Year 3/4
Welcome
Welcome back,
We hope that you all had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday with your children. This Year, Level Newsletters will be available to all families at the start of every term. This will enable you to keep up to speed with what is happening in your child’s year level, including important dates for your calendar.
Please take the time to read our newsletter regarding student learning, events and school news.
Regards,
Lachlan Ware, Emily Casaceli, Rachel Gurvich, Tahira Tannen, Netty Howe and Milena Santoro.
English: Reading
During our Reading sessions, the students will be further developing their knowledge and skills of:
- learning to identify synonyms and antonyms to expand their vocabulary.
- learning to sort verbs into the correct verb groups.
- learning to identify direct speech and how it is used within a text.
- learning to describe how the layout, size, colour and perspective can help build their understanding of a text.
English: Writing
In our Writing sessions we will be revisiting the genre of a Narrative. The students will continue to develop their understanding of:
- learning to plan and write an orientation using a graphic organiser.
- learning to plan and write a complication using a graphic organiser.
- learning to plan and write a resolution using a graphic organiser.
- learning to organise their writing in paragraphs.
- learning how to edit their story.
Maths
To start the term we will be investigating Financial Maths. The students will further develop their understanding of:
- representing money values in multiple ways.
- counting the change required for simple transactions.
- recognising the relationship between dollars and cents.
- solving problems involving purchases and the calculation of change.
Other mathematical concepts to be covered this term are:
Counting & Place Value
Data
Time
Patterns & Algebra
Addition & Subtraction
Inquiry
We will investigate our Science unit: Energy is an Exciting and Engaging Adventure this term!
The students will be experimenting and researching:
- What is energy?
- What is movement and what is heat?
- How do things move in different ways?
- How is heat produced?
- What is the connection between heat, friction and movement?
- How do we design a product using the learning assets of researching and thinking?
Religion
To start the term, we will focus on Prayer, Liturgy & Sacraments and their impact on our lives. The students will be:
- learning to explain the 7 sacraments in a Catholic faith journey.
- looking at the first part of the Mass: the Introductory Rites.
- learning to identify the four Rites of the Mass.
- learning to identify the parts of the Liturgy of the Word.
- choosing a passage from the Bible to explore how Jesus makes God’s Word alive today.
- exploring the Gospel stories where Jesus shared meals.
- understanding why the Eucharist is a special meal.
Homework: Reading Daily & Weekly Tasks
Students are expected to read each night for 15-20 minutes and to record their reading in their diary.
Please record the reading using the following format:
Title:
Time Read:
Pages:
Parent signature:
After completing the reading, it would benefit your child to talk about what they have read.
This ‘verbal processing’ helps them remember and think through the book's themes.
Ask questions before, during, and after a session to encourage reading comprehension.
For example:
- Before: "What are you interested in about this book? What doesn't interest you?"
- During: "What's going on in the book? Is it turning out the way you thought it would? What do you think will happen next?"
- After: "Can you summarise the book? What did you like about it? What other books does it remind you of?"
You may also like to visit the local library and select books that interest your child.
Homework: Curriculum Tasks
Homework tasks will be presented for the week to each child. The classroom teacher will allocate the tasks based on the curriculum presented throughout the week. Tasks are allocated to take no more than 15 minutes per session.
Homework tasks will commence the week beginning Monday 22nd April
Positive Behaviour for Learning
In class, we will continue to learn and practice Positive Behaviour for Learning daily.
This term the focus for our PBL lessons will be:
Week 1 - Following Routines
Week 2 & 3 - Working Through Challenges
Weeks 4, 5, 6 & 7 - Including others
Week 8 - Speaking kindly
Week 9 - Allow everyone the right to learn
Week 10 - Take care of property & school grounds
SPECIALIST PROGRAMS
All Year 3/4 classes have specialist lessons on Monday.
Students are to wear sports uniforms with runners only on this day.
Italian – Mrs White
P.E. – Miss Kromer
Performing Arts - Mrs Cooper
Visual Art – Mrs Bartlett
L.O.T.E. ITALIAN
The students in Years Three and Four will begin this term by revising previously acquired language with written and oral activities. They will use the vocabulary and grammar associated with celebrations to complete various listening and speaking tasks. They will learn about the origins of Carnevale, what happens during this time and why people disguise themselves.
They will be introduced to the various famous masks e.g., Pulcinella, Pantalone, Colombina etc and their origins. A particular focus for the students will be on generating original materials using modelled texts with teacher guidance and communicating in the target language to share basic topic-related information.
