Years 3/4

2026 Here we come!

Welcome to Cheltenham Primary School’s Middle School for the 2026 school year! We warmly welcome our new families and friends. We say a big hello to our new Year 3's, who have recently joined our Middle School community. We would also like to welcome back our wonderful Year 4 students and families. We are looking forward to a year filled with engaging learning experiences and exciting events, and we are excited to share this journey with you.

What we are learning - a 'snapshot' of Term One.

In the first couple of weeks, we have focused on building connections, establishing routines, and setting agreed upon Cheltenham Primary School expectations. This sets the stage for creating a positive learning environment and laying the foundation for your child to thrive as an active and engaged learner. We look forward to the collaborative efforts of teachers, students, parents and families, to make this school year memorable and successful. Together, we aim to foster an environment that nurtures curiosity, encourages growth, and supports the holistic development of each student.

Mathematics

Year 3/4 students will use Term 1 to consolidate and extend their understanding of key mathematical concepts, with a strong emphasis on developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Learning will focus on strengthening place value knowledge to 10,000, recognising odd and even numbers, and building fluency in addition and subtraction. Students will apply mathematical understanding in real-world contexts by interpreting temperature using thermometers and reading scales accurately. They will also develop time skills, including reading analogue and digital clocks and calculating elapsed time.

Literacy - Reader’s Workshop

The use of the Reader's Notebook model has highly effective outcomes and improved engagement for our literacy lessons. This approach guides students in selecting books that align with their reading comprehension, commonly referred to as their ‘Best Fit Books”, and dedicating substantial time for independent reading. A crucial element of this strategy involves providing students with the opportunity to engage in authentic discussions and “wonderings” about their chosen books, creating a supportive atmosphere for learning. Recognising the significance of student engagement, the freedom to select their own books is encouraged, aiming to instil a lifelong love for reading. With the guidance and enthusiasm of our passionate Middle School teaching team, students can acquire the skills to choose their “Best Fit Books” and uncover the 

immense joy associated with reading.

Literacy - Writer’s Workshop

This term in Writer’s Workshop, we are exploring where our ideas for writing come from and learning how to develop them into engaging pieces. Students are using planning templates to help organise their thoughts and structure their stories clearly. We are focusing on building strong, simple sentence structures by identifying the subject and verb, then expanding our sentences with surrounding details such as descriptive verbs, adjectives and adverbs. A key focus is choosing precise vocabulary to add detail and make our writing more interesting for the reader. We are also working on building writing stamina, encouraging students to write for longer periods of time while maintaining focus and quality.

Inquiry 

This term in Inquiry, students will be learning about civics and citizenship. They will explore how decisions are made in a democracy and the role local government plays in our community. Students will discuss the difference between rules and laws, as well as our rights and responsibilities as active citizens. They will investigate local services, ask questions, research information from different sources, and practise working together respectfully to discuss ideas and reach shared decisions.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN is in March 11 - 23 this year. This means results will be available earlier in the year to inform and support us to evaluate our teaching and learning programs to support students and ensure they are gaining important literacy and numeracy skills.

Leading into NAPLAN, we aim to prepare our students by making sure that they are familiar with the format of these tests and the structure of the questions. What is most important is that our students don’t fear NAPLAN. It is a way to celebrate educational growth and set goals for future achievement.

Homework

For take home books, students are asked read their library books (from main or classroom library) at home for 10-20 minutes minimum, 3-4 times a week. Some students may also come home with decodable texts to read as a take home reader. 

Students will take their Handwriting books home for practise and will be sighted each Monday by the classroom teacher. The book is broken into easily mangeable sections (2 pages), so students can continue working on letter formation.

This term, Year 3/4 students we'd appreciate your child practising number facts and their multiplication facts at home at least once a week. It is important that students have a deeper understanding of multiplication as opposed to rote learning the times tables facts. Here are some of the multiplication strategies that you can practice at home instead of rote learning the facts (see poster).

More ideas, links, games and suggestions for revision at home will be communicated via Compass and your child's Google Classroom portal. See link below for games with instructions and activities to play with your child.

Notes/reminders 

• Students must wear a hat outside, including leaving school, until May 1st. 
• If you would like to help to improve our Class Libraries, please could you donate children’s reading books to class teachers.

Term 1 Important Dates:

• Tuesday 24tth & Wednesday 25th of February Parent/Teacher Meet 'n' Greets  (booking via Compass 15:30 - 17:30)
• March 9th - Labour Day Public Holiday
• Wednesday 11 March – Monday 23 March 2026 - NAPLAN testing 
• March 24th - School Photograph Day
•  April 2nd - Last Day of Term 1. Dismissal at 2:30 pm

All further updates throughout the term will also be in the School Newsletter and through the Compass app. 

If you have any questions, or need to contact your child's teacher, please don't hesitate. Here's to a wonderful 2026.

Kind Regards,

The Middle School Team

Maddie Daniel, Andy Culvenor, Michael Neal, Kim Ng & Tom Perkin.