From the Year 4 Classroom

WELCOME TO YEAR 4 - 2026 

Hello everyone - welcome to Year 4! We are really looking forward to working with you and sharing your child’s learning journey throughout the year.  

Year 4 is an exciting time in your child’s schooling, with lots of special milestones along the way. These include their first school camp, preparing for the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist (for families who choose this), or participating in the learning and preparation with their peers, as well as earning their pen licence - just to name a few! 

We value open communication and will keep you informed whenever we feel it is important to touch base, whether it’s to celebrate successes or to discuss any concerns. Please know we are always happy to chat if you have questions along the way. 

Term 1 - this term is very busy, starting with camp in just two weeks! We want this to be a positive and memorable experience for every child, so a lot of careful thought has gone into organising room and activity groups. Our goal is for all students to feel comfortable, supported, and successful - we know camp can be a big step for some children. In the lead-up, we will be talking lots about the Feathertop Chalet and sharing photos of the activities they will be taking part in. If you’re able to chat about camp at home as an exciting opportunity (even if it feels a little challenging), that would be a wonderful support. Please feel free to reach out if you or your child need reassurance as we are more than happy to help. 

Swimming - for the next two weeks, we have swimming lessons on MONDAY and TUESDAY afternoons. Please make sure you child has their bathers, rashie, towel, slide on footwear and sunscreen packed on these days. It makes our job easier if everyone remembers! Rashies or a swim top must be worn.  

Reading - we ask that your child reads for 20–30 minutes each day. This is an important part of learning in Year 4, as students are now reading longer and more complex texts. At this stage, children are beginning to read to learn, rather than learn to read, so developing fluency, reading speed, and comprehension is essential. 

Next week, we will be conducting the DIBELS reading assessment to check each child’s fluency and understanding. If we have any concerns, we will be in touch to have a chat about strategies we can use together to support your child’s reading rate and comprehension. 

Your child will bring home their Reading Diary, which we ask you to fill in daily. This helps us keep track of how much reading is happening at home. Once a week, the children will bring their diary to school for a reading check-in, where they will talk about what they are reading and share with a small group. We will also share what we are reading, helping model what good readers do and encouraging meaningful conversations about books. We will let you know your child’s check-in morning next week. 

If you have any concerns about reading at home, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are more than happy to help find good-fit books so reading stays enjoyable and engaging for your child. 

This year, we are introducing a new spelling program called SpellEx. We will send home a note next week with more information about how this program will work and what it will look like in our learning spaces. We will complete a spelling assessment next week.  

Times tables - we will continue to work on times tables using the same approach as last year, with the goal of developing automatic recall for all students. This skill is foundational to future mathematics learning and supports success across many areas of math. More information will be shared soon. We will complete a place value assessment next week.  

Year 4 Specialist Timetable -  

First Term Dates 

Year 4 camp to Harrietville - Feb 16th – Feb 18th 

Swimming Carnival – Feb 19th 

Opening School Mass – Tuesday 24th February, 10am at the MPB 

If you have any queries or concerns, please feel free to contact us. We can’t wait for a fantastic year ahead! 

Kind regards, 

Lisa, Meg, Danica and Alison