Friday 4th July 2019
Dear ParentsWhat a wonderful year! It’s been a pleasure teaching Year 3 and watching them develop into confident and kind children who are ready to start Year 4. We finished Shackleton on a high building shelters in the woodland by the river. The final test being the jug of water poured over the roof to see how well they built them! The week was topped with a fun swim in the pool in this beautiful sunshine.
Pupils worked hard this week calculating fractions of amounts in Maths. They followed this with adding and subtracting fractions using pizzas slices to help them.
Our work on poetry continued as they looked at many different types of cat poems. In particular they identified rhyme, repetition, similes and varied line length for impact. All pupils enjoyed reading parts of their favourite one.
IPC has focused on the three main rock groups and how they formed. Pupils then produced excellent posters with studies of the different rocks.
Have a wonderful summer holiday and I look forward to seeing you all from across the Lower Prep courtyard in September!
Esse
Friday 28th June 2019
Year 3 lead a busy life and this week was no exception. They explored Sunny slopes in Shackleton on Monday to find colours in nature which matched their artist’s colour palettes. The pupils examined every leaf and flower to see how well they could do. This was followed with a visit to Buckland Abbey with their Year 4 teacher, Mrs Johnson, on Tuesday.
Division with remainders has been our focus this week in Maths. We began with a multiplication method along a number line and moved onto using our mental maths skills to help us work out what the remainders would be.
A gruesome poem about 'Larks with sharks' filled our ears as we began our work in English on animal poetry. Pupils looked for adjectives, adverbs and their favourite lines before performing sections to the class.
Weekend challenge: We began our IPC topic asking 'What is under the sea?' We talked about mountains, caves, sand, rocks and pebbles. Can you find out what the three main rock types are called and which one is in your local area?
All library books must be returned to the library by Tuesday next week if pupils could kindly return them.
The sun shines on! Have a great weekend.
Esse
Friday 21st June 2019
What a fantastic way to end the week with an afternoon of sport in the sunshine! Let's hope it continues.
In Maths we have worked on scaling up using recipes and scaling down by drawing shapes and then reducing them in size in our books. The week ended with work on division. Pupils worked hard using jumping lines to break down the sum into known multiplication facts before working them out in one step.
Careful thought had to go into English this week as pupils used their persuasive skills to write about not recommending a toy to buy. They have also spent time looking over their end of Y3 high frequency words which they will be tested on next Thursday and Friday.
Year 3 were thrilled to see the trailer of Rio this week (hoping for the rest of the film!) as we asked the question 'Is swimming similar to flying?'. Following our studies of bird anatomy and life cycles, they enjoyed researching bird migration in the ICT room.
Weekend challenge: What kind of birds can you observe in your garden or while you are on a walk? Choose one to draw and find out if it's a migratory bird.
Best wishes for the weekend,
Esse
Friday 14th June 2019
Our Shackleton lesson could not have been wetter this week! We opted for a challenge in the classroom which they all threw themselves into with great energy. With just A3 paper and sellotape they needed to construct the tallest, freestanding tower they could.
In Maths we have concentrated on finding change from £5, £10 and £20 from a selection of well priced toys! We used the jumping frog method to ensure accuracy.
I have been really impressed with Year 3's acting abilities again as they role played their own adverts to persuade other members of the class to buy their toys. This was part of our two week block of work on features of persuasive writing.
In IPC we followed up our trip to Burrator and explained our findings from the work carried out during the day. We spent some more time drawing a food web and talking about the term 'interdependent'.
Weekend challenge: Can you investigate a food web of your own? It can be from any habitat you choose (woodland, pond, sea etc).
Enjoy a dryer weekend
Esse
Friday 7th June 2019
Year 3 really enjoyed getting down to the river for a sunny Shackleton session this week. They were set the challenge to find a stick and then find another that was exactly half its length. We also looked for obtuse and acute angles in nature. I did remind the pupils that they needed to bring in their Shackleton clothes on Monday as many had forgotten.
