Stepping into Year 4 is a step into a whole year of engaging, exciting learning experiences.
Year 4 students have the privilege of spending the year getting to know the students from Concordia Kindergarten. Our shared visits each term give the students the opportunity to show caring, responsible leadership – while having fun and building relationships.
Our Units of Inquiry have driven our learning this year.
Our first unit, ‘Who we are’ was a great way to get to know each other, learn what makes positive relationships, celebrate our diversity and build positive classroom culture. Then the excitement of our second unit, ‘How we express ourselves’ took us on a journey into the history of world explorers, our own family history and the early days of Australian settlement. A highlight was visiting the Port Adelaide Maritime Museum and the historic City of Adelaide Clipper Ship. Students were challenged to write letters from the point of view of a convict or free settler and we enjoyed hearing the story of Letty, a very young free settler, in our shared reading times.
The hands on learning in our focus on ‘How the world works’ which involved the building of simple machines was always a learning time we looked forward to as problem solving, resilience and team work were part of the recipe for success. The creativity and understanding of forces shown was amazing – as was the mess created in the design, make and testing process. One other highlight was a visit to Mannum Waterfalls and the Mannum Lookout to explore the changing world around us in our investigation based on ‘Where we are in place and time’. The students had so many opportunities for risk taking, observation and enjoying the beauty of a significant local landmark.
We feel so blessed to have been involved with opportunities to take action in our learning. National Tree Planting Day, beautifying our Junior School gardens, creating gifts for our neighbours in the Lutheran Homes and a visit to the Murray Bridge Salvation Army have enabled us to put our knowledge into action in a positive way.
So much learning, so many experiences – and only 4 terms to make them happen. Year 4 sure is the place to be!
