Year 3

Welcome to This Month’s Newsletter!

As we wrap up another exciting month at VPS, we're proud to share some of the wonderful moments and achievements from our classrooms. From student successes to upcoming events, there’s plenty to celebrate and look forward to.

Healesville Sanctuary Excursion

We’re really looking forward to our upcoming trip to Healesville Sanctuary, where students will enjoy searching for their totem animals and learning all about Australia’s unique wildlife. Please remember to bring a small bag with a snack, lunch, and a drink bottle to keep you fuelled for the day. Students will wear school uniform on this day and it’s important to wear a coat and dress for the weather to stay comfortable while exploring (no umbrellas please). We’ll be meeting at school at 8:45 AM for a prompt 9:00 AM departure. It’s going to be a fantastic day connecting with nature!

Maths Investigation

As part of our latest Maths Investigation, we followed the curious journey of a snail on holiday as he made his way around the school! Students estimated the length of his path, then measured it using trundle wheels to check how close their predictions were. We double-checked our results for accuracy and will soon be converting the distances into kilometres per hour to see just how speedy (or slow!) our little snail really was. It was a fun and hands-on way to explore measurement and estimation—photos of the activity are attached below!

National Reconciliation Week and Inquiry

As part of our unit on Australia and in connection with National Reconciliation Week, we explored the seasons, both as we know them, and through the lens of the Aboriginal calendar. Students learned about the local flora and fauna in the different states of Australia, and how different seasons affect their growth and fruiting times. We discovered that Aboriginal calendars vary between tribes, reflecting the unique plants, animals, and environment of each area in Australia. It was inspiring to learn how Aboriginal people work closely with the land and seasons, living in harmony with nature’s rhythms.

Homework

For homework, students read the book If I Were The Prime Minister and then reflected on what they would do if they were in charge! They thought about what they might mandate, what changes they would make, how they would spend the budget, and what their top priorities for the country would be. It was great to see so many thoughtful ideas! 

Here are some examples of the students’ work:

If I was Prime Minister, I would build a big robot called The Air-O-Tron 2000. It would suck all the bad air that are not good for the planet int an air bag. Once all the bad air is in the air bag, it gets cleaned and clean air comes out! Then the Air-O-Tron will go high in the sky. It will detect more bad air. The Earth will be all clean!

If I was Prime Minster, I would stop Nuclear Power Plants because they cause pollution. Also nuclear plants need lots of water for cooling down the fires which can strain local water supplies. Normally mining uranium for fuel has big environmental consequences. I would use clean energy like the sun, the win and water. 

If I was Prime Minister, I would build more malls so that there are more shops. If there are more shops, people won't get sick of the same malls. I will do this by asking/hiring builders. I will make sure there's a toy pit, toy stores, restaurants, $2 shops and a few slides. I would also make slides to go down to the next level. But they will have to use lifts and stairs to go up. 

If I was Prime Minister, I would help all the homeless people by taxing the rich people and giving the money to poor people. I will also build an accommodation for them. Besides that, I want to save the environment by making sure people stop cutting down trees and reduce pollution.   

If I was Prime Minister, I would make the weekends longer so kids can have more fun. I would make it a 4 day weekend. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I could play more sport, more sleepovers and more time with friends and family. 

If I was Prime Minister, I would change the laws in relation to crime. People who are aged 12 and over should go to jail if found guilty of coming a crime. They should be locked up for longer. Kids steal things and not much is done about it. They need to be punished and not be left free because they are not learning their lesson and continuing to commit crimes. 

Important Dates

4th June Healesville Sanctuary Excursion.

9th June King's Birthday Public Holiday- no school

13th June Newsletter

23rd- 27th June Science Week

Week 10 Art Trail- Date TBC

3rd July Reports live to parents on Compass