Grade 6 News

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The following Grade 6 newsletter has been brought to you by our Senior School Leaders: Jesse, Alaya, Abbey and Seb. We have been busy learning about many interesting things this fortnight so please read our reflections to join us on the learning journey.

Upcoming Dates

• 9/3 - Public Holiday
• 20/3 - Harmony Day - (Wear a touch of Orange)
• 27/3 -House Athletics
• 31/3 -Regional Swimming
• 2/4 - Happy Hat Parade
• 2/4 - Last day of Term 1 (dismissal at 2.30pm)

Reminders

• Icy poles will be sold on Monday and Tuesday at the Senior School during lunch.
• Canberra forms are to be returned to the office as soon as possible. 

Learning in Action

Literature – Once

Throughout Term 1, Grade 6 students have been reading a book named Once. Once is about an 11-year-old boy named Felix. He escapes an orphanage to tell his parents that the Nazi’s are coming for their Jewish books. This story is based in 1940 during WW2 with Adolf Hitler. This book is so fascinating and related to history; it makes you cry for the Jewish people. In the book we have also come across some interesting words in our vocabulary. Every day we do a number of slides related to the book, and on some days read a chapter. 

Currently in the book, Felix and Zelda (a little 6-year-old girl who Felix rescued after a house fire) have been marched into the city by Nazis as they look for their parents, only to be rescued by a man with a beard named Barney. Barney takes Felix and Zelda to a secret hideout in the city. Felix, who is unwell when he arrives, realises there are other rescued children living there as well. 

~Abbey 6AD~

Vocabulary Focus

Admire: To look at someone or something with pleasure.

Deserted: Abandoned or lonely

Scuffed: If something is scuffed it has marks from being rubbed.

Writing

The Grade 6 informative writing focus is on Poland. In our classrooms we took important notes and fun facts from the slides, writing them in our Text Level literature book. After that, we combined the notes and constructed factual sentences to produce our introduction. Currently, we are working on our body paragraphs, such as Land & Climate, People and Cultural Celebrations. Did you know that Poland has an embassy in Canberra? We can't wait to drive past it during our camp in Term 2!

~Seb 6IM~

Literature Preview

The work will continue on Once, including the information report, vocabulary and grammar. A great idea for additional home learning is to explore features that complement the text, including further learning about Poland, discussing the impact of war on countries and people, and World War II. These conversations not only enhance student learning but promote connection and engagement to learn more at school.

Mathematics – Order of Operations

In the last fortnight, the Grade 6 students have been learning about order of operations. We looked at doing various equations, and once we aced it, we went on to finding the answer. We also worked backwards using different equations, constructing pathways that made sense according to the order of operations rules. After we finished that, we went on to adding brackets, subtraction, addition, division and multiplication that made it even harder! We also learnt vocabulary such as equations and expressions. Equations are where the question contains an equals sign, and an expression is the opposite, which means there is no equals sign. I am sure there are plenty of Grade 6 students who can’t wait to learn more!

~Alaya 6IM~

Mathematics Preview

We will continue with Order of Operations for another week. Students will transfer their procedural learning into spreadsheet applications and worded problems. Following this unit, students will complete a short Area unit.

Knowledge Rich

In Knowledge Rich, we have been learning about Australia’s Federation in 1901. We learnt that in 1932 women were allowed to vote and in 1967 the First Nations peoples were allowed to vote as well. It took quite some time to make that change! Another thing is that the White Australia Policy was enacted in the early 1900s and was not disabled until 1973. This made migration difficult for people not from Europe. Plus, we were taught about the Eddie Mabo court decision surrounding Land Rights. We learnt about how a bill is passed through the House of Representatives and the Senate to become a law. Did you know that the first woman who was elected to parliament was Edith Cowan? This was a big deal in the way people were represented.

~Jesse 6M~

Knowledge Rich Preview

In preparation for our upcoming trip to Canberra, students will commence a Democracy unit. The unit complements our recently completed unit on Australia in the 1900s, honing in on some key aspects of Australian democracy, such as levels of government, the constitution, elections and federation.

Wellbeing

The Term 1 wellbeing program is centred around Friendology. Students have learnt about the way we are often are own worst critics and we discussed ways that we can shift that mindset. Similarly, students previously learnt about ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) and how we sometimes have these thoughts before thinking through situations using logic and clarity.

Circles: All Grade 6 students have completed their first session leading a Circles group. It is safe to say that they were buzzing after the first session! Just around the corner is the second session which will be aligned with Harmony Day. We are confident the students will maintain the leadership required to facilitate a Circles group, as well as exhibiting the school values on a consistent basis to be role models for their younger group members.

Optional Homework – Grade 6

The following activities are optional and designed to support learning at home without adding pressure. Students are encouraged to choose activities that interest them.

Mandatory

📚 Independent Reading: Maintain good reading habits by reading nightly. This can include novels, graphic novels, or non-fiction texts of interest.

Optional

✏️ Free Writing: Students are encouraged to get creative with their writing. They may choose to express their ideas in different ways, such as:

• Comic strips
• Short stories
• Advertisements

• Journals or reflections

   

🔍 Research: At school, students are exploring novels and a range of interesting topics across the curriculum. Students may wish to extend their learning by researching these topics further at home.

➗ Maths Practice

Maths Masters – Continue practising individual learning goals at home

White Rose Maths App – 1 Minute Maths (multiplication or division)

NRich – Explore problem-solving activities: https://nrich.maths.org/

Times Table Rock Stars - https://ttrockstars.com/

⌨️ Handwriting / Typing

Develop touch-typing skills https://www.typingclub.com/

Kind regards,

The Grade 6 Team

Melissa Adams, Caillin Ibbotson, Craig McKenzie, Lisa Dealy & Chloe McElroy