full steam ahead to start term 4

We don't know about you, but the Grade 3 teachers cannot believe it is already Term 4! What a year we have had so far, and there's still plenty to come. This term is all about assessing for reports and getting ready for Grade 4 (and all the usual fantastic learning of course!). We hit the ground running last week with a visit from Marie from Bunnings to plant some natives in the garden beds behind our building. This was a fantastic way to wrap up our eco warrior Inquiry unit from Term 3 (thank you to Mr Williams for organising). Speaking of Inquiry, we hope you enjoyed our Inquiry open afternoon last term. It was wonderful to see so many parents attending to see the fantastic work our students produced last term. They did a brilliant job of their presentations where they told us all about their ideas about being an eco warrior and we're sure you agree their tote bag designs were excellent.

Next up is swimming, with 3B and 3H attending in week 3, followed by 3G and 3T in week 4. Then we have a short (but busy) week in week 5 with a curriculum day on Monday followed by Melbourne Cup Day public holiday on the Tuesday. We'll be further investigating this term's Inquiry unit that week with a science incursion to learn more about how the Earth works. In addition to that, week 5 also includes our school disco. Other events coming up this term include the all important Promotion Parade, our annual trip to the movies, Templeton Carols and class parties to celebrate an amazing year in Grade 3. More info will come home closer to each event. For now, we focus on swimming. Please remember to pack a towel, underwear to change into, goggles (if your child has them, not neccesary), thongs or slides to wear to and from the pool (school shoes and socks must be worn to school), a plastic bag to put wet items in and maybe an extra snack as swimming can make the students quite hungry. Please also ensure all items are named (including underwear) as they can go missing or be misplaced. 

We look forward to a fantastic Term 4 in Grade 3!

Zipping around the zoo

The Grade 3s had a fantastic day at Melbourne Zoo on Tuesday. We crammed in as much animal spotting as we could in the time we were there and all had some wonderful experiences with the animals. Highlights were the Butterfly House, Lion Gorge and the Reptile House but it was definitely difficult for our students to pick their favourite. Once again, the teachers were proud of how well behaved and respectful our students were out in public. 

Thank you all for your time during parent-teacher interview week last week. We enjoy the opportunity to inform you of how well your children are going at school, we hope you're proud of their achievements because we certainly are! With the first semester of Grade 3 being quite an adjustment from Grade 2 we really look forward to Semester 2 when the Grade 3s really hit their stride.

Believe it or not, as of this Friday afternoon we will be one third of the way through Term 3! It's already flying by and with lots still to come, it will be over before we know it! Next week will see ICAS English occurring Tuesday and the opening of our Grade 3/4 basketball court Thursday afternoon with some special guests from Melbourne Phoenix. The following week is book week, so make sure you're planning ahead for dress up day which is on the Friday. As always, we don't want families to feel like they need to go out and spend money on a costume, we'd much rather you get creative with things you already have at home, we can't wait to see what our students come up with!

zoo recounts

1, 2, 3, Naira you sit in the front seat. Is everyone ready said the bus driver, and we were off! It was a really fun day but I can't decide which one is my favourite. Everything was my favourite but my actual favourite was the butterfly house and the red pandas. I love the butterfly house because one of the butterflies went on my backpack and the butterflies looked so colourful and beautiful. I loved the red pandas because they were adorable, cute and they were sleeping. Naira

On Tuesday the sixth of August the grade threes went to the zoo. My favourite part was the platypus and Lion Gorge. We got a great view of the platypus because it swam right in front of us. My favourite part in the Lion Gorge was the snow leopard. I still like it even though we didn't get a good view. At the end of the day I was very tired. Felix

Yesterday the year 3s went on an excursion to Melbourne Zoo. It was a hard choice to choose my favourite, but I liked the butterfly house, the red pandas, the squirrel monkeys and the Japanese garden. The special part was when we came to the squirrel monkey enclosure the monkeys were coming up to us like they're saying hello to us! We had a great day at the zoo but I mostly liked the butterfly house. I would love to go again!! Clara

We're so proud of how far our grade three students have come this year, they have learned so much this semester and have grown both inside and out.

We hope everyone enjoys the holiday break. We look forward to meeting with you all after the holidays for our parent teacher interviews, the portal will open first day back so don't forget to book in. There is also a swimming survey on Xuno from Mr Maroney for everyone to fill in please. Enjoy the holidays, stay warm and look after yourselves, we'll see you on Monday 21st July!

the whirlwind that is term 2

We don't know about you, but the teachers can't believe we're at the end of week four and half way through May already! The beginning of the term has gone smoothly and between public holidays, special events and our excursion the first four weeks have passed very quickly.

The students are excited about the Book Fair arriving and can't wait to check it out in their library lessons next week to create some epic wishlists (we have of course told them to respect your wishes in relation to purchases but also encourage your support of the Book Fair if you're able as it's a great fundraiser for our school library).

Our excursion to the city last week was quite simply amazing! The weather was absolutely perfect with the sun shining down on us all day. We split into two groups to head up to the Skydeck at Eureka Tower to get a birds-eye-view of Melbourne and spot its many landmarks. We explored the Southbank area, strolled past the Arts Centre and National Gallery of Victoria, stopped by Flinders Street Station and Federation Square before travelling through Birrarung Marr to the Sports Precinct where we participated in a tour of the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) with a volunteer tour guide from the Melbourne Cricket Club. We learned tons of interesting facts about the grounds and history of the MCG, were able to go behind the scenes to explore the changerooms, media room and MCC members area, and the highlight for many students was being able to go down to the ground and touch the hallowed grass. The excursion was a wonderful way to engage our students in our Inquiry topic whilst also giving them the opportunity to experience some of the fantastic sights of our capital city.

