Year 3/4 Team News

Hello Year  3/4 families,   

The Year 3/4 students have settled into Term 3 beautifully and continue to work hard across all learning areas. We are looking forward to another exciting fortnight of learning and special events.

Book Week

A reminder to start planning and creating costumes for our Book Week Dress-Up Day and Parade on Friday 21 August. This is always a wonderful celebration of reading and a fantastic opportunity for students (and parents!) to showcase their creativity and imagination.

As part of our Book Week celebrations, we are excited to welcome Sarah Allen, author and illustrator, to our school on Thursday 20 August. All Year 3/4 students will participate in a workshop with Sarah, providing a wonderful opportunity to learn about the writing and illustrating process from a published author.

Grade 4 Bike Education

A reminder to Grade 4 families that students will need a safe, appropriately sized, and roadworthy bicycle for the two-day Bike Education program in Week 8.

As students will be riding beyond the school grounds on both days, it is essential that all bikes have working brakes, responsive steering, and are in good condition. Thank you for checking your child's bike before the program begins.

Curriculum Focus

Literacy

This fortnight, students will begin our Poetry unit. They will read and explore a variety of poems, using them as mentor texts for comprehension activities. Students will also read books written and illustrated by our guest author, Sarah Allen, in preparation for her Book Week workshop.

Poetry will also be the focus of Writing. Students will explore different poetic forms and literary devices before creating and publishing their own poems.

Numeracy – Fractions and Decimals

During Weeks 5 and 6, students will continue learning about fractions and decimals.

Students will:

• recognise and represent unit fractions including ½, ⅓, ¼, ⅕ and 1/10, along with their multiples
• extend their understanding of place value to tenths and hundredths
• use decimal notation to name and represent decimals
• identify equivalent fractions using related denominators
• make connections between fractions and decimal notation.

Inquiry

Our Term 3 inquiry question is:

"What does living sustainably look like in our local community?"

This fortnight, students will investigate First Nations perspectives and approaches to sustainability, exploring how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples care for Country and the environment.

Willy Kids

This term's focus is "Willy Kids are Resilient."

Students will develop strategies for:

• managing emotions
• showing courage
• bouncing back from challenges
• persevering
• maintaining a positive mindset.

Respectful Relationships

This term, students are exploring gender norms and stereotypes. They will develop an understanding of how stereotypes in the media and literature influence beliefs about gender, while learning to recognise and challenge negative gender stereotypes within their school and wider community.

Homework

Homework provides valuable opportunities for students to consolidate their learning and develop positive habits for lifelong learning.

Homework is distributed each Monday and is due back at school each Friday.

Weekly homework includes:

• Reading – Read for at least 15 minutes on four nights each week. Students should record the titles of the books they have read on their homework sheet.
• Mathematics – Play the number games introduced in class to strengthen number sense and revise learnt skills. This term, there is also a focus on learning multiplication facts:
  • Grade 3: 2s, 4s, 5s and 10s
  • Grade 4: all multiplication tables.
• Spelling – Complete suggested activities using the words your child has selected.
• Writing – Complete a short writing task in the Homework Book.

All students have a Homework Book to complete and return each week. If you have any questions or concerns about homework, please don't hesitate to contact your child's classroom teacher.

Upcoming Dates

• Wednesday 19/Thursday 20 August – Sarah Allen (Author/Illustrator) Incursion
• Friday 21 August – Book Week Dress-Up Day and Parade
• Week 8 – Grade 4 Bike Education
  • 3/4M & 3/4B: Monday 31 August – Tuesday 1 September
  • 3/4S, 3/4T & 3/4P: Wednesday 2 September – Thursday 3 September

Students decorated these beautiful feathers during NAIDOC Week. They are now proudly displayed at the entrance to the Year 3/4 corridor near the office. We encourage families to stop by and admire their wonderful work.

Warm regards, 

The Year 3/4 team –  Dianna Lane & Christine Carroll (3/4M), Grace Pante & Kayleen Dumic (3/4P), Alison Standish (3/4S) ,Hayley Thibou (3/4T) & Katherine Buenaventura (3/4B)