5/6 Learning Community News
Dear Parents, Carers, and EPS Community,
We are pleased to present the latest school newsletter. This fortnightly update is the go to source for detailed information, future events and student accomplishments in the 5/6 community. In Literacy, we have been reading a book called Tom Appleby, Convict Boy. In numeracy we have been focusing on square and cube numbers. Sports events, such as the soccer round robin and Gala Day were a hit with the ⅚ students. Please read below for further information.
-by Oliva T and Olivia F
Literacy
In Literacy, students have engaged in a variety of activities to strengthen their reading, writing and comprehension skills. We are exploring the marvellous Tom Appleby, Convict Boy by Jackie French. Group discussions and critical thinking helped students to express their reading ideas with confidence. We analysed key themes and practiced writing information texts about particular topics. The grade 5 students are building on their writing skills for NAPLAN while the grade 6 students honed their prior knowledge. It has been wonderful to see a positive attitude in overall learning and growth in both reading and writing skills.
-by Luca F
Numeracy
Currently in Numeracy, students are learning about Cartesian Planes and using negative numbers in equations. Did you know that the square of a negative number is a positive number? For example, if you put (-3)^2 in a calculator, it will respond with 9. Meanwhile, 2D Cartesian Planes have an X axis and a Y axis. The Y axis goes up while the X axis goes to the right, so (-5,5) would be -5 units to the right and 5 units up. There is also a more challenging program called the Victorian High Ability Program for some students. We learnt about base 2, or binary. Binary only uses two numbers, 0 and 1. Just like base 10, or what we use normally, Binary has infinite zeros extending left. Also, each 1 or 0 in binary represents a number of a certain power of 2.
- by Oliver Z
Sport and Outdoor Education
In ⅚ we have been starting to increase our ability to play sport that is less associated on the average school day. This is why we have Gala Day, which is a program that allows students from different schools to be selected and play friendly and supervised games against each other. I personally found it to be a fun and exhilarating way to spend time with my peers as we come together as a community to compete with other schools. This event happens every Friday of this month during school hours. It would be kindly appreciated if you could take time out of your day to volunteer and come along with us on our trip.
Gala day has a variety of sports including, volleyball, cricket, softball, tennis and recreational sports. In these sports we have an even amount of both grade fives and grade sixes. Students have been practising lawnballs and this week will be taking on swimming. Regardless of the sport everyone has had a good time and we just want to congratulate everyone for trying out a new sport and discovering possible new hobbies.
In grade ⅚ we have a soccer tournament called the Round Robin where anyone can join and have a go. The Round Robin is a non competitive event that has four teams that are equal so everyone has fun, then we change the teams slightly so you play with people you don’t know. The round robin is about having fun and playing your best. This teaches people to be more cooperative when they play sports.
Xander - “Most of the teams are trying to have fun and other teams are trying to win.”
Lachlan - “My thoughts are that it is a fun and engaging experience for anyone who wants to play.”
Aiden - “I think that the soccer tournament is a great way to engage with your peers, and play a fun game of soccer.”
- By Aiden K and Lachlan M
