Grade 3 News

📅 Important Dates & Reminders

• Friday 31st October: Pyjama Day Dress Up
• Tuesday 4th November: Melbourne Cup (Public Holiday)
• Monday 10th November: Curriculum Day (Pupil free day)
• Friday 21st November: Literacy UP Session 2-2:30pm
• Friday 28th November: Numeracy UP Session 2-2:30pm
• Wednesday 3rd December: Market Day
• Friday 5th December: Colour Run
• Tuesday 9th December: Statewide Transition Day (Meet the Teacher 2026)
• Wednesday 10th December: Christmas Concert 5:30-6:30pm
• Friday 12th December: Meet the Teacher 2:00pm (2026)
• Wednesday 17th December: Class Parties
• Thursday 18th December: Last day of school for students (1:30pm Dismissal)
• Friday 19th December: Curriculum Day (Pupil fee day)

Learning in Action

📖 Literacy

The Grade 3s have become engrossed in the story of Ivan and his friends and his life at the shopping mall. There have already been rich discussions about what it would be like to live in a ‘domain’ or cage if you were a wild animal. We were fortunate enough to see the Silverbacks and elephants at Werribee Zoo and were able to compare and contrast the differences in the enclosures.  Students examined the literary devices of similes and metaphors, as well as identifying figurative language and noting how that affects their understanding of the text. At the sentence level, students identified and created sentences with subordinating conjunctions and were able to extend the sentence stems provided. In whole-text writing, students began learning about the features and purposes of a persuasive letter.

Preview – In the upcoming fortnight, students will plan and write an introduction to their persuasive letter, focusing on the purpose and structure. To do this, they will take notes for background information from the supplementary texts we read together on the history of animals in circuses, how they were treated, and why they are now banned in most countries of the world. Sentence Level writing will focus on sentence expansion by adding the ‘who’, ‘where’, ‘why’ and ‘when’.

➗ Maths

Over the past fortnight, students have begun their new unit on fractions. They started by revising key vocabulary, learning that the numerator is the number above the line in a fraction, showing how many parts are being considered, while the denominator is the number below the line, showing how many equal parts make up the whole. Students have explored fractions of shapes, focusing on ½, ¼, and ⅛, as well as fractions of collections. They have also been identifying halves, quarters, fifths, and tenths in both shapes and collections.

Preview –  Next week, students will continue the unit on fractions. They will focus on combining fractions up to one whole, calculating complementary fractions to one whole and look at the different representations of fractions. Students will complete the fraction unit with a rich task where students apply what they have learnt and create a fraction flag.

🗺️ Knowledge Rich Unit

Last week, students learned about the rivalry between Sparta and Athens, as well as comparing and contrasting the ways in which men and women were able to live their lives in these city-states. Students also developed their understanding of different types of governments including monarchy, democracy, theocracy, and dictatorship. 

This week, students learned to interrogate and interpret artefacts related to Athenian democracy and pose questions to deepen their understanding. Students also explored ancient Greek myths and discussed what values and beliefs are taught through these myths. They built their knowledge of Greek gods and goddesses and how they were used to explain things like weather, love, war and nature.

Preview – Next week, students will learn about the great Greek hero Heracles, who they may also know as Hercules. They will read and listen to many stories about Heracles which will help them better understand what it meant to be a good citizen in Ancient Greece. In the second Knowledge Rich lesson next week, students will compare ancient Greek citizenship with contemporary Australian citizenship.

Wellbeing

This term, students will be learning about aspects and qualities of friendships, and ‘feel-good friendships’. They will also be learning about gender and identity, and the factors that build an identity. Through this, students will engage in a range of activities where they look at their own individual identity like their strengths, friendships, hobbies and interests. The Grade 3’s will also continue looking at the ‘must-haves’ and ‘deal-breakers’ in friendships, to strengthen their social boundaries and reflect on what matters most in their friendships. This encourages clarity on the important aspects in a positive friendship. 

Preview - Over the next fortnight, students will be looking at gender roles in children’s media, where they are provided with positive opportunities to challenge gender stereotypes. They will use their critical thinking skills to investigate opportunities that arise when traditional gender expectations are removed. Students will continue to learn about behaviours that are influenced by expectations related to gender. 

Big Day Out Excursion

On Monday 13th of October, the Grade 3s had a spectacular day exploring Werribee Open Range Zoo in the morning, enjoying a delicious lunch at Grill’d and then finishing their day at Monopoly Dreams!

Some of the zoo highlights included seeing the new elephant area, going on the safari bus and learning about native and introduced species at our education workshop. The students showed great patience while at Grill’d and waiting for their individual meals, which they thoroughly enjoyed! At Monopoly Dreams, students explored Mr Monopoly’s mansion, played various interactive games, created their own property and even experienced a 4D cinema. See below for some photos of our amazing day.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Grade 3 Team,

Mrs Rosewarne, Mrs Stokol, Miss Egorov and Miss du Vallon