What's happening?
Foundation
Welcome back! The Foundation students have loved sharing with teachers and peers about their holidays in their recount writing on Monday morning. It is lovely to have them back refreshed for a big Term 4 - we can’t believe it is already their final term of Prep. Our Term 4 Newsletter was sent home with lots of information regarding upcoming events and your child’s Maths Group.
The signup sheets for corridor reading and writing will be put out in the next few days. They can be found either in the Foundation breezeway or outside FN. We really appreciate your assistance with this, the children love their extra reading sessions. The students have also began fluid ‘Writing Groups’ on a Tuesday morning. We have loved seeing their progress and will continue to target learning needs throughout the term.
This week we'll be learning about another digraph; /ch/. This digraph can make three sounds; /ch/ as in cheese and chip, /k/ as in school and Lachy (words that have a Greek origin) and /sh/ as in chef (words that are borrowed from France). The sentence ‘Charlie spends Christmas in Chicago’ can help us remember these three sounds! In Foundation we will primarily focus on /ch/ as in cheese. We have also spent some time reviewing all the Red Flag Words we have learnt so far.
In maths we are reviewing Place Value and are extremely impressed with all the student’s growth on this topic.
The Prep Newsletter and ‘Show and Tell’ notice has been sent home for Term 4. Please see the Newsletter for a detailed outline of the Term 4 Curriculum.
Grade 1
Welcome back to Term 4 and congratulations for getting back into the swing of learning and routines. We have an exciting and busy term to end our year. To kick off our new inquiry unit on Minibeasts, we will be heading off to the Melbourne Museum, next Thursday 12th October. Please keep an eye out for a reminder notice early next week.
We are also looking for parent helpers again this term to assist with classroom reading. The students love the opportunity to read aloud with visitors and it is lovely to see their confidence develop, the more they practise. Sign-up sheets have been placed outside classrooms, for any parents wishing to assist.
This term we will be looking at the similarities and differences between non-fiction and fiction texts by identifying words used, the layout of text, and real or made-up content. From here we will also delve into creating our own information reports.
Our Word Study focus this week is the grapheme ‘ee’ which can make a long /e/ sound. We are also continuously revising how and when to use punctuation in our writing.
Remember hats to be worn for Term 4, please make sure your child’s clothing items are all clearly labelled!
Grade 2
Our Grade 2 students have made a great start to Term 4, full of exciting news, and with a positive attitude.
This fortnight, students are learning about the purpose and features of ‘explanation’ texts, which are used to tell how something works or why something happens.
As part of our ‘Core Knowledge’ unit on fairy tales, we are focusing on reading comprehension, identifying plot, sequencing main events, character discussion and building vocabulary.
Students are also learning to apply their knowledge from our ‘Word Study’ sessions, recognising the prefixes un-, mid-, mis-, and dis- and explaining their meaning.
In Maths this week, we began our measurement topic with students investigating ‘length’. They are learning to compare, order, and measure objects using appropriate informal units, and some familiar metric units. They will then move onto investigating area, capacity, volume and mass.
As always, opportunities to explore ‘measurement’ in everyday situations at home will be a great way to consolidate and build on your child’s knowledge.
We have introduced our new Inquiry topic for this term, ‘Animals and their Habitats’, and began with classifying animals according to their features, e.g. invertebrates or vertebrates, and then classifying vertebrates further as either fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, or mammals.
As part of our wellbeing program this term, we began with a focus on resilience (‘Bouncing Back’) and will then work on cooperation and respect (‘Fair Play’).
Thank you for your ongoing support with homework: Regular reading aloud and ‘Red Flag Word’ spelling.
Optional extras: ‘Nessy Reading and Spelling’ and ‘Sunset/Jetpack Maths’ (Essential Assessment).
Grade 3
Welcome back to Term 4! We hope all of our students enjoyed their well-deserved holiday break and are ready for their final term in Grade 3.
Reading: We have started the term by delving into the CARS strategy of 'Distinguishing Between Real and Make-believe'. The students have read texts, picture story books and made up their own examples of details that could and could not happen in real life. Fluency reading continues this term with students reading texts that relate to our inquiry topic. Our mentor text this week is 'Hello Australia' and our vocabulary focus words are unique, varied, towering and combination.
Writing: Over the next two weeks, the students will be writing an information report about an Australian state or territory. To begin, the students will individually watch a video relevant to their state or territory and practise note taking by writing down the important information. Then they will read a text which will provide them with some more relevant information. Some of the information they are researching for include the location, population, main attraction, flag, landmarks, and state emblems such as each state or territory’s fauna and flora emblem. Once they have gathered all of their research, they will start the writing process. In our grammar lessons, we are editing sentences in past, present, and future tense. In our spelling lessons, the students have explored the suffix -ment.
