnight, whole class teaching has focussed on two very important concepts in Whole Number - decomposing and partitioning numbers, and rounding and estimating numbers. Both of these concepts help develop a strong understanding of the magnitude of numbers and their place value.

Students have completed their perimeter and prea investigation which saw them try to find the biggest space (area) possible for a puppy with a limited number of fence lengths (perimeter). Students used a variety of strategies to calculate the area, and many students discovered that a square was the shape that maximised the area for the puppy.

Preview for Learning

Next week, students will apply the place value concepts of decomposing and estimating to addition and subtraction where they will learn to estimate before calculating, and use place value to support their accurate calculations.

Inquiry

Students have been learning about what it means to be an Australian Citizen, and the qualities that make a person a good citizen in our community. Through this, students have begun exploring different community groups that citizens form to positively contribute to their community and society around them.

Students are learning about the value and importance of volunteering for community groups, and how they help and support people within our community. Some of the groups we have started to explore are the SES, Surf Life Saving and RSL - who they are, what they do, and how they support our community.

Preview for Learning: 

We will continue to explore some more community groups, and then students will work collaboratively to choose one community group to learn about in more detail, ready to present their understandings at the Open Morning at the end of the term.

Wellbeing

Over the past fortnight, we have revised the terms Friendship Fire and Mean on Purpose and discussed the differences between them. It is important to differentiate between Friendship Fires and Mean on Purpose as it changes the way we should respond to a situation. We have also revisited what makes a good apology, and how a true, honest and genuine apology can help to put out a Friendship Fire. 

Preview for Learning

Next week, we will look at "Tricky Situations" where it isn't crystal clear if the scenario is a Friendship Fire or Mean on Purpose. 

Other Information

Buddies

The Grade 5 students had a wonderful session with their Prep Buddies last week. They all listened to a story, and then worked together to draw pictures to retell the story. The Grade 5s love visiting their Prep buddies, and show a great sense of care, maturity and responsibility in looking after and supporting their buddies during the sessions. As you can see from the photos below, there are smiles all around during these sessions, and it is wonderful to see the students taking on their buddy roles with such pride.

Life Education

Last week, all grade 5 students participated in a Life Education incursion that focussed on puberty and the changes the body experience during this stage of their lives. Many of the students found it funny, many found it uncomfortable, and many found it informative. Although it is not always the most commonly discussed topic, having an understanding of what is going to happen to your body, and how it might make you feel and act, is really important. The discussion was started at school through this incursion, and we encourage all families to continue this discussion at home, and make it a topic that students feel safe discussing openly. 

Athletics Day

On Wednesday 6th March, all grade 3-6 students participated in the Lysterfield House Athletics Day. Over the past few weeks, students have been preparing for this day through PE lessons and Senior School Sport sessions. Students ran, jumped, and threw everything they could at the multiple track and field events on offer. 

It was a great day of not only sporting excellence, but also sportsmanship. We are so proud of all the students for their efforts, persisting through challenges, and supporting and cheering on their peers.

Micro Mathematicians Extension Program

The University of Melbourne is offering a Primary School Outreach Program called Micro Mathematicians. These are online workshops offered to Grade 5 and 6 students in the school holidays that seek to extend and challenge their mathematical thinking and understanding in unique and interesting ways. 

If your child is interested in applying for the workshops, applications are now open for the first workshop on Tuesday, April 9th. For more information, please visit their website.

The Micro Mathematicians program is part of the Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series, and is supported by the University of Melbourne School of Mathematics and Statistics and the Victorian Government.

Open Day & Night

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, helping us to make contact in order 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, Aluminium 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

Lysterfield Primary School 

From the Grade 5 Teachers

Karin Halstead, Ebony Waldron, Chloe McElroy and Zahra Harvey