Middle School Newsletter: Term 4 Week 3
CONNECT WITH GRADE 3 and 4
What a wonderful start to the term we have had. Both students and teachers have enthusiastically embraced the new term and the learning challenges.
Learning and Teaching
We Are Learning To....
READING: recognise and know how words work: multiple meanings, antonyms and synonyms, powerful descriptive words and etymology.
WRITING/V.C.O.P.: write and identify the features of different forms of poetry such as Haikus and Found poems.
Our VCOP focus is Vocabulary including a focus on adjectival and adverbial words and phrases.
SPELLING: use SMART spelling strategies including breaking words into sounds and syllables, identifying the 'tricky' parts of the words and writing the words and sentences from a dictation passage. Emphasis will also be placed on understanding the meaning of the words with students being encouraged to include the words in their writing and oral language.
MATHS: continue work on multiplication and division using our place value knowledge, times table facts and problem solving techniques.
tell the time on digital and analogue clocks, convert between units of time, use am and pm and solve time problems.
UNIT OF STUDY: (We are One, We are Many/History): learn about the history of Australia. We are starting our inquiry unit by developing an understanding of Indigenous culture and lifestyles.
eLEARNING: use the iPads and Netbooks to support and extend learning through Mathletics and Reading Eggs and for research and publishing purposes.
READING: recognise and know how words work: multiple meanings, antonyms and synonyms, powerful descriptive words and etymology.
WRITING/V.C.O.P.: write and identify the features of different forms of poetry such as Haikus and Found poems.
Our VCOP focus is Vocabulary including a focus on adjectival and adverbial words and phrases.
SPELLING: use SMART spelling strategies including breaking words into sounds and syllables, identifying the 'tricky' parts of the words and writing the words and sentences from a dictation passage. Emphasis will also be placed on understanding the meaning of the words with students being encouraged to include the words in their writing and oral language.
MATHS: continue work on multiplication and division using our place value knowledge, times table facts and problem solving techniques.
tell the time on digital and analogue clocks, convert between units of time, use am and pm and solve time problems.
UNIT OF STUDY: (We are One, We are Many/History): learn about the history of Australia. We are starting our inquiry unit by developing an understanding of Indigenous culture and lifestyles.
eLEARNING: use the iPads and Netbooks to support and extend learning through Mathletics and Reading Eggs and for research and publishing purposes.
Term 4 Calendar Dates
Monday 24th October - 3/4 Murrundindi incursion
Tuesday 1st November - Melbourne Cup Public Holiday
Tuesday 8th November - Whole School A-Thon
8th, 15th, 22nd, 28th and 29th November - STOMP Dance
Friday 25th November - Twilight Working Bee
Friday 2nd December - Carols Night
Friday 10th December - Whole School Sports Day
Current notices
Satellite Club
The Satellite Club is a program offered to extend and enrich selected students. Our aim is to present new and exciting challenges for the Satellite Club team. This year they have been working on logical thinking and reasoning skills.
In Term Four students will be developing business plans and creating their own businesses using ICT skills.
The students will work with our new CSIRO ICT in Schools partner, Ms Vikki Morris, Regional Manager, Cisco Systems Australia and Mrs Grisdale.
More information about our new program will be in the newsletter over the coming weeks. Both parents and students have been asking about the program - it's good to hear you are as excited about the program as we are!!
If you have any questions, please see Mrs Grisdale.
In school visit - 24th October
To complement our Inquiry unit we have organised an in school visit from Murrundindi who will teach us about Indigenous culture and lifestyle. He is always an entertaining and engaging presenter.
Grade 3 and 4 Sport
In term 4 will be running Middle School sport on Fridays at 12:00. The students will be participating in mixed grade groups practising and playing games offered for Interschool sport. The sports include rounders, cricket, tennis and newcombe. Don't forget your runners!
Sun Smart
As we are a Sun Smart school we request that students wear hats when outside in Term 4. Those students without hats are asked to be in the shaded eating area.
Making News
Achievement Awards for Weeks 1 and 2 of Term 4
3S
3S
Ayaan - for trying his best to write a creative limerick and
making a great start to term 4!
Antonios - for being enthusiastic in his learning, especially when it comes to completing his reading activities. Great work, Antonios!
Antonios - for being enthusiastic in his learning, especially when it comes to completing his reading activities. Great work, Antonios!
3G
Oscar - displaying the 3G values consistently throughout the week.
Talia - using her growth mindset when attempting challenging learning tasks.
4H
Katarina - writing an excellent limerick poem titled 'Anna Banana'.
Conor - using his Growth Mindset when presented with challenging multiplication tasks
Oscar - displaying the 3G values consistently throughout the week.
Talia - using her growth mindset when attempting challenging learning tasks.
4H
Katarina - writing an excellent limerick poem titled 'Anna Banana'.
Conor - using his Growth Mindset when presented with challenging multiplication tasks
4W
Angie - for her amazing ability to write a creative and clever limerick entitled Bird and Mouse.
Josh - for his careful and thoughtful selection of words when creating Found poems in writing lessons.
In the Dreamtime!
Angie - for her amazing ability to write a creative and clever limerick entitled Bird and Mouse.
Josh - for his careful and thoughtful selection of words when creating Found poems in writing lessons.
On Monday the 10th October Grade 3 and 4 went to the Ian Potter Centre NGV in the city. We visited a sculpture exhibition by Bruce Armstrong called Strange Creatures which included mythological creatures, animals, birds and people carved out of wood. Have you seen his sculpture near the Docklands and Southern Cross station?
We also visited an exhibition of modern indigenous art. The artists painted using bright colours and big brushstrokes. To enjoy the art we sat and thought about what the paintings reminded us of. We also thought what music came into our mind when we looked at them.
The next exhibition was The Angel Gift with over 100 Aboriginal paintings from 1990 until now. They used more dot art and had lots of patterns and some even looked like mazes. There were many rooms of art in the exhibition.
After the Gallery we met Jordan at the Koorie Heritage Centre. He explained about Aboriginal culture. Did you know that boomerangs can be used for killing or scaring animals? We walked along Birrarung Marr and Jordan talked about the sculptures and how they related to Aboriginal culture and life. Jordan was from Geelong and his parents were from Warrnambool and Alice Springs. He entertained us with a dance showing us the movements of an emu, kangaroo, eagle and hunter.
It was an enjoyable and informative day.
Reporters: Sarah and Chloe
Quiz
What significance does Bunjil the eagle have to Indigenous cultures in Victoria?
How are boomerangs used when hunting birds?
What animals are used to make the traditional cloaks of the Bunurong people? 
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