Grade 4 News 

Important Reminders & Dates

Upcoming dates/Important Info

Monday 23rd February: School Photos

Friday 27th February: Cross Country

Monday 9th March: Labour Day Public Holiday

Friday 27th March: House Aths

Thursday 2nd April: Happy Hat Parade

                                         Last Day Term 1 - 2.30pm dismissal

• Hats - As per our school's SunSmart policy, all students are required to wear hats till the end of April 2025.
• Icy Poles will be sold outside the senior school Monday & Tuesday lunch times

Looking Ahead to the Year:

Monday, October 5th - Wednesday, October 7th: Grade 4 Camp - ADANAC

Weekly Timetable

Homework

📖 Literacy

This fortnight in word work sessions, the Grade 4's continued to focus on Greek numbers such as oct (8), deca (10) and hect (100). Students enjoyed brainstorming about where they have heard these Greek numbers used before, such as in octopus, decade and hectare.

In our literature unit we continued reading Kensuke's Kingdom. The students have all been extremely engaged in the text, especially now that Michael has washed up on the island and we may get to meet Kensuke soon! As part of this unit, students will complete a persuasive writing piece. We have started looking at the structure of a persuasive and also how to expand our sentences to make them more exciting for the reader.

Preview - We will continue reading Kensuke’s Kingdom, expanding our sentences, as well as exploring persuasive devices.

➗ Maths

The Grade 4 students will be exploring many units this year that involve using their timetables knowledge and think in multiplicative way. From our daily reviews, we’ve noticed that many students are finding multiplication challenging. Any practise that can be done at home to support the students with their timestables would be greatly appreciated. 

If you need ideas, please see the Grade 4 Homework Options pdf under the homework section of this newsletter. 

Last week, students finalised their unit on addition and subtraction. There was a strong focus on regrouping with internal zeros. This was a great challenge for students, as they then had to regroup twice! It was fantastic to see the wonderful progress they made in understanding the vertical algorithm.

This week, students began our unit on fractions. They have learnt about the key vocabulary, including denominator, numerator, mixed and improper. Students have explored how to show halves, thirds, quarters and tenths of a shape, collection and number line.

Preview - We will continue learning about fractions, including mixed and improper fractions.

🧠 Knowledge-Rich Units

This fortnight students began their unit on Using Maps. They identified different features of maps, as well as how maps can be used in many different ways. Students reflected on where they have seen maps in their day-to-day lives, such as to find the enclosures at the zoo, to check the weather conditions, and on the GPS in the family car. They learnt how maps have changed over time as technology has evolved and travel has become easier. Students were fascinated to learn that based on findings by archaeologists, the oldest recorded maps were made by the Babylonians, an ancient society thousands of years ago! Students learnt that through researching old maps, we can see how the world has changed over time, including the names of countries evolving over time, such as Australia being marked as New Holland and New South Wales.

🧠 Wellbeing 

Students have continued with the Friendology program over the last fortnight. They focused on Making Friends, as well exploring the Friendship Facts. Students learnt a range of strategies for making new friends, such as introducing yourself, having quick questions in mind, and pre-planning so games to play. Through the Friendship Facts they learnt that no friendship is perfect or the same as another, and that friendships can change over time.

Preview for Learning - Over the next two weeks, students will continue with the Friendology unit, focusing on using the Friend-O-Metre to identify healthy friendships, as well as how to deal with Friendship Fires.

Grade 4 Teaching Team

Bek Emonson, Will Robinson, Chloe Flack & Hayley Ward