From the Year 3 Classroom

We have another exciting week ahead in Year 3, with some upcoming special events for our school community.

Grandparents Day – Thursday

This Thursday we look forward to celebrating Grandparents Day. Grandparents are warmly invited to join us for our Mass at 10:00am, followed by a shared recess with students. After recess, grandparents are welcome to spend some time visiting our Year 3 classrooms and sharing in their grandchildren’s learning. We are excited to welcome our grandparents and special visitors and thank them for the important role they play in our students’ lives.

Pupil Free Day – Next Wednesday

A reminder that next Wednesday is a Pupil Free Day. Students are not required to attend school on this day. We hope families enjoy the extra time together and look forward to welcoming students back the following day.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to another wonderful week of learning and community celebration in Year 3.

Reading-

Students have begun reading and exploring The Iron Man, a classic children’s novel about a mysterious and colossal metal robot who appears in a coastal farming village. Through their reading, students are developing their comprehension skills by using their knowledge of text structures and language features and by monitoring their understanding of the text. They are asking and answering questions to clarify meaning and deepen their understanding, while also identifying and describing how literary devices help shape meaning in the story. Students are expanding their vocabulary by learning and applying new words encountered throughout the novel, enriching both their reading and writing skills.

Writing

In Writing, students have been highly engaged in our Information Report unit, where they have been independently researching a natural disaster of their choice, including earthquakes, bushfires, cyclones and tsunamis. Using their new devices, library books and teacher-provided research materials, students have been working hard to gather as much information as possible about their chosen topic.

As part of this process, we have been developing important research and writing skills. Students have been practising note-taking, identifying key information, and learning how to summarise information in their own words. We have also been focusing on writing effective because, but and so sentences to help students expand and explain their ideas clearly.

This week, students will begin drafting their information reports using the facts and notes they have collected. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm and curiosity throughout this unit. The students have embraced the challenge of researching independently and are thoroughly enjoying the writing process. We look forward to sharing their finished reports in the coming weeks.

Spelling

In Spelling, we have recently completed our end-of-term SpellEx review, revisiting all of the spelling concepts and patterns we have learned over the past 10 weeks. It has been fantastic to see the growth students have made and how much their confidence and spelling knowledge have developed throughout the term. Students should be very proud of the progress they have achieved.

This week, our focus is on contractions – shortened forms of words such as can't, don't and I'm. Students have been learning how to identify the two words that make up a contraction, determine which letters are removed, and correctly place the apostrophe to show the missing letters.

To support their understanding, we have been using the Cross, Pop and Slide technique. This strategy helps students clearly see how contractions are formed and makes the process both engaging and easy to remember. We look forward to continuing to build students' spelling skills as they apply their new learning in their reading and writing throughout the week.

The tricky word lists that we will keep revising include: to, too, two, who, together, remember, tomorrow, different, beautiful, through, surprise, never, every, ever, chocolate, people, believe, after, please, really. Ask your child to spell out the words using their ‘spelling voice’.

New words: there, their, they're, don't, won't and can't

Maths

In Mathematics, students will be exploring the concept of angles through a series of engaging lessons. Building on their prior understanding of half, quarter and three-quarter turns, they will learn that angles measure the amount of turn between two lines. Students will practise recognising and comparing angles, with a particular focus on identifying right angles. They will also investigate angles in real-world objects and environments and learn to label and draw the different parts of an angle. This foundational learning will support students as they move on to naming and measuring angles in greater detail in future years.

Reminder: Please continue practising your times tables at home. Regular practice helps build confidence, improve recall speed, and supports learning across many areas of Mathematics. Even a few minutes of practice each day can make a big difference! 📚➕✖️

Unit: Known, Loved and Called: Choosing the Way of Jesus

In Religion, students will explore their identity as people who are created, known and loved by God, and consider how this understanding shapes the way they live each day. Through Scripture and the example of Jesus, students will learn that Christian identity is grounded in God's love and call, rather than popularity, success or mistakes. They will explore how followers of Jesus are invited to make thoughtful and loving choices in everyday situations, particularly in friendships, school life and their wider community. Students will also consider how Christians listen to Jesus, reflect on what is loving and right, and think about how their actions impact others. Through these learning experiences, students will develop a deeper understanding of how faith can guide their decisions and relationships.

Reconciliation Update

Reminder next Reconciliation meeting is Tuesday 25th August.

Inquiry

The Mystery of Australian History

This term in History, students are learning about Australia’s past by exploring the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the arrival of Europeans, and the impact of exploration and settlement. They will investigate how communities change over time, the contributions of different people and groups, and how significant events from the past are remembered today. Through these studies, students will develop a deeper understanding of Australia’s history and heritage.

This week we investigated the importance of Country to Indigenous peoples and their connection to land and language.

Below are some of the languages that we learnt about plants and their uses.

Have a good week,

Year 3 Team