What S Happening in Level 3

What’s happening in Levels 3 and 4? Term 3, 2014

Welcome to Term 3 everyone. It’s hard to believe we have been working together with your children now for more than 100 days. How confidently we launched into our now familiar routines, busily continuing with our many and varied learning goals, extending our knowledge and embracing new challenges.

COMMUNICATION BOOK We hope that all parents are checking the Communication Book each Monday as it contains information pertinent to what’s happening in Level 3 and 4 at Rangeview. Don’t forget that there are ideas for spelling practice in it for you to try and the spelling test is held every Friday. The Maths section keeps you up-to-date with what we are currently studying, too. Children are expected to read at home, please encourage your child to read aloud regularly to you and to write something about what they’ve been reading in the space provided. Premiers Reading Challenge - The challenge ends in August. All children need to register their books online and then teachers are able to verify them. Don’t forget the login is your child’s name with no spaces and all lower case and the password is rangeview1. LEVEL (GRADE) 4 CAMP The countdown has begun for the eagerly awaited Grade 4 Camp which commences from 6th – 8th of August, 2014. Around 80 kids accompanied by 8 staff members will travel to ‘Weekaway,’ in Lancefield, for a two night camp. There are a wide variety of challenging outdoor activities such as hut building and canoeing presented by the wonderful staff there. The students all return as more resilient people, having coped with unfamiliar situations including taking care of themselves and their belongings and sleeping away from home. They try new things, make new friends and really come out of their shells. During the next few weeks families are requested to keep a close eye on notices which come home. Medical Forms and Permission Slips were sent home last week and are now due back. Please talk to Mrs St Ruth if you have any medical concerns, or Mrs Hastie or your class teacher if there are any other concerns. iPad Program It has been an exciting start to the term with the commencement of the iPad program in the Level 4 classes. It has been a great learning experience for us all as we have never before taught classes with 1:1 technology. Our students are learning how to use iPad apps in a variety of ways, in both Maths, English and as part of Integrated Studies. For example, we may use Popplet to classify our spelling words according to the number of syllables and then write words in sentences or find a picture in Safari of the word, whilst we may also use Popplet in Maths to classify triangles and show the different kinds of triangles and angles. We are encouraging our students to use the iPads in creative ways to show their thinking and as a reflection tool. Please take the time to look at the great work your children are achieving and to watch them in action! ICT Whilst the iPad program has been introduced in Level 4, the Level 3 classes have access to class banks of laptops. There are many free interactive websites that our students use during Laptop time and when using the Computer room. You may like to use them at home also. A great way to practise spelling words is to type them into a word cloud, some good ones to try: http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm http://www.wordle.net/ If you don’t have access to the internet, even just typing up the spelling words in Word Art in Microsoft Word can offer a different learning experience. The ABCya website has a lot of educational games for many different age groups. There are some great interactive games that encourage students to create pictures and write about them, which is often perfect for the reluctant writer. Don’t forget that your child has access to some wonderful online resources through Mathletics and Reading Eggs. If you have forgotten your password see your classroom teacher.

ESmart With the introduction of the iPad program, Level 4's integrated topic for weeks 1-3 is around cyber-safety and the smart, safe and responsible use of technology. Students are engaged in creating content around important concepts such as digital reputation, digital footprint, privacy, security, cyber-bullying and balancing time online which are issues relevant to all of us in the highly digital world we live in. Students are focussing specifically on the iPad user agreement and the School's Values in the Digital World which you can find in the new Student Code of Behaviour book.

Finally, look out for information about the upcoming ThinkUKnow parent information evening towards the end of term. Rangeview hosted this informative internet safety program 2 years ago and it was very well-received by the parents and teachers who attended, promoting much learning and conversation around the wellbeing of our students. Topics covered include cyberbullying, reputation protection and management, social networking, gaming and inappropriate content - both self-created and accessed.

Don’t forget to stay safe online- http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/

LEVEL 3 FLORA and FAUNA PROGRAM This term our Level 3 students are continuing to focus on the care of our Rangeview pets and cultivating the school vegetable garden. We are very excited about future planting and our plans to extend the garden too. Mrs Donna Marshall facilitates the cooking group each Thursday as we make good use of the school produce and Gallery Kitchen. Many parents have been able to help with our culinary creations. Extra pairs of guiding hands are always needed in the kitchen and very welcome. We start our cooking preparation just after 11:30am every Thursday and finish about 1:00pm, don’t forget your apron! Every day is Nude Food Day. We celebrate all our efforts at Rangeview to reduce, recycle or reuse our rubbish and walk lightly on the Earth. LEVEL 3 EXCURSION At the end of term, on Monday the 15th of September, as part of Flora and Fauna, the Level 3 students will be going to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne for a program called Seed to Tree. We will travel by bus, leaving at 9:00am and returning to Rangeview at 3:15pm. Your child will need to wear their school uniform, bring a small back pack with a snack, lunch and bottle of water. If rain is forecast a raincoat would be useful, too. LEVEL 3 and 4 ATHLETICS This term some students in both Levels 3 and 4 will be participating in the athletics program. There will be some lunch time training and training on Friday afternoons. The District Athletics will be held on Wednesday 3rd September. Look out for the permission note from Mrs O’Connor closer to the time.

ICAS English - Tuesday 29th July Maths – Tuesday 12th August

Numeracy When children come to Levels 3 and 4, parents’ minds often turn to “learning the times tables”. The AusVELS documents do direct teachers that, by the end of Level 4 (Grade 4), students will know the tables up to 10x10. Many students will have achieved this easily, while others will struggle. Before focusing on the multiplication tables it is important that students have automatic response of, and understand, the addition and subtraction facts. Learners also need to have the ability to “see” numbers in sets, not as single elements, before the concept of multiplication becomes relevant. For example, 4x6 refers to 4 sets of 6, so we expect students to “see” 4 groups of 6 which is quite difficult for some. Once you know your times tables, you can’t imagine what is so hard about learning them, but they are very challenging for many children.

Please check the Rangeview Telegraph on-line every week. All the activities and special days are outlined well in advance there. Also if you have lost an excursion notice; there are generic notices on the website in the calendar area. Click on the date of the excursion and the notice will appear. From the Level 3 and 4 teachers: Caroline St Ruth, Beth Joyce, Khay Le, Julie Downie and Jackie Quin, Nicole Barnes, Alex Box, Karen Hastie.