Year 5/6

Welcome back!

We trust you had a delightful school break and are geared up for a fresh start in the New Year! Our students are brimming with excitement and eagerly anticipating the array of additional activities and leadership roles that await them.

Buddies

The Year 6 students were extremely excited to meet their Foundation buddies last week. The buddies can play together at recess and lunch  and on certain days throughout the year. This can be beneficial for the Foundation students at the beginning of the year, as the Year 6s provide a friendly and known face out in the yard. The buddies will also continue to do a variety of activities throughout the year. 

Inquiry

As we dive into Term One, our 5/6 students will be embarking on an enriching journey through our history inquiry unit titled "The History of Melbourne". Throughout this unit, we will delve into various facets, including the colonisation of Melbourne, a chronological exploration of major historical events, the pivotal roles played by significant figures in Melbourne's colonisation, and the impact colonisation had on First Nations people.

Homework

This term we will be working on one project-based homework task. This is to support your child to develop the capacity to organise and prioritise the sequence of steps required for the completion of the project by the due date. 

To engage and start the year off right, students are to create a project about something that they are passionate about. This could be a sport, sports team, person/celebrity, animal, place etc. Students will then need to present their project to the class at the end of the term.

Literacy and Numeracy 

As always, key literacy and numeracy concepts will be embedded throughout our Inquiry. In Mathematics, this includes a focus on number and place value. The unit will encompass both whole and decimal numbers, and the four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Towards the end of Term 1 we will apply these skills to the various units of measurement. 

In Literacy, the priority will be establishing the Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop processes, structures and protocols in our classrooms. Students will revisit the use of Reader’s Notebooks to track thinking while actively reading, and the daily use of a Writer’s Notebook to ignite creativity, individuality, and voice and choice in writing. 

We will focus on the narrative and persuasive genres and learn about the 6+1 traits. Described as “the fuel that stokes the engine of writing”, the 6+1 traits are the key components for how to compose, revise, and assess all types of writing. The traits are Voice, Ideas, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Organisation, Conventions, and Presentation.

NAPLAN

In 2024, NAPLAN will take place earlier than previously - between the 11-23 March. In the lead up to NAPLAN, we aim to best prepare our Year 5 students to approach the series of assessments without fear or worry. While students cannot 'study' for the test (as content changes from year to year), they can prepare by continuing to use and strengthen their personal reading, writing, language, and number skills.

Strategically, students will engage in weekly lessons across literacy and numeracy; they will have frequent exposures, and ongoing opportunities, to read, comprehend and interpret practice questions and materials with guidance from their teachers and peers. In doing so, we hope to reduce any feelings of anxiety, and increase feelings of confidence ahead of their testing. 

Parent 'Meet and Greet' Meetings

Parent teacher ‘Meet and Greet’ meetings will be in person and scheduled for the 20th and 27th of February between 3:40pm and 5:50pm. Please see Compass to book a time. 

Important Dates

Monday 4th March - District Swimming

Monday 11th March - Labour Day Public Holiday

Thursday 21st March - School Photos

Friday 23nd March – Lightning Premiership

Wednesday 27th March - Excursion to Cheltenham Secondary College

Thursday 28th March - End of Term 1

Thursday 18th April – Space Incursion

Term 2 Week 2 - Year 5 and 6 School Camp 

(keep an eye out for more information on camp shortly!)

Don't hesitate to contact your child's teacher for any questions or concerns.

The Senior School Team