From the Year 3 Classroom
Students have now completed the planning stage of their narrative writing and have moved into drafting, editing, and publishing their stories based on the prompt, "Write a narrative with an unlikely friendship at its core." Throughout this process, they have worked hard to develop engaging characters, detailed settings, and interesting plotlines that bring their ideas to life.
We have been impressed by the creativity, imagination, and effort students have shown as they transform their plans into well-structured narratives. As we finish the term, students will focus on refining and publishing their work, and we look forward to celebrating their completed stories and the wonderful growth they have shown as writers.
Less than two weeks to go until the end of Term 3. How quickly has this term flown by! It has been a busy and exciting term, and we are finishing with a bang. Students have enjoyed a range of special events, including Reconciliation Night, the Athletics Carnival, R U OK? Day, and Footy Colours Day.
Term 4 Excursion
A reminder that our Term 4 excursion to Mansfield Zoo will take place on 20 October. You should have received information and permission forms for this exciting day. To help us finalise arrangements before the school holidays, please return all required forms as soon as possible.
Thank you for your support. We are looking forward to a fantastic day of learning and adventure with the students!
Reading
As we near the end of our class novel, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, students have thoroughly enjoyed following the adventures of Wilbur, Charlotte, Fern, and their barnyard friends. Throughout the story, they have explored important themes such as friendship, kindness, loyalty, and perseverance while developing their reading comprehension, vocabulary, and discussion skills.
Students have shared thoughtful responses to the characters and events in the novel, and many have enjoyed reflecting on the lessons they can apply to their own lives. We have loved seeing their enthusiasm for this much-loved classic and are proud of the engagement and learning they have demonstrated during our novel study.
This week we had the chance to watch how a spider in real life weaves a web across a stream. The students were fascinated so we thought it was worthwhile to share!
Amazing spider baffles scientists with huge web | The Hunt - BBC
Writing
Students have now completed the planning stage of their narrative writing and have moved into drafting, editing, and publishing their stories based on the prompt, "Write a narrative with an unlikely friendship at its core." Throughout this process, they have worked hard to develop engaging characters, detailed settings, and interesting plotlines that bring their ideas to life.
We have been impressed by the creativity, imagination, and effort students have shown as they transform their plans into well-structured narratives. As we finish the term, students will focus on refining and publishing their work, and we look forward to celebrating their completed stories and the wonderful growth they have shown as writers.
SpellEx
Last week and throughout the remainder of the term, students participated in spelling lessons focused on rabbit words (words with double consonants), the soft c sound (/s/), the soft g sound (/j/), and the suffix -ion. Students are exploring spelling patterns and rules, practising identifying these features in words, and applying their understanding through a variety of reading and writing activities.
We encourage students to continue practising these patterns at home and to look for examples in their everyday reading. Developing confidence with these spelling patterns helps to strengthen both spelling accuracy and writing fluency.
This week's tricky words are:
- decide
- decided
- celebrate
- dangerous
Maths
We finished our Addition and Subtraction Unit this week with learning about adding money amounts and calculating change from both $5 and $10 amounts. As this is such an important life skill, please allow your child to use catalogues or even cash to exercise their money skills.
We end of term in Math lessons learning about 3D shapes and their properties, including faces, edges and vertices and compare their features.
Congratulations to our recent Multiplication Masters Sacrlett Stacy, Zali Boulton and Brian Su!
Please continue to encourage students to regularly practise their multiplication tables and read analogue clock times to improve accuracy.
Inquiry
We are continuing our Inquiry unit, The Mystery of Australia’s History, and students have been enthusiastically exploring the early history of Australia. We have begun investigating the First Fleet and learning about important world explorers, including Captain James Cook.
Students have enjoyed researching this significant period in Australia’s past and discovering what life was like for convicts during the early years of colonisation. Through discussions, research activities, and historical sources, they are developing a deeper understanding of the challenges, experiences, and perspectives of people living during this time. It has been wonderful to see students asking thoughtful questions and engaging with Australia’s rich and complex history.
Religion
We have recently completed our Religion unit, Living Jesus’ Mission. Throughout this unit, students explored how Jesus showed God’s love through caring for, welcoming, and serving others. They learned how Christians are called to continue Jesus’ mission by helping to make the world a more loving, just, and compassionate place.
Through a range of discussions, reflections, and learning activities, students developed their understanding of kindness, compassion, service, and caring for both others and creation. They were encouraged to consider how their own words and actions can make a positive difference and share God’s love with those around them.
We are proud of the thoughtful insights' students shared during this unit and the ways they have connected these important messages to their everyday lives.
Have a good week,
Year 3 Team
Kellie - kcowan@shyarrawonga.catholic.edu.au