Level 4: Connect

Welcome:

Well, here we are at the end of Week 6 already! It's been a wonderful term thus far with lots of work on fractions, decimals, place value, sustainability, Australian, South American and African geography, lots of descriptive writing, activities to develop and refine our reading strategies, cyber safety and lots more.

We are very much looking forward to camp next week. Thank you all for your support with all the camp forms, packing and organisation. It's bound to be a wonderful camp that will provide lifelong memories for your child. We will include lots of camp photos in the next newsletter!

Homework:

We hope that Level 4 students have been accessing some of the activities that were on offer in last fortnight's newsletter. Please see some further ideas in this week's newsletter below for some homework ideas.

Our expectation is that students will still be involved in nightly reading: being read to, reading independently or reading to someone else. Mathletics tasks will continue to be set each week with a focus on the content we are covering in class!

Camp:

Only a few sleeps to go till we head to Phillip Island Adventure Resort! There's lots of excitement in the air in the Level 4 classrooms this week!

Hopefully you all received the note via Compass late last week that outlined all the necessary information for camp. Some key reminders include:

• Please pack a pillowcase, sleeping bag and fitted sheet
• Morning tea, lunch and reusable water bottle needed for Monday- no nuts please- in your child's small backpack to take on the bus
• No extra food to be packed apart from above
• Please ensure that everything is labelled to help avoid lost items
• Long pants such as tracksuit pants or jeans are required for students to go on the giant swing and flying fox

Please remember that if your child is to take any medication whilst at camp, we need a medical authority signed by a doctor (see form in resource section) to be handed in at the time of handing in medication. If you haven't already handed in your child's meds to Miss G., please do so Monday morning.

If your child is unwell on Monday morning, please consider whether or not they are fit and well enough to attend camp. The last thing we need is the spread of illness while we are away. Thanks for your support with this.

Looking forward to a fantastic camp! 

Literacy:

In the upcoming fortnight students will continue to make connections through text and visual mediums. They will use their personal experience and apply this to their writing. We will also be investigating some interesting and creative ways to reflect on our experiences from camp.

Students will also begin to explore Morphology which is the analysis of the meaningful parts of words. This will include unpacking prefixes, suffixes and root words and how they affect the meaning of a word. They will engage in a range of activities which will support their understanding of word formation, expand their vocabulary, support their spelling and assist with their reading.

Maths:

As we head into camp next week, we plan to incorporate mathematics, specifically focusing on fractions and decimals, into our daily activities. During scheduled events like the giant swing, ponding, the flying fox, archery, and nature spotting, we will embed vocabulary to help students recognise fractions and decimals in nature. This approach will help students make simple connections and shift their mindset from viewing maths as just traditional worksheets.

Students have also focused on their WIN goals (What I Need) over the last two weeks. Everyday after recess, students will focus on their goal for 15-20 minutes.  Students have chosen their own goals on areas of interest that they would like to see an improvement. Some goals include: learning their Roman Numerals, improving their times tables and learning the properties of 3D shapes. 

Please ask your child what their WIN goal is and they can practise activities to support their goal at home.

Inquiry: 

We are continuing on with discovering lots of exciting facts about the countries within South America. Students are using atlases to find out such things as capital cities, mountains, rivers and oceans and seas. 

Students are also finding out about the threats that the Amazon Rainforest is facing such as deforestation and illegal mining.

When we arrive back from camp, we will begin our geography and sustainability projects. Students will have lots of choice in regard to the place they would like to complete their project on and how they would like to showcase their learning. We are so excited!

Check out these websites with your child to discover more about what we have been learning in class.

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/south_america_map.htm

https://www.africaguide.com/afmap.htm

Kitchen Garden with Mr Marco

The students have enjoyed another week in the kitchen making and enjoying some delicious dumplings! We have also replanted some plants in the garden beds outside the stadium and canteen areas. Hopefully the warmer spring weather will keep our garden and plants happy

We will see you here again in two weeks time, same time, same place!

The Level 4 team.