Maths: Over the next two weeks, the students are learning about the concept ‘Chance and Probability’. The students will be conducting various chance experiments with coins, spinners, and dice. They will also be identifying and describing possible outcomes and recognising variation in results. In addition, the students have completed a pre-test on time and money for future learning this term.
Inquiry: Our inquiry topic this term has a geography focus. ‘Amazing Australia’ is aimed for students to understand how places, people and environments are connected. They will investigate the geographical world, including Australia and its neighbouring countries. The students will also explore how the location and climate can impact on how people live. This week, the students were given a piece of plain paper and asked to draw a map of Australia including state boundaries, label states, cities, and territories as a pre-test. We revised over the map of Australia and location of states and territories as well as explored their natural landmarks.
Grade 4
We hope all Grade 4 families had a nice and relaxing Term 3 holidays and are ready for an action-packed Term 4!
Literacy
In our literacy journey, we've embarked on an exciting adventure with our class novel, ‘Wonder’. The book has already captivated our students' imaginations and sparked some thought-provoking discussions about empathy, kindness, and acceptance. During our writing sessions we have started looking at the structure and language features of an explanation text.
Numeracy
In numeracy this week we have been learning about patterns and algebra. We have been looking at number patterns involving decimals and fractions. We have also learnt how to use BIDMAS to help us with the order of operations.
Inquiry
Our inquiry topic this term is titled ‘Friends or Foes’. It is a scientific based topic where we look at the relationship between plants, bees and ants. This week we explored the different parts of a plant and discovered why they produce flowers, leaves and fruit.
Grade 5
With Health Ed, Leadership, the Travel Expo, an end of year excursion to Bounce and much more, there’s a lot to be excited about in Grade 5 this term. All our wonderful and hardworking students have made a brilliant start to Term 4 and couldn’t be more excited to be back.
Comprehension
Our classes have begun reading our final mentor text called ‘The Single Shard’. Set in the 12th Century in Korea, the novel describes the story of a poor boy known as Tree-Ear and his journey to become a master potter under the watchful eye of his stern mentor Min. Students have worked diligently in learning about the history and symbolism within Korean culture and have answered many deep and philosophical questions. We look forward to delving further into this story.
Maths
All maths groups have begun our unit on Data and Interpretation. During this unit, students will be further developing their understanding of data, constructing and interpreting a range of graphs, looking at stem and leaf plots and calculate the mean, median, mode and range of complex data sets.
Inquiry - Travel Expo
Our students are thrilled to start their new inquiry topic. Students will be covering a range of aspects relating to Geography, money and time during this incredibly engaging unit. In small groups, students will each select a country from one of our focus continents and will be researching and creating an informative booklet that will be presented at the Grade 5 Travel Expo at the end of the term. In addition to this, groups will each have a stall that they can decorate as they celebrate their chosen country and persuade each other to visit their destination.
Writing - Information Reports
Students have begun learning about the features and structure of detailed and informative information reports. Closely linking to their Travel Expo projects, students have practised taking notes efficiently, summarising the information accurately and putting key information into their own words.
Homework
Please support your child in maintaining excellent homework habits during this final term in Grade 5. Student will receive a word study and maths task in addition to irregular word lists to study and complete. Maths homework is due on Thursday, however all other tasks are due on Friday. In addition to this, please encourage your child to read their ‘right-fit’ books consistently for a minimum of 20 minutes each night. This reading should be recorded in their dairies each night, signed by a parent or guardian, and also returned to school on Friday. If your child has any concerns with homework, we encourage them to discuss this with their classroom teacher at their earliest convenience.
Grade 6
Welcome back to Term 4! In Grade 6 Term 4 is an exciting time with lots of activities and events to look forward to.
Literacy
This term in writing we have continued our recount unit. Students are writing event recounts and are being encouraged to use a range of time connectives and descriptive language within their writing pieces. Next week we will be starting our novel study of Treasure Island which will be our focus for reading this term.
Mathematics
We have started the term by looking at money and financial mathematics. Students will look at how to create simple financial plans, calculate percentage discounts and determine the best buy from a range of expenses.
Inquiry
Students have begun planning their Market Day stalls this week. Market Day will occur later in the term. Students will create a business plan and conduct market research before finalising and creating their products. We are looking forward to seeing lots of creative ideas!