Graduation:
This coming Monday, the 12th of December, is the year 6 student graduation. Please be at school by 6.15 and meet in the prep rooms ready for a 6.30 commencement. The graduation ceremony will be run as followed:

• BSC Award
• School Captains speeches
• Lisa Neville awards
• Year 6 speeches
• Values awards
• Presentation
• Graduation song
• End of ceremony

There is no ‘dress code’ just dress smart and respectful.

Numeracy:
As the year is coming to an end, and we are entering the festive season, we have intertwined maths and Christmas to create a money maths unit. The students have been creating Christmas wish lists and keeping a running total.
 
Reading:
During our Reader’s Workshop sessions we have been revising all of our comprehension strategies. Each day we have studied a different strategy and applied this to our independent reading.
 
Writing:
We have been working on our picture storybooks in Writing. Keeping in the Christmas spirit, we are creating our books as a present for our buddies in prep.
 
Inquiry:
GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!! Thank you to all of the classes, parents, families and teachers for supporting our students on their Billy Cart Derby Day. Also, thank you to Jason for helping in the building of our Billy Carts. Congratulations to The Jamaican Bob Sled Team: Will, Sam, Hunter P, Lincoln, Jack B and James. A big thank you to Mr Hanson for organising and setting up the Derby Day.
 
Reminders:

• Next week's assembly will be at 2.45pm as there are lots of awards to get through.
  
• Class parties: Monday 19th Dec from 12.10-1.00pm

Only 3 more weeks left of the 2016 school year! It’s not over yet though, we still have many fun and exciting things planned. Year 6 graduation, 2017 student leader applications and much, much more.
 
Graduation:
Could you please make sure your child has brought in a picture of themselves as a baby and when they were in prep. We need these photos for the graduation presentation that is coming up really soon.
 
Numeracy:
In Numeracy we have been looking at factors and multiples. Firstly, we asked the students what they knew about factors, multiples, and composite and prime numbers. After discovering the students' prior knowledge we then had the students playing games using playing cards where they explored the differences between factors and multiples, and prime and composite numbers.
 
Reading:
During our Reader’s Workshop we have been looking at synthesising and organising our prior and new knowledge. The students have been identifying their prior knowledge on each state of Australia, then after reading facts and history on each state, they have been adding their new knowledge. We have had many incidental teaching moments where the students have explored their particular interests and misconceptions of states, capital cities and locations.
 
Writing:
The students have successfully finished publishing their information reports and have chosen excellent words to enhance their pieces, along with strong structure and organisation. We will begin our new unit of writing, immersing and identifying the ways authors use the traits in their writing. At the end of this writing unit the students will have published a picture storybook that they will share with their buddies in prep.
 
Inquiry:
The billy carts are complete! We have had a busy few weeks constructing and designing billy carts. We had a practise run this week, it looks as though it will be a tough competition on our Billy-cart Derby Day at C.S.P.S!!

Inquiry:
In weeks 4 and 5, the grade 5/6 students have begun their Billycart projects. So far it has been fantastic to see students working together in teams to complete a variety of tasks. Students have created in their booklets: team names, essential agreements and logos. They then acquired their timber and worked as a team to measure and cut it into the appropriate lengths. As teams they have then painted their timber and seats and will soon be drilling and constructing the final parts of their billycarts.

Numeracy:
This week we have begun our new unit of numeracy, and we our now deepening our knowledge of number and place value. In particular, we have been looking at factors, multiples, prime numbers and composite numbers.
Last week we had the Victorian Maths Challenge. It was great to see parents there!!
 
Reading:
The students have done an incredible job of refining their skill of summarising. Students understand they need to identify the key points and key phrases, and then sequence their work chronologically.
 
Writing:
Our students have successfully chosen, drafted, revised and edited their Information Reports and are currently publishing. We are absolutely flabbergasted by the excellent word choice, sentence fluency and organisation. Well done years 5/6!!

The never ending challenges and fun continue to be a highlight in the Year 5/6 Learning Community.
 