In IPC we looked at ways to sort animals using a Venn diagram. Pupils thought up their own headings for the Venn hoops which were 'has scales' and 'is an amphibian' before learning about classification keys for marine animals.
Weekend challenge: Can you explain why the sea is salty?
There is a swimming gala next Thursday which is additional to their swimming lesson on Wednesday. Please bring a towel, hat, goggles (if required) and a water bottle for poolside. You are welcome to attend and further details will be sent out next week.
Have a great weekend
Esse
Friday 24th May 2019
So, I just can't keep your children off the stage now! It was wonderful to talk to the class about their ideas for the assembly. They impressed me greatly with wanting to create a shark poem and appear from backstage in style.
They have all worked really hard this week in assessments for Maths and English. I will go through their papers in class after half term and they will review their own work for aspects they are pleased with and those areas they found a little harder.
I have asked your children to send the class a postcard during half term. I explained they might be staying at home but cards can be bought in most towns and sea side places. They should keep reading and any who would like to keep a diary or scrap book of the week can bring them in when we return.
Enjoy a restful half term
Esse
Friday 19th May 2019
We are so proud of your children for all their hard work learning words, performing in the dress rehearsal and evening performance this week. They have all contributed so much in their own individual ways to make these two performances a great success. They all rose to the challenge of projecting their voices, learning stage directions and thinking about other characters parts so they knew when to speak. We linked some of this to their English lessons through work on dialogue while also continuing to write their stories and work on spellings. Our pattern for this week is silent w.
Pupil assessments next week are low key and during normal classes. They will be asked to write a story and complete a comprehension for English. In Maths they will be asked questions based on number and also problem solving and reasoning.
Have a lovely weekend,
Esse
Friday 10th May 2019
Dear Parents
The play has been foremost in our minds this week as we prepare for the dress rehearsal on Friday and the production next Wednesday evening. The pupils have all worked so hard to remember their lines and places on stage. Please could your child stay for tea next Wednesday as we will go in early at 5pm and not do clubs. This will give us time from 5:30pm to put costumes on and any stage make-up if they would like it. Any helpers welcome from 5:30pm in the Year 3 classrooms.
After the play, pupils will come back to the classrooms to get changed into school uniform and be signed out.
We are very excited about our IPC trip to the National Marine Aquarium on Monday 13th May. Please ensure your child has a coat, water bottle and no more than £5 for the shop if you choose to let them.
In Maths this week we have focused on number sequencing and counting in 50's and 100's from numbers such as 23 or 78. It was interesting to look at the patterns the numbers made and this helped us count higher.
Pupils have begun to plan their own adventure stories, think about interesting sentence starters and adventurous words. Our spellings this week are compound words, the pupils enjoyed finding them in their reading books during the week.
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse
Friday 3rd May 2019
Dear Parents
I have been really impressed with the hard work and enthusiasm that Year 3 have put into their studies this week. There have also been many encouraging comments from sports staff about the pupils efforts on the sports field.
Our work in Maths has involved doubling and halving. Following this we worked on multiplication using the grid method.
We began the week in English exploring the ingredients needed for an adventure story. After reading several short stories, working on dialogue and character description; the class are ready to plan their own adventures next week.
Thank you for all the responses so far for the IPC trip to the aquarium. You will have an extra day of fun on Monday so I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday next week.
Have a great Bank Holiday weekend,
Esse
Friday 25th April 2019
Dear Parents
Year 3 have arrived back after the Easter holiday full of energy and enthusiasm which is fantastic to see!
We have begun to rehearse our play and it's great to see that so many of them have learnt their lines already. They are thoroughly enjoying using the stage to act out their parts. Mr and Mrs Allsop (Grandparent's of Bella in Year 4) have kindly organised the costumes and props for the performance. If any parents are happy to help with a small amount of face painting (whiskers, moustaches etc) on the night please let me know.
In Maths this week we have been reviewing our times tables and counting in sequences such as 4's, 8's, 50's and 100's. We have also begun to find perimeters, from the classroom to 2D shapes.
