Year Three
Dear Year Three Community,
Welcome back to an exciting new term! After a restful holiday break, our classes are once again buzzing with energy and enthusiasm! Students have hit the ground running, eagerly diving back into their academic journey with renewed focus and curiosity.
Reading:
In Reading, the students have been revisiting simple machine building procedures to prepare for their inquiry builds. Students were tasked with identifying key facts about simple machines, formulating questions and predictions based on their readings and making real-world connections to deepen their understanding. During Guided Reading and Reciprocal Teaching groups, students have collaborated to meet their group reading goals, while independently focusing on their personal goals during independent reading time.
Writing:
In writing, our focus has been on creating recounts and book reviews, which are helping our young writers express their thoughts and ideas about texts more effectively. Students are learning to structure their recounts correctly, telling about past events in a clear and organised way. They're also sharing their opinions about the books they've read through well-written reviews and conversations with their peers. Additionally, student have also been practising their revising and editing skills, by carefully checking and making changes to their work. These combined skills are strengthening our Year Three writers' abilities to confidently communicate their ideas in writing.
Mathematics:
In Mathematics, students have been exploring the world of Australian currency, learning to identify and name coins and notes while understanding their values. They've tackled word problems involving money, practicing addition, subtraction and multiplication to find totals and calculate change to the nearest 5 cents. By the end of this unit, we expect your child to confidently work with money, solve money-related word problems, and clearly explain their thinking when working through these challenges.
To support your child's learning at home, we encourage you to involve them in real-world money situations. This could include playing "shop" with real or pretend money, asking them to help calculate change when shopping, or discussing the prices of items and how to combine different coins and notes to make specific amounts. These practical experiences will reinforce the skills they've been developing in class.
Inquiry:
In inquiry, our Year 3 students have been busy designing simple machines as part of their inquiry unit. They're learning how different forces work and applying this knowledge to create their own designs. The students are focusing on three key goals: designing a simple machine, planning how to test its functionality, and exploring various ways their machine can work using their understanding of forces. This exciting project is preparing them for hands-on inquiry builds scheduled for next week. We're looking forward to seeing their creative ideas come to life!
Swimming:
Our Year Three students wrapped up their swimming school program at the end of Term Three. We're thrilled to recognise all the students who took part in this important initiative. Over the course of the program, they worked hard to improve their swimming abilities and water safety skills. Well done to everyone involved for their dedication and progress in the pool!
Croc park/ Werribee Zoo Excursions:
Exciting news, Year Three! We have two fantastic excursions coming up that will give students a chance to explore and learn about different animals and their habitats. On October 25th, we'll embark on a field trip to Crocodile Park, where we'll explore diverse ecosystems. In Week 8, we'll be heading to Werribee Zoo for an adventure-filled day observing a wide variety of animals in their habitat. Both trips will enhance our understanding of how different natural environments function and interact in nature. Get ready for some hands-on learning and fun experiences with your classmates!
Reminders
-Students are expected to bring their fully charged iPads to school every day.
-Late arrivals (8:40 am onwards) require a late pass from the office.
-A reminder that school hats are compulsory for all students to wear hats during recess and lunch this term,
-Please make sure all the student absences are recorded on Xuno.
Wishing you a safe and happy holiday break,
Year Three Teaching Team.