Inquiry:
 
Students have begun their new Inquiry, which is based around Teamwork. They are working in groups of 6 and together they have created a team name, a Team Essential Agreement (which describes how their team will look, sound and feel like), and their own big idea. Some examples of these are;
‘Teamwork is essential’
‘There is no I in Team so we all work together’
‘Working together brings us closer together’
‘To get a good outcome you need to work well with your team’
In their teams the goal is to successfully build a Billycart and race it in the CSPS Great Billycart Derby, date TBA. As the unit evolves we will share more information and details. We would love any extra help during our construction sessions, which are Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00-3-30pm. You will need a Working With Children Check which is free for volunteers and available from the Post Office.
 
 
Numeracy:
 
We have been continuing to develop our understanding of fractions and have begun using the 4 processes to problem solve simple tasks moving toward more challenging tasks. The students have been using various strategies and skills to do this. Ask them how to divide fractions, it’s an interesting concept!
 
Reading:
 
This week we have begun a new focus in reading, we are revisiting Summarising. To do this it is important that the students can pick out the key words so that they can write a short summary in their own words. The students were amazing at tapping into their prior knowledge and got straight into the task.  Mr Richards happened to be in the room and was impressed with our note taking skills! Being able to summarise with the right amount of important information is a great skill to have especially during their further education at High School.
 
Writing:
 
After our Information Report immersion over the past two weeks, we are continuing to explore concepts, which will help the students produce high quality pieces of text. Some of these concepts are word choice, which can be quite different in a non-fiction text as opposed to a fiction text, and conventions, which includes capitalisation and correct spelling. Grammar is also important as it contributes to clarity and style, and paragraphs in the right place help organise the text. We are looking forward to the highly informative reports the students are developing to be published.
 
 
 

Welcome
Hi and welcome to the 5/6 team blog for Week 8, Term 3!
Camp
Only 5 days until camp!! Please make sure you have handed all notes in. There will be a final note coming home with students today, which includes information on what to pack, our itinerary for the 3 days, which teachers will be attending etc. But MOST IMPORTANTLY, what time to be at the South Geelong Train Station (8.20am). Please have a read through this with your child to familiarise them with our upcoming routine. Please do not send your child with oversized luggage, as there is limited space on the train. Ensure your child has a day pack (back pack) to use whilst travelling between venues.
All medication is to be handed to Kerry Coghlan by 3.45pm on Tuesday the 6th of September!
 
Student Led Conferences
As a team we were delighted to see so many families at our Student Led Conferences. The level of engagement between families and students was outstanding. As we wandered around, the conversations were positive and the students had big smiles on their faces. When families are involved in their children’s learning, the level of engagement and enthusiasm rises and allows the children to become responsible learners who self-regulate, self assess and strive for excellence.
 
Reminders
Please hand in any camp notes ASAP and make sure you circle either 'Yes' or 'No' to dropping your child off at the train station.
Important dates to remember:

Hats at recess and lunch are now compulsory
Wednesday 7th September - Friday 9th September:  Melbourne Camp

We will write again in a fortnight!!!
5/6 team

Welcome
Hi and welcome to the 5/6 team blog for Week 6, Term 3!
Firstly, we would like to say a massive thanks to all of our wonderful Educational Support Staff! Penny, Jason, Tammy, Leanne, Kerry, Anna, Tracey, Mandy, Kellie, Amanda, Denise, Michelle, Millie, Chris, Brendan and Paul, you are all greatly appreciated by the teachers at C.S.P.S and we are so grateful for your continuous help. A special shout out to Tammy, Kerry and Tracey who go above and beyond with their attention to detail, the guidance and the care they show towards all of the 5/6 students.
 
Camp
19 days until camp, please make sure you have handed all notes in as we will be finalising bookings, tickets etc on Monday 22/08/16. 
 
