Year 3/4 - Newsletter
Dear Parents,
We’ve had a fantastic two weeks in Level 3/4. The weather has turned, with Autumn coming to an end….. But our spirits remain high!
A very big thank you to all of the parents and family who joined us for our Maths Day Open session and parade. We hope you enjoyed visiting our classrooms and joining in on some of the maths that your students have learnt.
Athletics day was a wonderful success, with Melbourne holding off the rain for our time at the Tom Kelly track. A huge congratulations to all the students who participated, and in particular, to our Year 3 cohort for their first time at the event!
What's happened in Year 3/4 these last weeks?
English – Students have continued developing their morphology knowledge, exploring the prefixes ‘con-’ and ‘out-’, along with the suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-ment’. Throughout the week, students investigated how these word parts change the meaning of base words and help us understand unfamiliar vocabulary when reading and writing. They also participated in a range of activities designed to strengthen their spelling and vocabulary skills.
This past week also saw students complete several post-assessment writing pieces. Students planned and wrote a Factual Recount based on our recent whole-school events, Maths Day and Athletics Day. They worked hard to organise their ideas clearly, include important details, and apply the writing strategies we have been focusing on throughout the term. The students did a wonderful job and should be proud of their efforts.
Over the coming weeks, students will begin our final Literacy unit for Term 2, focusing on Poetry. Students will explore different styles of poetry, learn about poetic devices such as rhyme and imagery, and have the opportunity to create and share their own poems.
Maths - We have continued developing our understanding of addition and subtraction through a range of different strategies, including vertical addition and subtraction. Students have also been learning how to use renaming (‘stealing’) when solving more complex problems, particularly when working with larger numbers and multi-step calculations.
As students’ confidence and understanding have grown, we have extended these skills to include decimal numbers to the hundredths place. Students have been practising how to correctly line up place values and apply the same addition and subtraction strategies when working with decimals.
We have also continued working on worded problems, with students learning how to carefully identify the important information within a question, determine which mathematical operation is required, and create an equation to successfully solve the problem. A strong focus has been placed on explaining their thinking and showing their working clearly, helping students build confidence in applying their mathematical skills to real-world situations.
Inquiry- ‘What Makes a Design Go Bang!?’
Last week, the students were introduced to their Home Project, and the excitement across the 3/4 cohort was fantastic to see. Many students eagerly began discussing ideas, asking thoughtful questions, and sharing the different topics they were interested in researching at home. It has been wonderful to see such enthusiasm, creativity and motivation already shining through, and we look forward to seeing the projects continue to develop over the coming weeks.
This week, students in 3/4A, 3/4B and 3/4C also participated in the Design Incursion. During the session, students explored the process of inventing, designing and creating, while learning about how everyday ideas can be turned into practical inventions. Using a range of recycled materials, students worked creatively to design and build their own small inventions, demonstrating excellent imagination, teamwork and problem-solving skills throughout the activity.
Our remaining classes, 3/4D and 3/4E, will have the opportunity to participate in the incursion next Friday, and we are looking forward to seeing the creative ideas they come up with as well.
Wellbeing - In Wellbeing, students have continued exploring the 4 Friendship Facts and the importance of trust, respect and understanding within healthy friendships. Together, we identified the “Must-Have” qualities of positive, feel-good friendships and participated in role-play activities where students practised responding respectfully when friends may have different opinions or ideas.
Students were also introduced to the “Friend-O-Meter”, helping them recognise the different levels and types of friendships in their lives, and discussed how friendships can naturally change over time. Additionally, we explored strategies for dealing with “Friendship Fires” — small friendship problems or conflicts — focusing on calm communication, problem-solving, and knowing when to seek adult support if needed.
Important Information
Homework
Reading homework continues as the term goes on - students are expected to complete 80 minutes of reading at home each week, bringing their filled out and signed diary on Fridays. If your child has not completed their reading or forgotten to get their diary signed, please email their classroom teacher on Friday morning.
Mathletics homework will continue to be set each week, and is encouraged to be completed. The tasks match the learning that takes place in the classroom.
Our Inquiry Research Project is due each Friday morning, with students expected to bring evidence of that week’s completed research and progress. Students are welcome to bring their work in earlier if it has already been completed.
- If a student is unable to complete the weekly task by Friday, they will be given the weekend as additional time to finalise their work. Following this, students may be supported to complete outstanding tasks during a portion of recess or lunchtime to help them stay up to date with the project timeline.
What’s coming up:
. Urban Up Cycle - (Incursion)- Friday 29th May (3/4A & B & C) or Friday 5th June (3/4D & E) (consent & payment needs to be given on COMPASS)
. King’s Birthday - (Student Free Day) - Monday 8th June
. PST Conferences - Wednesday 24th June (11:30am - 6:20pm)
Student Awards
Refer to your classroom teacher’s email on Friday for the weekly student shoutouts!
Kind regards,
The Year 3/4 Team