Year 4 News 

As we come to the end of a busy and productive Term 2, we would like to congratulate all Year 4 students on their hard work, enthusiasm and positive attitude towards learning. 

Throughout the term, students have engaged in a wide range of learning experiences, and we are proud of the growth students have shown academically, socially and emotionally over the past semester. We look forward to sharing their Semester 1 reports and celebrating their achievements. Thank you to our families for your ongoing support and partnership throughout the term. 

We wish everyone a safe, restful and enjoyable holiday break and look forward to welcoming students back for another exciting term of learning in Semester 2. 

National Simultaneous Storytime 2026 

Our students enjoyed taking part in National Simultaneous Storytime, joining millions of children across Australia to share the same story at the same time. 

This year’s featured book, Luna Roo: The Kangaroo Baller by Adam Jackson and Adrian Lloyd, captivated students with its exciting story of courage, teamwork, determination and believing in yourself. Through shared reading and follow-up classroom discussions, students celebrated the joy of storytelling while developing their literacy skills and fostering a love of reading. 

National Simultaneous Storytime was a wonderful opportunity to connect with readers across the country and highlight the power of books to bring people together. 

Year 4 Text Study – The Tale of Despereaux 

This term, Year 4 students have been enjoying our class novel, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. The story follows Despereaux, a brave and unusual mouse, whose journey intertwines with that of Roscuro, a lonely rat seeking forgiveness and belonging. 

Through the novel, students have explored important themes of friendship, hope, courage and redemption, while discussing the choices characters make and how these shape the story. 

The students used Learn to Draw tutorials to create detailed illustrations of Despereaux and Roscuro. They carefully followed drawing techniques to bring these memorable characters to life, demonstrating creativity, persistence and attention to detail. We are very proud of their artistic efforts and thoughtful engagement with the novel. 

Inquiry 

We have begun our new Unit of Inquiry, How We Express Ourselves.

Our central idea is that people communicate by expressing themselves in many different ways. 

Last week, we explored a variety of ways people communicate, including speaking, listening, painting, singing, and dancing. Students created word puzzles to showcase their understanding, which are now on display in the classroom. 

We also discussed how some people experience challenges with communication and learned about alternative forms of communication, including sign language and Braille. Students practised having simple conversations using sign language. They learned how to introduce themselves by fingerspelling their names, ask someone their name, and use phrases such as “How are you?” along with appropriate responses. 

The students were fascinated by the Braille system and learned about the six-dot cell pattern used to create Braille characters. They then used this knowledge to write their names in Braille. 

This week, we have been exploring the importance of facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language in effective communication. Students discussed how misunderstandings can occur when one of these elements is missing. For example, when reading a text message, it can be difficult to interpret the writer’s tone of voice, which can sometimes lead to miscommunication. 

We look forward to continuing our inquiry into effective communication and exploring new ways people express themselves throughout Term 3. 

Yard Tidy Up 

In Week 7, it was the Year 4 students’ turn to take part in a yard tidy-up to help keep our school grounds clean and cared for. Students worked together to collect rubbish from around the yard and were surprised by how much litter they found. 

We were pleased to notice however, that there was much less rubbish on Nude Food Day, held as part of World Environment Day on 5 June. This showed that many students made thoughtful choices to reduce waste and help protect our environment. 

Well done to all students for taking pride in our school and helping to make a positive difference!