Glen Waverley Primary School Level 5 Newsletter

Term 1 Overview

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

A warm welcome to the 2021 school year! 

We would like to welcome existing families back to our school and extend a warm welcome to the new families of the Glen Waverley Primary School community.  It has been a phenomenal start to the year with our learners demonstrating curiosity and enthusiasm, while settling into their orderly learning spaces.

 

At the forefront of our learning and teaching, we are sure to have a fantastic term ahead. Please take a few moments to read what we have planned for this exciting term. 

 

ENGLISH

In Reading, students will be analysing persuasive texts to identify how the author achieves intent and creates impact on the reader. They will be provided with the opportunity to view a variety of texts throughout the unit from both student and adult authors, and compare the effectiveness of the different persuasive techniques used. There will be a close focus on language and how specific word choices help the author convince the reader.

 

This term in Writing, we are continuing our focus on persuasive writing, through the lens of the author. We will be looking to transfer the skills learnt from reading and apply them to our writing. Students will also continue with sustained writing as they are provided with the opportunity to write about a topic of their choice and in a style they desire, with the aim of achieving their learning goal. 

 

In Spelling, students will continue to identify their personal words by finding incorrectly spelt words from their writing book and inquiring into them throughout the week. There will be a new focus each week, such as; double consonants and homophones. 

MATHEMATICS

In Mathematics, Level 5 students will be addressing all three standards of the Victorian Curriculum this semester; focusing on Number and Algebra in Term One through Place Value and Four Operations, as well as Measurement and Geometry through Shape and Transformations.

 

Our first focus this term is deepening and challenging our students’ metacognition of the place value system so they are able to think flexibly with numbers. They will focus on developing their reasoning skills by justifying their thinking with concrete, pictorial and abstract strategies. In addition to this, students will continue to deepen their ability to transfer key mathematical concepts into ‘real life contexts’, building truly numerate students. 

INQUIRY

During Inquiry in Term One, students will be exploring the big question, “How did Australia develop its national identity?” This focus allows for a greater understanding of multiple perspectives throughout Australian History and gives the students a deeper connection to the way Civics and Citizenship operates our country.

 

Our learning will be extended beyond the classroom during our camp to Beechworth, where students will be able to make connections to their prior learning through personal experiences and collaboration with their peers. Upon our return to school, they will learn about the historical inequalities in Australia, the cross-generational effect and the way our country is working on reducing these inequalities.

 

 

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING

As a student-centred school, the wellbeing, thinking and resilience of our learners are of the essence. Our beginning focus for 2021 stems from careful analysis of student voice data gathered towards the latter half of 2020. This term, students will look into:

  • Building lasting and respectful relationships within and beyond classrooms;
  • Developing an understanding of ‘equity’ in contrast to ‘equality’;
  • And strengthening their understanding of ‘challenge’.

 

 

 To support your child’s learning at home, you could: 

  • Encourage your child to explain his/her thinking through multiple strategies when solving a maths problem. For example, you may ask “How do you know 13.7 is larger than 13.208? What strategy did you use? How can you prove that it’s correct?”
  • Encourage your child to read each night, both aloud and to themselves.
  • Ask your child what they have learnt about their spelling words from their spelling inquiry during the week.

 

 

If you have any other queries or matters you would like to discuss with your teachers please don’t hesitate to organise a meeting. Your child’s wellbeing is always at the centre of our thoughts and actions.

 

We thank you for your ongoing support and assistance. We are looking forward to a wonderful year.

 

 

Kind Regards,

 

Ivana Krsteska, Bianca Liburti, Trish Singh, Samantha Graham and David Joyce