The Rosary

The Rosary and Our Stained Glass Windows

The Month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events or mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them.The Rosary is not only a mental prayer, but also a vocal prayer in which we meditate on the virtues of the Life, Death, Passion and Glory of Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary.

Year 3 have been praying one decade of the rosary every day during the month of October. In class we use an app called iRosary this is a great way for the children to follow along with the prayers and to access visuals on each of the mysteries. It also displays an animated set of rosary beads. 

On Thursdays we prayed the rosary in the Marian Chapel. In the Marian Chapel there is a beautiful stained glass window of Mary. The children thought it would be a great idea if we could replicate our own stained glass window. They look fantastic!!! Come check them out in our classroom. 

Challenge :

Can you list the 20 different mysteries we prayed during the rosary? 

OR

Write a short procedure on how to make a stained glass window

Children's Blog

In class we have been saying the rosary and we remember the different mysteries. Our prayer space people James and Clare have been leading us with the rosary on the iRosary app. This is great for us the follow and see pictures. On Thursdays we go up to the Marian Chapel and say the rosary in front of the stained glass window of Mary. Last week we got to make our own awesome stained glass windows of Mary. They turned out really well and we had a lot of fun!!!! Mrs Bel even wanted some in her office. Check out these photos:

Harry Potter and Silent Writing

Harry Potter

During our read aloud sessions in Term 3 and the beginning of Term 4 Year 3 read the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The children and the teachers we very engrossed in the book and could not wait for 11.30 to come each day. The students have written a book review in their blog.

Student blog review:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is written by J.K. Rowling. Year 3 had the pleasure of reading Harry Potter last term. In the story Harry Potter and his friend Ron and Hermione defeat a troll and play the biggest chess game in Hogwarts. They also defeat Voldemort and win the house cup. It was amazing!

This book would be great for any age whether you are 6 or 100.

Silent Writing

This term Year 3 participate in 10 minutes of silent writing after lunch. This is an opportunity for the children to write for enjoyment and to practice strategies they have learnt in our guided writing lessons and during literacy groups. The students have been very engaged and many of them have produced fantastic blurbs for stories they are going to write about.

CHALLENGE

If you have a blurb or a piece of writing you would like to share, write it in the comment section.

Student Blog 

Lately for 10 minutes after lunch we have been doing silent writing. It is a time when we can calm our bodies and improve our writing. Each afternoon we set ourselves a goal such as punctuation or handwriting. Silent writing is basically free writing but silently. You can write anything in any text type. Some text types include narrative, procedure, poems and many more. It is a fun activity because we can free our minds and follow our imagination. We LOVE silent writing!!!!

MATHS MENTAL STRATEGIES

What are mental strategies? 

In Year 3 we have been working on our mental strategies with addition and subtraction. 

Good mental calculation is characterised by having many strategies. Sometimes, particular numbers suit particular strategies. Sometimes strategy selection is guided by personal preferences, or special number combinations that a student happens to spot. Mental strategies are not carried out like written algorithms. Instead, students need to choose them and adjust them to suit the calculation. 

Having an understanding of mental strategies and estimation is very important for everyday life. Mental strategies and estimation are also important as a learning device because they allow students to practise and discuss fundamental number properties and build number sense. 

CHALLENGE

Post in the comment section or upload photos of your maths task set in your homework this week. What mental strategies did you use to help you find the answer? 

Children's Blog

In class we have been improving our mental strategies for addition and subtraction problems. Mental strategies can also help us with multiplication and division. We use mental strategies so that we can figure out the answer quicker. Then it is easier to do math!!!! It also helps us improve our maths. There are lots of different strategies we can use: 

• Skip and jump counting
• Chunking
• Empty number line
• Compensation

Here are some photos of us using our mental strategies and posters that help us.

Welcome Back to Term 4 

Welcome back to Term 4 everyone!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful break with your family and friends. 

I had an amazing time in New Zealand kayakiing and snowboarding. Mrs Standing has been resting up well at home and she says a BIG hello to everyone. 

Challenge:

Post below in the comment section what you got up to in the holidays. 

Next week our student blog will begin again during literacy group time.

Have a wonderful week :) 

Miss Veling