Term 1 Newsletter

 Year 6 2012  Term 1 Newsletter        

Dear Parents,

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and your child to Year 6, 2012. We hope that this year will be challenging and productive, as well as a very enjoyable final year in primary school, filled with many special memories.

Here are a few dates for Year 6 Term 1 for the diary:

-16^th February- Burning of the Palms-(2.15 pm in courtyard of church)

- 17^th February-Beginning of the Year Mass-(Leaders receive their badges)

- 21^st February Shrove Tuesday-Pancakes in the Parish Hall from 7.15 am

- 22^nd February Ash Wednesday-(Primary attend Parish Mass)

- 28^th February – Year 6 Excursion to the Sydney Jewish Museum and Art Gallery of NSW

- 9^th March-Anti Bullying Incursion in the hall

-16^th March - St Patrick’s Day Stall and celebration (Cakes will need to be donated)

-5^th April- Easter Liturgy and last day of Term

The following will give you a brief overview of the units of work to be studied in the Key Learning Areas in Term One.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

This year students from Years 4-6 will take it in turns to attend weekly Mass to familiarise themselves with the ritual, postures and responses.

This term we will be teaching two units in Religious Education both support each other and our English unit.

THE REIGN OF GOD: Breaking Down The Barriers

This unit explores how Jesus broke down barriers that prevented right relationships.  It looks at concepts such as personal and social sin, and how our behaviour and relationships can advance or hinder the reign of God.  Students will explore issues of prejudice, discrimination, rejection and acceptance, exclusion and inclusion.

LENT: A Time  For Building A Just World

This unit explores 'mission'. The unit highlights the mission of Jesus as announcing the reign of God. It investigates how the Church, the baptised, works to bring about the reign of God - a time of truth, justice, love and peace. It explores Lent as a time when we renew our commitment to the mission of Jesus.

The students will often complete R.E homework and will require a bible that they may need to use at home. They will also at times be bringing their text books “To Know, Worship and Love” home, to complete activities as part of their weekly homework.

ENGLISH

The English program is separated into three areas – Talking and Listening, Reading; Writing. 

Below is an overview for Term 1.

Talking and Listening

·       As part of our English unit on Justice, children will be presenting a number of discussions, oral reports and explanations.

·       They will also be listening to the above presentations, as well as other guest speakers and will be summarising the main points of these talks, as well as participating in peer reviews.

·       The children will also listen and summarise from presentations such as relevant topical videos, DVDs and television programs.

Reading   

The literature chosen this term will integrate with our theme in Religion ‘Breaking down the Barriers’. Year 6 will be studying the novel ‘Hana’s Suitcase’ by Karen Levine and ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ by John Boyne. They will be also looking at a variety of written texts that relate to this theme. These will provide opportunities to apply higher order thinking skills and respond in a variety of forms.

We will begin the term with Guided Reading and will incorporate Reciprocal Reading by the end of the term. The children will be encouraged to use environmental print, various forms of media, the school library and municipal libraries to broaden their reading experiences.

Year 6 will begin the CARS Series (Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies) this Term. This is a diagnostic reading series that gives students practice and self-assessment in 12 reading strategies. In Term 2 and Term 3, we will be working with the STARS Series (Strategies to Achieve Reading Success).

Writing

• The students have an “Anthology” in which they will write choosing any text type. This book will be able to be shared and read by all class members. The students will also keep their published works in here.
• A Handwriting book has been provided for each child in the school. The students will use this to consolidate the N.S.W Foundation Handwriting style. All students should be writing in cursive Foundation Handwriting using black or blue ball-point pens.
• We will be concentrating on a variety of text types this term, including narrative, information reports, poetry and recounts. These will be integrated with our Science and R.E units.

MATHEMATICS

The Key Learning Areas of Mathematics are separated into five content strands:

 - Number

 - Patterns and Algebra

 - Data

 - Space and Geometry

 - Measurement

 - Mathematical Thinking

At the moment we are in the process of assessing students to determine the extent of their knowledge across all content strands of Mathematics. This information will aid the class teacher to cater for all learning needs. Your child will be given appropriate learning experiences that best suit their level of ability.

For speed and accuracy students need to continue to practise their mental skills in addition, subtraction, division and multiplication, particularly their tables.

The students will also be revising, practising and consolidating their mathematical knowledge and skills using the internet program “Studyladder”. This can be accessed at school and at home using their password.