In English we have been reviewing our spelling patterns and high frequency words for the end of Year 3. Many children have completed book quizzes and are enjoying using the library again.
An email has been sent with details of a trip to the National Marine Aquarium on Monday 13th May, if permissions can be returned soon. This will form our entry point for our new IPC topic on Land, Sea and Sky.
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse
Friday 29th March 2019
Dear Parents,
We have said a big ‘thank you’ and ‘good luck’ to Mrs Balroop this week as she moves to support Year 1 in the Summer Term. We are welcoming Mrs Thavenot into Year 3 and of course are looking forward to seeing Mrs Armstrong return. Everyone enjoyed the Easter Egg hunt and tutor party to finish off the term.
Listening to poetry in the classroom this week has inspired Year 3 to write their own in the style of those heard. 'No word of a lie' by Jackie Kay was fuelled by exaggeration, powerful verbs, repetition and adjectives. They were very keen to share their favourite lines! They worked on extending sentences with noun phrases and ended with an Easter story comprehension. Keep reading over the holidays, remember to write down the books read so you can quiz on them when you get back to school.
I have been so impressed with their understanding and hard work with finding fractions of amounts in Maths. Building on work from the Michaelmas term, they have mastered finding 1/2 1/3 1/4 and 1/8's of numbers up to 50. Their next challenge was to find 2/3 or 3/4 of a number which they tackled well. They are improving their scores on the 3 minute times table question sheets which we do three times a week.
It was great to hear from so many pupils about the Ancient Sumerians this week based on their weekend challenge. They shared their facts with the class and received House Points for their efforts. We compared their time line with that of the ancient Egyptians and looked at their way of life.
Please help your child learn their words for Alice in Wonderland over the holidays so we can begin to focus on acting when we return! We are hoping to provide all costumes for the play from school resources; I will contact you individually if the boys need school trousers/shirts or tights for the girls.
Easter holiday challenges -
The Creative space challenge has been launched! I hope as many of Year 3 as possible are able to enter the competition by creating a space themed entry which will be displayed in the Front Hall.
The annual Natural World Photography competition returns encouraging budding photographers to get outside and snap away!
Details can be found in the newsletter and on the parent portal for both these competitions.
Enjoy the Easter holidays and all the fun it brings,
Esse
Friday 22nd March 2019
Dear Parents,
Y3 all enjoyed being on stage this week as we used some Shackleton time to begin going through our play Alice in Wonderland. The date for this production will be a week later now on Wednesday 15th May at 18:30 in The Wortham Hall. A dress rehearsal is likely to be on the Monday and I will confirm this and other information nearer the time.
In conjunction with our play, we are looking at performance poetry for the next two weeks in English. This will help with listening and speaking skills as they enjoy reciting poems by poets such as Michael Rosen, Mike Jubb and Tony Mitton.
In Maths, we have been matching analogue and digital times. We even used a human digital clock to help the class convert times into analogue. The next stage was to think about duration and adjust times to 10 or 15 minutes earlier or later.
In IPC we enjoyed learning about gods and goddesses. They really liked creating Top Trump cards, detailing their description, roles, special features and allocating them a power score so they could play a game with them. A great way to remember more about them.
Weekend challenge -
What can you find out about the Ancient Sumer civilisation which occupied the land between the River Euphrates and River Tigris?
Best wishes for the weekend
Esse
Friday 15th March 2019
Dear Parents,
The pupils looked fantastic today with their red mufti and Red Noses as they raised money for Comic Relief. Many enjoyed watching the various netball matches between staff and Year 8's in the Sport's Hall. It was also great to see many enter the charity bake off competition at the start of the week - lots of budding chefs!
In English we have begun to create our own Greek myth by drawing on the many stories we have read. We were also lucky to see the Year 5's perform their play Pirates of the Curry Bean. This was well timed as Year 3 were given their parts in the play that they will perform on May 9th.
Weekend challenge - Rhyming Alice in Wonderland
Please look through your child's part with them this weekend to familiarise them with it.
