Level 5 Newsletter, Term 4 – Mr Chen, Ms Krsteska, Mr Males, Ms Graham and Ms Dell’Aquila

We would like to extend a warm Welcome Back to all Year Five students and their families. We have had a fantastic beginning to our term filled with excitement and eagerness to learn. It is incredible to finally be back into our classrooms with our wonderful learners. We are proud to share with you a snapshot of our very busy term ahead.

Literacy – Application Writing and Speeches

During this unit, students will reflect on their personal positive qualities and experiences that would make them a suitable candidate for a leadership position. They will apply this understanding of themselves to create formal writing that is ‘engaging, honest and reveals the person behind it.’ Further to this, they will analyse famous historical speeches that will guide their own ideas and structures when creating their own speech. In Reading, learners will perform deep analysis of texts by using implementing their understanding of the CAFÉ strategies. They will analyse written and visual texts such as, ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ by Brian Selznick and explore how the author uses the characters and the plot to establish a specific theme.

What can you do at home?

Share a job/university application with your child. Discuss the formal language that has been used. Explore what makes the author stand out in this application.

Numeracy – Financial Maths

This term in Mathematics, students will be learning about probability, geometric reasoning with angles as well as algebraic thinking and problem solving. In Chance and Probability, students will explore different sample spaces, tree diagrams and experimenting with finding Chance events around the home.We will also have a significant focus on visual and numerical pattern-making, the order of operations and extend students’ understanding of equivalences and variables with algebraic thinking. Students will also be the first to trial the new and improved SURF menu by selecting goals to apply strategies to their mathematical learning. Learners will solve problems using multiple strategies and justify their reasoning using new terminologies.

What you can do at home?

Have conversations with your child about the mathematics you use each day. Have discussions while shopping, cooking, watching sport, playing games etc.

Inquiry – Chemical Science

How do business and consumer choices around the use of chemicals in products impact the world around us?

In our Term Four Science unit, students will expand their knowledge of Physical and Chemical Sciences and later, connect this to roles and responsibilities of producers and consumers in society. They will deepen their understandings through a variety of hands-on experiments, theoretical principles and connections to real world issues. Encompassing this learning is our focus on Sustainable Development Goal Number 12: ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’. Students will research common products for potentially harmful chemicals, understand the negative impact these have on people and the environment, and aim to develop a solution or alternative for harmful production and consumption.

What you can do at home?

Prompt your child to look out for labelled (or unlabelled) substances in products when shopping and hold conversations around the impact of these chemicals. Encourage your child to take this further and research new alternatives for these products! This will allow students to make conscious choices about the products they use.

Vocabulary focus

Reversible, Irreversible, Matter, Molecules, Chemical Reaction, Physical Change, Substance, Hypothesis, Catalyst, By-product

Social and Emotional Learning

In the first week of school, Learners brought their creative energy to school to build social connections in the form of a Level 5 Community Spoonville. All learners were encouraged to acknowledge the challenges of the remote learning period and discuss resilience strategies that they could bring with them back into the classroom environment. This is a vital foundation for the learners in order to apply COVID-SAFE practices.

As students transition once again back to Face to Face learning, there is no doubt that a surge of emotions will arise. During this important time, the learners will be undertaking opportunities to apply for 2021 captaincy and leadership positions as well as begin transition into their final year of primary school. This is an important time for students to hone in on developing strategies to build their resilience, deal with anxiety and overcome disappointment.

What you can do at home?

It’s very important to reiterate the idea that, ‘if at first we don’t succeed, we try again’. Encourage your child to talk about their emotions and the reason behind them. Together, develop some strategies that can be implemented in order to improve resilience.

Reflection Time

Although Learning From Home was not our favourite way to learn, we all experienced valuable growth during these times. Here are some reflections from our Year Five Learners.

“I improved by becoming a more independent learner as I didn’t rely on someone to help me” Aki, 5B

“I have grown throughout the COVID-19 Lockdown by becoming more confident and persistent as I have had to resolve questions and develop answers more independently.“ Arya, 5A

“One thing I learnt was to have self-discipline by making sure I did learning.” Sehaj, 5E.

“Adapting to the new schedules and conferences was a challenge for me but it was really beneficial conferencing with my peers.” Mihika, 5D

“My reading and writing skills have improved and I have learned to adapt to changing situations.” Ishika, 5C

In Level Five we understand that reflection is necessary for improvement. In Term Four learners will develop their skills on how to effectively reflect against the Learning Intention and Success Criteria, as well as their academic and social goals.

Important Dates For Your Diary