English
In English, students continue to engage in daily novel study with our text “The One and Only Ivan.” This novel is based on a true story, but told in Ivan’s own voice using simple language and short chapters. It has encouraged rich discussions as we unpacked the content about friendships, compassion for animals, the promises we make and the things we will do to help someone in need. Our daily reviews have focused on introducing new vocabulary, sentence construction, grammar and morphology. Weekly explicit handwriting lessons also take place, with a focus on pre cursive writing experiences. 

Maths
Our Connecting Maths Concepts focus on big ideas in Mathematics, which teaches explicit strategies that enable students to master challenging concepts. Our students continue to develop their problem-solving capabilities and their ability to think and communicate mathematically. During weekly daily review students are practising their skills with using money, telling the time and volume and capacity concepts. 

Religion
This term our inquiry unit is “Living Community.” We have identified the wise words from Paul regarding living in a community, making connections to our own daily lives, between the Church community and also Jesus’ mission and ministry. Students have worked in small groups to create posters and informative texts to demonstrate the significance of living in a community and its benefits. We have begun participating respectfully in a variety of prayer experiences, where small groups lead the class reverently in morning prayer, including meditation.  

Geography
‘Community and Remembrance,’ here we have investigated the importance of Country / Place to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples who belong to our local community, as well as looking at our local community and how it has changed over the years and who has contributed to this. We also explored the historical features and diversity of the community. Students learnt about different celebrations and commemorations held in Australia. We will finish our unit by looking at these celebrations and commemorations on a global scale. Students will gain a knowledge of historical concepts and skills such as significance, perspective and empathy. 

Science
During our Physics unit students have learnt about what things are made of, how they move and how they get energy. We have investigated and learnt that heat can be produced in many ways and can also move from one object to another. We have enjoyed our hands-on lessons where students have had the opportunity to conduct experiments and make informed observations and evaluations. 

Creative Arts: Drama : Readers Theatre 
This term we are looking at a variety of fractured fairytales and working in collaborative groups to create confidence and improve our self-image as actors. This program has integrated reading, speaking and listening in a fun and authentic way. Students have thoroughly enjoyed this experience and it is wonderful to witness them ‘bringing the script to life,’ through their use of voice expression, facial expressions and simple gestures. 

Visual Arts
Students have demonstrated their understanding and skills through a variety of mediums this term. They have discussed their plans with peers and how these affect their selection of materials, tools and techniques they have used for each art piece. Below is a small selection of different art we have completed this term.

PE
Each Friday morning students actively participate in “Fitness for Fun.” Stations include fitness circuit activities, developing core strength and gross motor skills. These fun and interactive activities encourage participation and physical activity. Students rotate through different activities for short periods of time. We are thoroughly enjoying our weekly swimming lessons with our amazing instructors as well. 

Mrs Alicia Hampson and Ms Allison Lock
Year 3 Teachers