Monarch Community Report

Welcome to the 5/6 Monarch Community for 2022

Greetings 5/6 Parents. This year our community of learning is called ‘Monarch’.

Our students have been settling into their new classes and making new friends or reinforcing established friendships. Students have begun using their diary to organise their learning, including keeping track of important dates that are coming up in Term 1.

We have Italian Carnivale on the 1st of March and the canteen is having a special Italian-themed food menu for that day. Your child should have come home with an order form for that yesterday. There are halal options and the ordering can also be done online, if that is more convenient.

In Literacy we have been focusing on Making Connections to texts and writing has been focusing on Narratives in preparation for NAPLAN which will be in Term 2.

We have been looking at Place Value from a Grade 5/6 perspective.

In addition to our Literacy and Numeracy programs this Term, we would like to inform you that we have a focus this Term on ‘Leadership’ in our Inquiry sessions. 

We also have an S.E.L. (Social and Emotional Learning) focus on our School Values of Caring For Others, Caring For Learning, Caring For Our School and Caring For Ourselves. 

Students have tried on Grade 6 jumpers and notices have gone home for you to order from the online store.

If you ever have any questions or just want to say hello, feel free to contact your child’s teacher via Compass.

Literacy

Reading

During reading, students have been reading together David Walliams’ book ‘The World’s Worst Teacher’, we have been unpacking new words and vocabulary along with using strategies to read unknown words while we read the book together.

We have been focusing on reading strategies while reading such as Monitoring – Tracking My Thinking, Text Connections – text to text, text to world, text to self, Inferences and Making Predictions. We have also been investigating why the author has chosen to include specific words and phrases in the writing. Students will be receiving their own individual reading goals over the following weeks.

Writing

The Monarch Community began the term with types of writing to introduce themselves which assisted with students getting to know each other. Students were able to find out things they have in common with their peers to make connections.

Leadership speeches have been a very exciting topic that the students have been eager to work on so far this term. Students have been investigating ways to enhance their speeches during writing sessions by learning about how to up level sentences, include persuasive devices, understand and use modality and add emotive language. Students have gone through the writing cycle and revised their speeches a number of times before publishing a good copy that they will read to the class when applying for the leadership position.

Numeracy

The students in Monarch have been working on building their understanding of the Base 10 System and the Place Value of numbers. They have been developing their ability to recognise, represent and order numbers to at least hundreds of thousands.  They have looked at how a number can be written using digits (standard form), using words (written or word form), using expanded notation (expanded form) or using multibase arithmetic blocks or MAB blocks (model form).  They used their knowledge of these forms of writing numbers to investigate how many MAB blocks could be used to create their name, and what the values of their name would be in such a format, with a focus on converting it into the expanded form or breaking it down into its place value components (units/ones, tens, hundreds, and so on). It was great to see the students really being engaged with the 'value' of their names.

While Place Value and the Base 10 System has formed the foundation of our Term 1 Mathematical focus, students have also been applying their numeracy skills in other areas. For example, students have looked at how a daily schedule can be organised around a 12 or 24-hour time system. 

Monarch students also investigated six different types of angles: acute, right, obtuse, straight, reflex, revolution. 

They worked with protractors and manipulatives to estimate, measure and compare angles using the unit of measurement known as a 'degree'. Students worked on constructing angles using a protractor. They made posters demonstrating their knowledge of the various angle types using straws and labels. 

Inquiry

Monarch community have been focusing on what is leadership and what makes a good leader. We have also been working on our speeches for captains around the school community. We have analysed what makes a good leader. Through this, it has helped us to write our persuasive speeches for our desired captain role.

For the rest of the term we will be studying government in Australia. As well as government around the world. Also what is the difference between leadership and dictatorship.

 Friendly Reminders

Please remember:

• Students need to wear a hat this term.
• It is important to have a water bottle each day and that it is labelled. 
• Please ensure your children are attending school as  ‘It is not ok to be away’.
• Students are to record their home reading in their school diaries with a signature. This needs to be returned to school each day. 
• Brain Food is fruit or vegetable snacks that children may eat in class. It is important to include this as an additional snack in their lunch box. 

We look forward to a wonderful year working together with students and their families. 

The Monarch Community Teachers