Year 3/4 Newsletter: Term 3 No 1 Challenge students to be risk takers who become independent, collaborative learners

Reading Students will be exploring the world of poetry. Poetry is wonderful to read for enjoyment and provides lots of opportunities for students to learn about the different techniques poets use. Students will choose poems they like and then share these poems in small groups. They will analyse these poems and looks for rhythm, rhyme and other devices such as similes and metaphors. There will also be time for students to read novels and other texts online, when they will focus on strategies to help them further improve their reading skills.

Henry reading poems

Examples of Haiku Poetry Stars Pretty stars up high Cold shiny diamonds glimmer Bright like crystal light By Jelena Animals A feeling of love A joyful part of nature Animals bring joy By Lilly P

Writing Students have a huge term of writing ahead. For the first half of the term, the focus is on lots of different forms of poetry such as alliteration poems, haikus, diamante poems, rhymes and limericks to name just a few. Watch out for information later in the term about the Poetry Slam event! Students will be inviting parents and carers to come along and hear some of their amazing poems live! In the second half of the term, students will be learning about writing recounts in the style of biographies. They'll have the chance to research someone who inspires them and write about what they find out.

Maths What a big term of learning our Year 3 and 4 Mathematicians have in front of them! They have begun the term by investigating the idea of equivalence in equations and that the equal symbol means that both sides of an equation need to balance and using operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to practice this skill. Students will also begin to investigate fractions and decimals, learning about equal parts of numbers. Students have begun to investigate measurement such as capacity, mass, perimeter and area. In the second half of the term students will explore probability and chance by playing different games and thinking about the chances of winning. You can support your child at home by playing card, dice and board games with them and talking about who wins and why they won.

Chinkanda and Louis playing a game about odd and even numbers

Social and Emotional Learning Students will be exploring different emotions and identifying what causes these feelings. Students will be helped to better understand their feelings and how to identify, manage and express these feelings in an appropriate and acceptable way, both to themselves and others. The students will be exploring mindfulness using Smiling Minds to practise meditation. They will also be exploring how to build their resilience through growth mindset.

Science: Physical Sciences Year 3 Students will be focusing on the unit ‘Magnetic Moves’. They will recognize and group materials that are attracted to magnets. Students will discern differences in strengths of magnets and will explore how the form of the magnet can affect its strength and the nature of the magnetic field it produces. They will measure the strength of a magnet by measuring the distance from which it attracts objects. Students will explore how to represent their understanding of different sized forces using scaled arrows. Year 4 Students will be learning about the ‘Smooth Moves’ unit. They will engage in hands-on learning opportunities to develop an understanding of how forces act upon objects on Earth, including direct forces, such as pushes and pulls, as well as forces which act at a distance such as gravity. Students will investigate how the surface area of an object and the type of surface affects the amount of friction an object experiences. Students will makes links to literacy through the use of word walls.

Inquiry Students will be learning about the topic, ‘First Contacts’. The unit will focus on why convicts were transported to Australia, life aboard the First Fleet ships and the conditions convicts experienced. Students will also research what life was like for Aboriginals before European settlement and what happened when they first made contact with the First Fleet Settlers. The students look forward to attending an excursion to Polly Woodside where they will receive a tour of the ship to deepen their understanding of what life was like for the convicts as they sailed the seven seas!

Homework Students take home a book every night to read. If it is a long book it can be read over several nights. Please ensure your child completes any other homework as the activities will reinforce their learning at school. Year 3 students need to learn their 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 multiplication facts and Year 4 students all facts to 10x10.

25th July: Parent Teacher Interviews 26th July: Curriculum Day 29th July: Year 4 Excursion to Polly Woodside 31st July: Year 3 Excursion to Polly Woodside 2nd August: Assembly 3:00pm 12th August: ARPS Got Talent Senior Auditions 1:15pm 16th August: Assembly 3:00pm 19th August: ARPS Got Talent Final 2:00 30th August: Assembly 3:00pm 4th September: Voices of the Choir (Senior Choir) 13th September: Assembly 3:00pm 20th September: Last day of Term 3

Please ensure your child attends school every day and arrives by 8:50am to prepare for their day in order to maximise their learning time.

Athol Road is a Nude food school so please make sure that your child brings food to school without wrappers. This will help to maintain a clean and ecofriendly environment for all of us to enjoy. Few key tips: Use reusable takeaway containers and lunchboxes to put your lunch and snacks in. Bring reusable water bottles. Please remember to label all containers and belongings.