Welcome to the Year 6 2012 Class Blog: October 2012

Term 4 2012

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome back to Term IV the final term for the year and the final term at Sacred Heart for our Year 6 students. We would like to congratulate the students on the wonderful year that they have had and the maturity with which they have conducted themselves throughout the year.

Many teachers and parents have commented on what great leaders this particular group has been. We know that as they head towards the final weeks of this year and prepare to move onto high school, that they will continue to be responsible young adults, of whom we can be very proud.

There are many exciting things to look forward to this term including Graduation; however we do still need to complete our 2012 units of work so below is an outline of this Term.

Some dates for your diaries:

Ø 22^nd -26^th October – Healthy Harold

Ø 24^th October – Personal Development Info Evening @ 6pm for parents and students of Year 6.

Ø 10^th November – Spring Fair

Ø 27^th November – Day of Australian Excellence and Habits of Mind Awards

Ø 5^th December – Graduation Mass

Ø 13^th December – End of Year Mass

Ø 14^th December – Swimming Carnival

Ø 19th December – Last day of School (picnic day)

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

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

MARY – FAITHFUL DISCIPLE

This unit looks at Mary as a faithful disciple and model for the Church. Students will explore women of faith and courage, and Mary as a woman of great faith and courage. Students will then review Catholic Marian devotion in art and music.

ADVENT TO CHRISTMAS – A TIME FOR LONGING AND FULFILMENT

This unit explores the liturgical season of Advent as a time of waiting, of longing and preparation. It unfolds the story of the people of faith throughout the Scriptures who prepared for and longed for the coming of the Saviour. The unit focuses on Christmas as the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation and explores some symbols that the Catholic community uses in the celebration of Christmas. Students are invited to reflect on the birth of Jesus, when God became human and lived among us.

ENGLISH

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

Below is an overview for Term 4.

Talking and Listening

· The students will be given a research task that will encompass all areas of English. The task will be called ‘The Day of Australian Excellence.’ This in-depth research task will form the culmination of our work on “Habits of Mind”. A unique presentation will complete the unit. This will involve written, artistic and oral material that will be on display for an audience of teachers and students to interact with.

Reading

The students will be studying the novel “Doubting Thomas” which links to the Personal Development unit. There will be a particular focus on inferential thinking and in-depth responses.

We will begin the term with Guided Reading with a focus on skimming and scanning of text and inferential comprehension skills relating to our ‘Day of Australian Excellence’ project. Students will also be required to summarise verbally what they have just read.

The students will be encouraged to use four sources of information to complete their research tasks e.g. environmental print, various forms of media, the school library and municipal libraries to broaden their research experiences, rather than just printing off something from the internet.

Both classes will continue to work on their STARS booklets (Strategies to Achieve Reading Success).

Writing

We will be concentrating on a variety of text types this term, including narratives, poetry and explanations. These will be integrated with our Science and R.E units.

MATHEMATICS

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

REVISION AND ASSESSMENT

· Measurement – 24 hour Time, Timelines, Time-zones and elapsed time,

Volume and Capacity.

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

· Number- mental skills, addition, subtraction, multiplication & division, chance and probability.

· Students will also be completing an in-class, real life assignment entitled:

“Classrooms of the 21^st Century”. The students will set up classroom. They will plan a budget and gain an understanding of initial and recurring expenses. This assignment will provide a good opportunity for students to manage finances. This will begin after week 5.

HEALTH / SCIENCE

This term we will be covering the Personal Development and Human Sexuality Unit. This is both Health and Science related.

Health Unit outcomes~

For the students to understand how and why their bodies change, suggest strategies to cope with the changes during puberty and give examples of some emotional and physical changes that do occur.
Reproduction, birth and gender differences are other related concepts that will be covered in this unit.
Our Science component will explore the systems and organs of the body in detail and research how diseases and substances can affect those vital body parts. We will then explain the consequences of personal lifestyle and health choices within the Catholic context.
We will also be continuing with our cluster schools ‘Jason’ project on Infinite Potential and Edmodo. We will be looking at renewable sources of energy and finishing our Rube Goldberg machines.

VISUAL ARTS

This term, students will explore their own identity in an artwork. They seek inspiration in self-portraits by Australian painters (Margaret Olley) who include symbols of their identity. Students will combine drawing, painting and collage in their artworks, discovering how artworks can be built up through layering images.

Students have completed an artwork on canvas based on ‘The Christmas Story’. These will be on exhibition later in the term.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Mr Gosper will continue to develop student’s skills in games and sport this term, please ensure students are wearing appropriate P.E. uniform. This will be every Wednesday.

Leggings, bike pants and the Sports Club shirt are not permitted to be worn as the sport uniform. Martial Arts will now be on Wednesdays also.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The students will continue to use the Mac computers in the classroom

The children will have access to My Desktop and email. We ask that parents continue to discuss with your child the appropriate use of the Internet and email and the importance of privacy in relation to passwords. We will be incorporating typing skills into our lessons once a week. Our Cybersafety unit will be covered this term also.

MUSIC

Music will occur for one hour per fortnight for each class with our music teacher Ms. Gale .

6 Blue and 6 Gold will have music on Fridays.

ITALIAN

The students will continue to have Italian lessons each week with Signor James. 6 Blue have Italian on Tuesdays and 6 Gold have Italian on Thursdays.

LIBRARY

The students will be allotted the majority of their library time for the research of their ‘Day of Australian Excellence’ Project. We expect that all students will be organised with necessary material for these days so that school time can be utilised wisely. Borrowing will also take place on these days. Library for both classes is on Wednesdays.

HOMEWORK ROUTINE

This term the students will have an assignment entitled “Day of Australian Excellence”. The students will receive a contract that they will sign and which is also to be sighted and signed by a parent. This assignment is to be completed methodically week by week. It will be checked and marked each week. This assignment will culminate in our “Day of Australian Excellence Expo.” later this Term.

A ‘Growing Healthy’ 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.

The recommended time that the students should be spending on homework is approximately 30 to 40 minutes per night.

All homework is to be handed in on Monday. If homework is incomplete or a student does not hand their work in with a satisfactory explanation it will be noted and may affect the end of year report.

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

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 AND CONTACTS

If at any time you feel that you need to see any of the teachers, please do not hesitate to contact us either in person, by phone, or email.

The school newsletter is also available through the new school website. We ask that you do not send permission slips or absent notes via email as these need to be signed.

Don’t forget to keep up with what’s happening in class via our blog! Feel free to leave comments too! http://yr6shm.blogspot.com.au/

This can be accessed via the school website ->staff-> under the year 6 teachers’ names.

AND FINALLY

All of the teachers have been impressed by the commitment; attitude and skills displayed this year by the 2012 Year 6 students. Now they will need to maintain their focus so that the high standards of work, behaviour and leadership continue to the end of the year.

It has been a pleasure to teach these students and we wish them all the best as they finish their time with us at Sacred Heart J

Kind Regards,

Gwen O’Connor, Jacinta Tucker and Jane Harrison (please take note of our new email addresses)

gwen.oconnor@syd.catholic.edu.au

Jacinta.tucker@syd.catholic.edu.au

Jane.harrison@syd.catholic.edu.au