Level 3: Connect

Hello Level 3 families,

Our last holidays seem like a distant memory now but we have had a wonderful start to Term 3 and have a very busy few weeks coming up. 

A warm welcome to Johanna (Joh) Fitness who has returned from Maternity leave and has stepped into 3C seamlessly to fill in for Jana. 

We also welcome back (did we ever really say goodbye?) Amanda Stanford who is kindly continuing in 3B due to staffing changes, which the Level 3 teachers and students are delighted about. 

Reminders

The Level 3 and 4 swimming program begins next week. Students in 3A/3B need to arrive promptly to school as the bus will leave at 9:10am. 

It is wise to pack extra snacks for your child on swimming days, and ensure they eat a good breakfast. 

Swimming days are as follows:

Week 3: Monday 29th July, Wednesday 31st July, Thursday 1st August, Friday 2nd August

Week 4: Monday 5th August, Tuesday 6th August, Wednesday 7th August, Thursday 8th August

If you are a confirmed parent helper, please ensure you know which session you are helping with and be ready to put those swimming caps on! 

What can you do at home?

Spelling: Students have some spelling words in their diary to practise at home. They can write these into their homework books which they keep at home. 

As always, you will find some fabulous maths games at https://www.lovemaths.me/operations-36 

We encourage you to take a trip to the local library and borrow some information / non-fiction books on topics that interest your child (or new topics they'd like to learn about). As we are focusing on information reports in Writing, and beginning our Science unit of work, it will help to have extra exposure to these types of books and how they are written and organised. 

Learning

Literacy - Writing

We began the term with writing and up-levelling recounts of the school holidays. Students were encouraged to become editors - correcting spelling and punctuation errors, include a wider range of vocabulary and descriptive words and 'show' the reader what they did, rather than tell (using carefully selected words and structured sentences). 

This week, we have been delving into the world of Information Reports. Students have been analysing what they are, what's included and are beginning to write the different sections (introduction, description and conclusion), whilst editing and improving along the way. We will continue this over the next fortnight with different topics to write about. 

Literacy - Reading

Reading Groups have been focusing on the different Comprehension strategies of summarising, predicting, questioning and making inferences. Some students are reading the text 'Heroes, Rebels and Innovators' and others are looking at finding information from different text types. We will be exploring some poetry during our busy swimming weeks so if students come home rhyming everything and suddenly becoming very descriptive - you know why. 

Numeracy

The term started with a revision on place value and the area model of division (partitioning the number and using the inverse multiplication to help solve problems). For an example of what this might look like, please see the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa45h-I3r30&t=9s 

We have also been looking at an introduction to fractions. We will be delving deeper into this in the coming weeks and using our place value and number knowledge to help us calculate fractions of whole numbers. 

Inquiry / ERP

This term we are looking at celebrations around the world. We have picked apart what the meaning of a celebration and commemoration is, and have now started the exciting and topical unit of the Olympics. Students are learning about the history of the Olympics and comparing it to the present day games. We will be completing medal tallies and following along closely. Students will have the opportunity to research a chosen host city to help them broaden their geographical and cultural knowledge. 

Wellbeing + Respectful Relationships + Cyber safety

Our current unit of work in Respectful Relationships is exploring gender roles and identity. We will be exploring gender stereotypes in literature and discussing / challenging different perspectives on it. This unit underpins values such as equality, respect, diversity and acceptance. 

In Cyber safety, we are looking at managing our time and use of technology, as well as how to interpret information online. 

Science

We are so excited that we have Science with Mr Wilko this Semester. Our lessons begin next week and we are delving into the wondrous world of Space (Earth Science) - always a firm favourite amongst students (and teachers!). 

Wishing you a fabulous fortnight ahead,

The Level 3 Team