What's Happening in the Senior School
Year 5
What’s Happening in Year 5 in Weeks 5 and 6
Konnichiwa! Japanese Day was a resounding success! The day was filled with a dynamic schedule that included a fashion parade, origami, animal shougi, kendama, Japanese dance, wanage, chopstick challenges, hiragana karuta, anime drawing, and a Kimekai Karate demonstration. The mascot race had everyone in stitches!
Upcoming Event: District Cross Country
The District Cross Country is scheduled for Tuesday, 20th May. We wish all our participating students the best of luck!
Wellbeing and Leadership
All Year 5 students have now joined one of our leadership groups: Biodiversity, Coding, or Upstanders. Soon, they will have opportunities to conduct mini-workshops in Year 1 classrooms.
The recent 'Lead It' incursion helped students explore the traits and values of effective leaders. We learned about different leadership styles represented by animals: dolphins (the comedians), sharks (the driven leaders), octopuses (the planners), and sea turtles (the easy-going peacemakers). Each brings unique strengths to group dynamics!
Literacy & Language
Our students are continuing with the evidence-informed Word Origins spelling program, which focuses on understanding the morphological patterns (roots, suffixes, and prefixes) and etymology of English vocabulary. This term, we are exploring Latin roots such as 'act' and 'port', along with affixes like -ion, -able, -ive, ex-, and trans-.
In grammar, we're differentiating between direct and indirect speech and learning to punctuate dialogue correctly, especially when the speech tag follows the quoted material.
Our class novel, Dirrarn, will inspire thoughtful discussions. In writing, students are planning, drafting, and editing factual recounts.
Mathematics
Over the next month, our focus will be on understanding the properties of numbers and mastering the four operations. We strongly encourage students to practice their times tables regularly, as this foundational skill enhances mental maths abilities, problem-solving skills, and supports more advanced mathematical concepts.
Knowledge Unit: Science
In Science, we're investigating matter by examining and classifying items based on their properties. Our capability focus is on developing critical and creative thinking skills, with students evaluating evidence and articulating reasons for their classifications. We'll delve into understanding matter through engaging, hands-on activities.
Homework Reminders
Please encourage your child to read regularly. Students are expected to read each night and record their progress in their personal diaries, which should be brought to school daily. Teachers will check diaries regularly to monitor reading habits and to note important dates and reminders. Additionally, all students have been provided with Mathletics logins and assigned activities to reinforce their learning.
Year 6
What’s Happening in Year 6 in Weeks 5 and 6
The past two weeks have been full of excitement for our Year 6 students! They had an amazing time celebrating Japanese Day, dressing up in creative outfits and participating in fun activities like origami, manga, and a lively game. We also hope all our Year 6 mums enjoyed a wonderful Mother’s Day. Alongside these special events, students have been tackling challenging Maths tasks and continuing to build their spelling skills through the Word Origins program.
Wellbeing
Year 6 students are focusing on building a culture of inclusiveness by celebrating diversity and fostering a sense of belonging among their peers.
Literacy
Year 6 students are diving into the etymology of words, enhancing their vocabulary by uncovering word origins and meanings. They are also developing their understanding of apostrophes through focused lessons, learning how to use them correctly in contractions and possessives. To put their sentence-level skills into practice, students will be working on information reports, applying their knowledge in structured and informative writing.
Maths
Year 6 students are engaging in a comprehensive unit on fractions, where each lesson builds on their understanding of this important concept. They are learning to compare and order fractions, find common denominators, and perform operations like addition and subtraction with unlike denominators.
Knowledge Unit
In their Civics & Citizenship unit, Year 6 students are learning about the three levels of government in Australia—federal, state, and local—and how each level plays a role in governing the country. They are also exploring the process of how Australian laws are proposed, debated, and passed within Parliament.
Homework
Students are expected to read for a minimum of 15-30 minutes, five times a week, to improve their reading skills. Additionally, they will receive Mathletics tasks every fortnight to reinforce and build on their mathematical knowledge.
Reminders
District Cross Country on Tuesday 20th May
Division Cross Country Wednesday 28th May
Please bring in books you would like to donate for our Great Book Swap Thursday 29th May
