Grade 5 News 

Upcoming Dates – Term 1

Wednesday 11th March: NAPLAN writing

Thursday 12th March: NAPLAN reading

Tuesday 17th March: NAPLAN conventions of language

Wednesday 18th March: NAPLAN numeracy

Friday 20th March: Harmony Day (wear a touch of Orange)

Thursday 2nd April: Happy Hat Parade

                                         Last Day Term 1 - 2.30pm dismissal

Important Reminders

• The Grade 5 maths curriculum assumes that all students know their multiplication tables. If your child is still working on this skill, we ask that you support them by finding some time to practice. If you would like suggestions about how to practice, please get in touch with your child's classroom teacher.

   

• Grade 6 Leaders will be selling icy poles each Monday and Tuesday at lunchtime for $1

• Hats - As per our school's SunSmart policy, all students are required to wear hats until the end of April 2026.

   

Grade 5 Specialist Timetable

Learning in Action

NAPLAN 

Each day students are preparing for Naplan by practising a few maths, Language Conventions (spelling and grammar) or comprehension questions to familiarise themselves with the format.

📖 Literacy

This fortnight, Grade 5s concluded their study of Latin based word morphology of capt-ceit- ceive-cept-cip meaning to take/catch/hold. We also learnt about the Greek form of ‘astr/astro’ meaning star and the Latin base ‘aqua’ meaning water. More recently we have explored the Latin base tain-ten-tin-tinu meaning hold, as found in words including: contain, maintain, retain, detain, entertain, sustain. Did you know that the morpheme ‘con’ is a prefix? Con means within or jointly. Example words are: contain, contribute, concur.

Continuing with the class novel, ‘War Horse’, students have journeyed along with Joey as he embarks on this incredibly challenging part of his life: War. Our supplementary reading of information and facts about horses and war has helped inform students of the reasons why horses were such an integral and valuable resource to have out on the battlefields.  It has been pleasing to hear students asking lots of questions and then going home to do further research, which they then enthusiastically share with the class. 

The students have continued to plan their narrative, carefully considering the problem that their character will face, and the steps leading up to that problem. We have had discussions around the relevance of the setting and character traits, and it’s been pleasing to hear the discussions between students and the revising and adjusting of details in order to ensure that each component of their narrative is relevant to the others. We have brainstormed pairs of adjectives, tier 2 vocabulary and adverbials, to include in our narratives, in order to enhance our writing and make it more impactful.

During Fluency Pairs, students are reading previously read chapters of War Horse to practise their reading speed and accuracy.

Preview for Learning

Students will continue reading and discussing War Horse and the related background knowledge. In addition they will further develop their sentence expansion and vocabulary. In writing sessions, students will continue planning and drafting the problem and resolution of their narrative, including revising and editing.

➗ Maths

Students have continued to build on their knowledge of Factors and Multiples, applying their knowledge to identify Highest Common Factors (HCF) and Lowest Common Multiples (LCM) of given numbers. They have followed flow charts to identify whether large numbers are divisible by 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. 

The routine of Maths Daily Review, which takes place four times a week, allows students to revisit and strengthen their understanding of concepts. This, plus Maths Masters for their number fluency, have now become embedded in their weekly schedule.

Preview for Learning: 

Students will apply their knowledge and understanding of multiples and factors as we move into our unit on Multiplication and Division.

Knowledge Rich

Students have continued learning about natural disasters with enthusiasm. Many have shared their real life experiences and connections and asked many valuable and curious questions. We encourage students to do further research at home and then share their findings with the class.  As part of building our knowledge, we have studied the organisations and services that assist before, during and after natural disaster events. Students have recorded which organisations offer which services and at which point their services are required.

Wellbeing

In Friendology, students were introduced to the quote by Michelle Obama, ‘When they go low, we go high’, discussing times when we could take the high road. As the saying goes, two wrongs do not make a right. Some examples the students came with included saying ‘hi’ despite the other person choosing not to. Returning a soccer ball, basketball etc, even when they would kick yours away.

During the cross country, students dug deep, pushing themselves out of their comfort zones, using their growth mindset of 'I can do it', and most importantly, supported and cheered each other on, including their prep buddies.

Grade 5 Teachers

Karin Halstead, Peta Alexander, Susanne Stokol and Irene Chalmers