Learning and Curriculum Primary - Stage 3
Common Grade Scale
The Common Grade Scale shown below is used to report student achievement in primary years in all NSW schools. The Common Grade Scale describes performance at each of the five grade levels.
A large focus throughout this semester has been on teacher feedback in class and through assessments. Assessment Tasks are used to inform overall grades along with teacher professional judgement as part of student learning to track and monitor student progress. It is timely to reflect on assessment tasks that have gone home as we edge closer to Semester 1 reports being made available by the end of Week 8, Term 2. Further information can be found here.
Grade | Description |
A | The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations. |
B | The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations. |
C | The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills. |
D | The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills. |
E | The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills. |
Year 5 Science and Technology
Year 5 are again focusing on the Living World strand this term, building on their knowledge of the growth and survival of living things in Term 1 to how and why food and fibre are produced in sustainable, managed environments that enable people to grow and be healthy in Term 2.
Year 6 Geography
Students are exploring countries of the Asia region, and the connections Australia has with other countries across the world. They learn about the diversity of the world’s people, including the Indigenous peoples of other countries. Students explore and reflect upon similarities, differences, and the importance of intercultural understanding.
Daniel Fields Sarah Tatola
Head of Curriculum (Stage 3) Head of Teaching and Learning (Stage 3)
Class Spotlight
5 Blue
In Physical Education, we are learning about football skills such as dribbling and working as part of a team. - Luca S
In Science and Technology we are learning about food and fibre production, and I am enjoying exploring the life cycle of products, including the production line. - Dylan C
As part of English, we are using our knowledge of persuasive devices and techniques to write and deliver a speech. My focus is Learning from the Past, exploring F1 racing. I have researched how sport has changed over time, particularly the safety aspects. - Tate Q.
6 Blue
My topic for my persuasive speech is 'Food is key to the heart'. I have been researching food memory and how it can affect you physically and emotionally. The main aim of my speech is to persuade my audience that food has the power to bring people together - Cooper G
This term in Geography we have been learning about the diverse features of Asia. We have been working on climate graphs and comparing features such as trade, imports and exports to Australia. - Luca O
This term in Science and Technology we are learning about kinetic and potential energy by creating a marble run. We need to understand the role of energy transformation and electrical circuits to complete this task successfully. - Nicholas C
Da Vinci Decathlon Review
On Thursday 16 May Year 5 and 6 attended the Da Vinci Decathlon at Knox Grammar School. The Da Vinci Decathlon is a competition where 8 students in Year 5 and Year 6 from lots of schools compete in 10 disciplines: Mathematics, Science, Ideation, Creative Producers, Code Breaking, Cartography, English, Engineering, Art and Poetry and Legacy.
On the bus ride there you might expect us to be practicing and preparing but no. We were 16 kids in a bus making jokes and having fun. When we got there the big day started. We all started working. When we started, we realised the need for teamwork in these challenging tests. You could have been the smartest person there. But if you didn’t have teamwork it meant nothing. Slowly we finished our disciplines but, the time ticked down fast. In the blink of an eye the countdown started. 10, 9, 8, 7, it sounded like 10,000 people shouting at the top of their lungs. 6, 5, 4, 3, relief and anxiety rushed over us. 2, 1, 0, the first session was over, only 2 more to go. After recess session 2 started. Art and poetry were rushing with only 30 minutes when some subjects had 1 hour and 30 minutes. Being in a noisy hall with over 1400 students was incredibly stressful. It wasn’t long before we were called up for creative producers and produced a wonderful act. When we returned Art and Poetry, and Engineering’s time was already up. You can imagine us, 8 people working on 2 of the hardest papers, involving everyone was getting overwhelming but time doesn’t wait for you. Suddenly, the room was an earthquake of noise and emotions. The finish came easier as we knew what to expect and all of a sudden only 1 obstacle stood between us and the results.
The final session, all that we’d practiced and researched for was finally going to be used. Everybody was going to work on a single paper, 1 scribe and 7 people working together. With a leap of faith, the timer started. With 30 minutes on the clock everyone was stressed but we were confident we could finish, after all we spent weeks researching. As we finally settled down with a finished paper the time went off. The stressful day ended, but the results were yet to come.
1400 students sitting in a hall waiting for the results. When they came the results flew past, 1st 2nd and 3rd were being announced, left and right. Only 3 subjects were left, and we were longing to hear our school get announced. They were up to ideation. “Ideation 3rd place... St Patrick's College.” We couldn’t believe we came 3rd in the state for Ideation. The day had come to an end, and we were going home, still shocked about coming 3rd. We could all agree our favorite subject was Ideation, and we enjoyed this challenging day.
Cormac Wolfenden and Alexander Madejski
Year 5