Welcome to Term 4

As we enter the final term of the school year, we are able to reflect on the incredible progress our Year 3/4 students have made so far. Their hard work, dedication, and eagerness to learn have been truly inspiring; we are incredibly proud of all their achievements.

This last term promises to be filled with even more exciting learning opportunities, where students will continue to build on their skills in problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity. Students will be learning a variety of fun and engaging projects, from hands-on experiments to interactive challenges, all designed to further their understanding in key areas. We will also be focusing on expanding their learning experience with creative arts and practical activities that encourage teamwork and critical thinking.

We are excited to embark on this final stretch of the year and look forward to your continued support as we ensure the last term is as enriching and successful as the rest of the year.

Here’s to an amazing Term 4!

What we are learning about in Term Four

STEAM -

This term, students will be exploring the theme of 'Celebrations.' The focus of this unit is to investigate and understand the wide variety of celebrations and holidays that take place both in Australia and across the world, while also fostering a deeper appreciation for the diversity of cultures and people.

Throughout this project, students will be working collaboratively in teams, learning the value of teamwork as they research different cultural celebrations. They will be expected to combine their knowledge and ideas, ensuring they work together effectively and respect each other's contributions. Students will strengthen their research skills as they gather information from a variety of sources, such as books, videos, and digital resources, to gain a thorough understanding of the celebrations they are investigating.

In addition to research, creativity will be at the heart of this project. Students will design and create visual presentations or hands-on models that represent the essence of the celebration they are studying. Whether they are craft artifacts, design posters, or create digital displays, students will have the opportunity to express their creativity in fun and innovative ways.

By the end of this project, students will have not only gained a richer understanding of celebrations around the world, but will also have developed essential life skills in teamwork, research, creativity and presentations.

Mathematics

This term, our Year 3/4 students will be focusing on revising the four operations, with particular emphasis on consolidating multiplication and division. Through a variety of engaging activities, we aim to strengthen their understanding and fluency in these key areas.

In addition to mastering the four processes, we will also be exploring 3D shapes, transformations, and capacity. Students will be engaging in activities that allow them to visualise, describe, and compare the properties of 3D shapes, understanding how these shapes are used in the real world. Through hands-on exploration, students will investigate transformations, such as translations, rotations, and reflections, gaining a clear understanding of symmetry and spatial reasoning.

We will also focus on capacity, where students will learn to estimate, measure, and compare the volume of different objects using appropriate units of measurement. This practical application will help them connect mathematical concepts to everyday life.

Furthermore, we will learn about fractions and decimals to enable students to develop understanding of part-whole relationships, equivalent fractions and decimal notation. Students will work on comparing, ordering, and representing fractions and decimals, while also solving problems involving the addition and subtraction of these numbers. Through a combination of individual and collaborative activities, students will strengthen their ability to apply these mathematical concepts to a variety of contexts, both in and outside the classroom.

Our approach will incorporate hands-on learning and problem-solving that encourage critical thinking and creativity. We are excited to see our students grow in confidence and enjoy the mathematical journey ahead this term!

Literacy - Readers and Writers Notebook

We will continue to develop the use of the Reader's and Writer’s Notebook model. Here we will continue to focus on important reading skills, such as: Predicting, Visualizing, Summarising, Making Connections, Questioning, Clarifying and Evaluating.

We will to elaborate on our inferring skills, by using clues from the text to understand meanings that are not directly stated. Students will combine their prior knowledge with the information provided by the author to make educated guesses about characters’ feelings, motivations, and events in the story. This strategy enhances their comprehension by encouraging them to think critically and read between the lines. By practising inferring, students develop deeper insights into the text, which helps them become more engaged and thoughtful readers.

5 simple inferring questions you could as your child when reading are:

Why do you think the character is feeling this way?
What do you think will happen next in the story?
Why do you think the character made that choice?
What clues from the text helped you understand what the character is thinking?
What do you think the author wants you to learn from this part of the story?

Writing

In Writing, our focus this term, students will embrace the world of poetry, narrative, and persuasive writing, developing their skills in different styles of expression.

