3/4 Area

Wellbeing 

Over the past few weeks, our students have been exploring what it means to care for ourselves and for others. We started by focusing on the power of kindness. Students learned about the impact of bullying and the importance of showing kindness, including others, and standing up for those around us. We also discovered how small actions can create a big impact — a smile, a kind word, or including someone in a game can make a real difference.

We then turned our attention to mindfulness and good sportsmanship. Students practised being mindful by using nature to calm and focus their minds. We also talked about what it means to be a good sport — and how our actions can show fairness, respect, and teamwork whether we win or lose.

Most recently, we have been learning about gratitude — what it means, why it matters, and the many ways practising gratitude can benefit our minds and lives.

We'd love you to keep these conversations going at home! Ask your child about the small kindness they showed this week, what they noticed in nature during their mindfulness practice, or one thing they're grateful for today.

Reading 

Over the past few weeks, our students have been developing their reading comprehension skills by engaging with rich, meaningful texts. We continued exploring the book Strangers on Country. Students learned how non-fiction details help us understand the real experiences of the people in the book. We worked on identifying and connecting the key messages of belonging, survival, and cultural practices across the different stories, and practised using evidence from the text to answer questions and show our understanding.

We then focused on explanation texts. Students learned to identify the purpose of language features used in these texts and recognise how they help the reader understand the information. We also developed skills in identifying the most important information, taking effective notes, and using those notes to summarise the key ideas in our own words.

Keep the learning going at home! You could ask your child to explain something — like how a bike works or how rain happens — and notice the language they use. Or ask them to tell you one idea they remember from Strangers on Country and how they know it from the text.

Maths 

In maths, our students have been building their skills in measurement and geometry. We started by learning about time. Students explored how the position of the hour hand changes as the minutes pass on an analogue clock, and how the number of minutes relates to where that hand sits. We also practised understanding how long a minute actually feels, estimating how long events might take, comparing the duration of different activities, and calculating the length of time between clock times.

We then moved into 3D shapes. Students learned to name common 3D objects and use vocabulary to describe their key features — such as faces, edges, and vertices. We explored how to describe and classify 3D objects using these features and practised drawing them from different perspectives.

Most recently, we have been learning about maps, shapes, and symmetry. Students are learning to locate and describe landmarks on maps using spatial language, and to interpret and create their own 2D representations of familiar environments. We are also exploring symmetry — recognising and describing line and rotational symmetry in 2D shapes.

Keep the learning going at home! You could ask your child to tell the time on an analogue clock, find 3D objects around the house and describe their features, or spot symmetrical shapes in everyday objects.

Alice in Wonderland! 

In Week 5, we were very lucky to be invited to Pascoe Vale Girls to watch the dress rehearsal of their wonderful production of Alice in Wonderland.

The students from Pascoe Vale Girls were absolutely wonderful and put on an amazing show!

Student feedback:

• In the Alice in Wonderland show, it was very decorated and energetic. All the girls worked so hard and so did the directors and producers. The play was incredible, my favourite part was the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum scene. I loved it! - Quin, 3/4D

• In the Alice in Wonderland musical, my favourtie characters were the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum characters because they were funny and energetic. It was a good show because they worked hard on the script and costumes. I loved the set design of the play. I would give it 5 out of 5 in my opinion! - Willa, 3/4D

• On the 12th of August the 3/4s went to Pascoe Vale Girls to watch their school production Alice in Wonderland. They added new songs, triples of characters and some characters that sang and danced. They started in February and present on August. My favourite character was the Chester cats, the narrator. We can agree that their show was great! - Felicity, 3/4B

• We went to Pascoe Vale Girls College to see Alice in Wonderland. We had a very good time and the acting was brilliant. My favourite part was when Queen of Hearts kept saying "off with your head!" - Jack, 3/4E

• We went to Pascoe Vale Girls College to see Alice in Wonderland. We had such a good time as Pascoe Vale Girls College. It was so interesting to watch and very fun. I loved it so much. - Zarah, 3/4E

• We went to Pascoe Vale Girls to watch the Alice in Wonderland production film and the play was really good. The part where the bunny hops out of his cage was my favourite part. - Gigi, 3/4E

PVG Science Fair

In Week 7, the Grade 3's were invited to Pascoe Vale Girls College to participate in a Science activity. 

Student feedback:

• A couple of weeks ago, the Grade Three's went to P.V.G.C and did some science!

It was really fun! They set up different science experiments. First, there were lotions and creams, we were seeing the difference. The second station was medicine. We were mixing different medicines and seeing what they did. The third section was juices! We mixed different juices and they changed colour. Them the last section was explosions! It was so cool. We had to wear safety glasses too. After that, we filled in a reflection sheet and had to go back to P.V.N.P. Hopefully we will come back again and do some more science! - Grace M, 3/4D

• All the Grade three's went to the Science Fair on Thursday. It was amazing! We did experiments, learnt about medicines and did some explosions! My favourite part was making rockets out of medicine. It was so cool! - Esther, 3/4E

• On Thursday we went to Pascoe Vale Girls College and it was fun science experiments. - Ismail, 3/4E

Book Week Fun – Where’s Wally?

In Week 7, we enjoyed a range of fun and engaging reading and writing activities as part of Book Week!

Miss Khammy organised an exciting Where’s Wally? activity, where students put their observation and descriptive writing skills to the test. Students searched around the oval to find hidden Wally images and used their recording sheets to describe what Wally looked like.

They were encouraged to include lots of detail, describing Wally’s clothing and accessories to help create a clear picture for their readers.

We had one winner from each class, who did an excellent job with their observations and descriptions. Well done to all of our students for getting involved and having fun with reading and writing during Book Week!

Responsible Pet Ownership Sessions

In Week 8, the 3/4 students participated in a Responsible Pet Ownership, where they learnt dog safety, like how to approach a dog and when to stay away as well as tips on how to be responsible pet owners. 

Upcoming: