From the Year 3 Classroom
Sacred Heart Primary School Yarrawonga
Welcome back to Term 4! We hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing break and is ready for an exciting term ahead. We have a very busy and fun-filled term planned, including sporting events, our excursion to Mansfield Zoo, public holidays, and plenty of end-of-year celebrations.
We are looking forward to our upcoming excursion to Mansfield Zoo in Week 3! This exciting experience will provide students with the opportunity to observe a wide variety of animals up close and make real-world connections to our Reading, Writing, and Inquiry learning about animals and their environments. It promises to be a fun and engaging day filled with learning and exploration. Students will be provided with a sausage sizzle lunch on the day. Students will still need to bring recess and snacks for the day.
A friendly reminder that all students are required to wear their school hats each day as the weather warms up. Please also ensure that reader diaries are brought to school every Friday.
We look forward to a fantastic final term together!
Reading:
In Reading this week, we have begun reading The One and Only Ivan, a captivating novel that encourages students to think deeply about friendship, freedom, and life in captivity. As we read, students are exploring different note-taking strategies to record information about animals in captivity. These notes will form the foundation of our next writing piece. We are also building our vocabulary knowledge by learning and discussing new and interesting words from the text to support both reading comprehension and writing.
SpellEx:
To culminate Term 3 Spell Ex, we held a Spelling Bee in week 10 of last term based on the words and phonemes we have learnt thus far. A big congratulations to all our Spelling Bee finalists and also to Ollie Kennedy who took out overall champion!
In SpellEx, we are currently participating in a review week, revising and consolidating the spelling patterns, rules, and skills we have learned over recent weeks. This provides students with an opportunity to strengthen their understanding and confidence before moving on to new learning. Next week, students will begin exploring prefixes, including mis-, un-, dis-, im-, and in-, and how these prefixes can change the meaning of words. We look forward to seeing students apply this knowledge to their reading and writing
Writing:
In Writing, students have begun planning and drafting a persuasive piece based on the viewpoint that animals should not be kept in captivity. Using the note-taking skills developed during our Reading sessions, students have gathered facts, reasons, and evidence to support their arguments. Students have been highly engaged throughout this learning, with many students feeling strongly and passionately about the topic. We are looking forward to seeing these ideas come together in some powerful and persuasive writing pieces over the coming weeks.
Maths:
In Mathematics, we have started our new Data unit. Students are learning about different methods of collecting data, how to write clear and specific survey questions, and which data collection methods are most effective for gathering accurate information. Later in the term, students will use this data to create and interpret pictographs, as well as create and analyse column graphs. We are excited to see students develop their data and graphing skills as they investigate and present information in meaningful ways.
Inquiry
In Inquiry, we have started our new Earth and Space Science unit, with a focus on the Sun and its importance to life on Earth. Students have been learning about what the Sun is, what it is made of, and how it provides us with light and heat. Through discussions, videos, and investigations, students are developing an understanding of how the Sun affects our everyday lives and supports life on our planet. We look forward to continuing our exploration of Earth and space throughout the term.
Religion:
In Religion, we are learning to recognise how relationships can become hurt or broken through people’s words, actions, and choices. Students are exploring the importance of kindness, empathy, forgiveness, and making positive choices in their daily lives. We are also learning about The Parable of the Lost Sheep and what it teaches Christians about God's unconditional love, care, and forgiveness. Through discussions and reflection activities, students are developing a deeper understanding of how we can show compassion and seek to repair relationships when mistakes are made
Have a good week,
Year 3 Team
Kellie - kcowan@shyarrawonga.catholic.edu.au