Year 4 Parent Information Night
Mrs Kirsty Mikolajski, Mrs Andrea Isles and Miss Shenaid Hall
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:
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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.
Prayer Assemblies and Liturgies
TERM 1
 4M
Liturgy: Friday 6th February, 12:30pm
Prayer Assembly: Thursday 26th March,
8:40am
4I
Prayer Assembly: Thursday 19th February,
8:40am
Liturgy: Friday 20th March, 12:30pm
Sacramental Preparation
 Confirmation – Term 2
 Eucharist – Term 3
 Sacramental team prepares children to receive their
Sacraments.
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
– Building reading stamina supports children to read for an
extended period of time, trains muscle memory and builds
increased attention.
• Students have specific responsibilities:
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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
Term 1 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 Guide for Parents
• Parent Reading
• Your child is required to read everyday.
• Encourage the children to use their reading strategies.
Mathematics
This term our focuses for Mathematics are:
• Multiplication
• Place value
Number and Algebra
• Number patterns
• Fractions
• Addition and subtraction strategies
• Centimetre (cm) and metre (m)
measurements
• Converting data into tables
Measurement and Geometry
Statistics and Probability
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 and Science Inquiry Skills.
• The learning outcomes in Primary Connections
contribute to developing students’ scientific literacy.
• What is Scientific literacy?
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:
Phase
Focus
Assessment focus
Engage
Engage students and elicit prior
knowledge
Diagnostic assessment
Explore
Provide hands-on experience of the
phenomenon
Formative assessment
Explain
Develop scientific explanations for
observations and represent
developing understanding
Formative assessment
Elaborate
Extend understanding to a new
context through students-planned
investigations
Summative assessment
Evaluate
Students re-represent their
understanding and reflect on their
learning
Summative assessment
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 16th and 17th 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?
School Website
Library Times
 Borrowing and research – 1 hour per week
 4M - Monday
 4I - Thursday
 4H - Monday
 Computer Lab – 45 minutes per week
 Educational Viewing – 30 minutes per week
Bookwork Expectations
Year 4 Book Work Guidelines for St Patrick’s
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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 Liz McDine
 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 Russell Smith
• Music – Miss Stephanie Quinlan
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 2015 with your
children.
You are welcome to come to your child’s classroom and
meet with us.