Year 5

                   Welcome back!

We trust you had a delightful school break and are geared up for a fresh start in the New Year! Our students are brimming with excitement and eagerly anticipating the array of additional activities and leadership roles that await them.

Inquiry

As we dive into Term One, our Grade 5 students will be embarking on an enriching journey through our history inquiry unit titled "Australian Colonial History". Throughout this unit, we will delve into various facets, including the colonisation of early Sydney, a chronological exploration of major historical events, the pivotal roles played by significant figures in Australia’s colonisation, and the impact colonisation had on First Nations people.

Homework

This term we will be working on reading at home with an option to do My Numeracy and / or My Literacy on Essential Assessment. This is to support your child to develop their capacity to organise themselves and prioritise tasks / commitments they will have during the week in their home life.

We encourage students to read aloud to their parents / guardians. This will help develop their reading fluency skills. There is a homework book that students will record their reading in which will be sent home on the 13th of February, it is to be brought into school each Friday morning for teachers to check.

Additionally, there is a passion project that each student will complete, which is used to assess their Speaking and Listening skills. To engage and start the year off right, students are to create a project about something that they are passionate about. This could be a sport, sports team, person/celebrity, animal, place etc. Students will then need to present their project to the class at the end of the term.

Literacy and Numeracy 

As always, key literacy and numeracy concepts will be embedded throughout our Inquiry. In Mathematics, this includes a focus on number and place value. The unit will encompass both whole and decimal numbers, and the four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Towards the end of Term 1 we will apply these skills to the various units of measurement. 

 In Literacy, the priority will be establishing the Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop processes, structures and protocols in our classrooms. Students will revisit the use of Reader’s Notebooks to track thinking while actively reading, and the daily use of a Writer’s Notebook to ignite creativity, individuality, and voice and choice in writing. We will focus on the narrative and persuasive genres and learn about the 6+1 traits. Described as “the fuel that stokes the engine of writing”, the 6+1 traits are the key components for how to compose, revise, and assess all types of writing. The traits are Voice, Ideas, 

Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Organisation, Conventions, and Presentation. We will also be learning and following the writer’s process.

NAPLAN

In 2026, NAPLAN will take place earlier than previously - between the 11-23 March. In the lead up to NAPLAN, we aim to best prepare our Year 5 students to approach the series of assessments without fear or worry. While students cannot 'study' for the test (as content changes from year to year), they can prepare by continuing to use and strengthen their personal reading, writing, language, and number skills.

Strategically, students will engage in weekly lessons across literacy and numeracy; they will have frequent exposures, and ongoing opportunities, to read, comprehend and interpret practice questions and materials with guidance from their teachers and peers. In doing so, we hope to reduce any feelings of anxiety, and increase feelings of confidence ahead of their testing. 

Parent 'Meet and Greet' Meetings

Parent teacher ‘Meet and Greet’ meetings will be in person and scheduled for the 23th and 24th of February between 3:40pm and 5:50pm. Please see Compass to book a time. 

 Important Dates

Monday 2nd March - District Swimming

Monday 9th March - Labour Day Public Holiday

Friday 20th March - Lightning Premiership

Tuesday 24th March - School Photos

Thursday 2nd April - End of Term 1

Term 2 - Year 5 and 6 School Camp 

(keep an eye out for more information on camp shortly!)

Kind Regards,

Year 5 Team

Mr Groves, Mr Littlechild and Mrs Van Zyl.