Classroom News

Grade 5 & 6

Welcome back to an exciting and jam-packed year for our Year 5 and 6 students in 2024!

Our Curriculum This Term

For Reading and Writing the students have revisited and re-establish the routines and expectations for Reader’s and Writer’s Workshops. In Reading students are encouraged to choose good fit books from our school library or class libraries to read, think deeply about and analyse. We would appreciate your support in encouraging your child to read at home for pleasure each day and borrowing regularly from our school library.

In Writing we will be supporting students to reflect on the types of writing they have been undertaking and its purpose. The students will be guided to challenge themselves to write across a variety of genres. We will also look at the skills of revising and editing writing and the importance of these steps in the writing process. Our writing focuses for this term will be narrative and persuasive underpinned with the language of the six plus 1 traits of writing.

As part of our ‘Setting the Scene’ mathematics unit, students have been learning about fixed and growth mindsets in mathematics and challenging their preconceived ideas towards maths learning. They have been exploring strategies that they can use during maths lessons when problem solving as well as engaging with positive mindset quotes to remind students to persevere when faced with new challenges. Our maths topics for this term are; Place Value, Measurement and Data. Students have begun the term practicing their fluency of number facts through partner games with their class maths buddies.

For our Inquiry unit so far this term, students have established classroom routines, technology expectations and cybersafety tips. From next week, we will begin our unit on space. We will have a strong focus on critical and creative thinking, personal and social capabilities, design technologies and digital technologies.

In our weekly Wellbeing sessions we will be re-commencing The Resilience Project with a focus on gratitude, empathy and mindfulness and emotional literacy. This is part of our whole school wellbeing program.

Parent Information Evening

On Wednesday 9th February there will be our Parent Information Evening where we outline the year ahead for our students and families. It will be held in the 5B for grade 5’s and 6F classroom for grade 6’s at 3:45pm. We look forward to seeing many parents in attendance to receive key details for 2024.

Parent Teacher Exchange Surveys

In the past week you would have received an email from your child’s classroom teacher with a link to complete our Parent Teacher Exchange Surveys online. This is a great opportunity to share any important information about your child for the upcoming school year. If you feel there is additional information that needs to be discussed, you can book a Webex meeting with your child’s classroom teacher for the week beginning Monday the 13th of February. More information will be emailed home separately regarding availability for each classroom teacher.

Reminders

All students require an art smock (or old shirt) for our weekly Art specialist lessons, as well as a library bag to borrow books each week from our fabulous school library. Please also ensure that all uniform items (particularly Grade 6’s with new polos and/or hoodies), lunchboxes and drink bottles are clearly labelled so they can be returned if misplaced. Hats are a requirement for Term 1. Icy poles will be sold each Friday in terms 1 and 4 at $2 each (cash only and no large notes).

Important Dates

Tuesday 6th February                   Scienceworks excursion Year 5 only

Wednesday 7th February             Scienceworks excursion Year 6 only

Wednesday 7th February             5/6 Information Night

Monday 12th February                 GRIP Leadership Conference - Year 6 students only

12th, 14th and 15th February     Parent Teacher Exchange Evening

Friday 1st March                            Whole School Photos

Tuesday 5th March                       Whole School Cross Country

Monday 11th March                     Labour Day Public Holiday

Wednesday 13th                            NAPLAN week begins for Year 5 students

Thursday 21st March                   Harmony Day & Holi Festival Picnic

Wednesday 27th March              Chinese Day

Thursday 28th March                   Last Day of Term 1

If you have any questions or would like to communicate with your child’s classroom teacher, please reach out via Compass anytime.

Thank you,

5/6 Team 2024