English
We are certainly busy little bees in English! We begin our morning each day with Spelling Mastery where we are explicitly taught the phonemic, morphemic and whole word approach to spell words through direct instruction. We are thoroughly enjoying our class novel ‘Storm Boy’. Students unpack new vocabulary each day from the novel and relate these words to real life context. In writing, students recently showed a creative flare for poetry when they wrote a sensory poem during NAIDOC week. Enjoy reading some of the amazing poems below! 

In English this term, we have been practising cursive handwriting. We have learnt how to do double letters - Liam M

This term we have been preparing and presenting speeches on the topic ‘Sports Brings us Together’. I did not make it on but I tried my best - Abbie H

In English we have been writing speeches for public speaking. First we had to speak in front of the class and Mr Bateman and Mrs Kenny. There were 4 people in the speak off and then the top 2 move on to the Southern Region Finals. Guess what, I’m in the top 2 - Matilda W

We have been learning about public speaking. I enjoyed writing my speech, but I didn’t enjoy presenting it - Dion P

Maths
Year 4 has adapted exceptionally well to the new ‘Connecting Maths Concepts’ program and it is very encouraging to see so much excitement around the delivery and structure of our maths lessons. Through direct instruction and fast paced lessons, the boys and girls are revising and consolidating their learning of number families, place value and speed addition and subtraction algorithms daily. Students are highly engaged during their independent work, showing pleasing results after only beginning this program three weeks ago. We look forward to sharing more success throughout the term. 

In maths this term, I have been learning about number families and how to figure out the letters and times tables in CMC - Benji R

I love when we do number lines in maths because it’s so easy to do. This term we have been doing CMC and it’s so fun doing this for maths - Sam H

I’ve enjoyed CMC. My favourite part is the independent work. There’s all types of maths in CMC - Mackenzie H

Science
This term in Science we have been learning about Earth and Space. The students have been fascinated with this topic as we spend lots of time exploring their inquisitive and enquiring minds. Our ‘Big Idea’ is how the compositions of the Earth and its atmosphere and the processes occurring within them shape the Earth’s surface and its climate. Students have been fascinated by how the Earth was formed, learning about the four main layers of the Earth and what tectonic plates are and what happens where tectonic plates meet. Below are some photos of the plasticine models Year 4 students made of the layers of the Earth. Do you know what each layer is?

This term we have been learning about Earth and space. I already knew all the planets in space which are - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. We made a class plasticine Earth model - Dakota S

This term we have been learning about Earth and space. My favourite part is the tests - Leroy L

This term we have learnt about planets and Earth and how Earth has 4 layers called the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core - Brielle B

Religion
We have been very excited in Year 4 to be part of the preparation for the Sacrament of the First Eucharist. Students have been learning that a sacrament is a sign of Jesus' love, given to us through the Church and that the Church describes the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life. As we prepare, students will continue learning how the Eucharist is a celebration of Jesus' love for us and it has three dimensions which are ‘It is a meal, It is a sacrifice, It is a memorial’. We look forward to welcoming Fr George into the classroom over the coming weeks as he helps the students prepare for their First Eucharist. Our prayers and thoughts are with the following students as they prepare for the Sacrament of the First Eucharist: Oliver A, Abbie H, Samuel H, Tessa H, Mackenzie H, Anthony M, Madelyn M, Lily M, Samuel W, Matilda W.

In religion we are learning about the Eucharist. The Eucharist is where we receive the body of Jesus. I have enjoyed doing the activities online as we prepare for our First Eucharist - Ollie A

This term we have been learning about the Eucharist. My favourite part so far has been watching the story about Zacchaeus and learning that Jesus wanted to share a meal with Zacchaeus as a sign of his love - Sam W

In religion I love learning about the poor and helping people - Anthony M

History
It has been an interesting and fascinating start to the term learning about Australia’s first people. We have learnt that Aboriginal people have been here for thousands of years as archeologists have discovered many sites with evidence to support this. We learnt these sites have large paintings as well as symbols to represent different things, depending on the Dreamtime story. We have really enjoyed learning new information about Aboriginal Australians’ and eastern Torres Strait Islanders’ cultural and spiritual belief systems.

In history I have been learning about Australia’s first people and that the rock art near Uluru is over 10 000 years old - Alex S

In history we have been learning about Australia’s first people and there are many ancient sites and artefacts that tell us about how people lived many years ago - Charnaya T

In history we have been learning about Australia’s first people and how there are archeological sites that have allowed us to discover many things about Australia’s first people - Declan T

Creative Arts
Year 4 have created NAIDOC inspired artworks in Visual Art this term. We placed our handprints onto black paper, and then completed our artwork using traditional dot painting techniques around the placement of our hands. Following on from this, students will begin a new piece of art based around our learning of the Eucharist in Religion. 

This term in art we have been creating NAIDOC hands. I have really enjoyed doing the dot painting around the hands using the colours purple, orange, yellow, blue and green - Anikah H

During our learning in NAIDOC Week, we did an art piece where we painted our hands white and we put bright dots around our hands - Liam G

I have enjoyed art because we got to do NAIDOC art. We painted our hands white, made prints then dot painted around it. I really enjoy dot painting - Bella S

In Dance we have been learning about the elements of dance, discussing the meaning and purpose of dance and the roles of the creator and performer. We are learning to perform dances demonstrating a range of performance movement skills. We have currently spent two weeks learning the art to ‘hip hop’ routines. Later in the term we will learn other genres of dance including; salsa, bollywood, tap and the jive! 

In dance we have been learning hip hop moves. So far we have learnt chest pops and a really fun hip hop dance which was 100% my favourite thing we have done - Ellie R

In dance we have been doing hip hop. We have done chest pops and a dance routine. I've enjoyed doing the routine. Next week we’re learning salsa dancing. I rate dance 5 stars - Tessa H

We have been learning about dance and we have been doing hip hop. I love dancing with Mrs Kenny. I am the best dance person in the class - Gracie P

I have enjoyed learning hip hop movements such as chest pops. I practised this hard movement at home as well as a fun dance to follow along to - Billie B

PDHPE
This term we have been doing PE with Mr Hill. I have enjoyed it alot. My favourite game is capture the flag. PE is a great way to make your body more healthy. It’s a great physical subject - Madelyn M

In PE we have been doing soccer with Mr Hill and other sports with Mr Bateman. It has been a fun time playing all these different sports. I hope it gets better - Lily M

Year 4 has been playing soccer with Mr Hill. We have also played 4 way capture the flag which is really fun - Andre L

Mrs Sophie Kenny & Mr Justin Bateman
4 Blue Teachers