Year Five 

Dear Year Five Families,

It has been a busy and rewarding few weeks in Year Five! Students have been strengthening their literacy and numeracy skills, completing their PAT assessments and continuing to explore how marketing influences consumers. We are proud of the effort and progress they have demonstrated.

Reading

In Reading, students have been preparing for their PAT Reading assessment by strengthening their inferencing and interpreting skills. These were areas identified for further development following our earlier assessments. Students practised looking beyond information stated directly in a text, connecting clues and supporting their interpretations with evidence.

It has been wonderful to see this learning reflected in their recent PAT results, with Year Five students making great improvements since their previous assessment earlier this year. Students should be proud of their hard work and growth as readers!

Writing

In Writing, students have been developing their narrative writing skills, focusing on creating engaging stories with clear beginnings, complications and resolutions. They have been working on developing characters and settings, choosing descriptive language and connecting ideas so their stories flow smoothly.

Students have also been encouraged to reread and revise their writing, considering how each event connects and whether their readers can follow the story.

Mathematics

In Mathematics, students have been revising and consolidating their mathematical skills and applying their understanding to a range of problems. This revision provided opportunities to revisit key concepts, explain their thinking and strengthen their confidence before completing their PAT Mathematics assessment.

We were pleased to see good improvement in Mathematics results, reflecting students’ continued effort and developing understanding.

We are also making connections with our Unit of Inquiry through our second line of inquiry: “An inquiry into the economic factors that affect pricing.” Students are beginning to explore cost, unit price and value for money, applying their mathematical thinking to compare prices and consider how these factors influence pricing and consumer choices.

You can support this learning at home by comparing prices while shopping and discussing questions such as, “Does the larger packet offer better value?” and “What might influence the price of this product?”

Unit of Inquiry

Students have continued exploring our central idea: “The way a product is marketed may impact the consumer.”

Through our first line of inquiry, students investigated different marketing tools, including advertisements, slogans and jingles. They explored how advertisers use images, persuasive language and catchy messages to appeal to particular target audiences.

Students also used Aristotle’s triangle—ethos, pathos and logos—to investigate how brands persuade consumers. They explored how advertisements build trust, appeal to emotions and use facts or reasoning to promote products. The student work pictured below shows how they applied this thinking to identify persuasive strategies used by familiar brands.

Reminders

• As we are a SunSmart school, hats are required during Term 4. Please ensure your child brings their hat to school every day.
• Please ensure your child brings their fully charged device to school each day.
• Please remind your child to bring their water bottle, particularly as the weather becomes warmer.
• Beach Programme begins next week. If your child is attending please ensure they bring bathers, rash vest/T-shirt, sunscreen and a hat.
   

We look forward to continuing to build on this progress throughout the rest of Term 4!

Warm regards,

The Year Five Team