Year 5/6 Team News

Hello Year 5/6 families, 

This year we are hoping to give our lovely 5/6 students some more responsibility and voice, and one way is to invite them to reflect on what has been happening over the past fortnight and share it in our newsletter! 

This week we hear from Fleur (5/6H) and Nicholas (5/6M): 

The past fortnight has been great because I have met my buddy and we have been reading our new class book, 'Now'. We also had an interschool sport match at Newport Gardens. The girls tee ball team had a great time at for our first game of the year. Sadly, we lost by only a couple of runs. Fleur

On Wednesday we went to the district swimming to compete for Willy Primary everybody had a great time and some of us even won second or first and got to the next level. What was great was we all tried our best and that is what matters. All of the races were nice to watch and it was even better to watch our teammates win. In the end Paddy announced the winner for  the best swimmer but the best part of the day was when Paddy announced the winner of the whole thing and Willy Primary won! The day was amazing and it was like a ball of fun doing races. After all of the stuff was done we all went back to school. We would never have the chance to do this unless for Paddy, so thank you Paddy for doing this for us! Nicholas. 

What's happening in the Classroom:

Reading: We will be reading and viewing a variety of non-fiction texts and learning the process of gathering information, note taking skills and summarising. This is to support our inquiry and writing on natural disasters. We are also continuing the class novel of 'Now' by Morris Glietzman and use this to make connections between our inquiry reserach. 

Writing: Students have been working on following the writing process to publish their own persasive text, linking in our inquiry. This fortnight will see students edit and publish their texts utilising multimedia. We are also completing some revision on complex senteneces and grammar in preperation for NAPLAN.   

Maths: Now that we conclude our revision unit on Place Value, we begin our focus on using the four operations in a variety of ways to problem solve. We will revisit traditional methods and explore the efficiency of mentally calculation. This will include the use of decimal place value and positive and negative intergers. 

Inquiry: Students have been exploring places both around the world and here in Australia in our unit, 'Where Would You Live?'. Through reading and research, students are being exposed to natural disasters and why they they are more likely to occur in certain areas. We will continue to tie this into our literacy focus of note taking, sumarrising and writing information reports. 

Willy Kids: In weeks 5 & 6, Willy Kids are learning about being sociable. This has also tied in well with many grades having met their 'buddies' for the year. 

Respectful Relationships: We continue with the work on positive self talk and look at how we deal with challenging situations. 

Interschool Sport Rounds 3, 4 & 5:

Week 4: Vs Altona (Away)

Week 5: Vs Seaholme (Away)

Week 6: Vs Newport Lakes (Away)

Event Cost Adjustments:

To give families sufficient time to plan ahead, we wish to notify you of some key costs that will be attached to events this year. As you are probably aware, the cost of buses has had a big impact on the cost of excursions, so we are trying to mitigate this, as much as possible, by reducing the number of bus excursions taken during the year. 

• As part of our unit on Australian History, we are in the process of arranging an excursion to Sovereign Hill in Term 2. This is expected to cost around $55. We feel, strongly, that the immersive experience provided by Sovereign Hill will have great impact on our students’ ability to engage with the unit. 
• In Term 3, we will be off to Camp Toolangi for two nights. These camps will take place from 25-29 August. In Week 8 of this Term we will be launching the Compass event for camp deposits and this event will outline the exact dates your child will be attending. At this stage, the camp is expected to cost around $400 per student. Please note, this figure is dependent on the number of families who commit through payment of the deposit. 
• In Term 4, students will be participating in a three-part incursion for Health Education. It is a wonderful program and we received fantastic reviews from the students who participated in 2024. As it was a pilot program, last year, the school subsidized part of the cost. This year, the program will cost approximately $40 per student.
• Finally, another expense for the year is our end-of-year excursion as part of Celebration Week. In the past, we have visited Luna Park, Adventure Park and the Sun Theatre. At this stage we have not determined the location for the excursion, but would you like you to know that this excursion has traditionally cost around $50 per student.

As per communications from the school, the Victorian Schools Saving Bonus of $400 is available to all families with school-aged children. This money can be used to cover school events, such as excursions, incursions and camps. If you require further information on how to use you Savings Bonus for school events, please contact the school office.

     •       Term 2: Sovereign Hill $55 approximately

     •       Term 3: Camp Toolangi $400 approximately

     •       Term 4: Health Program $40 approximately

     •       Term 4: End-of-Year Excursion $50 approximately

REMINDERS:

A final reminder that 5/6 students are expected to bring their iPads in fully charged each day (we have had a lot of forgetfulness this past week!), their hats for Term 1 and a drink bottle. We also want to remind families that we aim to have rubbish free classrooms and ask our students to take home any rubbish from their lunch with them. 

Have a great fortnight everyone!

Warm regards,

The Grade 5/6 Team - Christina Crosland (5/6C), Emma Chang (5/6E), Molly Hedditch (5/6H), Bianca Italiano & Bianca Russo (5/6I), Matt Eason-Jones (5/6M) & Brittlee Salvo (5/6S)