On Tuesday the 14th of November, the Grade 4 students were invited to EKC to participate in some specialist activities. They were lucky enough to meet Mike Spears, a professional basketball player who used to play for the Perth Wildcats. Mike spent time demonstrating some of his skills, as well as leading the students through ‘hands on’ activities. He was an inspirational speaker and discussed the importance of working hard to follow your dreams.
Students also had an opportunity to work with some Year 9 students in the Home Economics room, where they got to make some delicious chocolate truffles that they were able to take home with them. EKC were wonderful hosts to our students and were able to show off their great facilities and programs.
4A students have been immersed into learning that the place value system can be extended to represent tenths and hundredths. They have explored representing this as a fraction and a decimal. Students explored this further when learning about money and how to create equivalences. Linking this to chance and probability also enhanced their learning. In our measurement learning activities, students have been learning about mapping skills and are applying these new skills to their inquiry projects.
This week Grade 4B played a game in mathematics, ‘Make Me Whole’. This is a Michael Minas game. Students started with 4 cards that they used to create two fractions, with an addition sign between them. The object of the game is to create two fractions that add to make a whole. They picked up two cards on their turn and chose one card to play and two cards to discard. When they made a whole, they recorded their fraction equation e.g. 1/2+3/6=1 or 4/5+1/5=1 etc. Some students also completed a fractions jigsaw by matching equivalent fractions.
The students in 4C have been focused on interpreting fractions to decimals and money, including making a model using MAB to further enhance their understanding and representation in conversion. A fun game of cards also challenged students to make whole numbers out of fractions. The students have also been learning about chance and probability and made a spinner to demonstrate their comprehension.
During Grade 4 Cyber Safety lessons this week, students learned to build long, strong passwords that are easy to remember. They made a passphrase that they could use to create a password. They did this by using the initial letters of words in their phrase, having a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters and combining numbers and symbols too. Students also learned to understand the difference between personal, private and public spaces online, shared how we use technology and determined if the websites, apps or online games were in a personal, private or public space.
Grade 4 students also took part in the Cyber Safety Project incursion which empowered them with knowledge regarding digital safety, how to navigate online sites and tools to protect their privacy. Throughout the presentation they were engaged and could easily relate to the topics discussed. Some students were selected to participate in scenarios that highlighted Cyber Safety on social platforms.
During the last week of Term 3, a large number of Grade 3 and Grade 4 students attended the Lady Northcote camp in Bacchus Marsh.
We had three days of fun and adventures including making damper, going on the giant swing, bike riding, orienteering, playing frisbee golf, learning archery and completing a scavenger hunt.
The kids had an amazing time and so did the teachers! The bus trip home was very quiet after an action-packed camp. The recount writing from students highlighted that they were impressed with the camp food and approved of the camp activities!
This week Grade 4 students have continued their learning focusing on strategies that can be used for subtraction. For measurement we have extended students' understanding of time. They are practising skills such as telling the time on an analogue, digital, 24-hour clock and converting time into seconds and minutes.
This week Grade 4B, learnt to play a new Bingo game. We had to apply some mathematical thinking as we tried to cover all the clues on our game board. We found the difference between numbers, determined if the sum of the numbers made were odd or even and thought about the different operations we could use to reach a targeted number. We have enjoyed opportunities to work in a partnership to support one another.
Students in Grade 4 have been learning about The Age of Exploration. In partnership, they chose a sea explorer to research. They then produced a poster or booklet about their chosen sea explorer. When this was completed, students shared their work with their classmates. They were all so enthusiastic to research, produce and present their work. We are proud of their amazing team work!
Grade 4 students also looked at a poem dedicated to all First Nations Australians by Stephanie Mulrooney. They watched a video on BTN about Reconciliation Week and in particular, The Stolen Generation. A colourful mural was created using their hand print
The Grade 4 cohort have been busy active learners. We have been motivated as authors to make our own published narrative texts. We are looking forward to sharing our stories with our families and peers. Here are some examples of our outstanding work.
