Newsletter 8 – 5 June 2025

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I trust you had an opportunity to unwind and relax a little over the long weekend. Despite the weather forecasts for a wet weekend, we were blessed with beautiful warm weather for the most part. The rain finally set in yesterday making getting up to come to school a little more challenging for many of our students this morning. Nevertheless, they excitedly shared their adventures and restful activities over the past few days and were eager to get back into their classrooms.

Interschool Cross Country

Congratulations to our interschool cross country team who braved the rain and came away with the Championship Shield. Our Year 4 and Year 6 Girls and Boys were overall winners in their categories across the six schools. Upon their return to school, our interschool cross country team were graced with a champions guard of honour.  Our school community are so proud of their efforts and achievements. Thank you to Mr Cooper and Mr Stone for training our students so well and to all our parents who came along to cheer our students on.

LifeLink Launch

On Wednesday morning Charlotte, Leo and Ava attended the LifeLink Launch at Newman College with Mrs Gregory and I. The auditorium was filled with Year 6 student representatives from Catholic schools in our Perth Archdiocese. After hearing about the different charities LifeLink supports, students had the opportunity to ask questions directly to the Most Reverent Archbishop Timothy Costelloe and Auxillary Bishop Donald Sproxton. Our students were surprised to learn just how much money has been raised over the years to support our fellow brothers and sisters in need. They were also amazed to learn that Archbishop Timothy Costelloe has met four popes, including Pope Leo.

Grandparents Mass and Morning Tea

Next Friday morning, we invite grandparents to visit their grandchildren’s classrooms at 8.30am. At 8.45am, our students will walk to church with their class, alongside their grandparents. Once at the church, students may choose to sit with their grandparents. At the conclusion of Mass, the children will escort their grandparents back to school where they will enjoy morning tea in our school Library.

We hope to see as many of our grandparents as possible attend Mass and the special morning tea. Our children absolutely love and adore their grandparents and cherish this opportunity to welcome them into our school community.

Wishing all our families a peaceful and relaxing end to the week,

God Bless,

Melissa Vranjes
Principal

WRITING:

In Year 5, students have been diving into narrative writing by exploring what makes a story engaging and effective. They began by identifying key features of narratives, such as well-organised paragraphs, building tension, descriptive language, and the use of dialogue. Students also explored important writing techniques including the rules for using dialogue correctly, how to “show” rather than “tell” emotions and actions, and how to use similes and metaphors to create vivid imagery. As part of this learning, students were introduced to the idea that a narrative follows a structure similar to a roller coaster, moving through five key stages: Orientation, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.

To put their understanding into practice, students worked with a jumbled narrative and were challenged to rearrange it into the correct sequence. They then annotated each section, explaining why it belonged in a particular stage of the narrative structure. This hands-on activity helped students develop confidence in understanding how stories flow and gave them a clearer idea of what elements are needed in each part of a well-structured narrative.

HASS:

The Year 5 students have recently completed their North America projects, and I couldn’t be prouder of their efforts. Throughout the process, they demonstrated outstanding enthusiasm, curiosity, and creativity as they researched different aspects of North American countries, cultures, and landmarks. As part of their learning, students developed valuable research skills, such as gathering and summarising information, and citing reliable sources to support their findings. The finished projects are both informative and visually impressive, showcasing not only their knowledge but also their growing confidence as researchers and presenters. Well done, Year 5!

DESIGN:

Planning is well underway for our Solar Oven project, and students have been enthusiastically collaborating in their groups to sketch and design their ovens. In the lead up to the build next week, students followed the design thinking model, starting with empathy to better understand how their designs could meet the needs of others—particularly those who may not have access to conventional cooking methods.

They investigated a range of guiding questions to support their planning, considering important factors such as materials, insulation, and how to maintain visibility inside the oven while in use. I’m so excited to see their creative ideas come to life as they move into the building phase!

READING:

The students have been busy reading our class novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Throughout the term, they have been exploring and practising a range of reading strategies to strengthen their comprehension and deepen their understanding of the text. In addition to focusing on character development and key themes, students have examined narrative structure and language features such as emotive language, dialogue, and figurative language. These activities have helped them build empathy, recognise tone, and appreciate how authors create engaging and meaningful stories.

Miss Cohen
Year 5 Teacher