... ANd that's a wrap

It has been a huge first term of 2025 for our Grade 3 students and they are definitely deserving of a relaxing break over the holidays! We are so proud of what they have achieved this term, they have really grown up from Grade 2 students into Grade 3 students.

THANK YOU to all of the parents who visited our classes over the last few weeks to introduce us to their culture. We are so grateful you took the time to come in to share with us and believe that these visits are some of our best incursions! Thank you also to all of the parents and family members who attended our Inquiry open afternoon. It was so wonderful to see such a big buzzing crowd gathered in the Grade 3 classrooms admiring the hard work out students put into their culture posters. We had lots of fantastic feedback, not only from parents but also Mr McKinlay who was impressed by both the work of our students and the support and encouragement from our community of families.

House Athletics Day was a wonderful (and tiring!) way to finish the term. It's always great to see how much fun our Grade 3 students have on this day, being their first time attending. They all participated in every activity with a positive attitude and good sportsmanship and will surely be looking forward to doing it all again next year.

We wish all of our students and families a wonderful break. Enjoy the time you have to spend together and we wish you safe travels if you are one of the lucky families heading away for a holiday. A reminder that the first day back next term is Tuesday 22nd April due to the Easter Monday public holiday. All of our tired teachers will be well rested and ready for another fantastic term with our Grade 3 students.

Does your family need a pet?

Mia certainly thinks so. This is her persuasive text about why all families should own a pet:

I strongly believe that all families should own pets. A pet is an animal that lives in your house and you take care of it. The three main reasons why you should own a pet is because it teaches responsibility, it reduces loneliness and you'll become healthier.

Firstly, all families should own a cute, cuddly pet because it teaches responsibility. You'll need to exercise it daily and your little pup will grow happy and strong. Being responsible is a key to life. If you were not responsible you would lose things and lose track of time. Would you want to be sleepy and tired at 8am in the morning?

Secondly, a cute cuddly animal would certainly cheer you up! Imagine you just lost a match which was REALLY important and a cute little hamster comes bounding over! That cute little furball would definitely cheer you up and maybe it'll even make you forget about your troubles and make you happy again!

Finally, all families should own pets because you'll become healthier. You'll need to exercise an animal and who knows? You might as well exercise too! Nobody sits on a smelly old couch all day, I absolutely insist that you go for a walk. Who wants to sit on a smelly old couch?

In conclusion, all families should own a pet because it teaches responsibility, reduces loneliness and stress and you'll become healthier. So go buy a pet today! 

Happy harmony day

It has been so wonderful seeing our school embrace Harmony Day today and seeing all the fantastic cultural outfits Templeton students have worn to celebrate. We are so happy that this day ties in so beautifully with our Term 1 Inquiry unit and is a great way to acknowledge our multicultural community as we look forward to sharing our Inquiry projects in a couple of weeks.

We'd like to congratulate all of our Grade 3 students on their fantastic efforts the past couple of weeks as they have tackled NAPLAN and an interrupted schedule. We are proud of the resilience they have demonstrated and were happy to see them taking on everything with a smile.

is your child getting enough sleep?

We have hit the half way mark of term one and the Grade 3 teachers are noticing that we have a lot of tired looking students in our classes. They are struggling to stay focussed and get the most out of their learning time. This has resulted in disruptive classrooms and less than ideal working conditions.

Through some minor detective work, we have realised that a lot of our Grade 3 students are going to sleep a lot later than we think is appropriate for children of their age, and there are a lot of students using screens late into the night. These two things have a huge impact on their ability to get enough rest and arrive at school each day ready to learn.

Thank you

Thank you for your participation in our Parent-Teacher Interviews this week, it has been great to meet you and have a chat about how your child is settling in to Grade 3. It is a big step up from Grade 2, both in workload and responsibility, but we are so happy with how our classes have begun the year and are looking forward to a fantastic year of learning ahead.

Speaking of what's ahead, we have plenty of events coming up in the second half of the term, starting with Cross Country tomorrow (Fri 21st Feb). Students will need to be at school at 8:50am to drop their bag off at their classroom before heading to assembly because we will go straight from there to the oval. Students are encouraged to wear a t-shirt in their house colour. Parents are more than welcome to stay after assembly to cheer on their child as they make their way around the course or over the finish line. Please ensure your child has their hat (and sunscreen) and drink bottle as it will be warm and they will need them!

Other events coming up include an incursion next week, school photos, NAPLAN and House Athletics. All dates are on the calendar and notes will be up on XUNO over the course of the next few weeks.

Handwriting

We are working on correct letter formation in our classes to prepare our students for joined writing later in the year. If you would like to learn more about Victorian Modern Cursive, you can access the Victorian Department of Education page (where you can download fonts for the computer and the following handwriting formation charts) below: 

Back into the swing of things

The Grade 3 teachers are very happy with how our students have settled in to the new school year!

We are currently getting to know our classes and setting expectations for the year ahead. We appreciate those who have already labelled items in pencil cases, it makes things a lot easier if something is misplaced! We also appreciate those who have already provided a box of tissues for the classroom and are organised with their satchels, library bags and art smocks.

Library borrowing begins this week. We are in the process of assessing students in reading so they can begin the Accelerated Reader program, this will assist with borrowing from the library as well as take home reading. We are also completing assessments in spelling, writing and maths this week, so we can get to know our students better and provide them with opportunities to improve. This will inform our maths groups which begin next week, as well as Literacy Boost and Maths Extension, also beginning next week. Next week will also see our home reading and homework programs starting. 

As you can see, it is full steam ahead for our grade three students!