Year 5/6 News

Excursion to Parliament House  

 We went on an exciting excursion to Parliament House using PTV. We started by boarding a bus from Clayton, making sure everyone tapped on with their Myki cards. Our teacher reminded us to stay together and to wait until the bus had completely stopped before boarding safely. After a short ride, we arrived at Huntingdale Station, where we tapped on with our Myki cards once again to catch the train. 

 At the platform, we waited behind the yellow line until the train arrived and the doors opened fully. Once onboard, we found seats or held onto the rails if we needed to stand. Our teacher explained how important it is to hold on tight while the train is moving, especially when it speeds up or slows down. After a smooth ride, we arrived at Parliament Station, where we made sure to check the signs to find the correct exit. 

 As we walked up to Parliament House, we were excited for the tour ahead. Our teacher had asked us to focus on the “architecture” of the building, but Justin, our guide, also shared interesting details about its history. He pointed out the intricate design of the chambers, the sweeping staircases, and the tall pillars that give Parliament House its grand appearance. 

 We loved learning about the Green House (Legislative Assembly) and Red House (Legislative Council) and how each part of the building serves a unique purpose in Australian democracy. Justin explained the process of passing a bill, showing us, where important discussions and decisions take place. 

 It was a fascinating experience, and we ended the day feeling more informed and inspired about our country's government. What an incredible day out! 

Year 5/6 Celebration Outing: Learning, Laughs, and Life Skills at McDonald's! 

 In Week 4, our Year 5/6 class went on a very special outing to McDonald’s! It was an end-of-year celebration—a chance to look back on everything we’ve learned, the challenges we’ve faced, and to simply enjoy each other’s company outside of the classroom. After a year of hard work, it was nice to have a bit of fun together. 

 Although we didn’t order our own meals this time, we did have a choice between a chocolate or vanilla soft serve and some tasty cookies. It was such a treat! Even with something as simple as choosing a flavour, we got to experience a little bit of independence and make a choice that suited each of us. 

 The outing also gave us a great chance to practice our social skills in a public place. We made sure to be respectful, using our manners and keeping noise levels down for other customers. This year, we’ve focused a lot on being mindful of others, and this outing showed us how we can apply what we’ve learned in real-life settings. 

 Most importantly, the trip was about celebrating together. This year has had its share of ups and downs, but we’ve grown through it all as a team. Here’s to the end of an incredible year and looking forward to all the adventures next year will bring! 

Year 5/6: Acts of Random Kindness Victoria (ARK VIC) Workshops 

Our Year 6 classes are participating in the Empowering Leaders of Tomorrow workshops by Acts of Random Kindness Victoria (ARK VIC)! This program inspires us to grow as positive leaders and active citizens, learning how to make a difference in our school and community. 

Throughout this five-session series, we’re working on key skills like self-awareness, communication, resilience, teamwork, and community service. Each workshop includes discussions, fun activities, and reflections that make it easy to learn and understand new concepts. And one of the best parts? Skippy the Kangaroo! ARK VIC’s friendly mascot jumps into these sessions, encouraging us during challenges and activities, and making learning even more enjoyable. 

Year 5/6 Learning BODMAS in Real Life! 

 In Maths, we’ve been learning about financial planning and how to make budgets! We practised creating budgets for different events, which helped us think carefully about costs and how to manage money. 

To make learning fun, we’re using real-life examples like planning a party budget, figuring out how much food we need, and even adding up scores in games. Each lesson, we tackle different examples that help us build our problem-solving skills.  

To make it even more real, we went shopping online on websites like Coles, using real prices to plan out what we’d need and how much we’d spend. It was a fun way to understand how budgeting works in real life and to see just how quickly costs can add up! 

English (Writing) 

In English, we’ve been diving into the wonderful world of poetry! We’ve explored different types of poems, and it’s been an exciting way to play with words and express ourselves creatively. 

We learned how to write Colour Poems to describe things around us in bright, vivid words. We also explored Haiku and Tanka—two types of Japanese poetry that helped us practice counting syllables. We had to really think about each word to make sure it fit just right! 

Another fun part was rhyming! We worked on finding words that sound similar and making lines that flow together. 

At the end of this term, we’ll be bringing home our very own Poetry Anthology. We’re proud of what we’ve created, and we can’t wait to share it with you! Please take some time to read through our poems and see all the hard work we put into them. 

Garden Update 

We’ve taken our Multicultural Garden to a whole new level with a big delivery of plants from Bunnings! With the help of our parents, we rolled up our sleeves and got our hands dirty planting saplings and seedlings, including banana plants and eggplants. We also started adding Indigenous plaques and colourful metal figures of geckos and dragonflies to brighten up the garden. Year 5/6 students practised teamwork, learned how to safely use gardening tools, and discovered how to plant and care for new plants. Our garden is looking amazing, and we’re excited to watch it grow!