Year 4 ~ 2013
OLQP Greystanes
Learning together for the future
Unity Partnership Between Home and School
I dreamed I stood in a studio
And watched two sculptors there
The clay they used was a young child’s mind
And they fashioned it with care.
One was a teacher
The tools they used were books and music and art
One was a parent
with a guiding hand and a gentle loving heart.
Day after day the teacher toiled
With touch that was loving and sure
While the parent laboured by their side
And polished and smoothed it o’er.
And when at last their work was done
They were proud of what they had wrought
For the things they had worked into the child
Could never be sold or bought.
And each agreed they would have failed
If they had worked alone
For behind the parent stood the school
And behind the teacher stood the home.
Welcome to Year Four 2013
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Introducing the Year Four Teaching Team
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40 Miss Liezl Hipolito
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4L Miss Catherine Moses
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4Q Miss Rebecca Clancy
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4P Mrs Kym Romanous (Coordinator)
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SUPPORT TEACHERS/ AIDES
Mrs Nellie Musumeci
Mrs Colleen Maunder
“Our goal is to engage the
children in their learning by
promoting a collaborative
community of learners. All
children will be encouraged to
achieve their full potential at
their developmental stage by
making choices in their learning
across a range of intelligences.
The children will be taught a
range of cooperative learning
strategies to promote
collaboration. The Year Four
Learning Team work
collaboratively in planning,
assessment and teaching.”
A Day In Year Four
8:55 – 9:05 Class Routines ( Unpacking bags, roll, admin)
Prayer
9:00 – 11:05am LITERACY
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WRITING Text Types, Spelling, Grammar, Handwriting
READING Shared Book, Comprehension, Readers Circle
TALKING AND LISTENING
RECESS
11:35- 12:05 RELIGION (Angelus 12:00pm)
12:05 – 12:15 Short Break
12:15 -1:15 NUMERACY Block
1:15 – 1:35 KLA – PDHPE/CREATIVE ARTS
1:35 – 1:45 – Eating Time in class
LUNCH
2:15 – 3:05 INTEGRATED LEARNING incorporating HSIE, Science & Technology
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Technology is incorporated into all Key Learning Areas. All students will regularly utilise the
interactive whiteboard, laptops, Ipads, Ipods and digital cameras.
Religious Literacy Assessment
2013
BACKGROUND :
The Assessment of Religious Literacy project was part of a larger
collaborative initiative, Partners in Learning, which had been established
between the Catholic Education Office, Wollongong and Australian Catholic
University (ACU). The goal of this project was for the ACU to assist the
Diocese and schools in the area of assessing Religious Education in
primary schools.
An important element of the partnership was that parents, teachers, clergy
and other groups were involved in documenting and sharing the good news
about students' learning.
Being religiously literate means students leave a Catholic primary school
being able to communicate with, and be at home in, Catholic society and
religion in general.
Purpose of Religious Literacy
Assessment
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The purpose of the assessment is:
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to profile and understand the extent and level of religious literacy with regard to students’
learning across Stages 1 and 2.
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to enable students to show not only what they have achieved, but also demonstrate their ability
to work with and apply what they have learnt.
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to further facilitate and celebrate the concept of project based learning in the classroom
(students’ personal choice based on individual strengths)
Structure of Religious Literacy
Assessment
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The Religious Literacy Assessment is completed in two sections at school during
Term 3.
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Part A – An online Assessment consisting of 35 Multiple Choice questions
assessing Stage 1 and Stage 2 outcomes and content in RE
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Part B – Project Based Task – Based on the unit “Reconciliation – God’s
Forgiveness and Healing”.
Literacy: Reading the key focus for 2013
All students experience a balanced and coherent program of literacy
instruction for a minimum of 100 minutes daily, incorporating:
Purposeful Talk
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Students will: participate in purposeful talk opportunities that are integrated
throughout all reading and writing opportunities
Daily Reading Aloud to Students (5-10mins)
• students listen as teachers model a love of literature and passion for reading
• students listen while teachers model proficient reading as they read and re-read a
range of texts
Daily Shared Reading (10-15mins)
• students engage in explicitly-planned and focused shared reading sessions that
have a specific learning intention - eg, comprehension strategies, concepts of print,
phonemic awareness, vocabulary, phrasing and fluency, etc.
• students listen and engage with teachers as they model proficient reading through,
for example, think-aloud sessions
Literacy: Reading the key focus for 2013
Readers Circle (20-30 mins at least once a week, at least 3x week for
vulnerable students)
• students are in flexible, needs-based groups (determined by analysis of
running records)
• students read texts that are at an instructional level which have been
carefully selected to provide opportunities for guided instruction and
practice of targeted skills and strategies.
Daily Independent Reading of familiar texts (5-10 mins)
• students read and re-read a range of texts - including familiar texts and
books of their own choice
How is Mathematics taught in Year Four?
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Mathematics is taught daily in the form of a 60 minute Numeracy Block. The
session begins with a 5 minute Warm – Up (Number based). This is followed by an
Investigation. This usually consists of ‘Rich Task’ focusing on one or more
mathematical concepts. To conclude the session there is reflection and sharing
time to discuss strategies and mathematical thinking.
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Children are given a variety of learning experiences involving concrete materials.
