What's Happening in the Middle School
Year 3
What’s Happening in Year 3 in Weeks 1 and 2
We hope all of our students had a wonderful break and enjoyed some quality time with their families. Term 2 was a busy and rewarding time. The highlights included our excursion to McCrae Homestead, a special visit from a volunteer who spoke to the Year 3 students about local history, and the creation of some fantastic historical narratives. This term, we are looking forward to diving into our new Design and Technology unit, where students will explore how food can be selected and prepared to support healthy eating habits.
Over the next fortnight, Year 3 students will be learning about...
Wellbeing
- Reflecting and sharing about our holidays with the class
- Exploring our individuality and creating a ‘My identity wheel’
Literacy
- Learning about the /ow/ sound
- Reviewing our learning about Vowel Teams and Diphthongs
- Introduce our text for Term 3, Storm Boy – a story of a boy named Mike (“Storm Boy”) and his relationship with a pelican named Mr. Percival. This text will explore the themes of friendship, nature, and loss
Maths
- Revisit multiplication and division
- Continue committing multiplication facts to memory
- Consolidate number facts & efficient number strategies
Knowledge Unit
This fortnight we will be beginning our learning for Design and Technology and specifically healthy food choices, food preparation and seasonal foods. Firstly we will look at the purpose of the design and technology process and specifically how it relates to food production. Then we will be focussing of food and fibre and how our senses (colour, aroma, taste, sound and texture) influence the foods we eat.
Reminders
- Please ensure Library books are brought to school to be returned or reborrowed on your child’s library day
- It is expected that all students are reading 5 times a week for at least 20 minutes, this can be recorded in their diary and will be checked by their teacher
- For our Design and Technology Unit this term, we would like to invite any parent experts to come in and speak to the children about their careers. If you are available, please let the Year 3 teachers know
- The Year 3’s participate in Sport on a Thursday, please ensure on these days your child is wearing suitable footwear
- With camp coming up at the beginning of Term 4, many children have expressed anxieties around sleeping away from home. In preparation, it could be beneficial for your child to practice sleeping in a different bed with a sleeping bag. This could be in a different room in your house or at a relative or friend’s house.
Year 4
What’s Happening in Year 4 in Weeks 1 and 2
We hope you all enjoyed the break and managed to have some cosy days at home with your family. This term will include a science incursion with ‘Taskworks’. Students will be provided with an opportunity to explore forces in physics using specialised equipment that will be brought onsite to keep the cost of this experience lower. There will also be a Years 4, 5 and 6 House Athletics Carnival happening early in Term 3 to look forward to. The Year 4 teaching team are all looking forward to an exciting new term!
Wellbeing
Students will continue to listen to a podcast called ‘Grow Your Mind’ during class sessions. The next two weeks will focus on how we find joy as well as how to develop a mindset of gratitude throughout your day.
Literacy
Our spelling program, Word Origins, will continue to be implemented throughout the second semester. Writing sessions will be focusing on report writing to support our subject area of science in Term 3. Our mentor text will be “Deep’ written by Jess McGeachin.
Maths
The Year 4 students will be focusing on the processes of multiplication and division throughout Term 3. All areas of Maths that were studied throughout the first semester will also be frequently reviewed to facilitate deeper understanding of concepts.
Knowledge Unit
Our Knowledge Unit in Term 3 will be ‘Science’. Students will be learning about simple physics such as forces as well as studying the impact of food chains in the living world.
Homework
The Year 4 students are expected to read every night and record their progress in their personal diaries. It is the responsibility of the student to bring their diary to school every day and take it home each night to log their reading. Classroom teachers will be checking and signing these diaries regularly to monitor student reading habits. The student diary will also be used to highlight important dates and reminders.
Important Year 4 Dates:
Monday July 28th – House Athletics Carnival
Tuesday September 2nd – Taskworks Incursion
Friday September 19th – Last Day of Term 3
