Year  5/6

Senior School Term 4 Update

Our Senior School students have made an amazing start to Term 4! They have settled back into our routines with ease. Their enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment to demonstrating our values have been truly commendable.

In English, our novel study this term features Blueback by Tim Winton, a beautifully crafted story that explores the bond between a boy and his beloved fish, as well as broader themes of environmental conservation. Students are immersing themselves in the rich narrative and vivid characters, participating in discussions that encourage critical thinking and personal connections to the text. Throughout the unit, students are engaging with various comprehension strategies, such as summarising key events, identifying themes, and evaluating character motivations. They are also creating information reports based on their readings, allowing them to synthesise their understanding and present their insights creatively. The response to the text has been overwhelmingly positive, with students expressing excitement about the characters and their challenges, and many are already making connections to real-world issues concerning our oceans and ecosystems.

This week, students have begun to explore a new class text, Boy Overboard by Morris Gleitzman. This new text explores the challenges of migration and connection between family and place. Students have enjoyed learning about Afghanistan, provoking interesting and rich discussions about key differences children experience in their day to day life across the world. As we progress through the text, students will continue to unpack new ideas and analyse the themes in the text to draw formal responses. 

In maths, students have tackled new and challenging rich tasks focused on percentages and probability. Collaborating with friends to solve complex problems has been a highlight! They have been developing their understanding of percentages in a range of contexts from understanding discounts while shopping to calculating the percentages in a range of real world problems. Students have loved learning about probability and conducting experiments to enrich their learning.

In their spirit of leadership and community engagement, the Year 6 cohort will once again be selling Zooper Doopers every Friday to raise funds for their Graduation Ceremony and Celebration Day. This initiative fosters a sense of responsibility and entrepreneurship while allowing us to celebrate their achievements as they prepare to transition to the next stage of their academic journey. We encourage families to support this endeavour by donating icy poles for them to sell, as every contribution counts toward making their graduation memorable.

Here’s to a productive and inspiring Term 4!