YEARS 3 AND 4     PARENT NEWSLETTER     TERM 1 in 2019

The Level 3 and 4 team would like to welcome you all back to school. We particularly welcome those families that are new to the school community and wish you a happy and positive start to your time at Eltham North Primary School.

There have been a number of staffing changes across the school for this year. Our 2019 Year 3 and 4 team includes the following teachers:
Andrea Couper – 3A
Shannon Devlin – 3B
Kate Doherty & Nicole Ryan (Monday) – 3C
Michael Farrell - 3/4

Lisa Smith – 4A
Jarrod Wait – 4B

Cara Grant – 4C

…More information below

 YEARS 3 AND 4

PARENT NEWSLETTER

TERM 1, 2019

The students have made a great start to the school year and we are all looking forward to a year of learning and fun. During the first few weeks, the classroom focus is to establish a positive learning community.

Curriculum

Inquiry Units

This term, Levels 3 and 4 will be undertaking Inquiry topics both with a focus on Civics and Citizenship aligned with Victorian Curriculum yearly outcomes.

‘How can a good leader make a difference to their local community?’

The Year 3 & 4 students will engage in learning two aspects of leadership. The first - ‘What makes a good leader?’ where they will explore aspects of leadership, including the needs and processes that shape rules, and school and local laws. In the second component of the unit, ‘How can a leader make a difference?’, they will use those skills to create stalls to plan, create, organise and manage in our school fete.  We are really looking forward to the students learning how to improve others and how to give back to the local community.

English  

The students will approach writing using the VCOP principles to promote writing excellence. VCOP stands for Vocabulary, we want the students to be excited about finding and using new and interesting words in both their speaking and writing; Connectives, students will investigate ways to joins single sentences to create a more complex sentence; Openers, we will challenge students to use a variety of language to begin their sentences; Punctuation, students will be exposed to and practise using varied and appropriate punctuation within their writing.

Writing

In Year 3 students will be writing persuasives. We commence our unit with an incursion on persuasive speaking which helps students to learn how to state opinions. We will be following the OREO structure for our persuasive arguments: State your Opinion, provide Reasons that support this opinions and support them with Evidence before re-stating your Opinion. The focus in Year 3 is on continuing to develop writing stamina and guiding students through the process of writing sustained pieces with increasingly more complex vocabulary (WOW words or ambitious vocabulary). 

The year 4 students will be exploring the use of expressive language when writing a variety of persuasive pieces to serve different purposes. They will be working through the stages of the writing process: planning, composing, editing, revising and publishing.

Spelling and Grammar

Students will continue being explicitly taught the Write to Read Program which includes phonograms, spelling rules and application in everyday writing tasks.  The grammar focus for Year 3 and Year 4 will link to the writing sessions and be applicable to the genre being taught.

Reading

Year 3

During Term 1 the Year 3 students will be introduced to the CAFÉ reading approach which will support their developing skills as independent readers. They will also participate in Literacy Group sessions with a class comprehension focus each week. This involves the students rotating through a variety of targeted activities to improve their reading comprehension abilities, spelling and grammatical skills. Students are encouraged to borrow ‘Just Right’ books from the library and to ensure they have a ‘balanced reading diet’ by reading a variety of different genres and authors. As with writing, a focus is on developing reading stamina whilst also fostering a love for reading!

Year 4

Independent reading using the CAFÉ approach will also be a part of our reading instruction. The CAFÉ Approach allows and encourages students to take ownership of their learning, creating class and individual goals in partnership with their teachers and being accountable to their goals in Independent reading time. The one-on-one conferences used in the CAFÉ Approach also allow time for reflection, feedback and teacher guidance of student learning.

Speaking and Listening

Students will be involved in a range of opportunities to develop their speaking and listening skills. They will be interacting with their peers within a variety of formal and informal contexts. Students will be participating in collaborative discussions and will be encouraged to use interactive skills, including active listening behaviours to communicate in a clear, coherent manner.

