Grade 3

English

In English, the Year 3 students have been continuing their inquiry into Celebrations Around the World. They began by exploring what a celebration is and how people celebrate in different ways. They then examined a variety of cultural celebrations, including the Jewish festival of Chanukah, the Hindu, Jain, and Sikh festival of Diwali, and France's Bastille Day. More recent lessons have focused on important days of recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, such as Harmony Day and National Sorry Day. Students will complete their learning on this topic in the coming week.

Alongside their reading unit, students have been working on developing their writing skills. They have practised brainstorming ideas by identifying the main idea, crafting topic sentences, and adding relevant supporting details. This week, they will begin planning and drafting single paragraphs.

Mathematics

In Mathematics, students have recently concluded their unit on data representation and are now midway through their second unit on addition and subtraction. They have been exploring fact families using three-digit numbers and have begun learning the formal addition and subtraction algorithms (see example below). This foundational learning is essential as students progress towards confidently adding and subtracting larger numbers.

Inquiry

This term, as part of our school’s 150-year celebration, students have been exploring the rich history of Barwon Heads through a special integrated unit.

So far, students have investigated how our school has changed over time, delved into the history of the iconic Barwon Heads Bridge, and examined the impact of the many floods that have affected the town over the years.

In the coming weeks, learning will shift to the significance of the Barwon Heads bollards, which have served as important markers and guides for generations of students walking and riding to school. As part of this focus, students will design and create their own bollard, which will be showcased at our end-of-term celebration.

In addition, each student will contribute two facts to our “150 Facts for 150 Years” display—another exciting feature of our whole-school celebration.