The Grade 5 students and teachers have had a super start to our year together! We are very impressed with how well our students have settled in; routines have been established and we are well under way with homework too! We welcome Mrs Koudmani [5JK] to the 2021 Grade 5 Team; Mark Dinnie and Marie Leathem will provide invaluable assistance to our year level too.

What a week this has been so far! Our three-day camp to Camp Rumbug in Foster North enabled 153 students and 14 staff to participate in an adventure camp that challenged our students’ preparedness to ‘have a go’, build confidence and resilience, along with learning to work together as a team. The importance of building relationships between our students and with their teachers allowed us to work on skills that will enable our students to be not only the best that they can be, but also build on the leadership qualities so very important in Grades 5 and 6. Thank-you so very much to Mr Dutlow, Mr Brown, Miss de Jong, Nat Salerno, and Baden Harvey [Chaplain], who came with us. We owe both Mr Werner and Mr Tapscott a debt of gratitude for making themselves available to come on camp with us at short notice, when Mr Webster and Mark Dinnie were unable to attend. Many thanks to Darren Finger who also joined us on camp; we are all so very happy that you did!

Our English sessions this term have focused on setting our students up for success with their Literacy. Students worked through the characteristics of what makes an effective reader and writer, making the vital connections needed to develop a deeper understanding of these two major elements within our English program. We have begun working through the Notice and Note Signpost Strategies in order to encourage comprehension at a deeper level. 

During our Maths sessions, we initially focused on setting our students up for success mathematically, working with concepts about them that relate to mathematics. Place Value, the Four Processes [addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division] and Location activities relating to our Grade 5 Camp have formed the basis of our Term 1 Maths program. Students are always encouraged to explain their thinking and record how they solve the problems presented to them.

Our Integrated Studies unit of Community has been of high interest to our students; the focus has been on the concept of Government, including the Principles of Democracy and the levels of government. Throughout Term 1, our students attended the Life Education session, Relate, Respect, Connect, reinforcing our school values and what it means to be a good friend. We are looking forward to our KidsRoar sessions in Week 10, which will support our Respectful Relationships program. 

The Specialist classes our students attend each week ensure that their education is well-rounded; the skills they learn continue to enrich their development and learning. As a team we remain very grateful for the opportunities our Specialist teachers offer our students. We congratulate the many Grade 5 students who swam at our Swimming Carnival in February, made it through to swim at the District and Division levels, and are now training hard to compete at the Regional Swimming level. They have done themselves and our school proud!

As a team, we thank-you so much for your support throughout Term 1 and look forward to the exciting challenges that a very busy Term 2 will bring!

2021 Grade 5 Team