Religion
This term, students in Year 5 Blue have been exploring beliefs across different cultures and religions and understanding the significance of belief systems in shaping individuals and communities. 

We learnt about the importance of the Eucharist in Christian worship, its symbolism, and the rituals associated with it. Students explored why Catholics gather to worship, the structure of the Mass, and the spiritual significance of each part. We looked at how Mass brings the community together and strengthens their faith through prayer, scripture, and communion.

Year 5 completed an in depth focus study on the life and legacy of Mary MacKillop to inspire the students with the story of a woman dedicated to education and social justice. We learnt about her devotion to serving the poor and uneducated and how her faith guided her actions.

Maths
This term, Year 5 Blue has been engaged in a dynamic, fast-paced approach to Maths through the Connecting Maths Concepts program. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to learn at their own level and make great, measured progress.

During the week we supplement the busy CMC program with outstanding OCHRE Education units which focus on mastering essential mathematical skills. This term we looked at plotting points on a Cartesian plane, understanding two-digit multiplication strategies, adding and subtracting like and unlike fractions as well as division where we represent the remainder as a fraction and/or terminating decimal.

English
In Year 5, English has been filled with engaging literary journeys through our class novels, "Black Cockatoo" and "Catch a Falling Star". We've explored rich themes and characters, discussing their motivations and growth throughout the stories. In writing lessons, we've sharpened our skills in identifying similes and metaphors, uncovering the layers of meaning they add to texts. Understanding the difference between subjects and predicates has strengthened our knowledge of sentence structure, helping us to create more dynamic and precise sentences in our narrative and persuasive writing as well as our historical letters.

Science
Term Two in Year 5 Blue Science has been focused on exploring chemistry. The students have been very excited by their recent project of growing crystals using everyday substances like sugar, salt, epsom salts, and copper sulphate. It's been great to see their curiosity and understanding grow as they observed the different substances on a daily basis. Although they had limited success growing the crystals, it allowed them to see up close how  some chemicals react and transform in liquid and heat. Overall, it's been a rewarding term filled with discovery and scientific exploration for these budding young scientists.

History
In Term Two, Year 5 Blue delved into the rich tapestry of Colonial Australia, exploring pivotal events that shaped the nation. From the Gold Rush fever and conflicts that defined the era to the impact of transportation and the advent of the Overland Telegraph, students gained insights into Australia's transformative history. They also examined the ecological repercussions of introduced species on the landscape and recognized the vital role migrants played in the formation of key industries during the 1800s. 

Art
We have been working on some Keith Haring inspired Olympic pictograms. The students created these based on an olympic sport of their choice. They created a freeze frame pose of an athlete competing in a sport and we used sketching and collage techniques to put these together. We were so happy with the finished product.

This term we have spent time learning the Ukulele. This is a super fun and (relatively) easy instrument to learn and we feel like we had some success in developing interesting strumming patterns and learning to read notes on the music scale. We learnt the first two bars to the most famous Ukulele song of all - Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

PDH/PE
Term two is always a huge term on the sporting calendar with Cross Country and Athletics. For the second half of the term Mr Paul Hill has been doing an amazing job in coaching our young athletes in the best form and technique to compete in our favourite field events including long jump, high jump, discus and shotput. Some amazing PB’s were achieved on the back of Mr Hill’s coaching and great fun was had by everyone.

Sport
This term we were extremely lucky to have Cheryl visit St Mary’s and conduct some fantastic hockey training clinics for all of Stage 3. Year 5 Blue learned and improved some wonderful skills, played with great sportsmanship and had a wonderful time. Thanks Cheryl.

Mr James Campbell
Year 5 Blue Teacher