Grade 3/4 News

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM 3/4B

What an absolute delight it has been to watch the Grade 3/4B students grow, learn, and blossom this year. They have tackled challenges with courage, celebrated each other’s successes, and filled our classroom with more personality than I ever thought possible. I will miss them terribly, but I have seen enough to know they are more than ready to spread their wings next year (and probably fly a little faster than I can keep up!).

A huge thank you to all my 3/4B families for your consistent support, quick replies, and clear communication, qualities that really made our year run like a well-oiled machine. You should all be incredibly proud of your children. I know I am. The growth they have made, individually and as a group, has been nothing short of extraordinary. It’s been a privilege to teach them.

I also want to shine a light on the phenomenal Mrs N, who has not only gone above and beyond for our students, but has supported me. And Miss Jenni, our Friday ray of sunshine, thank you for being incredible, as always. We were very lucky to have both of you this year. A big shout-out as well to Cass and Mr Reid, who “made the cut” and joined our class throughout the year, thank you for bringing your energy, patience, and humour to 3/4B.

Hopefully I will see many of you before the year wraps up, but just in case we miss each other in the flurry of end-of-year chaos, I want to wish you and your families a restful, joy-filled Christmas and a New Year overflowing with health and happiness.

Below, you will find a short Christmas-themed video featuring the students sharing their festive wishes, so hopefully Santa will get their memo’s.

The audio may feature a bit of “authentic outside ambience” (also known as background noise), but the students’ excitement still shines just as brightly as tinsel on a tree. Fingers crossed it’s not too late to add their requests to the Christmas list! It seems Santa might need to expand his kennels this year  as a surprising number of my students have added ‘puppy, please!’ to the very top of their Christmas lists!

I hope you enjoy it.

Merry Christmas everyone x

3/4A Fluency Fun in Our Classroom

In our class, we take fluency seriously—but we also make sure it’s fun!

Mondays are our big vocabulary days. We explore key words from our weekly text, highlight them, discuss them, and build background knowledge to set everyone up for success. As I model fluent reading, students track with their fingers and call out the vocabulary words when we reach them—it's lively, engaging, and keeps everyone tuned in.

Later in the week, we shift to shared reading, giving students a chance to rehearse the text and build confidence. They know they might be called on at any moment, which keeps them on their toes—and they actually love it!

We also enjoy fluency pairs, where students buddy up to practice reading aloud. This gives them extra time to build smooth, expressive reading as well as strengthen their memory, confidence, and overall reading stamina.

Concert:

What a couple of weeks it’s been! We’ve been buzzing with excitement, energy, and just a little bit of glitter as we put the final touches on our dance routine. We’re grooving to the beat, and after LOTS of rehearsals (and then a few more… and maybe one more after that), we are officially stage-ready!If you have any questions or concerns about the concert, please feel free to email me.

geena.mawby@education.vic.go.au

Library Books

A friendly reminder: if you have any school library books at home, please return them as soon as possible so we can wrap up the year properly. Thank you for helping us keep our library complete!

A Big Thank You

I want to take a moment to say thank you for your incredible support throughout the year. Your partnership truly makes a difference—it’s a team effort, and I appreciate every bit of it. I’ve had an amazing time teaching your children, and I wish them all the very best for next year.

Have a wonderful break!