Year Five News

Term 1 in Year 5

Welcome to 2025! It’s been great seeing how well the students have settled into the new school year. 

We have begun the year implementing class-building activities, incorporating our school Values, along with focusing on creating the optimal environment for learning by focusing on effort and having a growth mindset. There has also been an emphasis on using digital technology responsibly.

Our exciting extra-curricular events have begun promptly this term, with grade five students already having had an opportunity to represent their school in swimming. We will have cross-country trials in week 4 where selected students will have the opportunity to represent our school in the interschool cross-country later in the year. Towards the end of the term, grade 5 students will have the opportunity to try the four different winter intra-school sports, (football, soccer, netball and basketball), during our senior school sports program.  

In weeks seven and eight, our students will complete NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy). A timetable is being developed and will be shared later in the term. At Footscray West Primary School, we encourage all students to participate in NAPLAN and try their personal best. The Year fives will also be presenting at assembly towards the end of the term.

Reading

During Term 1, students will:

• Participate in reading activities that investigate different text types to answer comprehension questions
• Engage in comprehensive novel studies using Morris Gleitzman's "Boy Overboard" to develop comprehension skills, such as summarizing, making connections, and critical thinking

Writing

At FWPS, the emphasis is on developing writing abilities based on the principles of The Writing Revolution and integrating them with the Writing Process to generate high-quality texts. We will enhance these skills through various writing exercises.

Numeracy

The areas that will be covered this term are:

• Place Value - recognising, renaming and rounding whole numbers and decimals
• Addition and Subtraction - applying a range of mental strategies to solve problems
• Measurement - measuring and converting units of length and time
• Geometry - exploring 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes and how their properties are connected 
• Data and Probability - interpreting data, creating graphs and investigating outcomes of chance experiments

Whilst new topics of Mathematics will be introduced throughout the year, these learning areas will be revisited multiple times in the Daily Review to give students multiple opportunities to practise their skills.

Units of Work

Our units of work will focus on developing our personal and social capabilities by building positive relationships and collaborative skills. In Science, we will be exploring chemical properties and reactions through a range of experiments in the classroom. Students will develop an understanding of the following concepts:

• Working in collaborative groups 
• Observing and scientifically recording the different ways solids, liquids and gases behave
• Classifying solids, liquids and gases by their observable properties
• Investigating leaders in science by reading about the achievements of Marie Curie

Homework

Homework will commence in week four and can be found in your child’s Google Classroom. If your child does not have access to a device or the internet, a paper copy can be distributed.

Students are expected to:

• Read for a daily minimum of 30 minutes, 5 times a week 
• Complete 2 Essential Assessment (Maths) tasks per week

Wellbeing

In our Respectful Relationships and Body Safety lessons, students will be looking at:

• Emotional Literacy 
• Personal Strengths 
• Bodily autonomy, consent and our safety networks 

If you would like further information about Respectful Relationships, please see the Department of Education Website.

Friendly Reminders

• Students require a bucket hat / wide-brim hat during this term
• We would greatly appreciate donations of tissue boxes for your child’s classroom (thank you to those who have already donated!)
• Please refer to the Dates to Remember in the Newsletter to stay up to date with events this term

If you have any questions, you can contact your child’s teacher using the email button through Compass. 

Tim, Dan, Helena & Lauren

Grade 5 Team