Year 5
St John's Grammar
Each child is challenged to live beyond themselves and is encouraged to explore issues locally and globally, as well as learn to recognise the changes in their emotional and physical development so that they have awareness and practical strategies that will help guide them through these complex pre-adolescent years.
St John’s Grammar School’s dynamic and technology-rich Year 5 learning programs lead the students to participate in a range of innovative, future focused experiences that will encourage them to become entrepreneurial, solution oriented, and able to delve deeper into knowledge.
Single year classes foster sound relationships and connection between home and school, and differentiated programs based on learning needs allow for individual learning needs and support. Your child will have opportunities to participate in leadership programs that teach them the skills to become confident and caring leaders, who learn the importance of providing service to our community.
A strong focus on independent learning and critical thinking fosters opportunities for students to voice their opinions and debate issues, and they are challenged to engage with their learning through a creative range of critical thinking agency programs, such as the Triple E and Future Cities programs.
The technological capabilities of the Year 5 group greatly expands during the year as they are exposed to coding, stop motion animation, advanced use of PowerPoint and creating and sharing via the portal, CANVAS. Personal laptops and explicit teaching around being a safe digital citizen to gain their digital license, including a Term-long unit on safe social media, use prepares the Year 5s for increasing digital independence.
Dynamic Science programs with a specialist teacher see the Year 5s explore increasingly technical aspects of Science and the dedicated lesson for Wellbeing with a specialist teacher expands on competencies achieved in earlier years and provides a wider range of strategies to become resilient, confident and empowered students.
Specialist teaching of the Art program offers a creative outlet with an increasingly technical aspect and Music offers a band program for every student as well as individual instrumental lessons.
The Ballarat and Bendigo Goldfields Tour is a highlight in Year 5 and students can enjoy other events like the Touch Football Carnival, Independent School Swimming and other fun days on the school calendar.
Year 5 students are eligible to apply for our Scholarship Program.
Triple E Program
In Term 4, students participate in the Triple E program. For two lessons per week, the Year 5s engage in exciting electives such as advanced animation units, innovation challenges, Flinders University Science visits, Sports Science and more. This engaging opportunity offers students a world of exploration that is intriguing and opens to the door to greater learning in future years.
Future Cities
Designing a future city is another initiative that has a future-focussed slant. Blending creativity, agency and innovation concepts, students are encouraged to be forward thinking and develop inventions that aim to tackle future problems.
Thinking Skills
Thinking skills continue to also be a focus at Year 5, with students recapping their understanding of how the brain works and the strategies to promote creative and critical thinking.
Structural natural inquiry with Belair National Park
As the campus is adjacent to Belair National Park, there is a structured natural enquiry program that sees the Year 5s participating in a leadership program with Investigator College. Designed to build leadership skills and traits as well as teamwork, the program is delivered in the beauty of Belair National Park.
Towards the end of year, a bike education program culminates in a Bike Hike through Belair National Park. Students navigate the variable terrain and travel several kilometres practising their safety skills and new-found riding abilities.
This opportunity to learn in the Park adds a richness to our learning by providing unparalleled opportunities for children to learn; not only from an Environmental Science perspective but also opportunities for calculated risk taking and resilience as they traverse and play amongst the natural environment.
Signature experience for Year 5 students
The Goldfields Educational Tour to Bendigo and Ballarat in Year 5 is an immersion experience that explores the people and events that shaped our nation during the Goldrush. This authentic experience deepens the students’ understanding of how this time period shaped democracy and contributed to different migration patterns into Australia. As a focus for the Humanities and Social Science aspect of the curriculum, St John’s Grammar School also links literature with the Goldrush to enhance in-School learning.
Expanding musical talents
Two programs offer students in Year 5 the opportunity to continue their music learning and take part in varied performances.
The Band Program allows students to discover and try new instruments, with opportunity to join various bands and ensembles.
The Instrumental Music program continues prior learning of string instruments, as well as offering new opportunities to explore a wider range of musical instruments.
The programs provide worthwhile opportunities to collaborate with students across various year levels and perform for others, and by year’s end, students gain both confidence and greater technical proficiency in their instrument of choice.
Leadership program and transition experiences
The Year 5s start the transition into the Middle School and have many opportunities to visit and interact with the Secondary Campus.
The Leadership Program with Investigator College nurtures budding leadership skills to prepare all students as they progress toward the pinnacle of their junior schooling years. As the year unfolds, students increasingly exercise their independence as they nominate and are elected into School leadership positions for Year 6.