Year 5

Welcome back to Term 2. 

We hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable break. It has been fantastic to see students return refreshed and ready to learn. We are very excited for our upcoming Year 5 Camp at Lord Somers in Week 2. The students are already showing lots of excitement, and it will be a great opportunity to build independence, resilience and teamwork skills.

Mathematics

Following on from our work with decimals last term, students will be focusing on fractions and percentages, developing their understanding of how these concepts are connected. We will then move into our next number focus of addition and subtraction, with an emphasis on efficient strategies and problem solving. Throughout the term, students will also explore time, probability and chance, and measurement, with a focus on length and perimeter.

Reading and Writing

This term, we will continue with our Reader's and Writer's Workshop approach. We have read up to Chapter 20 of Tom Appleby: Convict Boy by Jackie French, and students will now be guided to use this text to support their writing of an information report on the colonisation of Australia. Our next mentor text will be Waves, which will support students in developing their writing craft. Later in the term, students will also write creative narratives. In reading, our focus will be on developing inferencing skills, summarising, improving fluency and identifying the main ideas in texts. Students will continue to work with their Best Fit Books during independent reading to support their individual growth.

STEAM

This term will be a STEAM-oriented term. The students will be learning about Natural Disasters, and in particular, cyclones and flooding. Students will learn about how cyclones are formed, their impact and modern innovations to withstand them. This knowledge will form the basis for the term STEAM project, which will require students to build a house that can withstand the effects of a cyclone/flooding.

Wellbeing

Students will continue to participate in our Respectful Relationships program (RRRR), with a focus on building positive relationships, emotional awareness and resilience. Through class discussions and activities, students will develop strategies to manage emotions, show empathy towards others and strengthen their communication skills. These sessions support a positive classroom environment and help students feel safe, supported and ready to learn.

Homework

Homework has been handed out to students for the term. As part of this, students will complete an Inquiry project on natural disasters. They will research a chosen natural disaster and create a 2–5 minute presentation to share with the class. Alongside this, students are encouraged to log their weekly reading in their homework books. It is expected that students read for 15 minutes each day outside of school. My Numeracy and My Literacy tasks have also been set on Essential Assessment. These tasks are tailored to each student’s level and are designed to support their individual growth in numeracy and literacy.

Important Dates

29th April - 1st May - Year 5 and 6 School Camp

5th May - District Cross Country @ Mentone Playing Fields

8th June - King’s Birthday Public Holiday

26th June Last Day of Term 2. Dismissal at 2:30pm 

We are looking forward to a fantastic Term 2.

Kind Regards,

Mr Groves, Mr Littlechild and Mrs Van Zyl

Year 5 Teaching Team