Year 5/6

Welcome

Welcome parents, guardians, and students to another busy 10-week term in Years Five and Six. Semester Two is a great opportunity for all students to consolidate and learn new skills.  As always, our door is open.  Spring weather will be upon us in no time. 

 This newsletter will be distributed each term. It aims to give families an insight into what will occur at the school each term. 

The 5/6 team for 2024 is as follows:

5/6M

Joachim Min Fa

5/6P

Daniella Polites (Mon- Thurs) /Nella Lo Presti (Friday)

5/6C

Rosario Corio

5/6DW

Sarah De Guzman-Wettenhall 

English

Each day, our students will participate in a two-hour Literacy block. The morning block has designated times for one hour of Reading and Writing.

Reading

This term, the focus of our Reading will be on comprehension skills using non-fiction texts. 

Students will read a range of information texts on different countries as this ties in with our Inquiry this term and will be taught how to complete the four different Reciprocal Reading roles of Summariser, Clarifier, Questioner and Connector.

For Reading Groups, children will be explicitly taught to practise and demonstrate many skills:  

Make predictions - think about what will come next and justify your reasoning

Self-monitor - Stop and make sure you understand what you’re reading. Does what you are reading make sense?

Visualise - create a picture in your mind, matching what you are reading or hearing

Reread - clarifying understanding 

Summarise - retell the important parts in a succinct way

Vocabulary - identify keywords and explain their meaning using synonyms

Ask questions - to ensure understanding and help you think deeper about the text

Infer - use what you know and what you have read to think deeper about the author’s meaning

Make connections - to your life, similar texts, and the world to help you understand the text

Writing

Students will be taught how to create descriptions and explanations of topics linked to their Inquiry learning (Geography) to create websites. They will also learn about researching information, using correct grammatical features, sentence structures, and vocabulary, and editing and modifying their writing for specific audiences.

Maths

The students will complete a one-hour daily mathematics lesson. 

The focus will be on Four Processes, where students will apply both mental and written strategies to solve problems, Data Representation and Interpretation, Time Elapsed and Timetables, Patterns and Algebra, and Geometric Reasoning. 

The students are developing their ability to articulate their processes and show their ability to solve problems using multiple strategies. 

It is expected that all students have a very good understanding of Multiplication and Division facts from 1-10. 

It will benefit the students greatly to practice these facts regularly at home.

SPECIALIST SUBJECTS

Students will have Music, Italian, Physical Education, and Art every Wednesday.  Please ensure students are wearing their PE uniforms for the day.

LIBRARY BORROWING TIMES

Students must ensure that all books they borrow from the library are returned on their Library day. 

Students must have a Library bag to borrow books. 

5/6DW   Monday                      5/6M   Monday

5/6P        Monday                       5/6C   Monday

Religious Education 

In Religious Education this term, the students will study the Seven Sacraments. Associated with each sacrament are signs, symbols, and rituals. Additionally, they will explore the history and culture of the sacraments. It will be a very exciting term for many Year Six students as they prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation, which Bishop Anthony Ireland will lead in Term 4 on Friday 18th October.

Wellbeing

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) 

Lessons will be explicitly taught weekly with a time allocation of 45 minutes on a Monday. Students will have a workbook to record their learning and be encouraged to practise and model appropriate behaviour in different settings. School Wide Expectations and Routines, Helping Each Other, Taking Responsibility for our Actions and Feelings, Having A Go,  Speaking to A Trusted Adult to solve a problem and Keeping Hands, Feet and Objects to myself are the behaviours and expectations we will be focusing on throughout the term. 

Our School Wide Acknowledgement System awards Class Dojo Points and weekly awards to students who demonstrate positive behaviours for learning across all school settings, i.e. (classroom, specialist lessons, playground & incursions/excursions). This will continue to occur, and it is pleasing to see how highly engaged and motivated students are in receiving their individual ClassDojo points. We will continue to use ClassDojo to welcome parents and carers into our classroom space, giving you a regular window into your students' learning. ClassDojo will provide a simple and secure way to engage with your child’s day-to-day activities and see significant milestones.  ClassDojo is also an effective communication tool that can be used for things such as announcements and friendly reminders. 

Inquiry

This term, the study scale goes global as students investigate the world's nations. They will explore and research the differences in a country's geographical, demographic, economic, social and cultural characteristics and how its resources satisfy the needs and wants of future generations. They will unleash their creativity with a partner by designing and creating their own websites using Google Sites to educate and engage their audience about their own chosen country.  Their website will be shared in an oral presentation with their peers and the Learning Celebrations in Week 10.

Homework

In line with our St Andrew’s Homework Policy, it is an expectation that Year Five and Year Six students complete the following as homework tasks:

• 20 minutes of Reading per night to be recorded in their diary (Title, pages/chapters read)
• 10-15 minutes of other tasks per night as set by the classroom teacher. This will generally be 1-2 weekly Literacy/R.E./Maths/Inquiry task(s) linked to our current classroom learning to be worked on at home throughout the week.

Our Homework program aims to strengthen home-school partnerships and reaffirm the role of parents and guardians as partners in education. It is an opportunity for students to reinforce and share their classroom learning and develop productive routines and time management skills.

