Parent Information Night Donvale Primary School Level 3 & 4 2013

Teachers Luanda Pianta 3/4P Ian McKinlay 3/4MP John Pianta 3/4MP Victoria Erskine-Behr 3/4E   Support Staff Soraya Van Eyk 3/4P Karen Murphy 3/4MP

Integrated Curriculum Units of Work for 2013 Term One Term Two Term Three Term Four Switch on to Learning. Life of Aboriginal Peoples before European settlement Production Animal and plant systems. Our Amazing Bodies   Focus on Forces

Specialists: In 2013, the children will have specialist classes with the following staff: Bernadette Towan - The Arts Sheena Saw - Mandarin Anthea Keep - Performing Arts John Pianta - Physical Education Level The Arts P.E. Performing Arts Mandarin Sport 3/4P Wednesday Tuesday Thursday 3/4MP Monday 3/4B

ENGLISH READING/SPEAKING & LISTENING WAYS PARENTS CAN HELP Encourage children to respectfully wait their turn to speak and to share interesting aspects of their day. Ensure that your child reads each night. Encourage whole sentence reading to develop fluency and expression. Ask questions about what is read.

ENGLISH WRITING/HANDWRITING/SPELLING WAYS PARENTS CAN HELP Encourage children to always ‘have a go’ at spelling words. Praise all attempts at unknown words and follow up by showing the correct spelling. Ensure spelling wordlist is studied. Encourage children to write at home. Play word games, eg Hangman, Scrabble. Check for correct pencil grip. Encourage and praise neatness and presentation.

MATHEMATICS WAYS PARENTS CAN HELP MATHEMATICS WAYS PARENTS CAN HELP. Help children to develop automatic response of number facts and multiplication tables. Allocate home computer time for children to practise skills on Mathletics computer program. Involve children in everyday maths discussions wherever possible eg; money for lunch orders, telling the time, measurement related to cooking, map reading, using street directories, reading timetables etc.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION & SPORT Every Thursday Level 3 & 4 will be involved in sporting activities. The aim of these sessions is to involve the students in a range of sports and to develop sound sporting attitudes. All students are expected to be dressed appropriately on sport and PE days. Shoes should be well-laced joggers, runners or such. Girls need shorts under their school dresses. Swimming trials and inter-district swimming take place in Term 1. Cross country will be held I Term 2. Athletics will be held in Term 3. A five week gymnastics program will be organised. Hooptime basketball will be discussed as to whether it will be whole-level participation or just specific teams.

HOMEWORK Homework will be given to the children on Monday and will be handed in by the following Monday. Homework tasks are discussed with the children at school so that they are aware of expectations. All tasks will be related to your child’s classroom program. At this stage this will involve a weekly Mathematics task sheet, spelling & reading. Students will also be encouraged to use Mathletics at home, practise automatic response to number facts, read and revise spelling words. Nightly reading is encouraged with an expectation of three signed off sessions, in diaries, at home a week.

LIBRARY Each class has a one hour session per week LIBRARY Each class has a one hour session per week. This session is taken by the classroom teacher. During the lesson children will be encouraged to borrow fiction and non- fiction books, learn about authors, illustrators and how to search for information and rewrite in their own words. All children need to bring a library bag to carry their borrowed books. Children may borrow up to 3 books at a time. Children with overdue books will not be able to borrow until the book is returned or payment has been made.

CIRCLES Circles will continue this year. This is a program that involves groups of children from each year level, working together once a month with a teacher in the school. The students stay in the same Circles group throughout their school life at Donvale Primary School. This develops friendships across year levels, opportunities to work with another teacher and foster team spirit. This year they take on another significance as they will be the basis of the house system for the school.

PARENT HELPERS There are many opportunities to help in the classroom such as; listening to children read, assisting with literacy or maths groups, helping in the computer room, administrative tasks to assist the teacher and helping with sport programs. All parent helpers are required to complete in-school training sessions before being able to assist in the classroom. Details have been sent home but if you require more details please see the office.

COMMUNICATION Look for the purple document envelope in your child’s bag every night. All communication will be put into these folders. They are required to be returned to school every day. Diaries will also accompany these. You are always welcome to discuss concerns or inquire about programs with your class teacher. If you have any concerns please arrange a time to speak to us immediately.

Finally… We look forward to working with you and your children this year and we hope that your child has a very happy year in our care.   Luanda Pianta Ian McKinlay John Pianta Victoria Behr-Erskine