During the lessons, the students will continue to play quizzes, and games, and complete interactive tasks on Duolingo to practise their oral and speaking skills and deepen their vocabulary and grammar knowledge.
Buon lavoro e ciao a presto.
Signora White
Physical Education
This term, our Year 3/4 students will participate in various sports including soccer, lacrosse, and tennis. Alongside these activities, they will engage in a fitness component, learning fundamental skills for proper stretching and warming up before fitness sessions.
Year 3/4 students will focus on mastering dribbling, passing, and shooting techniques during the soccer unit! Chadstone Lacrosse will also run a clinic with our students teaching them basic lacrosse skills, including passing and shooting.
Additionally, mark your calendars for upcoming events:
- BDS Cross Country on Tuesday, April 30th.
- St. Andrew's Athletics Day on Thursday, June 27th, to gear up for athletics in Term 3!
Here's to another term filled with fun and active learning!
Beth Kromer
Visual Arts
Hi everyone! Welcome to the news from the art room for term 2. In the art room in term two our primary goal will be to experience and appreciate art, the beauty of the world around us and look at various famous artists and their varying styles of artwork. We will continue to explore and experiment with paints, collages, oil pastels and sketching. The children will develop skills and vocabulary for looking at and discussing art as we delve into the works of significant famous artists. We will also examine the cultural and historical contexts in which art is created, integrating our art lessons with the inquiry unit of study. We aim to have lots of fun in the art room.
Mrs. Cathy Bartlett
Performing Arts
Welcome to Term 2 Team 3/4s and families! Congratulations to the 3/4s for embracing their dance unit in Term 1. Their enthusiasm was infectious, and I was so proud of their bravery in performing the dance!
This term we’ll shift focus to music, revisiting their understanding of treble clef notes through games, and (finally, they’ve been asking a lot!) beginning or continuing recorder. Students will be practising their recorder videos including Music with Mr Gray and Music with Brielle. Please encourage your students to practise with these videos at home if possible. Please remind them - more as a favour to your ears too - that the recorder is a quiet instrument played with very gentle breathing like blowing bubbles.
Students will also be developing their drama skills using a prop as inspiration to create a scene. The scene will need characters, setting and conflict surrounding the prop. I can’t wait to see the students’ creativity. If there’s time later in the term we’ll be learning a new folk dance, called the Blacksmith’s Apprentice, which was very popular with the 5/6 students last term.
Happy playing, dancing and acting!
Mrs Emma Cooper
Key Dates
May
Friday 3rd - 9.00 a.m - Whole School Assembly
Friday 10th - 8.45 a.m - Mother’s Day Celebration
Thursday 16th - 6.00 p.m - Eucharist Parent Information Evening
Friday 17th - 9.00 a.m - Whole School Assembly
Saturday 18th - 5.00 p.m - Eucharist Commitment Mass
Sunday 19th - 8.00 a.m, 9.30 a.m and 11.00 a.m - Eucharist Commitment Masses
Friday 24th - 9.00 a.m - Whole School Assembly
Saturday 25th - 8.30 a.m - Working Bee
Monday 27th - School Closure Day
Tuesday 28th - Beachside Cross Country
June
Saturday 1st - 6.00 p.m - Eucharist Celebration Mass
Sunday 2nd - 11.00 a.m - Eucharist Celebration Mass
Friday 7th - 9.00 a.m - Whole School Assembly
Wednesday 19th - 7.00 p.m - SAC Meeting
Friday 21st - 9.00 a.m - Whole School Assembly
Monday 24th - 2.30 p.m - Parent/Child/Teacher Interviews
Thursday 27th - 9.00 a.m - 3-6 St Andrew’s Athletics trials - Davies Reserve
- 2.45 p.m - Term Two Learning Celebration
Friday 28th - 1.30 p.m - Term Two Concludes
How to Contact Us
All of the 3/4 team members are able to be contacted on the following emails. Please be aware that teachers will read and respond during working hours. Please be mindful that we are teaching the students and allow us time to reply. We will attempt to get back to you as soon as possible.
Rachel Gurvich- rgurvich@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au
Netty Howe - ahowe@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au
Emily Casaceli - ecasaceli@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au
Lachlan Ware - lware@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au
Tahira Tannen - ttannen@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au
Milena Santora - msantoro@saclaytonsth.catholic.edu.au