Mathematics

Year 3

The Level 3 students will commence Mathematics this year with work on place value. Through games and hands-on activities, students will improve their number sense, providing them with a good foundation for the rest of the year’s Mathematics concepts. In  start-up we explored data collection and presented this information in graphs. Data collection, collation and interpretation will be revisited throughout the year. This term we will work on number patterns, refreshing student’s number knowledge and exploring the way numbers work. The introduction of morning meetings in classrooms has seen concepts such as temperature, interpreting calendars and reading time become part of everyday classroom dialogue. Our approach to Mathematics sees students and teachers working together to develop a shared vocabulary, an understanding of new concepts and a love of Mathematics!

Year 4

In Level 4 we aim to make maths meaningful and engaging for the children by connecting numeracy to real-life problems, and to things that the children relate to and care about. As part of our Start Up program, we have been busy collecting lots of interesting information about ourselves and displaying this data in different types of graphs. We will be revisiting data representation throughout the year. After camp, our focus will be on developing a strong sense of place value, extending beyond 5-digit numbers and into decimal numbers for those students who are ready. This is the foundation to developing good ‘number sense’.

Throughout all maths sessions in both Level 3 and 4, there will be a focus on problem solving and applying maths in real life situations. We will continue to incorporate the Big Ideas in Mathematics into our lessons to assist students make connections and develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts.

Physical Education – Sarah Van Nieukerk – All Year

Art (Year 3) – Wendy Hayes or Teresa Sciola, Art/ Italian (Year 4) – Teresa Sciola – All Year

Music – Amy Cecil –  Term 1, 3 and 4

Science – Jo Harwood – Term 2

Environment Cooking Elective- Karen Koutsodontis - Term 2

ART

Year 3

This term in Art, the Year Three students will be completing a multimedia unit of work with the focus on painting and drawing. The children will develop an understanding of the art elements: line, shape, colour, texture and tone. Art room activities will include: creating painted paper through the mixing of acrylic paints; drawing superhero self-portraits; painting monsters using the picture story book, ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ as a stimulus; and a study of the artist, Romero Britto and his colourful artwork. Towards the end of term, the students will begin work on their cards for Mother’s Day and prepare for our next unit of work - modelling.  All students are required to bring an art smock to the Art room.

ART/ITALIAN PROGRAM

GRADE 4 & 3/4

This term in Art the students will be covering two areas- Drawing and Painting. They will aim to develop their techniques and skills in these areas using a range of different media. After designing the front covers of their Visual art diary they will follow with sketching their own portraits. The emphasis will be on sectioning the face. Following with “Inky Beetles”.  A study of insects and drawing with dry chalk. Lines and repeated patterns will also be looked at in this unit of work.

 Finally, they will use oil pastels to draw fish then paint in detail with food dye. The underwater theme is continued in painting, with backgrounds being painted with food dyes and salt added while wet to create pattern and texture. Jelly fish made out of tissue paper are added to the underwater scene. Complimentary and primary colours will also be covered.

Italian this term will cover Greetings, Alphabet, Numbers to 100, Colours and The Body.

Ciao

Signora Sciola

Performing Arts – Term 1 – Grades 3&4

Welcome back! This year will again be Performing Arts based and will cover aspects of music, drama and dance at different times throughout the year. How exciting! The students will be introduced to the elements of drama and will rehearse and perform a scripted play for their peers. They will evaluate their work during and after their performance and will get an opportunity to record their voices using the iPads. Both year levels will undertake regular singing and dancing activities throughout the term as well. I hope we all have a great year in 2019!

Physical Education

In Phys Ed this term, the Year 3 & 4 students will participate in sessions on teamwork, lacrosse, fitness and various invasion games. These will require students to work together cooperatively and help them develop and use strategies in game scenarios.

Students will also have the opportunity to participate in the school swimming and school cross country carnivals as well as cross country.

Wellbeing
In Term 1 our focus is on integrating our school values – Cooperation, Achievement, Respect and Empathy (CARE) into our daily dialogue and actions. Our school values are integral to Our School Vision: one that ‘empowers all students to embrace learning, achieve their personal best and build their emotional, social and physical wellbeing’. Within the classroom we are not just learning about these values in theory, we are also exploring what they ‘look like’, ‘sound like’ and ‘feel like’ when practiced and experienced in the playground and classroom. This links back to respectful relationships, using a growth mindset and being aware of our zones of regulation.

