Year 5/6 Team News

Hello Year 5/6 families, 

Welcome to Term 4! We have thoroughly enjoyed getting back into the swing of things, but cannot believe it is for the final time this year! It certainly goes to show that time flies when you are having fun. 

We have a jam-packed Term 4 calendar that has kicked off with 2 of our sporting teams playing in divisional finals. During Week 1, our softball mixed team headed off to represent the school and gave a valiant effort, finishing 2nd place. Unfortunately, only 1st place heads into the regional final. Our basketball mixed team also made it through to divisional finals where they too represented the school with pride. They played well, although did not progress to the next round. A big congratulations to them all! 

In Week 3, both the mixed and girls cricket teams will be heading to Fearon Reserve to compete in their divisional finals. We wish them all the very best. 

We that parents please keep an eye on compass for various event details throughout the term. We also ask students (and their families to support them) to ensure they are well rested as we enter a busy school period with various curricular assessments taking place. 

What’s coming up in the classroom in the next fortnight:

Reading: In weeks 3 and 4, we will be reading about various types of energy, making a clear link to our inquiry unit. Students will continue working on how to respond to texts in summary and analytical paragraphs. Students will also be undertaking one of our set reading assessments, known as TORCH. 

Writing: In weeks 3 and 4, students will begin looking at procedural texts as a genre. They will analyse what makes a ‘great’ procedural texts in relation to writing traits, such as, organisation, vocabulary and sentence fluency. Students will also undertake some of their writing and spelling assessments in this period. 

Maths: In weeks 3 and 4, we will continue our work on the Order of Operations and Algebra. Students have been moving through self-paced and teacher directed lessons to achieve set goals. If you would like to know more about what Order of Operations are, please use the following link: https://www.mathsisfun.com/operation-order-bodmas.html. This large unit not only looks at new skills, but solidifies all the work we have done on knowing our number facts and applying methods to solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. 

Inquiry: This term we are looking at a science unit: ‘What’s Behind the Switch?’. During our initial lessons to see what prior knowledge the students have, students were asked about what is power, and where does it come from? They also explored electrical kits, aiming to light up a bulb. This fortnight, student’s will undertake experiments, testing out materials that are conductors. They will learn to follow the scientific process of experimenting and record this in a scientific report. 

Willy Kids: In weeks 3 and 4, Willy Kids are accountable. Students will explore scenarios about organisation, behaviour and attitude and discuss the positive and negative consequences that can come either being accountable or not accountable for their actions. 

Respectful Relationships: This term’s focus follows on from last term’s around violence and positive gender relations. This term, students will be discussing what it means to seek help in regard to forms of violence and negative gender relationships. To begin with, students will look at types of scenarios when they can manage without an adult’s support and those that require the support of a trusted adult. Students will evaluate who their trusted adults are and the people and places they can seek help in our school community. 

Health Education 2025:

5/6 Health Education is coming in Term 4. This will take place at school with students from Grade 5/6 classes will be split into year-level groups. Students will attend three 90-minute sessions on Tues 11th Nov, Tues 18th Nov and Tues 25th Nov (Weeks 6,7 & 8). The program is run by Sex Education Australia. They come with a wealth of knowledge on teaching students the Health program in an engaging, safe and informative way. The program provides students with the opportunity to learn about and discuss significant transitions between life stages, particularly the changes associated with puberty and the changing roles and responsibilities they encounter during these stages.Content to be covered:Program length: 3 x 90 min lessons

• names and functions of reproductive parts
• the changes of puberty and how to manage them
• conception, pregnancy and birth
• managing friendships
• being able to talk about feelings
• simple discussion about the concept of consent
• key messages on ‘body safety’
• respectful and responsible use of technology
• trusted adults students can go to for help & support 

As a way to prepare for this program, SEA will be providing a parent information session via zoom on Tuesday 21 October. Details for the zoom session will be provided to all 5/6 families via email. 

We hope you all have had a great start to the term and look forward to another wonderful fortnight together, 

Warm regards,

The Grade 5/6 Team - Christina Crosland (5/6C), Emma Chang (5/6E), Molly Hedditch (5/6H), Bianca Italiano & Bianca Russo (5/6I), Matt Eason-Jones (5/6M) & Brittlee Salvo (5/6S)