This allows for the natural progression from concrete to abstract understandings.
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We use challenging real life problems that are open ended in nature eg. How
many ways can you represent the number 3605? The answer may be represented
by materials, a problem posed by the student, symbols, words, pictures.
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There is a focus on children’s thinking and strategies not just the answer.
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There is a focus on mental strategies eg. 35 + 44 = 30 + 40 + 5 + 4 =79
eg. 75 - 32 = 75 - 30 = 45 and then 45 - 2 = 43
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There is a lot of group work, partner work and peer tutoring.
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Number busting activity
Reporting
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In Year Four, the children are allocated grades on an E to A scale in accordance with
government guidelines.
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E- Elementary Achievement, experiencing difficulty and requires support to complete tasks
D- Basic Achievement - working towards grade level
C- Sound Achievement - achieving at grade level.
B- High Achievement - achieving beyond grade level
A- Excellent Achievement -achieving well beyond grade level
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The majority of children will achieve a C grade which is considered working at grade level.
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The Half yearly report is based on the first half of the year.
The End of year report is based on the second half of the year.
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The grades are given to children based on assessment tasks, class contributions and
observations of their day to day learning.
Homework
The Homework Grid
•Homework will take the form of a grid, allowing the students to select activities which further develop
academic, social and physical skills.
•Over a two week period the students are expected to complete a total of 8 activities (two per area) in addition
to daily reading, spelling and number fact revision.
•Parents are encouraged to check and sign grid sheet prior to submission.
Monday
Tuesday
Reading
(10min)
Spelling (10
min)
Times Tables4X and 8X
(5 min)
Wednesday
Thursday
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
MATHS
Participate in an organised sport.
(Swimming lessons, soccer training,
tennis etc)
Play a skipping game for 10 minutes.
Choose 5 two digit numbers and
construct factor trees for them. (20
min)
Use the numbers 2, 5, 8 and 3 and
make 5 two-digit multiplication
algorithms. Work them out. (20 min)
Have physical fun – play outside for
an hour
Spend some time doing some
exercise. (15 Min)
Monday
Tuesday
CULTURAL
Research information about the
Paralympics. List 5 interesting facts
about the event. (15 min)
Draw a comic strip explaining
something about the human body.
You can make it as funny as you like.
(30 min)
Teach someone in your family your
Research a musical instrument. Tell
times tables. (15 min)
me 5 interesting facts about this
instrument. (20 min)
Choose 5 two digit numbers. Tell me Draw the character you dressed up as
the factors of these numbers (20 min) from book week. Tell me which book
they are from and why you chose this
character (20 min)
Wednesday
Thursday
GENERAL
List what you could do if you were
being bullied at school. Give 5
strategies. (10min)
Do 10 mins of housework
Read a fable. Explain the meaning of
the fable you read. (15 min)
Spend some time playing a game
with a friend or family member. (20
min)
How Can I help my Child at home?
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Listen to your child read, encourage them to also read silently for an extended
period of time. Ask your child to retell what they have read. Children who are read
to from the earliest age and those who enjoy recreational reading are usually very
effective learners. Provide a variety of texts for your child to read to you such as
stories, comics, poems, plays, magazines, cartoons, recipe books.
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Play games together - card games, computer games and discuss the mathematical
ideas that can be used to play. Cook together look at measurements, digital time,
analog time also fractions when cutting up a cake. Encourage your child to use
money, visit the local shops together and look at best value for money.
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Encourage them to become independent with their homework. Establish a routine
for completing the homework. The children will have a two week period to
complete the homework. Just be mindful that the spelling really should be
completed each day, rather than all at once. The rest of the homework could be
completed at their own pace.
How Can I help my Child at home?
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Foster good relations between home and school, children tend to do better at
school when they see their parents and teachers supporting each other and
sharing common expectations.
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PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!!!! Self confident children tend to do well. Tell them
how great their work is. Have high but realistic expectations. Encourage them to
try their best and build their confidence. Make them feel great about their
achievements!
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Have a policy on how much time is given to the TV and the computer. Ensure that
plenty of time is available for play, hobbies, exercise and family conversations.
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Aspects of this taken from CEO Parramatta website Ten Ways to Help Your Child Succeed at School.
Student Management
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At Our Lady Queen of Peace, all of our teaching is based on the Gospel values of Jesus.
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It is imperative that children are taught to respect themselves, each other, teaching staff and
the school property if we are to maintain a cooperative Christian community based on Gospel
values. We ask that all parents be supportive of school policies in regards to behaviour.
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All children are expected to follow the school and class rules at all times. When children have
made poor choices, we follow the Restorative Justice procedures where children are asked to
identify what mistake they had made and how they could rectify that mistake. This is guided by
a teacher.
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Any issues your child may have with another child must be dealt with by the school. Please
consult your child’s teacher if you have a concern.
Parent / Teacher contact
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If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, the first thing to do is to
speak to your child’s teacher directly. Either send in a note, ring the office to make
an appointment or drop in and see us before or after school.
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Throughout the year we will be calling for parent volunteers for excursions or to
help in the classroom. If you would like to become an active member of the Year
Four Learning Community, please make sure your Child Protection Training is up
to date. This training is now available online and must be renewed every year.