Year 3
Hsien Tran (Team Leader), Lisa Shoebridge, Michelle Guye, Louise Jarvis and Bronwyn Moore
Year 3
Hsien Tran (Team Leader), Lisa Shoebridge, Michelle Guye, Louise Jarvis and Bronwyn Moore
Welcome to the Week Four Newsletter! We hope all the mothers were spoilt last Sunday for Mother's Day and trust you enjoyed coming to school to picnic with your children. It was a wonderful time to slow down and find pleasure in a leisurely lunch with family. A picnic in the sunshine was a perfect end to a busy week!
This week in the newsletter, the teachers have given you a snapshot of the things we are doing in the classroom. It has been a busy week of learning with a wide range of topics being taught. We hope you like some of the poster examples from our studies of the mentor text 'Window'.
The Grade 3 students are heading to Healesville Sanctuary on Wednesday 4th June. Digital permission forms and payment can be made on Compass and will close on Thursday 29th May.
We need Parent Helpers!! If you would like to join us on the excursion, please reach out to your child's classroom teacher!
Our latest mentor text in Literacy lessons has been 'Window' by Jeannie Baker. The post-script of this book highlights the environmental impact of humans; "We are changing the face of our world at an alarming and an increasing pace." After watching a short video, students were asked to create a poster to help promote behaviour that may have a positive effect on the future of our world.
Here are some examples:
This week, students in Year Three are learning to edit their work using the acronym CUPS. C stands for checking Capitalisation, U for Usage of verbs and nouns, P check your punctuation including full stops and commas and lastly S for spelling. The students are encouraged to proof read their work for errors during the writing process and make a final edit before submission.
Since the beginning of term, the students have been learning about Measurement including length, capacity and mass. The focus has been on learning how the metric system works, deciding which unit of measure is appropriate for the task and also measuring objects with accuracy. The students have loved moving around the school yard with trundle wheels and tape measures and have challenged themselves with some interesting open ended problems.
We have dived into the world of Megafauna for Inquiry this week, practising research skills and writing information in our own words. From the Diprotodon (giant wombat like animal) to the smaller Chunia Illuminata (Possum), we have been fascinated by them all. After researching and looking at 3D scans of the fossils of these extinct animals, the students presented their information on Canva. Canva is a program we have introduced in STEM classes. Lastly, the children report back to the class all of the information they have found out about their chosen Megafauna. If you would like to have a look at a great Megafauna site with your child, go to https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/megafauna/
Homework is an important part of your child’s learning in Grade Three, helping to develop organisation, time management, and reinforce skills taught in class. A homework sheet will be emailed to you on Compass each fortnight and also pasted into your child’s homework book. Please check and sign off on each aspect of the homework to ensure it is fully completed. Typically, students are expected to complete eight at-home reading sessions (signed in their diary), 15 minutes of typing practise, three Mathletics tasks, and one writing or speaking and listening activity. Completing all tasks on time is a key expectation; any unfinished work from home will be completed during the last session on Friday afternoon and you will be notified by email if homework was incomplete.
From Monday 23rd to Friday 27th June, Vermont Primary School will be celebrating Science Week. The students will be involved in a range of activities throughout the week. Some of the activities that the students might do are making bouncy balls, creating slime, making an egg that can bounce and more.
With National Reconciliation Week (NRW)and NAIDOC Week approaching, Vermont Primary School invited Indigenous musician Scott Darlow for a whole school incursion. Based in Melbourne, Victoria, Scott regularly visits schools to share his knowledge of Indigenous culture and promote the ongoing journey of reconciliation.
This incursion was a light hearted session, where Scott played music, connected with the students, and then shared some of his Australian and Aboriginal culture, being a proud Aboriginal man himself. He talked about the didgeridoo, how it was made and its purpose, traditionally as a story telling instrument. The boomerang, traditional music and song and the importance of story telling, family and elders were themes Scott shared with the VPS students. As many year levels are talking about dates and times of settlement and federation through their History Units and with NRW and NAIDOC Week so close, this was a perfect opportunity for Vermont students to learn more about Australian culture and history.
We extend our thanks to Scott for visiting our school and inspiring our students with his powerful message and music.