made something better."
What a fantastic and productive week it has been in Grade 5/6!
We began the week with Sports Day, a wonderful opportunity for students to work collaboratively with other upper primary peers while focusing on camaraderie, cooperation, and building relationships. The encouragement and sportsmanship was abundant as the parents cheered on the children, and the students learned how much more fun activities are when we support each other.
In our unit of inquiry, we wrapped up our inquiry on Puberty and spent time compiling reflections and evidence into personal portfolios. The students showed thoughtful, mature responses and meaningful self-awareness; thank you to families who continued those important conversations at home.
We also launched a new inquiry under the transdisciplinary theme How We Organise Ourselves. To kick things off, the students played a grouping game that got them thinking about how to make decisions, how to sort out ideas and how to change structures.
To deepen their understanding of the theme, the children also shared what they know about structure, roles and responsibilities, decision-making, and the impact of systems while working with a group. They answered open-ended questions about routines and structures they experience at home, at school, and in the communities they belong to, and they did a great job reflecting on how those systems influence behaviour and outcomes — in fact, they quickly guessed our theme for this unit.
A highlight of our provocations for this inquiry was a hands-on challenge: build the tallest, strongest, and most stable straw tower. Each group had the same goal but different systems for making decisions. One group appointed their eldest member as a king or queen who led choices (with optional consultation), another elected leaders and resolved contested decisions by majority vote, a third group put the 5th graders in a leadership subgroup over the 6th graders, and a final group had equal members who could act independently but had to work in complete silence. It was fascinating to observe how students adapted their teamwork to the rules they were given, how leadership and communication affected their strategies, and how they negotiated roles and responded to peers’ decisions. The discussions that followed were rich with observations about how different systems help or hinder collaboration.
This week we also moved closer to selecting passions for our Exhibition. Students explored a variety of activities designed to help them identify research topics, beginning with a “passion walk” where they stepped forward for categories they felt might be their passion. After that reflective activity, they completed a rapid “brain dump” using guided questions about their interests, skills, advocacy, and what they want to learn — a true do-not-think-just-write exercise that brought out surprising ideas. We collected and grouped their responses and made webs showing how different interests connect to each student. Soon they will narrow their lists to their top three choices and then decide on the specific passion each will pursue for the Exhibition.
We will continue exploring How We Organise Ourselves over the coming weeks through the lens of different government systems and keep supporting students as they finalize their Exhibition topics. The students demonstrated resilience, thoughtful reflection, and excellent collaboration this week.
Have a wonderful weekend to all of you.
Your homeroom teacher,
Ms. Pam
