YEAR FIVE

Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Primary School provides a range of holistic learning experiences to enable students to:

• Participate in the life and mission of the school.
• Deepen their knowledge and engagement with the Catholic faith and tradition.
• Build capacity to continuously reason, reflectively, logically and critically.
• Embrace interdependence of human existence as global citizens, who are responsible to and for themselves and others.
• Engage in learning in a multitude of ways, through personalised and self-paced learning.

Religious Education

Prayer, Liturgy and Sacraments - The Sacraments in the Service of Communion

In this unit students will deepen their understanding of sacramentality and the seven sacraments of the Church. They will examine the Church as a sacrament and study various vocations as a response to our baptismal call. Students will explore the Sacraments of Holy Orders and Matrimony. 

Our Sacred Scripture

This unit explores the Bible as our Sacred Scripture. Students review the great story of our Tradition: its significant people and events. The unit also introduces the students to the formation and structure of the Bible.  

Liturgical Year

The Liturgical Year enables Christians to remember and celebrate the birth, life, death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ. We will be completing the following key ideas:

• Advent - Advent helps us to prepare for the promised Messiah.
• Christmas - The incarnation and birth of Jesus Christ is significant for the people of God.

English

Through reading, creating texts, oral language and communication students explore themes around friendship, resilience, identity and relationships. The students will study the text Skellig by David Almond which will be used as a springboard to explore how authors use dialogue, characterisation, language and plot to develop stories and convey a message. Students demonstrate authorial skills through writing experiences  when creating texts. 

Students will follow the Year 5 Soundwaves spelling program focusing on weekly phonemes and graphemes. 

Students will read a wide range of texts in our Daily Reading Groups. A main focus will be reading fluency and developing comprehension strategies including analysing text structures and interpreting Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary. 

Mathematics

Mathematics lessons will be taught daily with a consistent structure of Daily Review, Mental Arithmetic, Explicit Teaching, Routine Practice activities with Working Mathematically skills embedded throughout the lesson. The topics taught in Term 4 are: Time, 3D Spatial Structure, Position, Number & Multiplicative Relations and Chance & Fractions. 

Science and Technology

This Semester, the Year 5 students will be studying the Material World strand, which focuses on how the properties of a range of materials and the way in which they are combined, determine their use and inform design solutions. Students investigate the different properties of solids, liquids and gases, and consider combining and separating mixtures. Stage 3 of this strand introduces students to fundamental concepts of chemistry and is an introduction to materials technologies.

History

This Semester, the Year 5 students will be engaging in the History program ‘Australian Colonies and Policies’, which provides a study of colonial Australia in the 1800s. Students look at the founding of British colonies and the development of a colony. They learn about what life was like for different groups in the colonial period. They examine significant events and people, political and economic developments, social structures and settlement patterns.

Personal Development, Health and Physical Education

Sport

This term, students will develop their movement skills, strategic thinking, and teamwork through engaging basketball and striking/fielding activities. In striking and fielding games such as baseball and T-Ball, students will refine specialised skills including striking, fielding, and catching, while learning to adapt techniques to different game contexts. In basketball, they will focus on passing, dribbling, and movement skills to build accuracy and control. Through modified games, students will apply tactics, demonstrate fair play, and work collaboratively to solve movement challenges. 

Students will also participate in an Intensive Swim Week inWeek 2 and 3. During this week, they will focus on developing essential swimming skills in a safe and supportive environment. Lessons will cover stroke techniques, water safety, and fun aquatic activities, helping students gain confidence and competence in the water.

In addition, students will take part in the Swimming Carnival on Friday the 28th of November (Week 7), providing an opportunity to demonstrate their swimming skills, celebrate participation, and enjoy friendly competition.

Peer Support

We’re excited to launch our Peer Support program in Term 4. All students participate in 30-minute sessions each Friday. In this initiative, two trained Peer Leaders guide a small group of 8–10 younger students through engaging, structured activities designed to foster connection and collaboration. 

This term, we’re exploring the Keeping Friends module - an enriching series of five sessions focused on friendship, empathy, and critical thinking. We encourage families to chat with their children about Peer Support each week. These conversations help reinforce the values and skills explored during the sessions, and deepen the impact of this meaningful program.

Open Parachute will then continue for the remainder of the Term. Open Parachute aims to provide practical support on mental health to students. The program aims to reduce stigma and generate authentic dialogue in classrooms about the real issues students face. The psychological skills-building exercises aim to increase empathy, self-compassion, self-awareness, mental health literacy, and self-efficacy in students.

Amadeus Music Program

Students will continue with the Amadeus Music Education Program and participate in activities in listening, performing and organising sound within their regular Classroom Music lessons. 

• It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they:

  • Arrive on time for each lesson

  • Bring their instrument and required accessories to every lesson

  • Bring their Essential Elements* music book

  • Bring a lead pencil and eraser

     

In music lessons, students will begin to understand music as an important medium of expression that can be shared both in groups and individually. They will develop an understanding of the roles of performer and composer and how these roles can be both separated and combined. Students will recognise that their work in class as both performers and composers can also be combined.

Creative Arts

Students will be working with Mrs Brown to explore key elements of design, with a particular focus on the Material World unit. They will engage with collaged work—learning how to create mixed media artworks. 

Homework 

In Year 5, students are expected to complete 40 minutes of homework each night. It is expected that your child reads for 20 minutes nightly as part of their 40 minutes of homework and record their reading in their diaries. Your child will need to bring their diary to school when their homework is due. 

A homework grid will be sent home in their homework book clearly outlining the tasks. Each fortnight there will be spelling, reading, religion/wellbeing/science and maths tasks to complete.

Please sign and check your child's homework and make sure it has been completed to the best of their ability and presented neatly. Homework is due fortnightly on Thursdays (even weeks).

Miss Francesca Formica (5Blue)

Miss Chloe Tozer (5Gold)

Miss Mikayla Duffy (5White)

Important Dates for Year 5

Sports Days:

5B: Tuesday and Friday

5G: Tuesday and Friday

5W: Tuesday and Friday

Library Days:

5B: Friday

5G: Friday

5W: Friday

Excursion

History Excursion on Friday the 24th of October. All details have been shared via Compass.

2025 - School Term 4

 Please refer to the Parent Calendar at this link to confirm dates

Dates may have changed after publishing this bulletin.