With the start to the new school year well under-way,
it was time to send out our first Y3-4 newsletter for the year.
This Wednesday you will get to meet your child's
teacher at Parent Interviews (if you haven’t already!), but you may not know
some of the other teachers in the Y3-4 Team...
Room 7: Richard Dobson- Team Leader (Priya Gain on
Fridays), Y4
Room 8: Karen Chao, Y4
Room 9: Hayley Skilton, Y3
Room 10: Gabrielle Heath (Sue Steele on Wednesdays),
Y3
Room 15: Jess Savage, Y3/4
We are also very lucky to have Sarah Richardson, our
wonderful Learning Support teacher, working with a number of our Y3-4 students
each day, Ruth Holmes who will be working Monday- Wednesday mornings with some
of our Year 3 students, and Narelle Ferrier who will be working Monday-
Thursday with some of our Year 4 students.
Upcoming events later this term:
Swimming Sports: We are currently
negotiating with Eastbourne pool for a suitable day for the Y3-4 swimming
sports. Class Teachers will contact you shortly when we have this confirmed. We
will be requiring a number of parent helpers for the morning.
Tuesday 12th February
Adam Paige, an actor specializing in shows for
children, will be performing for Years 3-6 this Tuesday afternoon, in the
school Hall.
Tuesday 5th March
Year 3-4 Hutt Valley Rippa Rugby tournament. We will
be entering a team to attend this. We will require parent helper to help
transport our team(s) to Petone Rec and back. An email will be sent next week
(Week 3) asking for helpers.
Thursday 21st March- Y3-4
attending the Capital E Arts Festival. We will require 3 parent helpers per
classroom- contact your child’s teacher if you would like to join us for a
wonder day of entertainment. Because the school will be covering the cost of
entry for parents, we cannot accommodate extra parents on this trip- sorry. So
get in quick!
Homework
Homework will begin properly in Week 4, after spelling
and basic facts testing has been completed in-class. Teachers may start sending
weekly homework sheets home before week 4. Each night’s homework comprises of
15-20 minutes work of practice in Reading, Spelling and Mathletics/Basic Facts.
Each week there is an optional ‘extra’ to be completed as well, which may take
additional time, spread out over the week.
We are aware of the busy out-of-school lives our
children lead. For this reason, it is perfectly acceptable for out-of-school
activities to count as ‘homework’. All we require is that the activity is
recorded in the spaces where the ticks would normally go. For example, if your
child has Ballet on Monday after school, write ‘ballet’ in the Monday slot for
reading, spelling and basic facts.
Teaching and Learning in Years 3-4 in Term One
There is lots of great learning happening this term!
Below is a quick outline of what you can expect your child to be learning this
term:
Literacy
Our focus for
writing this term is recounts. Children will be learning to structure their
writing by sequencing events chronologically, linking ideas in a variety of
ways and adding an introduction and conclusion. During this topic we will also
be focusing on the writing process and encouraging children to plan their ideas
in a variety of ways before writing. Children will be learning to edit their
own work by proof reading to check for meaning and by using simple dictionaries
to correct spelling.
Mathematics
The major part of
the term will be spent on number knowledge and strategies., particularly Place
Value. This will include a focus on problem solving and algebra. Cross-grouping
of students during Maths time will begin in Week 5 and continue for the rest of
the term.
P.E.
Swimming is the main
PE focus for the first 6 weeks, followed by large ball skills later in the
term. We are lucky to have the skilled instructors of Swimming NZ taking each
class for 8 lessons over 2 weeks. Their focus is on 'Water Safety and
Survival', as well as fundamental swimming skills.
Integrated
Study:
"Happy Healthy
Me" is a term long investigation into what makes us better learners. We
will look at different learning styles, optimal conditions for new learning,
and how to stay fit and healthy. Keep checking the classroom blog to see what
each class is doing.
Keeping in
contact
As always, we can be
contacted by our email address (surname@muritai.school.nz), or feel free to pop
in before/ after school for a quick chat. If you wish to have a chat about your
child’s learning at any stage of the year, you do not have to wait until parent
interviews to do so! Your child’s teacher will be happy to talk with you -
however be aware that Monday and Tuesday after school are usually teacher staff
meeting times.
Thanks for your
support so far this year, it has been a wonderful start to the school year.
Kind regards,
The Year 3-4
Teaching Team.
