Grade 3 Community News

Dear Year 3 Families,

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Meet and Greet interviews. It was wonderful to be able to connect with everyone, learn more about our students and share valuable insights to support their learning journey this year. 

Over the past few weeks, the students have settled beautifully into their routines. They are consistently following class expectations and making the most of every learning opportunity, and we are so proud of the positive start they have made.

English

Text-Level Reading

Students have continued exploring Charlotte’s Web and are thoroughly engaged as we move closer to the conclusion of the story. They have been building both literal and inferential comprehension skills through rich discussions with their peers. Students have explored the author’s purpose in choosing particular language and events, and examined the impact of figurative language techniques such as polysyndeton, anaphora and metaphors.

Sentence-Level Writing

Students have consolidated their understanding of sentence structure by revising the components of a complete sentence: the subject (who or what the sentence is about) and the predicate (what the subject does or what happens to the subject). They have applied this knowledge in a range of activities, including unscrambling sentences to make them coherent, composing complex sentences using a variety of conjunctions, and completing sentences using because, but and so to strengthen their understanding of how these conjunctions shape meaning.

Text-Level Writing

Students have begun planning and drafting the middle and ending of their narratives. Using the “narrative hill,” they have identified that the middle of a story introduces the main problem, followed by the solution. They have focused on building suspense as their stories rise toward the central conflict. Students are developing their understanding of how problems can be resolved, with some extending their writing to include failed attempts that show characters making multiple efforts to solve the issue.

Drawing on their study of Charlotte’s Web, students are incorporating rich language features into their writing. These include descriptive adjectives to convey characters’ feelings, adverbs of time, place and manner to add detail, and a range of conjunctions to link ideas smoothly and effectively.

Maths

Students have continued to strengthen their number knowledge through the use of bundling sticks. These hands-on materials are grouped into tens to reinforce the concept that 10 ones equal 1 ten. Using bundles of ten and individual ones, students have built two-digit numbers to deepen their understanding of place value.

They have also explored number bonds to model part–part–whole relationships. Through this, students have practised writing addition and subtraction equations to identify missing parts, further consolidating their understanding of how numbers can be broken apart and recombined.

Humanities

In Humanities, students have been learning about the roles and responsibilities of individuals and groups within communities. They have explored the difference between individual and collective responsibility, discussing real-life scenarios such as playground behaviour, bullying and caring for shared environments. Students examined how responsibilities in schools and communities have changed over time, comparing the past with the present and considering why communities evolve due to factors such as technology, population growth and changing values. They also explored how significant events and influential individuals can act as catalysts for change.

REMINDERS:

• In Term 1 all students are required to wear a Tarneit Rise Primary School hat at both recess and lunch. If you need to purchase a hat, please visit the front office. 
• Students need to have their own pencil cases this year; we recommend leaving them at school to save them from being left at home. Please only bring to school the items required on the book list. Any gel pens and markers will need to stay home. 
• Students are encouraged to be reading at home each night. 
• Please sign the BYOD user agreement so students can be using the iPads in the classroom ASAP: https://forms.gle/U6b7tSj6C8aRdvFG8. If students are bringing their own iPads to school, please ensure they are charging these every night as we have limited chargers in the classroom.

Important dates to remember this term:

• Monday, 9th of March is Labour Day public holiday.
• On Friday 20th March, Tarneit Rise will celebrate Harmony Day. A special day that recognises the many cultures, backgrounds, and traditions that make our school community so vibrant. Harmony Day teaches students that everyone belongs and deserves to feel safe, valued, and respected. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to dress up in their cultural attire or something orange and celebrate what makes each of us unique!

Warmest regards,

PLC3