Congratulations to Wardie who is the 4F Star of the Week for Week 5. Wardie always strives for personal excellence in the classroom. He also received some great comments from other teachers this week while in the playground and at swimming. Well done Wardie!

Fraction Bucket Game

We had fun during our numeracy session playing the Fraction Bucket game. Students worked hard to identify which fractions were less than one half, equal to  one half, equal to one or great than one. 

Spelling word chains

Well done to those students who brought in their spelling word chains as part of their homework. They look great in our classroom. What a fun way to learn our spelling words!

The students were very excited to finally get their hands on some paint today! Our art unit this semester is focused around Eric Carle and his style of art. Today we spent the afternoon creating 'background' paintings. Students had fun experimenting with household items to create texture in their paint.

Literacy

Just wanted to share some photos from today.

We had some more impressive sketches of Mr and Mrs Twit...

Our spelling activity today was matching our spelling words ('ch' and 'tch') with a definition. 

Some students used whiteboards to write their answers. 

SWIMMING

Just a final reminder that swimming fees must be paid by tomorrow (Thursday 26th February) or your child will be unable to swim.  If you have contacted the office and organised a payment plan that is fine - your child will be able to swim.  Remember your child needs: swimmer, rashee or t-shirt, hair tie or swimming cap for long hair, and goggles (optional).  As we leave for the pool just after 11am we suggest that students do not order tuckshop for first break.  Thanks :)

This weeks reading strategy is Questioning. We discussed this strategy and what it entails during our guided reading today. 

One small group came up with some brilliant 'wonderings' that Ms Jill scribed for them. Ms Jill told me they all loved this book! 

Another group completed a character characteristics sheet on one of The Twits. 

 

I loved Violet's sketch to go with her worksheet!

Today five of the students got up on parade and talked about what makes them proud. 

Charlotte, Ellen and Hayley started by playing Hot Cross Buns on their saxophones / clarinet. Bailey was our 'reporter' asking the others what types of things made them proud. The students mentioned lots of the wonderful things available to them at school - choir, badges (citizenship, academic, sporting), dance troupe and instrumental music. Christian did a great job of answering Bailey without looking at his notes. 

I think it was a bit nerve wracking for the students because we were the first class to do a social skill, but I'm so proud of how well they did. Special mention goes to the rest of 4F who gave really constructive feedback during our practice run through. 

Mrs King even tweeted about us!

 

If you were at Parade today, we'd love to hear what you thought! 

Student of the week

Well done Blake on your Student of the week! You have gone above and beyond in your homework and we are super impressed!

This weeks spelling list is focused on double consonants. Watch this short video for a recap!

Reading Eggs

Reading Eggs is good to go! Everyone's accounts have been reset so students will be prompted to do a short quiz to gauge their level. It's important that they complete this independently. Log ons and passwords have been sent home today in diaries or homework books. 

Computation strategies

We revised three computation strategies today in math - jump, split and compensate.

Following our revision lesson, students held up their fingers to express their level of understanding. This is such a great way for them to show straight away if they 'get it' or are still having a bit of trouble. 

Don't forget your daily reading - even on the weekends!

 

Some good times to read are when you first wake up, need some down time or during your free time. Mix it up and take a blanket outside to lay in the shade and get lost in a good book. My favourite time to read is just before bed. I find it really relaxing, unless it's a good book and then I don't want to put it down!

 

Star of the Week - This weeks Star of the Week is Kajah.  He comes into the classroom every day with a big smile and a positive attitude.  He is always on task and tries his very best.  Well done Kajah - don't forget to bring your trophy back to school on Monday so you can keep it on your desk all week.

End of another great week!

Wow Friday was a busy day! We started off with our weekly Spelling Test and then moved on to our 10x tables test.  We have been practising this every day and also for homework.  Everyone has seen an improvement in both their accuracy and their time. Several students finished in 20 seconds! We continued with our study of The Twits - it is great fun reading about all of the tricks the characters play on each other.  Today we focused on adverbs and how these provide more detail and make sentences more interesting.  We also completed our first handwriting lesson as this year we will be progressing to cursive writing. After first break we did Maths and played "I have, You have" a game to help us learn our multiplication facts.  In Health we discussed how we are all different and can have different thoughts and feelings, and reactions to situations.  After lunch we had Geography where we continued learning about the continents of South America and Africa, and how legends are used in mapping.  So much in one day! Before we knew it, it was time for Prize Box and to announce the Star of the Week.

Well done Bailey! Congratulations on your student of the week!

Today I couldn't have been prouder of 4F! We play Top Gun often which is a game designed to practice our times tables in a fun way. Today Asher did a lot better than he has ever done before and when he got 'out' the class broke into impromptu applause for him. It was such a feel good moment! 

Parent Teacher Night

Don't forget our Year 4 Parent Teacher night is tomorrow (Wed 11/2)! It starts in the hall at 4:30pm. It will give you a chance to see the classroom (if you haven't already) and get an idea of how it runs on a day to day basis. 

Congratulations to Ellen who is the new Star of the Week. Ellen always strives for personal excellence and wrote a great narrative this week.

First day of swimming!

Thanks to all those parents who made sure your child came to school with everything they needed for their first swimming lesson of the year.  The students enjoyed the short bus ride and did plenty of laps in the pool so they should all sleep well tonight! Don't forget to return homework tomorrow (Friday). Who will be 4F's next Star of the Week?

This week in History we looked at a map of Christopher Columbus' four significant journeys, then brainstormed questions in pairs. Students then searched for the answers to their questions within a piece of text.

Well done to our very first student of the week - Maddy!

Visual Timetable

Our visual timetable gets updated each day to let the students know what's up next during the day. Saves a lot of questions!

Literacy Rotations

Today we started our literacy rotations. As part of our guided reading, one group posed 'wonderings' about their book prior to reading then after reading wrote their answer. Another group took note of words they didn't know as they were reading, then looked them up in the dictionary.

Groups also completed word sorts using this weeks spelling words. If they finished early they got to do letter lacing or stamping. 

Let us know what you think!

Thanks for a wonderful start to our year! Ms Morrison and I have had a great time getting to know you all.

Swimming starts this Thursday! Any students that aren't participating in the program will need to bring a note or have a parent /guardian contact the school to explain why they can't participate. Permission notes need to be back this week!

Parent / Teacher information night will be next Wednesday afternoon (11/2) at 4:30pm. We will be meeting in the hall. 

'Star of the Week'

Congratulations to Amelia, our first 4F 'Star of the Week'. This trophy will be awarded within our class to the student who is being noticed for all the right reasons, whether it be following the Banksia way, showing progress in academic results, or helping a classmate. It will be presented every Friday afternoon. The student then gets to take the trophy home to show off to their family, and will then bring it back to school on Monday. The trophy can then take pride of place on their desk for the week.