Level 3/4

Welcome to Term 2, 2022

Welcome back to school ready for Term 2! We are excited for a fun and busy term. It has been terrific to see students return happy, relaxed and curious, ready to learn. Teachers really enjoyed hearing about students' holiday adventures. As we continue to guide students to 'Aim High', set new learning goals and revise expectations we also continue to encourage that all students display the four HEPS values, respect, resilience, teamwork and growth. Teachers continue to plan engaging lessons with the HEPS vision at the forefront of what we do.

 'All students are empowered to learn and achieve success; to be curious, engaged, collaborative, empathetic and critical thinkers.'

Literacy

READING: Level 3/4 students are immersed in reading and a love of reading will be fostered. Students will continue to be exposed to small group work that is differentiated to meet their individual needs and teacher and student conferences where students have opportunities to revise and set new learning goals. Students  will continue to draw upon their knowledge of strategies and further develop comprehension skills including summarising, predicting, inferring, making connections, fluency, questioning and visulalising images while reading.  Teachers model a skill and students have opportunities to practise this skill collaboratively in groups, pairs and individually. Students are encouraged to think about what they read, question it and to share their thinking with others, ask questions as they read and back up their facts with evidence found in the text they are reading. All lifelong and extremely valuable skills. 

WRITING: This term we look forward to expanding our learners' knowledge around the genre of report writing. This term we will be focusing on writing our own information report. We will also revise narrative and procedural writing at the beginning of the term. Students will focus on the 6 plus 1 writing traits where a shared vocabulary provides the foundations for successful writing. Our authors will be encouraged to research their own information on an endangered animal and present this as a written published report. Along with learning the report writing genre, our young authors with teacher and peer support will plan, draft, conference, revise, edit and publish their writing.  

SPELLING: Jolly Phonics is HEPS' whole school approach to spelling and grammar. Jolly Phonics is a multisensory synthetic phonics system and this term will see students continuing to follow the Jolly Phonics spelling and grammar handbook. Level 3 / 4  activities are differentiated for Level 3 and 4 and students are able to complete activities that cater for their own individual needs.  Spelling activities and lists will be provided each week for Level 3 and Level 4 students. Our focus this term is a range of letter digraphs (letter combinations) that form a range of spelling rules. Grammar lessons continue to be a mixture of introducing new information and revising previously learned skills.

SPEAKING AND LISTENING: This term students will be asked to present a short oral presentation to the class about their chosen endangered animal. Students will continue to be encouraged to listen with respect to others' ideas and opinions and share their ideas collaboratively with others. 

Maths

This term the students in Levels 3 / 4 will be extending on their knowledge of symmetry before exploring addition and subtraction and various measurement tasks such as money, length, mass and capacity.  There will be a focus on incorporating the four maths proficiencies of understanding, fluency, reasoning and problem solving, as well as hands on, open ended tasks and differentiation to support all levels of learners. We look forward to continuing our students' growth with Mathematics this term as well as extending our students ability to question and think independently to solve real world maths problems. 

Homework

Homework will continue in Term 2. Classroom teachers will explain what is expected and students will receive a new homework grid.  Level 3/4 will have ownership and choice with their homework as they work their way through a variety of tasks on the grid. Students are encouraged to read every night and record this in their HEPS journals as well as complete one My Numeracy activity every week aiming to achieve 70 percent proficiency. We aim to build healthy homework habits in our learners, encouraging a discipline of practice and effective time management skills. Homework is to be completed at home and returned to school on a weekly basis. 

Students will continue to visit the HEPS Library for books to read in class and for take home use. If your child requires more books, local Eastern Regional Libraries offer free borrowing on a wide range of texts.

Inquiry

This term our topic is 'The Blue Marble.' Students will be immersed in the idea that the Earth is the only place that we know of which can sustain life. They will learn about living things and how they rely on the environment to survive. Students will learn about the life cycles of different animals. They will research an endangered animal and participate in conservation activities to raise awareness of the threats that the endangered animals faces and how people can help.

We will be having an Inquiry showcase where students will raise money for an endangered animal. Essential questions such as, How do living things depend on each other and the environment to survive? What impact do we have on the environment? Who is responsible for caring for the environment? and how can we reduce our environmental footprint? will all be discussed. 

Communication

You are welcome to email your class teacher and we will respond as soon as possible during business hours. You are also welcome to call the school office and make an appointment at a mutually agreed time with your child's teacher. 

Mrs. Kim Holmes : kimberley.holmes@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au

Mrs. Terri McClare: terri.mcclare@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au

Mrs. Caroline Tait : caroline.tait@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au

Miss. Genevieve Edgell: genevieve.edgell@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au

Mrs. Kelly Veness: kelly.veness@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au

Mr. John Exton: john.exton@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au 

Mrs. Michelle Wridgway:  michelle.wridgway@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au

Mrs. Ruby Whitfield: ruby.whitfield@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au

Miss. Tahlia Oluc: tahlia.oluc@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au

Please note - Anyone holding a current concession or health care card are entitled to CSEF (Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund).  Application forms are on Compass or in the iNewsletter. The forms can be printed in several different languages if required.

Key Dates

Important Dates

Thursday 5th May - HEPS Cross Country

10th May - 15th May (Week 3) NAPLAN testing (Grade 3)

23 - 27th May Education Week

Tuesday 24th May - Literacy Multi-Age Day

Wednesday 25th May - School Photos

Thursday 26th May - Open night and book fair

Friday 27th May - Education week assembly

Excursion to Melbourne Science works and Planetarium (Date TBC) 

Monday 13th June - Queen's Birthday Public Holiday

End of term: Friday 24th June - 2:30pm dismissal

Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Level 3 / 4 teachers.