Classroom Organisation

Below are some items of note:

• Any student who may need to bring a mobile to school is expected to hand in their phone to the classroom teacher in the morning.  All phones will be returned before the end of the school day. 
• Each student is asked to bring a box of tissues, Chux wipes, hand wash, and paper towels to contribute to the classroom. Thank you to all families who have already donated these items.
• It is expected that students complete 2 ½ hours of Reading at home per week with the following recorded in their personal diary (title of book, pages read/duration of reading, parent signature)
• Sports shoes are only to be worn on a Wednesday only. 
• Children are expected to bring their Library Bags to school on designated Library days. 
• Students are expected to use their Chromebooks at school and home responsibly. When carrying their Chromebook to and from school they are expected to use the Chromebook case supplied by the school. Please note that parents and guardians are responsible for monitoring their children whilst using their Chromebooks at home. It is encouraged that students use their Chromebooks in a shared space. It is an expectation that Chromebooks are charged in readiness for the school day.

Key Dates

JULY 29TH - AUGUST 8TH SWIMMING PROGRAM COMMENCES ( NOT FRIDAYS) 

AUGUST 8TH - MARY MACKILLOP MASS WHOLE SCHOOL 9AM

AUGUST 12TH - Yr 5/6 EXCURSION TO CHINESE MUSEUM 

AUGUST 16TH SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY

AUGUST 30TH -FATHER’S DAY STALL

SEPTEMBER 4TH - CONFIRMATION PARENT INFORMATION EVENING 

SEPTEMBER 7TH SATURDAY 8TH SUNDAY (9.30 AND 11AM) - CONFIRMATION COMMITMENT MASS

SEPTEMBER 16TH - PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

SEPTEMBER 19TH - LEARNING CELEBRATIONS -INQUIRY

SEPTEMBER 20TH - TERM 3 CONCLUDES

How to Contact Us

We would like to see ourselves as the first point of contact in regards to your child’s learning. Please feel free to contact us by the following: We politely request that there is an understanding that emails may only be responded to during working hours.

School Phone:  9551 5094                                 

Year 5 / 6 Teacher Emails: 

Daniella Polites: dpolites@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au

Joachim Min Fa: jminfa@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au

Sarah De Guzman: sdeguzman@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au

Rosario Corio: rosario@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au

Nella Lo Presti: nlopresti@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au

Kayla Puetz kpuetz@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au

SPECIALIST PROGRAMS

L.O.T.E. Italian

Dear parents, welcome to Term 3.

Years Five and Six students will begin this term by revising and recycling previously acquired language through written and oral activities. The focus of this unit is on travel. As a tourist destination, Italy offers a diverse range of experiences. A ticket to Italy will enable the students to consolidate previously learnt language and grammar. The students will brainstorm about travelling to Italy in small groups, considering factors such as seasons, climate, cultural aspects, holidays, and celebrations, and they will discuss what to pack for the trip. Students make illustrated posters of the new vocabulary - clothing items, toiletries, tickets. They then present it to the class using the following structures: Cosa metti nella valigia?  Nella valigia metto.....The students will learn the names of the nationalities of their classmates and, in turn, introduce themselves. Italia  Sono italiano India sono indiano etc. The students will discuss passports – their use, appearance, etc. They then create their passport using familiar and newly-acquired language. During the lessons, the students will play games, quizzes, and Duolingo and complete varied classroom activities to reinforce their knowledge and understanding.

Buon lavoro,   

Signora White                                                               

Physical Education

Hello families and welcome to Term 3 in Physical Education! 

The Year 5/6’s will be spending a large portion of Term 3 further advancing their Athletics Events skills, including the 100m, 200m, high jump, long jump, triple jump, discus and shot put. We will be working on these skills in preparation for our Bentleigh District Athletics Day, which will be held on 5th September, in Week 8. 

The 5/6 Swimming Program will take place at Aquastar Swim School Heatherton during Weeks 3 and 4 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for 45 minutes of lessons. Friday is a rest day. 

Towards the end of the term, we will transition to team-focused sports, including AFL and handball. We will practice our skills in these sports, including kicking, catching, marking, running, dribbling, passing, and shooting.          

Another goal for our learning space is to embrace positive sportsmanship for ourselves and others! 

Looking forward to a fun term filled with different events! 

Art

The Year 5/6s finished off the term flying their kites, which they enjoyed making, using diffusing paper with inks.  With the upcoming Olympic games in mind, the children experimented with white pencils and pastels on black backgrounds to depict figures from various sports. During this term, children will draw with greater detail and a more developed sense of context. They will mix more complex colours and tones and will recognise and experiment with warm, cool and complementary colours to create the effects they create. They will continue experimenting with mixing different colours to create shadings and tones using acrylic paints, water-colour pencils, crayons and pens. They will enjoy inventing their own style of sketching. They will also design artworks to assist their learning in their inquiry units of study.

We aim to have lots of fun and be creative!

Mrs. Bartlett

Performing Arts

Hi, 5/6 Students and Families,

Welcome back! 

First and foremost, thank you to anyone who contributed to fundraising last year. A very special thank you to members of the P & F, who generously donated the 2023 fundraising money to the Performing Arts department. I’m very excited to share that the Performing Arts room now has an electronic drum kit and 12 new full-piano-size keyboards. We are super excited and grateful to have these new instruments to expand our performing arts learning.

Students will initially complete a drama unit this term, creating their own Olympic drama sports story through a short script, using appropriate terminology and structure for script writing.  The students will then get the opportunity to perform their script in class. 

Later in the term, Students will be learning chords and blends using voice, ukulele, and piano. The 5/6s will be learning how to transition between notes and chords and how to combine these to accompany a melody. We’ll also be using the new keyboards to brush up on our understanding of treble clef so the grade 6 students are ready for the transition to musical instruments in high school.

Looking forward to an exciting term!

Thanks,

Mrs Emma Cooper