Level 5 & 6 

🗓️ CALENDAR DATES

🌱 Wednesday 3rd December - Christmas Carols 

IMPORTANT – iPads

As we move into the final week of assessments, please ensure your child brings their iPad to school every day, fully charged. Having devices ready to go helps students complete their assessment tasks smoothly and allows us to keep the week running efficiently. Thank you for your support with this.

🌱 LITERACY – READING

Students will be reading and viewing a range of news media this week. They will summarise articles, respond to comprehension questions, and analyse the structure and key features of news reports. This learning helps students better understand how information is presented in the media and supports their development as critical readers.

🌱 LITERACY – WRITING

This week in writing, students will present their documentaries during a whole-class watch party. Each group will share the ideas behind their documentary, showcasing their use of voice-overs, purposeful camera angles, props, and other creative choices that helped strengthen their message.

Grade 5 and 6 students will also begin analysing episodes of the much-loved TV series Little Lunch, as we continue to explore digital media techniques, character development and storytelling choices in visual texts.

Our Grade 6 students will also finalise their Graduation speeches, preparing to share their reflections, memories and achievements. 

What you can do at home: 

To build on what students are learning at school, families can support their child’s understanding of documentaries and media techniques in simple, meaningful ways:

• Talk about media techniques you notice - Discuss things like narration, camera angles, music, sound effects, transitions, and how these elements help tell the story. Ask questions such as:
  • Why do you think the filmmaker used that music?
  • What camera shot did they use here? How does it make you feel?
  • How did the visuals support the message?

🌱 NUMERACY

This week, students continue to solve a range of multi-step and open-ended problems. The focus will be on strengthening their problem-solving skills, identifying which strategies to apply, and explaining their mathematical thinking clearly. These tasks also provide an opportunity for students to revisit and consolidate key concepts they have learned throughout the year.

Students will be encouraged to draw on a range of known and effective problem-solving strategies, including:

• Act it out – modelling or using hands-on materials to represent the problem
• Draw a diagram – sketching visuals to show relationships or quantities
• Make a table or chart – organising information to find patterns
• Look for patterns – identifying repeated structures that help predict or solve
• Work backwards – starting from the end result to find the missing steps
• Guess, check and refine – testing possibilities and adjusting thinking

• Break the problem into smaller parts – simplifying a complex problem into manageable steps

   

These strategies not only support mathematical success but also build confidence and resilience as students learn to tackle unfamiliar challenges with a flexible, thoughtful approach.

What you can do at home:

Students can also continue strengthening these skills by completing problem-solving activities on Mathletics, where they can apply strategies such as drawing diagrams, working backwards, or looking for patterns. Regularly discussing their reasoning at home helps students deepen their understanding and become more flexible, independent problem solvers.

🌱 CBL

Last week, our Grade 6 students proudly presented their app designs in our Shark Tank–style showcase. After sharing their pitches, they will now spend time this week reflecting on their presentations, identifying strengths, and considering the teamwork qualities they developed and demonstrated throughout the challenge.

This week, Grade 5 students will put the finishing touches on their own app presentations, ready to present to their cohort and teachers later in the week. We look forward to seeing their creativity, problem-solving and collaboration shine as they share their final products.

Essential Question: 

How do we use coding to solve problems and create solutions in our world?

Guiding Questions: 

• Where do we see coding in everyday life?
• What is an algorithm and how do coders use them?
• What problems do we face at school or in our community that coding might help with?
• How can we share our coding project with others to make a positive impact?

Challenge:

Design an app prototype that solves a problem or improves an experience in our school community. 

🌱 HOMEWORK

Students are expected to complete homework on a weekly basis. This consists of

- 100 minutes total of reading a novel/factual text of their choice

- 3 (minimum) Mathletics tasks, which the teachers will assign

- 2 Nessy activities

This homework is to be recorded in the Calendar App on student iPads. Your child's teacher will check this homework on Friday.

🌱 BUDDY BAGS - Grade 5 students should now only have one task left to complete for their Buddy Bags, which are gifted to their 2026 Prep Buddies. This is the 'Nameplate' task that will be completed in school, once we know our buddy's name. Please check in with your child to see which tasks they may still need support in completing.

🌱 MEMORY BOOKS - Grade 6 students will continue to work on their Memory Book to reflect on their experiences at Wonga Park Primary School. This information has been communicated to parents via email, and is available for students on Showbie.