Year 5
Term 1 - Week 5
How lucky am I to be able to teach your children!!
They are working very hard and are really engaged in learning. I have been very impressed with their commitment to home reading - thanks for the support!! The students have been great getting their home spelling done as well. We have slipped very quickly into a really good learning routine. We are enjoying short sharp instructions, brain breaks and lots of hard work in between.
Grace, our LSO, has started small groups of intervention, using a program called MacqLit. Some students participated last year as well, and others are new to MacqLit. If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to contact myself or Grace. MacqLit will occur at least 4 days a week and we are very lucky to have our own small break out room. We had some excellent growth from last years students in this program, so we are looking forward to sharing your child's results.
Specialist times for 2026
Tuesday - Art 10-11am
PE - 11.40-12.40pm
Wednesday - STEM - 9am
Japanese 10am.
Parent - Teacher Interviews
Thanks to those people who made the time to come and see me for Parent/ Teacher interviews. It was great to get to know you and hear about how I can help your child to flourish.
Science
We now do some parts of Science in our classroom and it's bringing back memories of when I was a secondary science teacher! I have enjoyed doing some research. We are starting with Particle theory - solids, liquids and gases. Because the students had good knowledge of this, we decided to do an experiment, making rock candy. We are still looking at the results, take a look...
Hands on learning
I sent an email about planning some Hands on Learning. If you are not receiving emails from me, please contact Bek at the office. Your email may not be correct in our system.
Jett's pet
Jett was able to bring in his pet on a day that I was away. Take a look...
Literacy
We are enjoying our first Year 5 book, WarHorse. It's a book that is quite hard to read, but it exposes the students to quality literacy and lots of new vocabulary.
WarHorse is told from the point of view of Joey. Joey is a young horse who lives on a farm in England. A boy named Albert trains him, and they become very close friends.
When World War I begins, Joey is sold to the army. Albert is very upset but promises to find him again. Joey is taken to France, where he experiences the dangers of war. He makes a friend named Topthorn, but life becomes very hard. After a battle, Joey is captured by German soldiers and forced to do heavy work.
In the first half of the book, Joey learns how frightening and sad war can be, and he longs to see Albert again.
All our literacy is based around the book. We have written a narrative from the point of view of another animal and we are soon to write a persuasive piece.
Mathematics
We have completed a small unit on data and now we are looking at number and factors. There is a lot of language in Maths at the moment, but the students are coping well.
Religion
We have been learning about Human Dignity and recently had the opportunity to present at assembly. If you were unable to attend, we shared some examples of how we have shown human dignity since returning to school.
Every student had the chance to stand up and speak in front of the audience, which I think is fantastic.
NAPLAN Testing
In Week 7, students will take part in NAPLAN testing. I don’t want them to feel worried about this, it’s just one test on one day. I will prepare them as thoroughly as possible so they feel confident and ready. We have already looked at the format of the test, so students are familiar with what to expect. Our NAPLAN assessments will be completed online, with all responses typed on the computer.
I’ve been accepted into a Catholic Education Leadership course, which I’m really excited about. Unfortunately, the first few days fall in Week 7. It’s a four-day course in Woodend, and I’m choosing to see it as a little mini “break” from my teenagers at home!
There will be a replacement teacher in for that week, but they will be supported by Fiona Robinson, our Teaching and Learning Leader.
Thanks for the emails so far! If you have any questions, feel free to either email me at mwatson@sjeuroa.catholic.edu.au
Have a great week!
Melinda Watson