Maths
Measurement is on our minds! After looking at data from the 5/6 cohort we have identified an area for growth. This week we began studying measurement and this will continue for another 2 weeks. So far we have been focussing on the attributes of measurement (length, width, height etc) and how to identify them. We have also been focusing on perimeter and with the weather this week being beautiful and sunny we decided to take our classrooms outside. The students measured the perimeter of the features of our schoolyard, such as; the basketball court, gaga pit, 4 square courts, sand pits and so on.
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Reading
Our Reader's Workshop sessions have been focusing on summarising what the students have read. In particular the students have been identifying the key points and words to then develop their summaries. All students have been working extremely hard to achieve their reading goals. Please make sure your child is reading every night and logging it in their diaries. If the students read 40 nights this term there will be a movie and fun session on the last day of term. We have a visual in the classroom where students are tallying how many nights they have read.

Writing
Our poetry unit was put on hold for 2 weeks as our heads were in the Olympic Games. We will return to our poetry unit at the start of next week. The writing focus has been to research and create an information report about a Summer Olympian of their choice. The students were given a rubric to follow and guide their investigation.
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Inquiry
Pack your bags, we are leaving Rio!
We have completed our Inquiry topic on the Olympics and are returning to Immigration. The students will begin researching for their summative assessment task. Please have a look at the rubric and discuss with your child. Ask ‘What country are you immigrating from?’ and ‘What country are you immigrating to?’ Country is the key word! Some students are finding it difficult to identify the difference between a country and a continent, could you please follow this up with a discussion at home.

Summative Assessment Task
Immigration
Task Instruction:

1. Choose a country other than Australia that you will be immigrating from.
2. Choose a country other than Australia that you will be immigrating to. E.g. Canada to China
3. Research both countries and complete a Venn Diagram about similarities and differences or things that are the same e.g., traditions, food, national costume, music etc.
4. Write a short story about your reasons for leaving, your hopes and your dreams from your perspective as an immigrant e.g. better life, better education, better job.
5. Make or bring to school a small suitcase. This will be for you to put in the things that you think will be important for your new life e.g. passport (make one)
6. Organise a traditional costume so you can dress in character for our expo (T.B.A) (this would be from the country you are migrating from)

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Reminders
Please hand in any camp notes ASAP and make sure you circle either 'Yes' or 'No' to dropping your child off at the train station.
Important dates to remember:

Tuesday 23rd August- Student Led Conferences. Please make sure you have booked a time.
Wednesday 7th September - Camp

Welcome
Hi and welcome to the 5/6 team blog for Week 4, Term 3! 5 more weeks until camp, please make sure you have all notes signed and handed in. 
Maths
Following on from our Money Maths topic, the 5/6s held a Maths Exhibition where the students showcased their learning. The students should be extremely proud of themselves as they all presented a fantastic project! We have begun a new topic for Maths and are now studying Statistics and Probability, which will tie into the Olympics as we follow the Australian team.












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Reading
Our Reader's Workshop sessions have been focusing on deepening our schema/prior knowledge. We have been deepening our knowledge on the Olympics this week as this is a hot topic in our classes. Again, this strategy is to broaden student knowledge by expanding their thinking and adding to their prior knowledge. We have been using resources from the Olympics Official Home Page. Here is the link if you would like to explore and expand your own schema:
www.olympic.org/

Writing
In our Writer's Workshop sessions we have been investigating and researching different structures of poems and the variety of poems. We have researched varieties to expand student thinking and understanding of poetry. Next week we will begin drafting our own poems.

Inquiry
Our Inquiry topic is the Olympics while they are in action. We will continue with Immigration in a fortnight which will then tie back in with camp and our visit to the Immigration Museum. The Olympic Inquiry unit has a Big Idea of "The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world". Students will explore and break the Big Idea down by investigating and researching an athlete of their choice and creating a biography about them. 

Reminders
Again, please hand in any camp notes ASAP and make sure you circle either 'Yes' or 'No' to dropping your child off at the train station.
Important dates to remember:

Monday 8th August - CSPS Olympics Opening Day. Please wear colours that represent your class's country
Tuesday 9th August - Health and Human Development begins for Year 5 and 6
Wednesday 7th September - Camp