Celebrating Education Week
We had great fun today learning the moves to Just Dance videos. We then invited our families into our classrooms to help us to persist and learn to problem solve.
Grade 4 students read the story, ‘Meet the Anzacs’. They learnt about World War 1 and the sacrifices that were made by brave soldiers. Students wrote diamante poems to commemorate the Anzacs. The poems reflected the sadness of war and lost lives, whilst honouring the bravery and respect held for the Anzacs. Lest We Forget.
Grade 4 This term Grade 4 students have been working on taking care of their wellbeing. Students have improved their fitness skills by completing ten minutes of running/jogging/walking and counting the number of laps they were able to do. Students have recorded this data and used the information collected to create a line graph to analyse their growth. Students have aimed to achieve their personal best record each time they participate. Fun Fact: Did you know that 4A ran/jogged/walked a total of 2162 laps. We found out that each lap was 65m. We then multiplied and found out that equals 140 530m. That's over 140km!
Grade 4 This term we have been busy learning about the place value of large numbers and how we can rename them so that we understand each digit's value. For measurement we have had fun measuring length. After using rulers, tape measures, trundle wheels and digital devices we now have a better understanding of different units of length. We also measured temperature and recorded the weather for a week. On Harmony Day we used maths to investigate how diverse our classrooms are. After conducting a survey, collecting and collating data we found out that we indeed have wonderful multicultural classrooms.
The Grade 4 inquiry unit this term is titled, The Game of Life. Students began by learning about how they can describe and be proud of their identity. We have now moved on to learn about taking responsible risks, moving outside our comfort zone and making ethical decisions.
The Grade 4 students have been working on identifying emotions and recognising how we feel in the different zones. We have been sharing our personal strengths and challenges and identifying the skills that we might like to develop further. There have been opportunities to share our interests that make up our identity, whilst appreciating how we might differ from others.
Foundation & Grade 4: Last week our buddy program began, Foundation students were allocated a grade 4 buddy to be a familiar face when they are feeling a little unsure and help support them in the yard. We have been getting to know one another and having picnic lunches together. The grade 4 students have been great role models to our Foundation students.
Grade 4A Buddy Reflections
By Riya: Today I met my Foundation buddy, her name is Edie. She likes many games like tag and she loves to play on the monkey bars. Edie is energetic and runs a lot.
By Hania: My buddy Samara is shy, so my goal is to make her believe in herself. During recess she loved to play on the slide. She told me that her favourite animal is a lion. I played on the equipment with her and I was just supervising her to make sure she was ok! My buddy and I had the best time ever!
By Kirwan: Today I met my Foundation buddy, his name is Luke. We came together like that!! He really likes soccer. We played soccer together.
By Katrina: Today I met my Foundation buddy, his name is Sotiri. I learned that Sotiri really likes fruit, especially mango. At recess we went to the playground to play on the slide. Afterwards, we went on a little walk around the school and then he left to play with his sister. I really enjoyed talking with Sotiri.
By Kristina: Today I met my Foundation buddy. His name is Michael. He said his favourite colour is purple and he likes bananas. I hope we get along together. At the end when I brought him to his line up his eyes started watering and he wouldn’t let me go!
By Donovan: Today I met my Foundation buddy, his name is Mack. Mack likes going down the slide.
By Simon: Today I met my Foundation buddy, his name is Tommy and he is four years old. I said, ‘do you like Roblox?’ He said that he got Roblox for Christmas.
By Kayla: Today I met my new buddy, her name is Ada. Ada loves to play games with her friends and she also loves to bake with her mum. At recess she also made a new friend called Emily. We played on the slide and we played tag. It was lovely, I’m glad I’m her buddy.
By Jessica: Today I met my buddy Selena, she is a bit shy but she is very kind. We went to the playground and did lots of things like go on the slide and talk to each other. We had lots of fun on our first day.
By Hannah Today I met my Foundation buddy, her name is Nina. I learned that Nina’s favourite colour is pink. At recess I asked her if she wanted to go on the playground. We went down the slide and after that we played a short round of Duck Duck Goose.
