Term 1 Week 5

CLIPSAL!!!Yes it's that time of year when Clipsal fever hits. As you all are aware the year 3 boys will be visiting Clipsal on Thursday 1st of March from 9 to 12:30approx.
I will send out an itinery so that everyone knows and understands the expectations for the day.
Just a reminder though, as it is Thursday the boys must come to school in school uniform and bring their sports clothes to change in to.

I have also been inundated with offers of support which means that on Thursday we will have lots of little groups wondering around Clipsal. This will be valuable as smaller groups will allow boys to find out more about all the goings on. If possible if you are one of the many helpers, can you bring along a camera - this will be beneficial as the boys will be asked to locate as many simple and complex machines as they can. A photo journal of all they find would be excellent.

Also please encourage your son to go onto Study Ladder when he has a free moment at home. It is a very useful website for building literacy, numeracy and NAPLAN skills. It is also free!
http://www.studyladder.com.au

Also on the 29th of March (Thursday) will be no homework day. This is an initiative from the Community Action Group. As an alternative we would ask the boys to perform an act or task of kindness for someone else. This can be recorded in their diaries on page 98 as part of their efforts towards their Community Action badge. An act of kindness could be anything from washing up the dinner dishes, sweeping / raking up leaves, washing windows for elderly neighbour etc.

Also if you have not become a follower of the blog please do so. I will continue to send out emails to remind you that the blog has been updated.

Regards
Nesha

Term 1 Week 5

Hello everyone
Next week for homework the boys will have spelling as usual but they will NOT have mental - that will be done in class.
Instead they will be doing a mini assignment on Cars.
Work with your son to determine how cars work - what are the mechanisms that make up a car - simple machines etc.
Have fun with it.
The boys can write the information they find out on the sheet itself.

Also a big thank you to those parents who have offered to help with Clipsal.

Term 1 Week 4 and 5

Hello all,
Given that week 3 was the first 'real' week of work, the boys worked well  to complete their set homework pieces. Some teething problems were encountered with regard to work expectation and time management, but over the next couple of weeks all this should work itself out as all the boys get used to the routine and working as year 3s.
The boys are excellent in the mornings. They come in and set up their books for the day. However some are still struggling with establishing routine and organising their time in class and at home.

On the whole I am very pleased with how well the boys have made the transistion from year 2 to year 3. With regard to work and behaviour expectations the jump is a big one and most have coped amazingly well. Some have excelled.

Please read the following information for the upcoming weeks.
Regards,
Nesha

Reminders:

• Must have a novel in class each day for Independent Reading
• Bring P.E. clothes to change into for Monday
• Wear P.E clothes on Thursdays
• Year 3 boys finish sport onThursday at 3:30pm
• School hat must be at school and worn at Recess and Lunch and when sport is played outside for Term 1 and 4

Clipsal:

• The year 3 boys will be touring the pit straight and visiting Team Vodafone on Thursday 1st March.
• Consent forms will be sent home shortly
• If you are joining us on the day and have already prepurchased a ticket OR if you have not prepurchased a ticket you can still buy a ticket on the day for $39 - please let me know either way, as I need to finalise numbers and work out groups for the day
• Also remember to complete a Stat Dec Form - these are located in the Prep Office
• Also emails will be sent out to the parent helpers with information regarding the format of the day and their roles
• The more parent helpers the better as small groups can be formed which will benefit the amount of information and sights that the boys take in

Homework:

• Spelling is due on Friday -
• one to one and a half hours is allocated for spelling on Monday and a half hour is allocated on Tuesday during class time
• boys should be completing 5 dictionary meanings, 5 sentences (for words different to the dictionary meanings), 2 LSCWcH, ONE activity from the detailed list and ONE activity from the short list.
• In total ONLY 5 activities are to be completed each week ie dictionary meanings, sentences, LSCWcH, detailed activity and short activity
• All activities are to be completed in spelling books
• Boys are encouraged to take pride in their work and write neatly and set out their work neatly
• In total 2 hours and 40min  is allocated for spelling (including 10min each night for homework) - approx. 30min per activity (school plus homework time)
• Boys are asked to revise on Thursday night for their spelling test on Friday
• Mental is due on Thursday -
• half hour on Tuesday is allocated for mental homework and any free time that the boys may have in class
• 10 min each night (30min total)
• 1 hour in total for completing mental (30min class time plus 30min homework time)
• Timestable booklet -
• Boys are to work from this book IF they finish all other work and have spare time during the week
• The timestables book is used to revise for Friday tables test

Timestables Test:

• This Friday the boys will be tested on their knowledge of the 2 and 10 timestables
• They have been asked to revise for the test by going over the Timestables booklet and independent testing

I appreciate that this is a lot of detail, but I feel its important that everyone is on the same page.
Thanks for taking the time to read the Blog.
Regards,
Nesha

Week 2

We began our Program of Inquiry topic at the end of week 1.
In order to get the imagination and sense of discovery sparked in the boys, I showed them various
you tube clips. The boys were all fascinated by what they saw and the classroom was a buzz with discussion.
One of the clips shows Theo Jansen who makes all sorts of amazing 'beasts' that use natural energy to power them.
Also Rube Goldberg was an engineer turned cartoonist who created some amazing 'inventions' - similar to the Wallace and Gromit style of gizmos.
I also showed them a music video which highlighted the concepts of Rube Goldberg.
I have attached the links so please feel free to watch, peruse the sites and have a great discussion with your son about the wonderful world of machines and crazy inventions.
The main point that the boys need to understand is that everything has an impact on something. If one essential element in all these inventions was left out, none of them would work.

With regard to our Machine Mania unit of inquiry the boys in year 3 will be going to Clipsal on Thursday 1st of March. I have already sent an email regarding buying your tickets off the school website. Just remember these tickets need to be purchased by the close of business on Thursday 9th Feb.

Finally any information you have about your son and camp would be appreciated. Please send any medications to school that have not been supplied so that they will be ready to take on camp.


http://www.rubegoldberg.com/?page=bio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSKyHmjyrkA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

Above is an image of a Rube Goldberg Alarm Clock