Year 5 & 6

Term 4 is here already and we have hit the ground running. It was fantastic to see the students looking healthy, happy and ready to learn. Their zest for learning and joy for being back at school is wonderful to see. The students are very excited about the approaching camp and they have lots of questions and predictions about it. Camp will be a fantastic learning experience for all of us. Another very exciting event this term is the Year 6 graduation which is fuelling lots of discussion, questions and predictions about the future. Several students have said that they will miss Gilgai Plains which is lovely to hear.

Reminder: Tissues

It is the beginning of yet another very wet term and, although we need the water to fill out tanks, we don’t need the colds, sneezes and coughs that seem to come along with it. Could all families please send along some tissues to help us get through the last term? It would really help us stay clean.

Important Dates

Term 4

• Tuesday 1st November - Melbourne Cup Public Holiday.
• Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th November - 5/6  Camp.
• Friday 18 November - Whole School Cross Country event.
• Tuesday 12th December - Transition Day.
• Wednesday 14th December - Graduation (times to be announced).
• Friday the 16th December - Final Assembly and Final Class Celebrations.
• Tuesday 20th December – Student Free Day.

Learning Together in 5 & 6

Reading, Writing and Inquiry are nicely integrated this term as we unpack the elements of Memoirs. These are historical accounts from a personal perspective that tend to be specific, emotional and full of descriptive language. As we read and analyse these the students learn the structure and a range of vocabulary that they can add to their own writing and recognise when they read. This helps them become more powerful readers, writers and communicators.

These link strongly to our history studies as we explore early Australia and the perspective of Australian settlers, the first Australians, immigrants and Australians through time. The students are really enjoying watching My Place episodes showing historical fiction about different times throughout Australian history. They have been learning to take notes so they can reflect on their learning and have shared their learning showing their understanding. Students taking notes while watching My Place. This provides them an insight into life at different stages throughout the history of Australia.

In Maths we have been learning about decimal and common fractions. The students have been learning how to convert from common fractions to decimals and vice versa. They have also been simplifying common fractions and solving simple equations involving fractions. The students have been really enjoying the challenge of working with fractions and have been modelling our school values of Learning Together, Kindness and Zest with every Maths session. it’s been wonderful to see.

We are also studying volume and capacity. This is a fantastic unit for hands-on exploration. In this activity the students estimate the volume of 3D objects and then check their estimations by filling them with unifix blocks and writing their answers in their workbooks.