Year 4

Assalamu Alaikum Parents/Guardians

It has been a wonderful blessing this term towards a smoother transition into academics Alhamdulillah. Year 4A has shown consistent dedication and a renewed interest to write more in Term 2. I look forward to their consistent effort next term and pray that they benefit from it always.

In grammar this term, our goals were to enhance sentence structure and punctuation. Students focused on differentiating between common nouns and proper nouns and how to accurately use them during writing. A lot of emphasis has been placed on using pronouns and adjectives to add details in writing. We are exploring a lot of adjectives and synonyms using a thesaurus which Year 4A students have identified as part of their learning goals in class. Spelling has also been integrated into these learning goals where students follow rules and patterns to remember how to spell a word and understand its meaning to use in writing.

Using the writing program Seven Steps, students have gained a lot of confidence in enhancing their ideas and vocabulary used to add details required in narrative writing. Students are enjoying the one minute challenges involved in brainstorming ideas for structuring their narrative texts in relation to Sizzling Starts, Tightening Tension using Five Sense + 1 and Exciting Endings.

Various reading strategies have been explored which are now currently utilised in comprehension activities using various texts as well as the book in use for drama. Students are monitoring their progress in inference using Lexile according to which they are borrowing books from the library as well.

Year 4A thoroughly enjoyed Math this term and worked very hard to do various levels of challenging questions related to rounding numbers, subtraction using regrouping (column method), multiplication as well as some aspects of division. Various hands-on activities have been used to make it engaging to increase their speed and accuracy in calculations. Word problems will be our ongoing focus to establish an understanding of the math language to solve more complex problems.

For Design and Technology this term, students had to investigate, plan, design and evaluate to create a robot using recycled materials and meeting a design brief. All students thoroughly enjoyed hands on learning and designing their robot.

Over the term, in Science lessons, students learnt about ‘Natural and Processed’ materials. Students were able to conduct a number of experiments and record their observations and results. They explored various properties of materials and their common uses.

Students investigated the continents of Africa and South America in HASS. They have developed the skills and have been able to name a number of countries, cities and understand what topographical features are on a map. Students have developed a deeper understanding of Africa’s natural environment through the inquiry task conducted this term.

In Arts, students were introduced to the basic concepts in drama involving setting, dialogues, cast, stage directions, acts and scenes. Using these elements, students had to work in teams to demonstrate their skills in freeze framing and thought tracking. We are currently integrating these skills in conjunction with comprehension reading strategies to enact scenes from the book ‘Lost and Found Cat’.

This term in Health, students continued to develop their knowledge and understanding about the importance of respectful relationships. Students learnt about honesty and integrity, appreciating differences and empathy. In one particular activity, students worked in pairs to interview each other by asking questions in order to find out the similarities and differences between them. Through this activity, they learnt to appreciate each other’s differences and uniqueness and learnt that they share similar interests as well. Students also worked in pairs to produce a PowerPoint presentation that represented the topic of honesty and integrity, appreciating differences or empathy. Students needed to answer a set of questions and include pictures to represent the topic. It was fantastic to see the collaboration and teamwork between the students.

For Physical Education this term, students participate in AFL football and had a coach come in to teach them a variety of skills such as bouncing, handballing and kicking. Students thoroughly enjoyed practising and perfecting these skills with their peers and many of the students demonstrated a lot of confidence with their techniques.

Year 4A also won the Ramadan Art Decoration Competition for their fantastic artwork completed as part of their learning which was one of the highlights of our term. They are also enjoying the AFL sessions learning various techniques to further gain skills and modify them with practice.

Rumana Mazhar

Assalamu Alaikum

Term 2 has certainly been eventful for our class.  Our focus throughout the term has been to continue implementing the 4 AIC Core Values daily. As a class, we have also been learning to work together on integrity and empathy.   

The students were fortunate enough to participate in AFL football coaching this term which they thoroughly enjoyed.   

In English we are continuing to develop the students reading comprehension skills using a variety of texts.  It is imperative that all students read at home to improve their reading skills.  We appreciate parent support in this regard.

The students are also developing their writing of narratives using the Seven Steps to Writing Success.  With continued effort and practice, the students are improving their writing skills. 

In Mathematics we have focused on Number throughout the semester.  We will continue with it next term as understanding all facets of Number is critical to all mathematical learning.

For Design and Technology, students had to investigate, plan, create and design a robot using recycled materials. All students thoroughly enjoyed the hands on learning and designing of their robot.

Over the term students learnt about ‘Natural and Processed’ materials in Science. They were able to conduct a number of experiments and record their observations and results.

In HASS, students investigated the continents of Africa and South America. They were able to name a number of countries, cities and have an understanding of what topographical features are on a map. They have developed a deeper understanding of Africa’s natural environment through the inquiry task conducted this term.

Please continue to monitor your child’s homework as this forms part of student revision and reinforcement. For your child to be successful, set a homework schedule that fits in with each week’s activities.

We encourage all parents to ensure they are regularly checking Class Dojo as this forms part of our parent communication. Also, please make sure that if your child is absent, you contact the office or send a message to inform us of your child’s absence. If your child is absent for more than one day, a medical certificate is required.

We hope you all have a restful break and the students come back ready for the exciting learning we have planned in Term 3.

Carolina De Leonardis & Jay Allocca