Senior School News

We can’t believe it’s already Week 6 and less than one week until 5/6 Camp! The senior school has continued to exude leadership and focus during the Term 1 adjustment period and we are excited for a promising year. As a new group of staff at OLGC, it was also fantastic getting to know more about our class and community in the Parent/Teacher Interviews last week.

CAMP

Next week (Tuesday 12th March - Friday 15th March), 5/6s will be at Alexandra Adventure Resort for a 4- day/3-night camp. The PowerPoint slides from Camp Information Night last week have been released on the Year 5/6 Parents Google Drive, but please contact your child’s classroom teacher if you need a copy forwarded to your email. 

Just a few camp reminders:

• Children need to bring bed linen (fitted sheet, pillowcase and sleeping bag/doona) and 2 X towels (beach and bath), as well as a plastic bag for wet clothes
• Maximum of 1 X lolly bag per child (reasonably sized, NO NUTS)
• NO CAMERAS - staff will be uploading photos daily to the Year 5/6 Parents Google Drive
• Your child’s medication (including paracetamol, ibuprofen, allergy medication etc.) needs to be in a clear plastic zip-lock with instructions and given to Stu on TUESDAY MORNING in the ATRIUM
• The forecast is set to be above 30 degrees in Alexandra next week. Please ensure your child brings a water bottle, sunscreen, hat and t-shirts (NO SINGLETS)
• Students are more than welcome to bring a book, mindful colouring book etc. if they would like to have some downtime during free time/if they struggle to sleep
• Please NAME ALL ITEMS children bring (including linen and underwear)

NAPLAN

Grade 5 NAPLAN - Writing will be held on Wednesday 13/3 for all Victorian students. Unfortunately, this does fall on the first morning at camp for our Grade 5 students as Alexandra Adventure Resort was booked prior to the 2024 NAPLAN dates changing. 

Students will be undertaking the test from 9:20am for 4o minutes on OLGC laptops under the supervision of Stu (Deputy Principal) and Tom (5/6B teacher). Grade 6 students will be with Chelsea (5/6P teacher), Carrie (5/6K teacher), Olivia (3/4 teacher) and Sabrina (Learning Support Officer) for the duration of the test undertaking free time (or an activity TBC). 

The remaining NAPLAN tests are scheduled from Monday 18/3 until Wednesday 20/3 (Week 8). All grade 5 students were sent home with 2 notices last Friday detailing the upcoming NAPLAN. If you have any further questions, please email your child’s classroom teacher or read the information provided at https://www.nap.edu.au/. 

Reading & Writing

In Reading, the students have been taking part in a novel study with each teacher. Mr. Brophy has been exploring ‘Out of my Mind,’ a story about a girl named Melody who has a photographic memory. She is incredibly intelligent however, she has Cerebral Palsy, thus is unable to communicate with others. Miss. Kudelka has been taking her students on the journey that is ‘Wonder,’ a story about a boy named August Pullman who has a facial deformity. He is attending school for the first time in Year 5 after being homeschooled. Finally, Miss. Perrin has been making her way through a book called ‘Fish in a Tree,’ which tells the story of a girl named Ally who has Dyslexia but does not know it. Instead, she thinks she is just “dumb.” We have chosen these books with the themes of courage, fitting in, being different, and kids who strive even when faced with challenges. 

In Writing, we have been learning about persuasive writing techniques and how to use opinions and facts to bring someone over to our side. We have also been practising NAPLAN getting the students ready to take part in the coming weeks.

Mathematics 

We have hit the ground running in Maths this year. We have already covered many topics around number, including place value, number facts, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division. With NAPLAN coming up shortly, we have also tackled challenging worded problems based on a range of topics. By the time the Year 5 children take on NAPLAN, they will be thoroughly prepared.

InquiRE

This term’s topic has been ‘Community.’ We have been exploring the concept of community through Australia’s politics, focusing on the government, representatives, voting, leadership and community engagement. In RE, we have been looking at what a community is and how other groups celebrate different holidays and traditions. We have been diving into what makes a good leader and a good follower. In addition, we have been researching Project Compassion and raising awareness and money for this important cause. On Shrove Tuesday, we made pancakes and investigated the unique ways other cultures celebrate this special day.

Buddy Time

The Year 5 students have been lucky enough to take part in a number of sessions with their Prep buddies. Recently, we got together with the Preps and took part in an activity where the Preps had to draw their Year 5 and the Year 5 would draw their Prep. It was a joy to see how much fun everyone was having in this creative activity. I always forget that kids are very good at telling the truth…no matter how hard it is to hear sometimes. I look forward to the next activity we are able to do together.

PE Uniform Required

Parent - Teacher communication