As we reach the halfway point of Term 2, our class has been working hard across all learning areas. We’ve recently completed our English Common Assessment Task, where students wrote persuasive letters from the perspective of a character in What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood? They applied the persuasive techniques we’ve been learning—stating clear opinions, giving reasons and facts, and using high modality language, rhetorical devices, and precise vocabulary. Students also focused on editing for punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure.

In Mathematics, we’ve focused on multiplication strategies and the order of operations. With the Common Assessment Tasks now complete, we’re switching our focus back to fractions, percentages, and number concepts such as factors, multiples, and prime and composite numbers. This return to core number work will allow students to consolidate and deepen their understanding across these areas.

To support our learners in feeling confident and prepared, we’ve displayed all upcoming assessments for the term on our classroom wall. These have been clearly communicated to students so they know what’s coming up, how to prepare, and why each assessment matters in their learning journey.

Our Sustainability Project with our sister school is also in full swing. Students are researching what makes a city sustainable and using recyclable materials to plan and build model cities. We’ve been particularly inspired by videos shared by our sister school showing how they used solar power, and we’re now investigating how we might use small solar kits in our own models.

A highlight this fortnight was our excursion to the Cascades Female Factory. It was incredibly moving to see students making real-life connections to our class novel, Tom Appleby: Convict Boy. In the novel, Tom describes in detail what it was like to be a child chimney sweep, including how he managed to climb up narrow, soot-filled chimneys. Seeing actual chimneys in the historic buildings—some barely wide enough for a small child—really brought those scenes to life for the students. Many stood in stunned silence, unable to fathom what it must have been like for a child to work in such harsh conditions.

The excursion also broadened our understanding of the lives of convict women in early colonial Australia. Through the guided tour, students gained insight into the harsh realities faced by these women—many of whom were separated from their families, lived in overcrowded conditions, and endured grueling daily routines. This experience deepened our ongoing discussions in History and helped students grasp the resilience and hardships of those who lived through this period.