Year 4T News

The 4T boys have bounced into the school year with enthusiasm for new friends and new learning. Friendships were quickly re-established and strong routines adopted. Vibrant personalities with strong leadership potential and a zest for life fill our classroom and the dynamic is exciting and wonderful!

Our first Unit of Inquiry 'Who We Are', saw us investigate our overall well-being through the lens of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Boys engaged in a vast range of activities that allowed them to consider actions that supported optimum health. Physical activity was a given, but we gained a deeper appreciation for good nutrition, meditation, drawing, music to create a peaceful space, the positive effect of strong sleep routines and the calming nature of soft things like cuddling pets and snuggling toys. We are sensory creatures and should encourage natural and healthy practices that support this.

With blood and guts playing a part in our investigation, scientific experimentation took front and centre to support boys making deeper conceptual understandings to broader physical issues. Jelly, marshmallows, jaffas and sprinkles made a deliciously gruesome cup of blood. And observing eggs soaked in vinegar left us quaking at the effect of food acid on the teeth. We researched the amount of sugar in our favourite Boost Juice order and shuddered in horror at the amount! Using glucose syrup, we watched how the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream was quick and immediate but noted that flour took longer to absorb. We relayed this to the type of foods we consume and the release of energy from them. A unit in measurement also allowed us to explore our digestive systems and we actually measured the length of our entire guts. As you might well imagine, the lads had a glorious time mucking about with it all!

Continuing the theme of the gruesome and grotesque, boys celebrated their love of language by dabbling in the realm of spook. Poetic phrases were written about body parts, and narratives were written to frighten and scare. Despite the dark and demonly landscape, each boy pursued the element of fear and suspense with rigour, creating a whole host of stories to frighten the life out of you. Oh, the power of words. Strangely, the only ones not scared were the lads themselves.

I could continue to wax lyrical about the wonders of our year's beginning, however, most important is that each and every boy in 4T is to be congratulated for the effort and effervescence they have brought to our classroom and our school. We can only look forward to celebrating and harnessing all this enthusiasm as we go forth.

Mrs Rebecca Turkich
Year 4 Teacher