HUMAN SOCIETY AND ITS ENVIRONMENT (H.S.I.E) and SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SCI-TECH)

The unit for Term 1 is “Earthquake Explorers”

It provides opportunities for students to develop understanding of the causes of earthquakes and how they change the Earth’s surface. Through investigations, students will explore earthquake magnitude data from Australia and neighbouring countries, drawing conclusions about patterns in the data. This unit is an ideal way to link science with literacy in our Year 6 classrooms.

VISUAL ARTS

This Term Year 6 will study the 5 Elements of Art – Colour, Tone, Texture, Shape and Line. Our Visual Arts program this term will also integrate with our R.E units and our English unit. Students will be completing a sculpture, which will be a response to learning about World War 2 and their visit to the Jewish Museum and the Art Gallery of NSW.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Students will need to wear their sports uniform on Wednesday (from Week 1) and Thursday (from Week 5). Girls and boys will continue to have Physical Education classes separately this year.

Mr Gosper will be teaching the students Physical Education on Wednesday and the students will be having Martial Arts lessons (together) on Thursday this Term (from Week 5).

Our Personal Development program will continue from last year, looking at building resilience in our changing world.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The students will be using the Apple Mac computers within the classroom and will be trained in their use by the Year 6 teachers.

The children will have access to My Desktop and email throughout the year. We do ask that parents discuss with their child the appropriate use of the internet and email and the importance of privacy in relation to passwords.

MUSIC

Music lessons will continue this year with Ms Marisa Gale. Music will occur for one hour per fortnight.

ITALIAN

The students will have Italian lessons with Signor Scott James.

Year 6 Blue will have Italian on Fridays and Year 6 Gold will have Italian on Thursdays. 

LIBRARY

The students will be developing skills in Literacy in the Library this year. Mrs Dunn will work with boys and girls in Year 6 separately to develop boys and girls literacy. These lessons will integrate with our English and R.E units.

Year 6 will have Library every Wednesday.

**Borrowing can only take place if students bring in their Library Bags**

HOMEWORK ROUTINE

A homework schedule will be given to your child each week, listing a variety of tasks to be completed at home. Please ensure that your child balances their weekly commitments so that they are able to complete all tasks effectively, including reading.

All homework is to be handed in on Monday. Assignments over several weeks may also be given at various stages throughout the year. This will assist the students in preparing to meet the challenge of the vast amounts of homework expected in High School. Students will be required to pace themselves to avoid the problem of trying to complete it all at the last minute.

We do understand that occasionally family commitments take precedence over homework; in this case a short explanatory note to the teacher would be appreciated.

Sometimes overnight homework will be given if work is not able to be completed in class.

We feel that the homework expectations are realistic, however if your child is not coping, please send a note and we will endeavour to work with them in class.

TEACHER MEETINGS

 

If at any time you feel that you need to see any of the teachers, please do not hesitate to contact us either by email or by phone.  We believe that the sooner we are made aware of a problem the sooner we can fix it!

Staff Meetings are held every Wednesday afternoon and morning meetings take place every day at 8:30am. Most other afternoons we are available.

If you need to contact us from home or send a message, the school internet site “My Desktop” is also a very good way to communicate with the teachers. Below is how to access the site:

Your child’s MyInternet log-in is his/her: firstname.lastname and they have selected their password individually.

The school newsletter is now also available through the new school website.

Contact Details

Sacred Heart School Mosman

Phone:            (02) 99696600

Fax:            (02) 99604213

Email:            info@shmosman.catholic.edu.au

Teacher Emails:

jacinta.tucker@shmosman.catholic.edu.au  6 Blue Class Teacher (Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri)

jane.harrison@shmosman.catholic.edu.au 6 Blue Class Teacher (Thurs)

gwen.oconnor@shmosman.catholic.edu.au 6 Gold (Mon- Fri)

Year 6 Blue and Year 6 Gold are looking forward to working together as much as possible as a Year 6 group. We hope this will be a wonderful year. The students will have many exciting opportunities and responsibilities ahead of them and we are sure that they will be a great example to all of the children of Sacred Heart. They have made a great start to the year and are beginning to take their roles as leaders very seriously.

We are sure that they will make themselves and us very proud.

Mrs Jacinta Tucker, Mrs Jane Harrison and Ms Gwen O’Connor