Grade 5/6C 2008

Week 3 and 4

The ”start up” program is continuing - the tee-shirts look great and as soon as we get them and the head pictures completed we will add them to our blogs!  Students are researching a simple family tree to see where we’ve come from to get where we are - there are some interesting ancestors in our trees.

 In Maths we are doing some basic revision of the four processes, tables and place value. Students have learned how to set out their books to keep their work neat and easily read. In English, we have begun our spelling program with students learning their personal list of ten words each week, ready to be tested on Fridays. Students are also writing most days and we have begun the class novel, “Holes” by Louis Sachar. It’s very entertaining so far. Grammar lessons have also been included in the program.

I will be away from the classroom for three days, participating in a training course in Bendigo on integrating technology into project based learning. It includes more than 20 hours of online training when I get back, so I will be busy! I am developing a unit on government which we will be able to use later in the year - very exciting stuff.

Next Wednesday is “Hello Night” where we invite all parents to come to our school to meet the teachers and enjoy a tour of the room provided by their children. I hope many of you can make it!

Week 1 and 2:

Swimming. We will be doing safety and survival activities at the local pool on the first four days of the school year.

Testing: Over the next two weeks I will be testing students’ current levels of spelling, reading and maths. These early test results will help me to see where students’ strengths and weaknesses lie, so that I can plan the most suitable program for the class.

Start Up: We are “Starting Up” for the new year with a collection of activies and tasks to help students become accustomed to their new class. Some of the activities are developing a class Code of Conduct, some “getting to know you games” and a Tee-shirt design that represents each students’ interests . We’ll post pictures of the tee-shirts when they are done.

Camp: Most of our grade 5 students are going to camp from Wednesday, February 6 until Friday, February 8. They will be doing some adventurous activities such as abseiling, archery and canoeing. Grade 6 students will be doing some leadership work and meeting up with their prep buddies during this time.