Welcome to another exciting week of learning in our level three and four community!

Last week was full of exciting opportunities as our students participated in our whole school Grade 3–6 Athletics Day. Thank you to the wonderful parent helpers who sat at scorer’s tables, led a group, measured distances and heights, recorded times, raked the pits and of course, cheered on the kids, we couldn’t have days like these without your support. Participating in days like these helps our students to build confidence, develop resilience, promote sportsmanship and encourages a healthy, active lifestyle. Congratulations to our grade three students who were experiencing the house athletics for the first time, and were absolutely amazing!

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support and partnership in your child's learning journey—we're looking forward to another fantastic week together.

Literacy

Reading

This week’s mentor text introduces the students to the roles of our fictional Wonga Park local councillor, Tony Easypeasy.

Through the story of Tony, a local councillor, students will discover how our local government is elected, the important role councillors play in representing their community, and how decisions are made to improve the places where we live, learn and play. Along the way, students will learn about democracy, voting, making laws and the many ways every member of the community, including children, can use their voice to make a positive difference.

This text supports our Big Idea of Power, helping students understand that power can come from listening, participating and working together to create stronger communities as well as the role of local governments.

It will be an excellent introduction to our Incursion “Democracy, Community and Me” that is being held in week six.

WHAT CAN YOU DO AT HOME:

Talk with your child about the services your local council provides, such as parks, playgrounds, libraries, rubbish collection, footpaths and sporting facilities. Ask them which services they use most often and why they are important.

Encourage your child to share one thing they would improve in your local community. Discuss who they could speak to, how they could respectfully share their ideas, and why every community member's voice is important in a democracy.

Spelling

Through reading, spelling and writing, students will continue to strengthen their understanding of the 111 Rule by applying it to increasingly complex vocabulary. They have learned to identify when a word has one syllable, one vowel and ends with one consonant, meaning the final consonant is usually doubled before adding a suffix. We have also revisited the ‘rabbit’ spelling pattern and looked at homophones and their spellings.

Ask your child about the “Weird Words” that we explore each session. They should be able to tell you why the word is considered weird!

Weird words that we have recently investigated have included; area, prepared, vary, square, eye, various, compare, we’re, we’ll

Writing

This week, students will begin transitioning from autobiography writing into narrative writing through an engaging prompt, ‘The Power Within’.

We will explore how authors develop characters, settings, problems and solutions to create meaningful stories, while considering how inner strengths such as courage, resilience, kindness and determination can shape a character's journey.

Students will plan and craft their own narratives, using rich vocabulary, descriptive language and effective story structure to engage and inspire their readers.

WHAT CAN YOU DO AT HOME:

Encourage your child to talk about a time they discovered their own ‘power within’ …..perhaps when they showed courage, kindness, resilience or determination.

Discussing real-life experiences can help inspire ideas for their narrative.

Read a story together and talk about the main character's journey.

Ask questions such as;

- What challenge did they face?

-How did they overcome it?

-What inner strength helped them succeed?"

Maths

Grade 3 - Time

Grade 3 students will develop their understanding of telling the time by reading and interpreting both analogue and digital clocks. They will investigate time to the minute, solve problems involving elapsed time, and apply their understanding in everyday contexts such as timetables, schedules and daily routines. Students will strengthen their ability to reason, estimate and explain their thinking as they solve practical time-related problems

Grade 4 - Angles

Grade 4 students will explore angles by identifying, comparing and describing right, acute and obtuse angles in a variety of 2D shapes and real-world contexts. They will investigate how angles can be used to describe turns, movement and position, while developing mathematical language to explain and justify their thinking. Students will also apply their understanding by identifying angles in everyday environments and creating their own shapes and designs using specific angle types.

WHAT CAN YOU DO AT HOME:

Encourage your child to read both analogue and digital clocks throughout the day and discuss what time it is.
Ask questions such as, "If we leave in 20 minutes, what time will it be?" or "How long is it until dinner?" to help develop their understanding of elapsed time.
Involve your child in reading timetables, planning daily routines or estimating how long everyday activities will take.

Encourage your child to identify and name right, acute and obtuse angles around your home, at the park or while out and about.
Talk about the turns you make when walking, riding or driving, using language such as quarter turn, half turn and three-quarter turn.

Continue to encourage your child to practice their times tables regularly by saying them out loud, writing them down, or through quizzing.

Multiverse on Mathletics and Hit the Button (website) can be a fun interactive way to practice and strengthen number fact knowledge and work towards automaticity

CBL (Challenge Based Learning)

Our Challenge Based Learning (CBL) Big Idea is Power.

This week we are investigating our guiding question - ‘What power do you have and how could you use it?’

Students will continue exploring our Big Idea by investigating the important role of local government within our community. They will identify the suburbs that make up our local government area, explore the services provided by local council, and consider how decisions made by council impact their everyday lives.

Students will also reflect on how Wonga Park has changed over time, what role the local government had in these changes and how they can use their voices to propose thoughtful improvements that could make our community an even better place to live, learn and play. Through these discussions, students will deepen their understanding that people have the power to contribute positively to their community and help shape its future.

WHAT CAN YOU DO AT HOME:

Talk with your child about the local places and services your family uses, such as parks, playgrounds, sporting facilities, libraries, walking tracks or rubbish collection. Discuss why these services are important and who is responsible for providing them.

As you travel around your local area, encourage your child to notice changes or improvements that have been made and talk about how they benefit the community.

Wellbeing

SWBPS

Through our SWPBS program and token system, we continue to recognise and celebrate students who demonstrate positive work habits, respectful relationships and safe behaviours, helping to create a supportive learning environment where everyone can thrive.

Our focus this week – ‘Be kind’ (online) and ‘Wait my turn to store my iPad’

Respectful Relations - Help seeking: Communications and help seeking scenarios.

We will explore a range of everyday scenarios to identify when students may need support, who they can turn to for help, and how to communicate their thoughts and feelings clearly and respectfully.

Kitchen Garden 

We continue to rely on the support of our wonderful parent helpers to ensure this program is safe and successful. We also warmly welcome help from extended family such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles. If you or a family member can spare some time to support the program, the sign-up link is:

https://signup.com/go/kLsQDpy

We post our recipes on Showbie for students who would like to recreate the amazing dishes they make in our cooking classes.

Please use the Showbie code below if your child would like to access these recipes:

9JYVE

INFORMATION & REMINDERS

Term Three Dates

August

Tuesday 11th Grade 4 – visit to Warrandyte High School 9am-11am

Monday 17th & Tuesday 18th – Incursion “Democracy, Community and Me"

VSSS Choir have several dates on the calendar over the next couple of weeks

Week 6: Bullying No Way! National week of action

Reminders

Grade 4 parents – if you have not yet done so, please check Sentral re permission for your child to attend Warrandyte High School experience on Tuesday - there is no cost associated with this activity.

-please help support your child to make sure their iPad is charged and ready to use each day

-fidget tools; we would appreciate your support in making sure students are not bringing collections of squishes/fidget toys to school

Wellbeing Hub