Year 6

Welcome to Year 6 2022! This year we welcome new teachers into our cohort team and as staff of AIC Dianella, we are very keen to ensure that our Year 6 students get the very best learning experience they deserve in their last year of being in the primary level.

To maintain the quality of delivery and curricula for our students, teachers had put in a lot of effort into preparing, planning and cooperation with the teaching and learning resources. Each week, the teachers meet and discuss regularly how we can improve upon the content or delivery of our teaching. Though we get tired on some days, our positive mindsets and intentions helped us stay on the sincere path of teaching, which is for the benefit of our children.

Literacy

This term, our students were taught to expand their narrative writing skills using the ‘Seven Steps of Writing’. Students learn how to write fantastic Sizzling Starts for the whole term. They learn to identify and how to improve the different components of the first paragraph in greater detail. The cohort spent the first half hour of almost every day of the week sharpening their writing skills.

Numeracy

With the introduction of the new textbooks, Prime Mathematics, teaching Mathematics to our children had been made easier. It provides teachers with explicit models of how to teach mathematical concepts, strategies and problem solving. The series adopts Explicit Instruction in its pedagogy, which is in line with AIC Dianella’s daily practices. Hence, students are given ample time to learn, process and practice the content daily. Teachers also include short videos, mnemonics and raps to help students remember what they had learned better.

Science

Our focus this term is on Earth and Space Sciences: Natural Disasters. We learn about the different layers of the Earth, the tectonic plates, earthquakes and lastly, volcanoes. Learning Science was made interesting through multi-modal learning: Powerpoint presentations, videos, games and art!

HASS, Health and Art

For HASS, students learn a very content heavy topic on Australia: Pre and Post Federation. Thankfully, our teachers were able to prepare them with bite-sized information so that the children can understand the Australian history better.

Following the ‘I Can Do It’ program for Health, students learn life skills on how to stay safe, reading warning signs of danger and how to protect themselves from manipulation.

Whilst for Art, students look forward to spending some quiet time destressing through art. Children had learned the 7 elements of Art, two-point perspective drawing and Cubism, a form of abstract art.

Students’ wellbeing

We are aware that the content learned in Year 6 has become much heavier than what the students were used to in their previous primary years. So, we try to keep the students engaged and happy by making sure that they take meaningful breaks in between lessons. For example, we explore different types of brain breakers. This term, 6A use fun fitness as a short pause from learning daily. Combining physical activity and rest time has never been more fun!

Learning through Covid times

Due to the ongoing Covid situation which all of WA is experiencing, most of our school’s daily routines had been affected. An obvious one will be prayer time during Dhuhr.

Students no longer perform their Salah in the mosque. Instead, it is done in the individual classrooms. The religion department chose the Imam and Muathin for each class and they were trained accordingly so that they can learn to lead the prayer for their individual classes properly.

The year 6 teachers had prepared work on online platforms such as Mathletics, Reading Eggspress and MyOn for students to continue learning from home. We also upload lesson resources which are used in the classrooms onto Teams everyday so that students can gain access to learning from home should the need arises.

While many factors outside the classroom are beyond the control of the Year 6 teachers, it is in our best interest to ensure that learning still takes place in each of our classrooms. As WA tries to transit from a Pandemic era to an Endemic one, the Year 6 teachers will do our best to give our Year 6 students the support they will need to transit from primary school to high school. A feat that we will achieve with the help and support of all the partners of our children’s education, Inshaa Allah.