Learning Community 3

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks across the senior grades!

Our Grade 5/6 students will soon return from their Sovereign Hill camp, where they stepped back in time to experience life during the Gold Rush era. Dressed in period clothing, students attended 1850s-style classrooms, explored the mines, and gained a real sense of what life was like for the diggers and townsfolk. The camp perfectly complemented their History studies and brought their learning to life! Check out the sneak peek below!

Meanwhile, our Grade 4 students have been exploring what it means to be Australian through their History inquiry into national identity. They began by learning about Australian symbols and emblems, discussing what they represent and how they can mean different things to different people. This led to rich discussions around Australia Day, where students explored the varied perspectives of settlement, colonisation, and invasion, and wrote persuasive letters sharing their opinions on how this day is recognised. 

In Week 5, students began their ‘Celebrations and Commemorations’ projects, researching events such as ANZAC Day, NAIDOC Week, and Harmony Week, before comparing them to celebrations around the world like Lunar New Year and Diwali. These projects have encouraged thoughtful reflection on culture, identity, and diversity.

In Reading and Writing, all grades have continued learning about persuasive texts, identifying persuasive techniques and experimenting with language to influence their readers. Students have explored everything from advertisements and opinion pieces to creative persuasive stories — with lots of opportunities to apply their skills in engaging ways.

In Maths, the focus has been on data and location. Students have been collecting and interpreting data, comparing results using mean, median, and mode, and exploring side-by-side graphs. They’ve also been practising map and grid skills, plotting points using coordinates, and even linking their learning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander star maps.

It’s been a wonderful fortnight of learning, collaboration, and creativity as we move closer to the end of Term 4!