A key part of learning about our connection to the school and ourselves is our daily meditation practice using the Smiling Minds program. Daily mindfulness has a wonderful impact on classroom and yard behaviour and supports the children to be aware of their thoughts and actions towards other. Smiling minds is available as an app download and can be used at home, it has children's meditations as well as meditations for sleep.

Library

In our weekly library sessions, students will have the opportunity to browse and borrow books for home use and the classroom library. Often CAFÉ sessions will be conducted in the library. Students will also have the opportunity to research their oral presentation topics.

Year 4 Camp

The Year 4 teachers are excited about our upcoming camping experience in 2019 at Mt Evelyn Recreation Camp YMCA, Monday 18th February – Wednesday 20th March. Many exciting activities have been planned for the students including the Flying Fox, Giant Swing, Swimming and Bushwalking. The children will also participate in indoor games and the highlight of the camp, “Eltham North’s got talent 2019”

Please ensure you provide permission on COMPASS and return 2 copies of the medical forms to the school promptly.

Year 3 Camp

Year 3 camp is at the beginning of Term 4. More details about this will come later in the year. In preparation for this camp, we highly recommend organising some sleep overs if your child has never been away from home overnight. Whilst nerves are very common, having had the experience of being away from home is very beneficial.

GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING

Attendance and Punctuality

Being at school everyday is important for consistency in your child’s education. If your child is absent for a whole or part of a day, please remember to log onto Compass and complete the absence details.  A Late Pass is required from the office if your child arrives after 9am. 

Rubbish Free School

A general reminder regarding our Rubbish Free policy: Rubbish sent to school will return home with your child. Please encourage healthy eating and the use of clearly LABELLED reusable plastic containers for your child’s lunch and snack. If your child has a lunch order please send his/her lunchbox to school for the rubbish to be returned home.

COMPASS

Please ensure you are checking COMPASS regularly for school updates and happenings. If we do not have approval from COMPASS your child will not be able to participate in excursions or incursions.  

Teacher Meetings

The home/school partnership is critical to your child’s education. If you have any questions, clarifications or issues that need discussing about your child’s academic, social or emotional needs, please see your child’s class teacher as your first point of contact. As teachers often have before and after school commitments please make a time to meet. Teachers are also available through email and phone if this is more convenient. All teacher emails are available through COMPASS.

HOMEWORK ~ Home Reading

Homework in year 3 and 4 will require all students to read weekly and complete one project each semester. Year 3 students are expected to complete at least four 20 minute reading sessions per week in Year 4 this increases to 4, 25 - 30 minutes sessions per week.

Students are able to read books of their choice from home, school and classroom libraries. Reading may take the form of written or digital texts. It is important to read a variety of texts and, please take some time to discuss your child’s reading with them. Please continue to listen to, read with and to your child when you have the opportunity.

Please check that your child writes in their diary each night stating the name of the book and how long they read for. We ask you to sign and make a comment each week, by Thursday.  Your child’s diary will be checked and signed by the classroom teacher each Friday. 

Student Diaries

Each student has been issued with an ENPS diary. These are used for communication between home and school, as well as a way for the children to organise themselves and remember school-related activities. Could you please ensure that you sign your child’s diary each Thursday to confirm their reading. Your child’s diary will be checked and signed by the classroom teacher on Friday. 

IMPORTANT DATES

Week Date Event

5 Wednesday 27th Feb Curriculum day

7 Monday 11th March Labour Day

7 Sat 16th March School Fete

9 Tuesday 26th March Cross Country

10 Friday 5th April End of term

FROM US TO YOU

It is best for us to work together to help your child. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or concerns. We thank you for your continued support.

The Level 3/4 Team

Jarrod Wait, Lisa Smith, Cara Grant, Kate Doherty, Andrea Couper, Shannon Devlin, Michael Farrell and Nicole Ryan.