In Maths, pupils worked on expanded column addition leading on to the compact method and also subtraction using the frog method to count up. One step and two step word problems were discussed and their knowledge applied to work out the maths needed to solve them.
In IPC we read about the farming year and discovered more about The Rosetta Stone. If you have time to see this in the History museum in London it is well worth it.
Enjoy the weekend
Esse
Friday 8th March 2019
Dear Parents,
The pupils all looked terrific and had enormous fun celebrating World Book Day. Costumes will be a little easier next week as Comic Relief returns, pupils can wear something Red with their uniform. Red noses will be for sale in Reception and a Red Nose Day cake sale will take place in the Front Hall.
We continued our journey into Greek Myths and opened Pandora's Box this week in English. We were extremely relieved to discover Hope and explore the meaning of this myth. Pupils worked hard on a comprehension and thought about how they could complete the answers using part of the question. This was followed by 'Pegasus and the Gorgon's Head', a myth full of magical objects. Pupils were then asked to create their own sentences using time connectives.
The pupils all looked terrific and had enormous fun celebrating World Book Day. Costumes will be a little easier next week as Comic Relief returns, pupils can wear something Red with their uniform. Red noses will be for sale in Reception and a Red Nose Day cake sale will take place in the Front Hall.
We continued our journey into Greek Myths and opened Pandora's Box this week in English. We were extremely relieved to discover Hope and explore the meaning of this myth. Pupils worked hard on a comprehension and thought about how they could complete the answers using part of the question. This was followed by 'Pegasus and the Gorgon's Head', a myth full of magical objects. Pupils were then asked to create their own sentences using time connectives.
In Maths we have been adding and subtracting 1-digit numbers to 3-digit numbers with varying difficulty as they bridge the 10's and 100's column. Pupils were then challenged to create their own sums following certain criteria. They all worked hard on their times tables booklets and enjoyed using the computers to see how quickly they could recall their maths.
In our IPC lessons we began to find out about Egyptian family life, pupils took notes from a variety of sources. Some drew their family, the house they wanted them to live in and even the pets they wished them to keep. They were surprised many shaved their hair off so they could wear a wig!
Weekend Challenge:
Friday 1st March 2019
Dear Parents,
We have had a tantalising glimpse into the summer weather to come this week and the children have thoroughly enjoyed their time on sunny slopes. We spent some time in class sharing new ideas for games to play and decided 'Shadow tag' would work well given the sunshine!
A reminder for World Book Day next Thursday. There will be lots of fun activities to take part in during the day. Please can your child dress up as a character from a favorite book; bringing the book to school if they have it.
Our journey into ancient civilisations in IPC has linked in with work on Greek myths and legends in English this week. We took the classroom outside and shared some myths on sunny slopes which was greatly enjoyed by the class.
We have had a tantalising glimpse into the summer weather to come this week and the children have thoroughly enjoyed their time on sunny slopes. We spent some time in class sharing new ideas for games to play and decided 'Shadow tag' would work well given the sunshine!
A reminder for World Book Day next Thursday. There will be lots of fun activities to take part in during the day. Please can your child dress up as a character from a favorite book; bringing the book to school if they have it.
Our journey into ancient civilisations in IPC has linked in with work on Greek myths and legends in English this week. We took the classroom outside and shared some myths on sunny slopes which was greatly enjoyed by the class.
In Maths we have been working with greater fluency when multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100. We broke into groups and used place value hats and whiteboards to see how the numbers would change.
In our IPC topic ‘Temples, Tombs and Treasures', we made a human timeline with important dates in ancient Egyptian history before sorting cards in pairs and understanding more about chronology.
Weekend Challenge:
We are going to be creating our own Egyptian family in class. We will choose names, decide where they live, what they wear and think about the jobs they do. Look at this link above to find out more about family life during this time. Can you start to make some choices for your family?
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse
Friday 15th February 2019
Dear Parents,
Year 3 were all very excited about the build up to Inter House Cross Country this week and the weather was perfect.
