Year 5
Term 2 - Week 4
May 🌻
13th - Yr 5 Discovery Day at FCJ
28th - Division Cross Country
June 🌧
5th - Pupil Free Day for Student Wellbeing and Safeguarding
We have been so busy in Year 5! Take a look...
Mother's Day Celebrations
Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate Mother’s Day. We know this day can bring a lot of joy and special memories, while also being a difficult time for others. We’re grateful to share these moments together. Here are a few photos from the day…
FCJ Experience Day
Last week the Year 5's travelled to Benalla for their Experience Day. Students participated in Drama and music and met other students from St. Joseph's and St. Mary's. They were treated to a sausage sizzle and spotted many of their older brothers and sisters.
Euroa Secondary College Experience Day
The Year 5's also enjoyed an exciting day at Euroa Secondary College. Students had the opportunity to take part in a range of fun and engaging activities across different subjects.
The day began with a PE session led by Macey, Ms Watson’s daughter. Macey is a former St John's student who is currently completing a VET Sport and Recreation course. It was especially exciting for the students as Macey was also Eddie’s buddy during her time at school.
In Art, students enjoyed designing and drawing their own Lego characters, while the Music session saw everyone participating in energetic chopstick drumming. Many students showed impressive rhythm skills, with Evie McMartin, Eddie’s older sister and a budding drummer, helping everyone keep in time.
Students enjoyed a free sausage (or two!) before joining an English session where they discussed different issues, shared their opinions, and practised persuading others with their ideas.
We are very lucky to also be able to visit FCJ this week.
Special visit from Georgia Gall and the Melbourne Women's Football Team.
We had a special visit from ex student, Georgia Gall and some of her Melbourne team mates. We had a question and answer session, some games and a kick to kick. Ms Watson was Georgia's PE teacher so she got a special photo. She has definitely grown since she was in Year 6!! What a thrill to see her excelling in her sport! Very inspiring.
Making Balloon Fidgets
At the end of Term 3, we made balloon fidgets. It was a messy but fun activity, and some students have been using their fidgets in the classroom to help with focus and attention.
Literacy
Students have been enjoying the two-book series Dirrarn and Black Cockatoo. The stories explore important themes such as bullying and the experiences of First Nations people.
The main character, Mia, has the black cockatoo as her totem, and students have enjoyed following her journey as she moves from the Kimberley to a boarding school in Perth. While the transition is not always easy, the books encourage thoughtful discussions about belonging, cultural identity, and Mia’s strong connection to Country as a young Aboriginal girl.
Students have been working on pieces of writing for the Euroa Secondary College Writing Competition, with the freedom to choose their own topics and styles. This is also an activity students may continue working on at home if they wish.
In Ochre, sentence-level writing lessons have focused on improving sentence structure through the use of appositives, adverbials, and varying sentence types to make writing more engaging and effective. This is something we have been working really hard on. I've been really proud of how much effort the students have been putting in.
Mathematics
We have completed tests in Short Division and Long Multiplication, which were tricky concepts. We finished a unit on Perimeter and Area, which the students were really engaged in. We have some budding farmers, so this was their specialty, fences and paddocks! We completed a unit on Nets and Fractions. Fractions wasn't a favourite, but we will return to this next term. We are going to be refreshing our knowledge about decimals next.
Just a note, we have not yet had a major focus on times tables this term. Next term, however, we will be placing a much stronger emphasis on building automatic recall, with extra incentives to encourage students along the way. At this stage, there is no need to worry.
Religion
The unit we are currently studying is called The Risen Christ. In this unit, we are learning about the resurrection of Jesus and exploring what the Church looks like within our community. Students are also encouraged to think about how they can follow Jesus’ example in their everyday lives.
We have been having many thoughtful discussions about behaviour, choices, and the fact that everyone makes mistakes from time to time. An important part of learning and growing is taking responsibility for our actions and striving to make better choices in the future. This is an important part of being a good person. While no one is perfect, we are all working towards becoming the best version of ourselves.
Euroa Library with Ras Ato
We were lucky enough to be invited to the Euroa Library for a cultural session with Ras Ato. Ras is from Ghana, West Africa, as he shared two of his recently published picture books! The students enjoyed experiencing traditional African stories, games and songs!
Hot Chip 100
The Year 5 students have been working hard and we have a class points system. They gain 10 points if everyone has read the previous night, 10 points if everyone has done spelling, 10 points if all books are out on the table in the morning and then points for hard working and engagement. We also get points if another teacher comes and tells me how well behaved a student or the Year 5's are. We get 'golden time' with the points at the end of the week and this has mainly been a sport type activity. Last week we decided to go for a 'Hot Chip 100' to see if we could get 100 points and the reward of Hot Chips for lunch. Unfortunately, we didn't get to 100, so we have kept the points, and we are aiming for 150, with the reward of some cooking. We will see how we go!!
HATS - We have had quite a few hats go missing, so if you could just check in with your student and see if they have a hat. You may have a spare at home that you can leave in the students bag, just in case. Hats are now required all year round. Thanks for your support.
If you have any questions, feel free to either email me at mwatson@sjeuroa.catholic.edu.au
Have a great week!
Melinda Watson