Hello Grade 4 families! We are quickly approaching the end of the term, and our students have been working extremely hard on their learning. There have been many exciting things happening throughout the Grade 4 cohort over the past few weeks.

READING

In Reading, the students have been learning about ‘Early and Medieval African Kingdoms’ through their R2L unit. They have been utilising the information that they learned in the beginning of the unit about the geographical features of Africa to make connections with their new learning. Over the past few weeks, students have been understanding the importance of salt in the country of Ghana, the Trans-Sahara trade, exploring the city of Timbuktu, and studying the history of the reign of Mansa Musa. They are thoroughly enjoying learning about the rich history of Africa!

In vocabulary, our lessons are continuing to focus on words being taken from our serial text, ‘The Indian in the Cupboard’. In Morphology, students are also continuing on with exploring different suffixes such as -en, -est, -ion, -able, and -ible, learning about how the meaning of a word changes when these suffixes are applied.

WRITING

In Writing, the students have been working extremely hard on creating their information reports. They have continued to utilise their notes that they have taken during their R2L lessons, and are using these to create their body paragraphs, introduction and conclusion for their report on ‘Early and Medieval African Kingdoms’. Students have been using a Multiple Paragraph Outline (MPO) to support them in writing their information report, and are finding this very useful. In addition to creating their paragraphs, students are also learning how to include different language features in their body paragraphs, such as figurative language, appositives, comparative language, present tense and third person perspective. They are currently in the process of self-assessing their information report against their student-friendly rubric, and will use their voice to determine their next writing goal.

MATHS

In Maths, the students have concluded their unit on Mass, Volume and Capacity. They had plenty of opportunities to engage with hands-on activities that supported them in consolidating their knowledge about measuring and comparing the mass, volume and capacity of different objects. They also explored the different units of measurement used for each of these areas, as well as how to convert between these measurements.

EXCURSION - YOU YANGS REGIONAL PARK

Over the last few weeks, our students were lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on an excursion to the You Yangs Regional Park. Here, they were able to consolidate their knowledge about the history of Indigenous Australians and European Colonisation in Australia, as well as explore some of the native flora and fauna in the area. On the excursion, the students took part in a walk around the Big Rock, led by one of the park’s rangers. They also went on a nature scavenger hunt around the park and had the opportunity to spot the Snowy Mint Bush, Granite Boulder, Boneseed, and the Superb Fairy-Wren.

REMINDERS

Music Incursion

On Friday the 15th of December, students will have the opportunity to experience a musical incursion by Brass Bedlam. They will get to see a live performance where they can observe each instrument being played, as well as participate in an educational discussion about music and brass instruments. The cost of this incursion is $2 and payments can be made via Compass.

Hats

In Terms 1 and 4, all students must have a Tarneit Rise hat to wear at recess and lunch. Hats are available to purchase from the office if your child needs one.

Attendance

It is crucial that all students are attending school every day so they can work on their learning goals and don’t miss important lessons. Please book holidays during school holiday periods rather than during the school term to make sure valuable learning time is not missed.

Whole School Events