Year 6 News
Reading
The Year 6 students have continued to read our novel, Wonder. Students have worked at creating deeper level connections and observations about the book. Over the last two weeks, students have practised determining importance, writing think marks, exploring our favourite parts and practised visualising the story as we read. Students enjoyed revisiting their favourite part in the story and illustrating the key details from that part, including the characters, setting and feelings.
“I think there are lots of important lessons to learn in wonder and has been a great story to listen to” - Ivy 6A
“Wonder - it's like hearing another perspective of someone different. I'm really enjoying the book” - Quinn 6B
“Changing narrators in ‘Wonder’ is letting us better understand Jack Will’s character- Taylor 6C
“ I learnt that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and everyone should be treated the same” - Khloe 6E “ Wonder has taught me it is okay to be different” - Jorja 6E
Writing
In Writing, Year 6 students have been exploring the 6+1 Writing Traits, focusing specifically on the traits of Dialogue and Organisation. Students learned that strong writing not only includes engaging conversations between characters but also follows a clear and logical structure that guides the reader through the story. They began by examining examples of effective dialogue and story organisation, discussing how authors use speech to reveal character and move the plot forward.We have been so impressed with the way students have used dialogue to bring their characters to life and organised their ideas to create well-structured, engaging stories!
“We should replace ‘said’ with more interesting words because it is important to upgrade our vocab” - Manraj 6A
“Knowing the different types of figurative language has helped me with my writing” - Levi 6B
“Punctuation is important when you are writing dialogue”- Georgia 6C
“ I have learnt how to use talking marks and punctuation” Carter 6D
“ We learnt that the word said is overused and we need to use different emotion words when writing dialogue” - Annie 6E
Maths
Students have begun learning about fractions and understand that fractions are part of a whole. They explored different fractions that make up a whole and looked at using numberlines to help them order fractions. To solidify their fractions knowledge students delved into fractions of a collection, and used prior knowledge to further develop skills in adding and subtracting fractions. One highlight for our students was when they used smarties to explore fractions of each colour in the pack. In the coming weeks students will be exploring equivalent fractions and strategies to simplify fractions. We are looking forward to seeing some more amazing work from our Year 6 students.
We would also like to congratulate Manraj for an amazing effort this year with completing the maths Olympiad, we are all so proud of how hard you have worked. Congratulations Manraj!
“I like subtracting fractions with different denominators” - Layla 6A
“I enjoyed doing Maths with Mrs. Rhonda” - Rimas 6A
“I found learning about factors easy and finding the factors of different numbers” Kawthar 6B
“Adding like fractions is easier than adding unlike fractions” -Adrian 6C
“If the Numerator is bigger than the denominator that means it is an improper fraction” Aarya 6C
“ I have learnt more about fractions this term than I ever have” Izayia 6D
“I like adding fractions” - Rami 6E
Auslan
In Auslan, Year 6 students have been learning signs for zoo animals including bear, koala, lion, tiger, monkey, gorilla, elephant, crocodile, giraffe and kangaroo. They also learnt signs for describing these animals, using features like size and colour. Over the fortnight, students built on their learning by practising WH questions including who, what, when, where, why and how. They focused on using the sign ‘because’ to give reasons and practised signing ‘want’ and ‘don’t want’ with clear facial expressions to show meaning. Students also interviewed their classmates using WH question signs to build confidence in having a conversation.
“Auslan is fun” - Elliot 6A
“Facial expressions make a big difference in asking questions in Auslan”- Brian 6C
“I like that it teaches you another language” Stephen 6D
“Using Auslan to ask questions is important part of communicating with the deaf community” Sarthak 6E
Inquiry
In Inquiry, Year 6 students have been continuing their Civics and Citizenship unit. They explored the division of powers in Australia and learnt about the roles of each level of government. Students were introduced to how a Bill becomes a law and demonstrated their understanding through a class role play where they debated and voted on a school law. Over the fortnight, they also examined rights and responsibilities, discussing how key rights in Australia come with responsibilities and how the two are connected. Students looked at the Australian Constitution and reflected on the importance of protecting our rights, applying their learning by creating a class Bill of Rights.
“Is important for us to all learn about government, when its time for us to vote we need to know how it all works” - Ivy 6A
“We have more rights in a democracy”- Anish 6C
“I would not want to live in a country without laws”- Abby B 6C
“It is fun and interesting” Izayia 6D
“We are learning different rights” Alisha 6D
“We should be able to learn at school as our rights” - Jagman 6E
Social and Emotional Learning
In our recent Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons, Year 6 students have been exploring power dynamics in relationships. We’ve discussed how power can appear in many forms, such as leadership roles, friendships, sports captains and group activities and how it’s important to use that power respectfully and responsibly. Students are learning to recognise when they have influence and how their choices can affect others. Through discussion and reflection, they are developing a deeper understanding of fairness, empathy, and positive leadership skills for building healthy, respectful relationships both at school and beyond. Students have also been revisiting the positive points that we introduced at the start of the year.
Year 6 students have been able to explain what worked and what has not. As a school we will be able to take this feedback on board and keep this in mind next year. Fortnightly we have been conducting cohort meetings, where we are able to discuss wins that have happened across the cohort and we can make sure all students are on the same page when it comes to the end of year activities.
“Im helping my peers make good choices so we all get to go to funfields at the end of the year” - Mason 6A
“Helping other students in the class is a positive behaviour our class does”- Lucy 6C
“I'm finding it all interesting” Izayia 6D
“It is okay for boys to like pink “ - Layth 6E
Special Event
On Wednesday the 5th of November Bonniebelle Oshana had the privilege of attending the Education Scholarship Awards, Bonniebelle was awarded the Hume City Scholarship award which will help with the smooth transition into high school.
Bonniebelle is a well rounded student who is the first to put her hand up to help, she tries her best academically and she always has a smile on her face. Well done Bonnie, you should be very proud of yourself.
“I was very surprised as I didn't know what was happening till I got there, I was excited to meet the Mayor. I was proud of myself for the achievement.” Bonnie 6D
