Carlsruhe Annexe /
Main Campus - Year 4
Woodend Primary School
In Literacy this term, Year 4 students have been immersed in the beautiful mentor text Wilam: A Birrarung Story by Aunty Joy Murphy. Through this rich and meaningful story, we have been exploring how an author entertains the audience using descriptive vocabulary to bring characters, settings and storylines to life.
Students have particularly enjoyed learning the Woi Wurrung vocabulary for the Australian animals featured in the story. There has been great excitement in the classroom as we practised saying the words together and deepened our understanding of their meanings. To build on this learning, students worked collaboratively to create their own glossaries — a fantastic way to celebrate new language and honour the cultural knowledge within the text.
Inspired by Wilam, our Year 4 writers are now using similar language features to craft their very own “Wilam” stories. They are carefully selecting descriptive vocabulary to paint vivid pictures for their readers. We can’t wait to publish and share these creative pieces with you in the coming weeks!
In Mathematics, we have been continuing to practise identifying rules in patterns to create and extend number sequences. Important vocabulary in our classroom includes terms, rules, sequence and order. Students are confidently investigating number sequences involving multiples of 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9, and explaining the rules they notice. It has been wonderful to see students challenge themselves, justify their thinking and build strong mathematical language along the way.
Over at Carlsruhe, we were excited to welcome McIntyre Veterinary Clinic for a special visit. Our animals received an overall health check, and students learnt valuable information about how to handle animals responsibly, what to feed them, and how to care for them properly at Carlsruhe. It was a fantastic hands-on learning experience that strengthened our understanding of animal wellbeing and responsibility. A big thank you to McIntyre Vet — we learnt so much and are already looking forward to your next visit in Term 3!
We have also held our very first cubby inspections! Mrs Elliott and Miss Dodds visited each cubby to see how students were representing our school values. The cubby that earned the most points was awarded The Golden Pinecone for one week — and with this very special pinecone comes some very exciting rewards! Congratulations to Evie, Eleanor, Iversen, Amelie E, Margie and Anouk on being our first Golden Pinecone recipients. What a fantastic effort!
It’s been a fantastic start to the term, and we are so proud of the enthusiasm and focus our Year 4 students are showing each day!
Year 4 Teachers
Ashleigh Dodds (4AD), Brenda Elliot (4BE), Katherine Richardson (4KR)