Year 5/6 News 

Welcome Back

It’s hard to believe that it’s already Week 10! We are so proud that our students have continued to follow expected routines, self-directing their learning through setting goals and working through personalised learning tasks to achieve our high expectations. 

Last week, we had the fortunate opportunity to connect with parents in our Parent-Teacher interviews.  This provided a good opportunity to discuss the initial progress of your child over the first term and their learning goals going into Term 2. As we move into Term 2, we ask for continued support in the learning of your child.

Literacy

Throughout the past fortnight, students have continued to explore note-taking as a key skill in developing a deeper understanding of texts. Students have used these note-taking skills to present a concise and organised summary of texts, and then compared their thoughts and ideas with others. 

In Writing, students have explored and practiced the structure of an information report and have identified the use of simple, compound and complex sentences to extend their writing. Students have continued to use the CUPS strategy to support the editing of their writing. As part of our continued focus on handwriting, students are developing a fluent, automatic and legible handwriting style, revising and practicing aspects of the cursive writing technique.

Maths

Students have continued to explore Multiplication and Division over the past fortnight. They have identified their individual learning goals and attended appropriate clinics to support the achievement of these goals. Our clinics have focused on efficient mental and written strategies for multiplication and division, prime and composite numbers, and factors and multiples. Some students also had the opportunity to participate in the first Maths Olympiad competition. We look forward to sharing further details of this in the coming weeks. 

Religion and Wellbeing

In Religion, we have examined the teachings of the Church through the use of Scripture and explored our understanding of the Triduum. Using their knowledge of Holy Week, students viewed and discussed contemporary depictions of Jesus, connecting these images to their own lives. As part of our continued focus on the social and emotional well-being of our students, we have explored the ‘Think, Evaluate and Choose’ tool to support our decision making processes. When faced with challenges, students used the tool to ‘Think’ and consider the options. They then ‘Evaluate’ these options, and ‘Choose’ the best outcome for themselves and others. 

Over the holidays

Over the holiday period, you can continue to support the learning of your child by: 

• Continuing to encourage a love of reading (both fiction and non-fiction texts) by engaging in reading together. Ideas include practicing reading out loud for fluency and expression, and discussing key features of texts, summarising important events and identifying the themes or message.
• Revising spelling graphs and diagraphs explored this Term
• Practicing their writer’s craft. (This can include writing letters to friends and family, writing about special memories of their holidays, collecting seeds for their Writer’s Notebook, and creating persuasive pieces on topics of interest).
• Engaging in real-life Maths opportunities - maybe they can do the weekly grocery shop - rounding, estimating, adding and subtracting items to make sure they have enough money!
• Continuing to use the Essential Assessment platform features (‘Sunset Maths’ for the automatic recall of number facts, and ‘My Numeracy’ for revision activities).
• Practicing their automatic recall of multiplication facts (times tables).

We wish all the students and families a safe Term 1 holiday break and a happy and holy Easter celebration.

Timetable

Please find attached our Week 10 Timetable. 

Learning Intentions

Year 5/6 Learning Intentions for Weeks 1 & 2 in Term 2 have not been included in this edition of the newsletter. Teachers will be working on these this week and throughout the holidays. Instead, Learning Intentions will be posted via Skoolbag Monday 19th April. Thank you for your understanding.

Important Dates

Last Day of Term 1- Thursday 1st April, students finish at 1pm

Good Friday- Friday 2nd April

Term 2 Commences- Monday 19th April

School Photos - Tuesday 20th April

School Open Day- Thursday 22nd April 9:30-10:30am and 2:30 - 3:30pm

Inter-school Sport begins - Friday 23rd April 

Contact Details

Emma Sbizzirri - esbizzirri@srprestonwest.catholic.edu.au

Matt Vernal - mvernal@srprestonwest.catholic.edu.au

Emily Jamieson - ejamieson@srprestonwest.catholic.edu.au

Shane Giese - sgiese@srprestonwest.catholic.edu.au 

We are only able to respond to emails Monday to Friday between the hours of 8am and 5pm.