Year Six News 

Dear Year Six families, 

Last week we celebrated 'Book Day' in style with many of our Year Six students dressing up and engaging in the days events. Unfortunately for some of our Year Six students they were isolating and thus missed out on dressing up onsite however they were still involved in the creation of their book remotely. 

Why is reading so important?

Studies show that reading for pleasure makes a big difference to children’s educational performance. Likewise, evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who do not, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures.

In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.

What difference can I make as a parent?

You can make a huge difference! Parents are the most important educators in a child’s life – even more important than their teachers – and it is never too early to start reading together.

Even before they were born, babies learn to recognise their parents' voices. Reading to your baby from birth, even for just a few minutes a day, gives them the comfort of hearing your voice and increases their exposure to language.

Building vocabulary and understanding

Learning to read is about listening and understanding as well as working out what is printed on the page. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a wide range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read. It is important for them to understand how stories work too. Even if your child does not understand every word, they will hear new sounds, words and phrases which they can then try out, copying what they have heard.

Irrespective of whether your child is only just beginning to learn to read or whether they are fluent, you can play an important role in helping to keep them interested in books. Find out what interests them, help them to find books that will be engaging and fun, and spend time reading the books they bring home from school together.

Text Innovation

Extension group with Mr Nicolaides

The Year Six students have been exploring Shaun Tan as part of their Author Study. Recently our Carroll reading group engaged in a text innovation on the text 'Cicada'. Individually students created their own written innovation based on 'Insects'. An overwhelming positive response resulted in an incredible representation of students quality work. These can be viewed below. 

An unappreciated green cicada sits behind a computer every day, doing data entry for a nameless organisation.

In 17 years, he's never made a mistake or taken a sick day. This strange, suit-wearing insect is the hero of Cicada, the latest book by award-winning author and illustrator Shaun Tan.

Tan says he was interested in the concept of a bug working in a human environment, where nobody is surprised by his presence.

"Nobody around him ... they don't question it at all," he says.

"They see it as an opportunity for getting some really good, error-free, boring work done without any additional cost to their corporation."

In fact, the insect is treated terribly by his human workmates. He is in turns bullied and ignored — banned from using the office bathroom, and never given a promotion.

On the day of his retirement, with no party and no handshake, the cicada decides it's time to say goodbye.

He heads to the roof of his grey office building, where an unexpected transformation takes place.

Source: Claire Nicholls

Bully Zero Incursion

Last week, some students in Year Six engaged in a Bully Zero incursion. The incursion had the intent of preventing  and reducing bullying through evidence-based education, advocacy, and support.

Graduation

Thank you, 

Michael Nicolaides, Heidi Spies, Sarah Grenfell, Stephanie Fatouros and Kayla Pietrapertosa