In poetry, students will learn to appreciate how language can create mood, convey feelings, and express ideas in poetry. They will practise recognising and using poetic devices such as similes, metaphors, personification and alliteration to enhance the quality of their writing. In addition, students will develop their ability to revise and refine their poems, ensuring they achieve a balance between structure and creativity. They will explore rhythm, rhyme, and craft poems that capture emotions, images, and ideas. Through creative exercises, they’ll experiment with various poetic forms, such as rhyming couplets, acrostic poems, limericks, and haikus, bringing their words to life in meaningful and imaginative ways.

By the end of the term, students will not only be able to create well-structured poems, but also interpret and respond to poetry with an understanding of how different elements contribute to meaning. Through guided discussions and peer feedback, they will further develop critical thinking and analytical skills as they reflect on their own work and the work of others.

In narrative writing, students will go on exciting storytelling journeys, learning to write compelling stories with engaging openings, detailed plots, and satisfying endings. They’ll focus on using descriptive language to create vivid settings and characters, improving their ability to craft tales that captivate readers.

For persuasive writing, students will become young advocates, developing their arguments to persuade an audience. They will learn to structure their writing effectively, using evidence and strong reasoning to support their viewpoints. By studying various examples, they will become skilled at convincing others through clear and logical thinking.

With these different writing styles, students will not only sharpen their writing techniques but also build confidence in expressing themselves creatively and persuasively.

Families can support their child’s engagement with poems and narratives by providing opportunities for reading at home, listening to songs, and discussing the content.

Respectful Relationships

We will continue with the Respectful Relationships program, which is designed to educate children about healthy relationships, emphasising values like respect, empathy, consent, and equality. It aims to prevent aggression and violence by promoting positive interactions and conflict resolution skills among students. The curriculum covers various topics, including communication, emotions, consent, and bullying prevention, tailored to our students’ age and development. This is a Victorian Government initiative and is regularly evaluated to ensure the program's effectiveness and ongoing improvement, ultimately instilling important values in children for a lifetime of positive relationships.

Kitchen Classroom

In Term 4, we will continue with our exciting Kitchen Classroom lessons with Mrs Leason. Each odd week students will continue to learn skills for cooking as well as further develop healthy eating and food preparation. Team work will be a focus with an aim of producing fantastic eats. Please look out for all recipes which are posted on Google Classrooms.

This term we will be cooking up varied delights from curried nuggets to chocolate brownies.

Home study

This Term, your child is again expected to complete a longer Home Research Project, as well as daily reading and weekly maths activities.

1) A research-based project

Project options are designed to encourage exploration of appropriate information sources, summarise information and develop skills in organisation, responsibility and time management. Due Friday 29th November.

2) Weekly Math task

To be posted on Google Classroom on Monday and work to be answered in student Home Study books. If you are struggling to access a device please let your teacher know so they can print the activity for you. Maths will be checked by the teacher each Friday.

3) Nightly reading for approximately 15 - 20 mins. To instil a love of reading and to practise reading for comprehension.

Please sign your child’s diary once a week to demonstrate you have sighted or been part of reading. Diaries will be checked by the teacher each Friday.

Thank you for your cooperation with Home Learning.

Notes/reminders

If you would like to help to continue to improve our Class Libraries, please could you donate children's reading books to class teachers.
If you have any board games please feel free to donate them for our lunchtime clubs and wet day timetables
Please keep collecting pictures and clippings, such as: pictures, magazine clippings, photos, movie/concert/plane tickets etc for your child’s Writer’s and Reader’s Notebook.
Continue to sign reading logs in student diaries.
Year 3/4 camp is booked 4th-6th December. If you have any questions please let us know. It is encouraged for students to participate in a sleepover and start practising packing bags in preparation. More details will follow shortly and student cabins and groupings will also be organised in Term 4. We will ensure that students have at least one friend in their cabigroup.

Important dates

Yoga and Well Being incursion - 16th October
African Drumming incursion - 30th October
Coding incursion - 27th November
Friday 29th November - Celebrations Research project due
Camp - Wednesday 4th - Friday 6th December

Please feel free to make an appointment if you feel that you need to discuss any issues, concerns or have any queries regarding the curriculum. Our doors are always open so please don’t hesitate to contact us.

All updates throughout the Term will also be through the Compass app and our wonderful Parent Reps.

Thanks again for your support and we look forward again to another amazing Term!

The Middle School Team

Trevor Snelling, Tom Perkin, Catie Mytton, Sharon Stone, and Michael McKinnon/Andrew Park

Library