Year 3 Celebration Newsletter

Reading:

This term in Reading, the Grade 3 students participated in various author studies. Throughout these author studies, students learned about where the author came from and their background. After studying the author, each class then studied a particular novel. Throughout these novel studies, students analysed certain chapters. They practised all of the comprehension strategies and looked deeper into the characters and the plot of the narrative.

Writing:

This term in Writing, the Grade 3 students wrote Persuasive letters pieces focusing on the techniques - students looked into the techniques and language used in them to persuade the audience. Students created procedural pieces where they looked into the structure and language features, they also created their own procedural pieces.

Mathematics:

This term in Mathematics, the Grade 3 students focused on volume and capacity concepts. They delved into understanding and working with measurements related to the amount of space inside containers and learned how to compare different capacities. Students also focused on money whereby they acquired valuable skills in handling money and receiving change. They also explored fractions and decimals, focusing on modelling and representing various fractions and conducting investigations into equivalent fractions, further enhancing their mathematical proficiency.

Wellbeing:

During the fourth term, students in Grade 3 continued their engagement in weekly activities centred around the Resilience Project. These activities integrated elements from the Resilience, Rights, and Respectful Relationships toolkit. The primary focus of these lessons remained on nurturing and enhancing students' personal and social skills, fostering qualities such as empathy, mindfulness, and gratitude. This holistic approach aimed to shape our students into compassionate and considerate contributors to our school community.

Inquiry:

In our Chemical Science unit, students investigated the properties of solids, liquids, and gases, focusing on how matter can change states. They explored the impact of heat and cooling on these states, observing how heat can cause substances to melt or expand, while cooling can lead to freezing.

In our Digital Technologies Unit students focused on answering three main questions -

* How digital systems share information.

* What types of data digital systems transmit.

* How digital and information systems meet personal, school or community needs.

They looked at input and output devices and explored Google Earth and how it was created.

PERFORMING ARTS:

This term the Grade 3 and 4 students explored concepts of song structure, including chorus and verse, as well as beat and rhythm when they worked on a Body Percussion performance to the sea shanty song ‘The Wellerman’. Students used patterns of sounds created by tapping, stomping and clapping and combined this with learning the lyrics to the song. Students were very proud off themselves when they shared their performance at assembly. In the second half of the term, students enjoyed rehearsing for the Kismet Christmas Carols and built their on-stage confidence when they shared their performance with the Kismet Community.

VISUAL ARTS

This term, students had the opportunity to learn about the rich culture and traditions of the Aboriginal people of Australia. They discovered that stories about the land, animals, ancestors, and the Dreamtime are shared through spoken stories and shown in artwork.

Students participated in a series of learning activities that led to a completed artwork titled ‘Bush Medicine’. Students explored the shapes, colours and appearance of leaves from local native trees, as well as colour mixing and mark making through painting and collage. Students practised the painting technique of blending and applying their colour knowledge to make painted papers used to create their own leaves. The dot painting technique was explored as a final element of their artwork.

JAPANESE

This term in Japanese, the Grade 3 and 4 students developed their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills through a unit on transport. Students developed their vocabulary of 10 vehicles and how to use them in the sentences “I love ~”, “I like ~” “I don’t like ~”. Students also revised their previously learned self-introductions. They continued to learn new hiragana and consolidate previously learned hiragana, to support their reading and writing in Japanese. Students learned about undokai (Sports festival) which is celebrated in October in Japan.

In Grades 3-4 PE classes, students continued to develop their fundamental movement skills while exploring more challenging games and sports. They refined their techniques and strategies, focusing on fair play and teamwork. Students refined their skills while playing sports like pickleball. Grade 3-4 students were also given the opportunity to learn and play Indigenous Australian games. They learnt how to play a variety of games and taught them to their classmates.