Level Newsletters

Senior School News

Important Information

  • High School Musical: Grade 6 students will be attending the dress rehearsal of High School Musical at Rowville Secondary College on Monday 31st July. Please confirm permission to this by Friday afternoon! (Sorry for the late notice)
  • Camp Coonawarra: Monday 21st  - Friday 25th August

Learning in Action

 

Literacy: 

Poetry:

This term in senior school we have been learning about narrative poems. Students have begun this process by writing down examples of events and explaining the main characters, the setting, problem and solution. We then use this information to create a poem. Here is an example of a narrative poem Noah L has been working on:

 

The Aussie got his meal, it was a nice parma. 

The waiter thought he was weird and she fell over…Karma.

 

The Aussie left the bar, the waiter came running out, 

‘’I need a tip sir.’’

Nah mate gotta go this route.

 

Persuasive texts:

During literacy we have also been working on persuasive texts. We have been identifying the main idea and the supporting details. Some of the topics we have looked at are: 

- I wanna iguana (picture storybook

- The gender sports pay gap

- Senior school scoop (the latest issue talked about how rubbish at Lysterfield needs to stay in either lunch boxes or the bin) 

- To do something 'like a girl' is an insult. 

 

In grade 5 we have been choosing our own persuasive topics that we are passionate about.

 

Read below for some examples from 5T. 

 

Everyone should go fishing

It's lots of fun being on the water relaxing and enjoying the sun with family and friends. When you have had a busy and stressful week going out fishing is always relaxing. 

- James S

 

Homework should be banned at school

If you think about it, students are at school for 6 and a half hours a day, 5 days a week. So that is a total of 32 and a half hours per week that we are at school. In my opinion, I think it is more than enough time to learn and do our work. - Caitlyn T 

 

Why you should stop polluting the Earth

People dropping things on the ground is really bad for the environment, especially if it's plastic it takes tens of years to decompose. - Adam C

 

What’s next: Students will continue looking at different types of poetry and working on their own persuasive writing topics. 

 

 

Maths: 

 

Grade 5 Focus: Division

We are moving towards the final stages of division and we will soon transition some big ideas from division into fractions. Students have been learning about several concepts and strategies, such as exploding dots and metric conversions, whilst also working on specific goals that are targeted to their needs. Here are some reflections from Grade 5 students:

 

I learnt how to solve division using multiplication facts. Now I know how to do it with ease…well, nearly! ~ Lucas

 

I learnt how to divide by powers of ten and it is becoming easier each time I practise ~ Ayda

 

Grade 6 Focus: Fractions

Grade 6 students are a few weeks into the fractions unit. Whilst students are individually working towards their number goals, the focused teaching has centred around fractions of a set and fractions on a number line. Moving forward, these concepts will be utilised in more detail, challenging students to think about real world variety and application. Here is a reflection from a Grade 6 student: 

 

Currently I am learning how to find a fraction of a quantity. It is getting easier every time I practise ~ Caleb

 

 

Inquiry: 

 

The Grade 5s have been focusing on: 

 

History from 1788 - 1901. The Grade 5 students have been explorers wandering through the early years of Australia's development as a nation. Here is a full list of the events that they have been encountering:

  • The Colonisation of Australia
  • Life in the Colonies
  • The Gold Rush
  • The Eureka Stockade
  • Ned Kelly and his Gang

The Grade 6s have been focusing on: 

 

History from 1900 - the present day. The Grade 6 students have been riveted by the unfolding of events that occurred after Federation. Here is a full list of the events that we are delving into this term:

 

1901 - Federation and the Constitution

1902 - Women's Suffrage

1914 - 1918 - World War I

1915 - Aborigines Protection Act/The Stolen Generation

1929 - 1939 - The Great Depression

1939 - 1945 - World War II

1962/1967 - Indigenous Right to Vote and Referendum

 

Students will also have the opportunity to investigate any other events during this time period using the NMA timeline - Defining Moments in Australian History.

 

 

Wellbeing: 

 

Senior School students have been continuing their work on our school wellbeing program ‘Friendology’. This fortnight students have been learning the difference between a ‘friendship fire’ and being ‘mean on purpose’. A friendship fire is a disagreement between friends that is not meant with any intent to upset or hurt anyone. While being ‘mean on purpose’ is an action that is made with the intent of upsetting or hurting someone whether that is physically or emotionally. Within our Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program, Senior School students have been looking at how it is important to set personal boundaries for what each individual feels comfortable with and where to seek help if these boundaries are crossed. 

 

In Grade 5, a lucky select few students have been participating in a new wellbeing program called The MAT Life Skills Program. This program is an active therapeutic modality that combines the principles of psychosocial development with those of traditional martial art training techniques in a format that engages young people to learn life skills and develop strategies to manage challenges in their lives. Look out for an update about this program from participating students in upcoming newsletter updates! 

 

Sport: 

During the last fortnight, the senior school students have been keeping active with many different sporting events taking place.

First, we had our Netball A team head to district on Tuesday 18th July. All of the girls played superbly, leading them to come 2nd over the whole day.

 

On Thursday 20th July the boys AFL team and our girls softball team both went to their district finals. Again, everyone put in an amazing effort, with the footy team finishing the day in 2nd place, pipped in the final half by St Simons.

 

The girls softball team had a fantastic day, winning by one run on the last catch of the game. This means our girls will go through to regionals in August. Congratulations!

We then finished the week with the Basketball tournament. A big thank you and congratulations to Mr Thomas who organised such a successful day for all of our senior school students. Another big thanks to all of the parent volunteers who gave up their time to coach some of our teams, we greatly appreciate it! 

 

All teams had a lot of fun, with both All Stars teams making it to the final games of the day. Our girls put in a great performance landing them 2nd place for the day, with our All Stars boys team finishing the day on top of the ladder, and heading to the next stage.

 

The senior school teachers would like to congratulate all of our sporting superstars for their hard work and tremendous efforts across all of these sporting events. We look forward to seeing how we go in our Summer Sport season.