Year 4 Parent Information Night Mrs Kirsty Mikolajski, Mrs Tammy Moriarty and Mrs Sarah Toon

Prayer Lord Jesus, You are with us as we commence our year's work. Help us to understand our importance in educating our children. Guide us in our decisions and open our hearts in friendship to each other. May we be supportive in times of need and celebrate our successes. May this partnership of ours result in many benefits for the children on whose behalf we gather. Amen

Religious Education Religion Strands: Morality Beliefs Scripture Sacraments Term 1 Focus: Making the world a better place. 30 minutes every day Students require a Bible Students will participate in class prayer, school occasions, liturgies and Mass.

Sacramental Preparation Confirmation – Term 2 Eucharist – Term 3 Sacramental team prepares children to receive their Sacraments.

Prayer Assemblies and Liturgies TERM 1 4M Prayer Assembly: Thursday 24 th February, 8:40am 4T Liturgy: Wednesday, 17 th February, 12:30pm

English Three English Strands: Reading and Viewing Writing Speaking and Listening Reading, Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar, Writing Text Books: Spelling Rules Reading Comprehension

English Reading Stamina – Whole School Approach –Building reading stamina supports children to read for an extended period of time, trains muscle memory and builds increased attention. Students have specific responsibilities: –Collect enough books/ appropriate book. –Sit at their desk or by themselves. –Start reading right away. –Read the whole time without distraction. –Actually think about what they are reading.

English St Patrick’s Reading Literacy Block –Reading Stamina Paired/group/class discussion –Reading Whole Class Explicit/ Modelled Teaching Reading behaviours Reading skills/ strategies –Guided reading/ shared reading Small groups Differentiated based on need Assessment of student reading is made. –Independent Activities Based on modelled reading strategy. –Whole Class Sharing/ Reflection Provides an opportunity to share what they have learnt.

English Writing Stamina – 2016 Whole School Approach –Building writing stamina supports children to write uninterrupted for an extended period of time and to build fluency of thinking and applying written conventions. –Time periods start small and build in increments to 20 minutes to coincide with Reading Stamina. This is done based on the direct needs of the students and their writing ability. During this time teachers work one on one or in small groups, on a specific written convention. ACTIVITY TIME.

What steps do I need to take, to get this spray water bottle to work? Procedural Texts Writing Stamina Activity

Developing Characters

English Term One Text Types: Procedure and Narrative Each assessment piece will be introduced with a criteria sheet to outline the task. Requirements will be explained and discussed during class. School time will be used to create a draft copy. Home and class time will be used to present a final copy from the students. Each text type and assessment piece will be explained and taught at school. Example of the specific text types will be modeled during class writing blocks. This example will be sent home for the students to use as a guide.

Homework Ian Lillico Homework Grid Compulsory Activities Optional Activities To be completed each week. Handed out on Friday and returned to school the following Thursday. Reading Log is used for students to self monitor the types of books they are reading.

Mathematics This term our focuses for Mathematics are: Multiplication Place value Number patterns Fractions Addition and subtraction strategies Centimetre (cm) and metre (m) measurements Converting data into tables Number and Algebra Measurement and Geometry Statistics and Probability

10 Interactive Number Line

Mathematics Daily maths mentals Hands on activities and investigations Problem solving skills and strategies Independent, Group and Rotational work Text book - Maths Plus 4 – Teaching Tool

Science PRIMARY CONNECTIONS Primary Connections is an innovative program that links the teaching of science and literacy in the primary years of schooling. It is aligned with the Australian Curriculum and has three interrelated strands; –Science Understanding –Science as a Human Endeavour –Science Inquiry Skills

Science Inquiry based approach Student’s work together in small groups. Team Roles: Manager: Collects and returns equipment. Speaker: Asks teacher or other speakers for help. Director: Makes sure that the team understands the team investigations and completes each step. Team Skills : Taking turns, speaking softly and perform your role.

Science Primary Connections 5E’s teaching and learning model: PhaseFocus EngageEngage students and elicit prior knowledge ExploreProvide hands-on experience of the phenomenon ExplainDevelop scientific explanations for observations and represent developing understanding ElaborateExtend understanding to a new context through students- planned investigations EvaluateStudents re-represent their understanding and reflect on their learning

History and Geography Inquiry Based Learning Starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios—rather than simply presenting established facts or portraying a smooth path to knowledge. The teacher is a facilitator. Example: You have been commissioned by National Geographic to plot a route from England to Australia. You need to be able to justify why your route is most effective.

History History – “First Footprints” Focus on Indigenous Culture and Traditions Investigation into the types of traditional tools and weapons that indigenous people used and why they were needed. Leading into: First Fleet Life in 16 th and 17 th century Britain. Why was Australia chosen as a penal colony? Life after Settlement Cause and effect of British settlement on indigenous culture and people. Early Explorers – Columbus, Marco Polo, Ferdinand Magellan Reasons behind early exploration.

Geography Geography – Focus on Mapping conventions: legends, scale, north point etc Investigation into the relative location of Africa and South America in relation to Australia. Leading Into: World Biomes (global climates and vegetation) How do people and environments interconnect? Environmental adaptations. Energy Sustainability How much energy is wasted on a local, national and global scale. How can we save energy in our homes and school? Waste Management How much waste do we actually waste? Waste Management plan for St Patrick’s school?

Civics and Citizenship Civics and Citizenship provides students with opportunities to investigate political and legal systems, and explore the nature of citizenship, diversity and identity in contemporary society. –Emphasis is placed federal system of government, and the liberal democratic values that underpin it such as freedom, equality and the rule of law.

Civics and Citizenship This year, the focus for grade four is: How the people, as citizens, choose their governments; How the system safeguards democracy by vesting people with civic rights and responsibilities; How laws and the legal system protect people’s rights; How individuals and groups can influence civic life.

School Website

Library Times Borrowing and research – 1 hour per week 4M - Monday 4T – Wednesday 4H – Monday Computer Lab – 60 minutes per week Educational Viewing/ Ipad – 30 minutes per week

Bookwork Expectations Year 4 Book Work Guidelines for St Patrick’s Place the date at the beginning of each day’s work. Put a title for new work. Underline the title. Use pencil to complete work. Keep work neat and tidy. Cursive writing is encouraged and preferred. In Mathematics, the page is divided in half lengthwise for operations and number work.

Support Personnel Learning Support Teacher – Mrs Donna Clarke ESL – Mrs Becky Du Plooy Teacher Assistants work with classroom teachers to provide support for children in the classroom learning environment. School Counsellor – Miss Paula Scanlan Library Coordinator – Mrs Shelly Baker

Specialist Teachers Physical Education – Mr Matthew Mills –Swimming –4T – Wednesday –4H and 4M - Tuesday Class Music and Instrumental– Mrs Roslyn Horsfall Mrs Kylie Heinemann –Robotics

Parent/ Teacher Interviews and Report Cards Report Cards are written in Term 2 and Term 4. Focus on Results, Attitudes and Behaviour Parent Teacher Interviews – Beginning of Term 2. Student Folios – Collection of assessment and reporting documents.

Thank you We would like to thank you for taking the time tonight to join us and we look forward to a successful 2016 with your children. You are welcome to come to your child’s classroom and meet with us.