Year 5/6 Term 4 Overview
Welcome to the 2026 school year! It has been an exciting start to the year with a new look 5/6 setup, new LSO, new carpet and a Wellbeing Hub for us to use.
Our classes are as follows:
5/6A - Allison Bayliss, Tracey Farrar (Thursday) and Kim Wilson
5/6B - Marisa Box, (Tues-Fri) Tracey Farrar (Monday), Melissa Dominguez Gallardo
Religious Education
Our whole school concept at St John’s this year is “Shine.” We look forward to seeing every 5/6 student shine in their own unique way, through their learning, friendships and the positive contributions they make to our school community.
Together we will be looking at relevant parables and Bible stories from the New and Old Testaments, where the teachings of 'shining' and sharing our light, will be explored more deeply. Researching the Season of Lent will commence our journey into the celebration of Easter, where the focus will be on The Stations of the Cross, leading to Jesus’ crucifixion and Resurrection.
Health
Our first term unit of learning in Health will be closely linked to our theme of Shine. We will be seeking to answer our ‘Big Question’
How can understanding, appreciating and nurturing who I am - physically, socially and emotionally - help me embrace change and shine as my best self?
This question invites students to develop a deeper understanding of themselves and recognise how self-awareness supports confidence, resilience and growth. Throughout the curriculum, students will investigate their physical, social and emotional wellbeing, explore strategies for managing change, build positive relationships and identify their personal strengths. This will include a unit of learning on Personal Development and Sexuality. By reflecting on who they are and how they respond to challenges, students will be empowered to embrace new experiences and shine as their best selves.
English
This term, the senior students will develop their reading comprehension, speaking, listening and writing skills, based on the assessments carried out at the beginning of the year. During our reading time, students will be exposed to a variety of text types, to develop their deepening comprehension skills. They will have opportunities to discuss ideas and share their opinions about the texts. The students will do this in teacher focus groups, working with Ochre resources and through taking an in-depth look at our class novel, “A Ghost in my Suitcase" (Gabrielle Wang). Students will also have access to Reading Eggs and other online activities, to practise and develop their new learning.
This term in Writing, the senior students will be focusing on creating both Narrative and Persuasive texts using the VCOP strategy (Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers & Punctuation). During this time they will focus on developing the text structure of their writing and adding language features for emphasis. Students will write for a range of purposes and audiences. They will also work on spelling and oral language skills.
Mathematics
In Mathematics this term the Year 5/6 students will begin with a range of assessments and then consolidate their understanding of data representation, place value, properties of numbers, perimeter and area and solving problems using the four operations.
Students will:
- Create and interpret various graphs and tables to represent data.
- Acquire, validate and represent data to address a question of interest or purpose using software including spreadsheets.
- Discuss and report on data distributions in terms of highest frequency (mode) and shape, in the context of the data.
- Practise recall of known number facts and build mental calculation strategies.
- Calculate the area and perimeter of regular and irregular objects using appropriate metric units
- Recognise, represent and order numbers to at least, and beyond, hundreds of thousands and recognise numbers also extend beyond hundredths.
- Solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division including decimals and fractions.
Social Emotional Learning
This term in SEL our whole school focus is on Positive behaviour for learning (PBL) and embedding our matrix across the school community. For Year 5/6 students, this will include setting shared expectations to address safety in our learning and shared spaces, as well as building respectful relationships with our peers and teachers, and showing responsibility in our learning. Student leaders from all leadership areas will also have opportunities to engage in activities to develop their leadership skills over the year. We will also be moving to a new journal with The Resilience Project (TRP) and each 5/6 classroom will be participating in weekly TRP lessons and journaling to support in the development of their gratitude, empathy, mindfulness and emotional literacy. We are very excited to be continuing this journey.
Home Learning
Home learning will once again be given to students in the 5/6 area on a fortnightly basis beginning in week 4 of this term. They will receive a matrix of curriculum based activities, with occasional supplementary activities such as maths practise or spelling. Students are also encouraged to read on a daily basis, aiming for approximately 15-20 minutes per day. We see home learning as a terrific opportunity for students to develop and improve in their organisational skills as well as time management in preparation for high school, and greatly appreciate family support with this.
Year 5/6 Homework Expectations:
Compulsory activities: ● Mathematics ● Spelling ● Writing ● Reading
Presented in a matrix fortnightly
Recommended Time is 30-40 minutes - 4 times a week
- Year 5 - 2 Free choice activities and 4 compulsory activities
- Year 6 - 3 Free choice activities and 5 compulsory activities presented in matrix fortnightly
Weekly Specialist Timetable
5/6 A
Wednesday - Chinese
Thursday - Visual Arts
Friday - P.E. & Performing Arts
5/6 B
Wednesday -Chinese
Friday - Performing Arts, P.E. & Visual Arts
Please note in your calendars:
Meet & Greets - Tuesday Feb 10 from 3.30pm - 7.30pm
Parent Curriculum Information Evening- Tuesday Feb 19 @6pm
Founders Day Mass -Sunday Feb 22
Twilight Sports- Monday March 2
Labour Day (No school) - Monday March 9
School Closure Day - Tuesday March 10
NAPLAN - March 11 - 23
Interrelate Parent/Student Night - Thursday March 12 @7.15pm
Harmony Day - Tuesday March 17
School Photos - Thursday March 19
Last day of term - Thursday April 2 @1pm
All other school dates will be on the school online calendar
Communication
Effective communication between family and school is an important factor in a student’s learning. Please make contact with us if you have any questions, comments or concerns.
We will endeavour to respond to emails within 24 hours, during weekdays, between 8.00am - 5.00pm.
Allison - abayliss@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au
Marisa - mbox@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au