Icarus Community Report

Welcome to the Icarus Community

Students have continued to be busy with settling into our routines and learning this term. It’s been a busy term, but it has been wonderful to see all our students eager to learn. This month, our grade 3 students completed the NAPLAN assessments. We are all proud of their hard work and resilience during this time.

We would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe holiday break and a Happy Easter for those who celebrate. We look forward to seeing our students back at school in Term 2.

Reading

In Reading, students have been exploring books of different genres to develop their understanding of the text. They were working on finding important information to summarise fiction and non-fiction texts. Students used different strategies to summarise different texts.  

They were also learning to infer what the writer does not clearly state in the text. Students were able to use their prior knowledge and the clues from the text to infer a character’s feelings and actions.

Writing

In writing this month we have been focusing on planning, writing, editing and publishing persuasive and narrative pieces. Students have been practising using the correct text structure and including punctuation and vocabulary in their writing. The Icarus students learned about the writing process, and how to write exciting starters and endings for their stories. Also, we discussed how to show, not tell when narrating a story, as well as how to ban the boring parts when writing.

Maths

We started the month, focusing on identifying patterns when counting, where students tried to figure out the rule in a pattern and/or find the missing number. The Icarus students also learned to measure, order and compare objects using informal and familiar metric units of length. Accurate use of rulers and converting between different units of measurements were some of the main topics. Lastly, students explored how to collect data via surveys and plot it onto different types of graphs, such bar graphs and line graphs.  Then students were interpreting the graphs.

Inquiry

In Inquiry, students have been learning about importance of making good food choices. They were developing their understanding to differentiate between good and negative consequences of our food choices. Students enjoyed sorting healthy and unhealthy foods and creating a healthy lunch box. They were also focusing on how to make good choices online by using the T.E.C (Think, evaluate, choose) tool to achieve the best outcome for everyone. 

Students were learning the strategies to be cyber-safe and to protect their personal information. They were given opportunities to discuss real life scenarios to develop their understanding of cyberbullying, being respectful online and where to seek assistance if things go wrong online. Students were engaged in discussions about how to recognise an unsafe situation and to ask a trusted adult for help if they are having issues using digital technologies.

SEL

In SEL this month students have been learning about Emotions, Peer Support and Character Strengths. They have been identifying and describing different emotions we feel. They have developed personal goals for themselves and tried to achieve them. 

Friendly Reminders

· Please ensure your child has a water bottle at school each day and that it is labelled with their name.

· Please ensure your child is attending school regularly and on time as ‘It is not okay to be away’.

· Please ensure that your child is reading their home reader for 20 minutes every night and that their reading log is filled in and signed by a parent/guardian.

· We strongly encourage students bring along some brain food (fruit and vegetables) that they may eat in class. It is important that this is included as an additional snack in their lunchbox.

Kind Regards,

Icarus 3/4

Christina, Amandeep, Amanda and Aliya.