Year 3/4

Welcome back for Term 4; it’s amazing how fast the year has gone by.

Our Grade 3/4 teachers are committed to building the confidence of all our students, so that they have the belief that they can achieve their best. Elise and Yolande are working with students to develop a growth mindset as this will allow them to face challenges with a ‘can do attitude’. Our teachers are there to support our students to achieve their personal best through differentiation, individual goals and by developing a postitive learning environment.

For Reading at NNGPS, we follow the CAFÉ system which focuses on the areas of Comprehension, Accuracy and Analysis, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary. Students are exposed to a range of text types and media which are designed to improve their comprehension; ability to analyse information; develop their metacognition, and; ability to question. During reading sessions students will be encouraged to express their own opinions and ideas, and in doing so will improve their ability to convey their message in a clear and concise manner. This term we are focusing on fiction texts where we will be looking at how texts are structured. Students will be learning about how an author engages their reader through different figurative language and text devices.

At NNGPS in Writing we focus on teaching the craft of writing where students will explore the areas of Ideas, Organisation, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency and Conventions. Through this process we hope to instill a love of writing and provide students, with the opportunity to express themselves through their writing. During Term 4 the students will be completing a Writing Project. They will be selecting a broad topic for example themselves and will then write a range of different pieces on this topic. Through this students will be exposed to a range of different genres and text types. Students will have voice and agency into the topics they write about and the genres they use. These writing pieces will then go towards creating a portfolio of work. Sound Waves continues to be used as the vehicle for teaching spelling.

The Numeracy curriculum is broken into the strands of Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics and Probability. This term the students will be focusing on fractions and decimals, financial maths along with revision of the four processes. Students are engaged during Numeracy sessions through the use of problem solving and open ended tasks. These problems allow students the opportunity to apply what they are learning in different contexts. Problem solving in Numeracy teaches students perseverance, resilience and to have a positive mind set. We will continue Open Learning this term where students will be split into their ability groups allowing them to be taught at their point of need.

Inquiry this term is focusing on Earth Science. During our Inquiry sessions students will also be taught skills related to the Digital Technologies curriculum. Students will be using programs such as the Google Suit, Microsoft Word and Power Point. Students will be offered the opportunity to direct their own learning.

Students will participate in weekly Art, Physical Education, STEM and Auslan (LOTE) sessions. At NNGPS we use the Play Is The Way program to develop social and emotional learning in our students through structured games and activities. Students will also take part in the Respectful Relationships program which teaches students how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.

Make sure that you keep up to date with the Seesaw app as it is here that you will be able to see all of the wonderful work and learning students are doing. This is a great way for you to be a part of your childs learning, with the opportunity to view photos of work and to see work that has been completed. The Seesaw app allows you to directly contact your childs classroom teacher and is a fabulous way for the school and families to communicate with one another. This year the Seesaw app will be used to give you snapshot reports regarding your childs progress.

Term 4 is an exciting term where the 3/4 students will be attending Ferngully Camp in Healesville. As part of this they will be going to Healesville Sanctuary. This Term we also have the End of Year Celebration and transition for 2025.

Please refer to the school newslettter for any school news and key dates.

As always if you have any further questions please feel free to contact your classroom teacher.
Elise Bradley and Yolande Kerin