Learning In My Level

Year 5/6 News

What a great start to the year for the 5/6 teachers and students! Students have enjoyed completing the whole school Start Up program and have now settled in well to the classroom routines and expectations. Students have appreciated the wonderful weather we have been having, allowing us to get outdoors for some exercise and games encouraging both teamwork and good sportsmanship. 

As a sign of respect and awareness for the traditional owners of the land, each class created their own class Acknowledgement of Country. This reminds us that every day we live, work, and dream on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lands. 

In the past few weeks, we have been learning about Cyber Safety. In particular, how to create a safe and strong password (using a toothbrush analogy) and how to identify a scam in a text message or email. Some classes have created a Digital Pledge display where students have come up with their own pledge to stay safe while using devices at school.  

In Mathematics, we have focussed on understanding decimals, including the place value and manipulating numbers to create different decimals. Students consolidated their knowledge, engaging in games where they needed to add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals.   

In Literacy, Level 5/6 have commenced reading the class novel, Birrung and the Secret Friend, written by Jackie French. This text tells a story of a young Indigenous girl (Birrung) who befriends an orphan (Barney) and is set in the Australian Colony in 1790. The history integrated into this story, is perfect for our Inquiry topic we are investigating this term. Copies of the pages read during class can be found on Seesaw, if for any reason a student misses a day. Students have experimented with persuasive texts, the effectiveness of persuasive devices and how to build momentum in a persuasive piece.  

It was so wonderful to meet so many parents and carers during the ‘Getting to Know You’ interviews and we have taken on board your goals for your children this year. One main goal is the use of capital letters and full stops in their writing. We will continue to encourage independence at school and home, being responsible for their belongings, homework tasks and ability to challenge their learning in class.