Level 6: Connect

It's been a busy start to Term 2 with lots of interruptions to our regular schedule such as ANZAC day, Curriculum Day, excursions, and Cross Country. We commend the students who have represented SEPS with admirable conduct. Class Dojo is proving an effective way to motivate students. Teachers have been busy giving away points for effort, behaviour, punctuality, and more. There is a growing sense of intrinsic motivation towards personal points and class rewards, which is great. 

Literacy

The students have been developing their research skills by learning how to refine a web search. We have also looked at alternative search engines to Google, such as 'Duck, Duck, Go' and 'Ecosia'. Students have learnt these alternatives have privacy or environmental benefits. They have been tasked with researching and writing an information report on a topic of personal interest. 

This week we commenced daily reading fluency. Every student has been partnered with another to read with each day. The same passage will be read throughout the week. Research has shown that this type of task has a profound impact on reading fluency and comprehension. As a team, the teachers are looking forward to analysing the results to further develop their practice. 

A reminder that next week we start work on the novel 'Wonder' by R.J. Palacio. Students are expected to have read up to page 50 by next Monday as part of their homework. A copy of the eBook is available on Teams.

Maths

Students have continued to work on their ability to use fractions, decimals, and percentages, interchangeably. They have practiced addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. There has also been a focus on proper and improper fractions, simplifying answers, and calculating with similar or unrelated denominators. There is more work to be done particularly with multiplication, so we urge students to allocate time to play the times tables games suggested in the homework and/ or speak to their teacher if they require more support. 

This week we have extended work on fractions, decimals, and percentages to include chance and probability. Students have explored the chances of different outcomes using dice and spinners. You could support this work at home by playing board games or card games, then discussing how much of the game relies on skill versus chance. 

Inquiry

Our History and Geography focus has been on maps, migration, and the impact that humans have on places. Students have started to examine the migration history of Indigenous people. They have begun to research the connection between healthy Country and healthy people. 

Students have created a topographic map of Australia. This involved using an atlas to locate places such as lakes, ranges, and high & lowlands. In the coming weeks, they will transfer this knowledge into their projects on a chosen National Olympic Committee (NOC) participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The rubric for this task will be distributed and explained next week. 

Interschool Sport

Sport training commenced this week. A reminder the schedule is as follows:

Coaches have also reached out for volunteers to accompany teams to and from the matches. Please contact your child's team coach or the office if you have a Working with Children Check (WWCC) and are able to help out. If we are unable to get the helpers to attend, sadly SEPS will have to forfeit matches and cannot leave the school grounds.

Cyber Safety

On Monday students were visited by the local police to discuss the importance of safety online. Cyber safety is not just about your child's behaviour, but it is also about protecting them from the behaviour of others. It is about privacy, protection, data collection, and conduct. We hope the students saw the value of this session and were able to feedback, to you, the importance of cyber safety.

Wishing everyone an enjoyable fortnight ahead. We hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day/ special people celebration on Sunday too.

The Level 6 Teaching Team