THORN Term 2

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Welcome back to Term 2. It will be a busy term for our class with lots of exciting lessons planned.

Replenish stationery supplies

Please ensure that each student brings a small pencil case with lead pencils, a sharperner and an eraser. Coloured pencils and textas will be used at times, but students will be asked to bring these in advance.

Homework

Homework will continue as usual. It will be set on Monday and due on Friday. Please remind your child to bring their homework to school each Friday morning and ensure the work completed is neat and legible. Some homework tasks may require the use of a computer. Students in Year 5 & 6 are encouraged to read each night.

Class routines/Timetable for THORN

· PEwith Mr Oddy- Monday, 12.00-1pm (Students are to wear sports uniform)

· Scripture- Tuesday, 9.30-10am

· Music lessons with Mrs Crawford – Wednesday, 10:00-10.30am

· Librarywith Ms Imseih- Wednesday, 1.45-2.45pm

· PSSA sport and school sport- Friday afternoon(Students are to wear sports uniform)

ENGLISH

Spelling/Grammar The Spelling Mastery program will continue between 11.30am - 12.00pm Monday-Thursday. Students also complete one formal spelling/grammar lesson in class, with focus placed on the week’s spelling list.

D.E.A.R (Drop Everything And Read)

Students are involved in 15-20 minutes of quiet reading every morning, first thing.

Our class will continue using the program CARS (Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies)& STARS (Strategies to Achieve Reading Success)that focuses on developing students’ comprehension skills.

Our class novel for this term will be ‘Mahtab’s Story’ by Libby Glesson. Students are given tasks which will develop their comprehension, inference, research and vocabulary along with the conventions of grammar and punctuation. We will also be studying Jeannie Baker’s book ‘Mirror’.

WritingTerm 2 Text-type Focus: Information reports. Students continue to participate in D.E.A.W lessons where they are required to write a few sentences about a given topic.

Talking and Listening

News time will continue this term. In addition, students will be involved in the Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competition. They will be required to write and present a speech based on a multicultural topic. Students are also involved in BTN (Behind the News) lessons. The aim of the lessons is to develop their listening and comprehension skills based on current affairs.

Handwriting: The NSW Foundation Style will continue to be practised in class. Students are encouraged to present neat, legible and fluent writing in weekly handwriting sessions. If students are given three gold stars in their handwriting text book, they will receive a pen licence.

Mathematics

The ‘Maths Tracks’ program will continue to be used this term in maths between 12.00-1.00pm Monday-Thursday. Students are encouraged to continue using ‘Mathletics’ at home to develop their mathematical skills.Times table grids will be given weekly (and assessed on Friday mornings) to encourage quick recall of table facts. One area of focus this term will be on developing problem-solving strategies. Some students will be participating in the Maths Olympiad.

HSIE/SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Students will be studying the topic CULTURAL DIVERSITY. They will examine how cultures change through interactions with other cultures and the environment. They will be using technology for research purposes and be involved in design and make tasks.

Focus Questions/Topic focus

· How do the different cultural influences contribute to Australian and community identities?

· Identify and discuss some of the main elements of cultural diversity – eg: language, food, dress, names

· How do religious beliefs shape cultures?

· Why do people migrate to a new country?

Personal Development, Health, Physical Education

PSSA Sport program (soccer and tiger-tag) will start this Friday. Students who do not participate in PSSA will be involved in school sport. Students will participate in peer-support lessons this term. Students in year 6 will lead the sessions. The unit is titled ‘Happy Schools’ and explores the topic of ant-bullying in schools.

Computers

Students have access to desktop and laptop computers in class and will use technology for appropriate tasks.

Upcoming Events

· NAPLAN- Year 5 2011 - Tuesday 10th May to Thursday 12th May

· 20^th May-Walk safely to school day

· 25^th May-Zone cross-country

· 6^th June-Athletics carnival

I look forward to an enjoyable and productive term with all students. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or organise a meeting.

Sophie Ko

Class teacher