We have all enjoyed hearing the story Fantastic Mr Fox and this week Year 3 have planned and written their own version of the story. This has inspired some to continue them over the holidays or even begin their own new story which is terrific!
In Maths we have continued our work on fractions focussing on fractions of a whole and equivalent fractions.
All the pupils have worked on their Times Tables Rockstars up to x12. We will still practise them on paper in the classroom but the online games are now set to an automatic training mode. It begins with 10x table in Arena and Garage. If they achieve 20 correct answers in 1 minute they will move up a level.
In our IPC topic ‘Temples, Tombs and Treasures', we have investigated why the river Nile was so important to the ancient Egyptians. We also took a look at timelines to place this civilisation in history.
Holiday Challenge:
Please learn your poem for the poetry recital in class in the first week back. This will enable us to choose three pupils from Year 3 to go through to the finals.
Please go over the Year 3 high frequency which were given to you in September. There is an extra copy in your child's bag today. We will test them at the end of the first week back.
Have a wonderful half term,
Esse
Friday 8th February 2019
Dear Parents,
Weekend challenge:
What 10 interesting facts can you find out about the Egypt of today which will help us learn about where the ancient Egyptian civilisation began.
Following our trip this week, pupils have written about their experience at the museum during English. They have focussed on specific vocabulary to describe what they saw on their tour and what they learned. Great fun was had as a team by making and playing their own Senet board game following the rules they were taught. In Maths, the week began with further work on weighing skills, especially following the snow last Friday when some pupils were unable to travel. We have now begun work on fractions, finding 1/2s 1/4s and 1/8s on number lines and seeing if we can spot any equivalent fractions.
Following our trip this week, pupils have written about their experience at the museum during English. They have focussed on specific vocabulary to describe what they saw on their tour and what they learned. Great fun was had as a team by making and playing their own Senet board game following the rules they were taught. In Maths, the week began with further work on weighing skills, especially following the snow last Friday when some pupils were unable to travel. We have now begun work on fractions, finding 1/2s 1/4s and 1/8s on number lines and seeing if we can spot any equivalent fractions.
Tutors in Year 3 and 4 are looking forward to hearing the pupils poems on Family and Friends the first week after half term. Please try and learn all or part of your poem during the holiday so you are ready to share it with the class when you return.
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse
Friday 1st February 2019
Dear Parents,
Flurries of snow, snow balls and patches of ice to trample on have caused great excitement this week. Everyone has wrapped up well and enjoyed playtime! This was in contrast to the beginning of the week when Y3 enjoyed counting birds from the bird hide at the lake for the RSPB bird watch.
We have continued to read and enjoy Fantastic Mr Fox this week focusing in particular on the use of dialogue and the correct punctuation for direct speech. Simple and progressive past tenses were acted out by the class with much amusement as we decided whether we wriggled just once or carried on wiggling! In Maths it was socks off as we drew around our feet and measured them, learning how to convert cm and mm into just mm. The weighing scales were also in use as we measured items in the class.
Lots of forces have been at play in IPC this week as magnetism and electricity have been investigated. Pupils have enjoyed finding out which materials are conductors or insulators as they completed their circuits.
The poems on a theme of Friends or Family are flooding in, please keep them coming if you know your child has not yet chosen one.
Inter House cross country is being looked forward to next week which your children will be informed about in Games lessons.
Weekend challenge: We have talked about conductors and insulators of electricity but can you find out about materials at home which are good at conducting or insulating heat? Talk to your parents about how we keep things warm.
Keep toasty warm this weekend
Esse
Friday 25th January 2019
Dear Parents,
This has been an exciting week in Year 3, matches are always something to look forward to whether home or away and this week was no exception. Great games were played by both teams.
Hopefully you are all getting closer to choosing a poem to share with the class for English. I have had a couple handed in following the theme of Family or Friends. I will copy your child's poem so I can have a set in class for practising.
Hot seating was enjoyed by all in English as volunteers stepped into the shoes of Mr Fox, Mr Bean and Mrs Fox to help us learn about characters for our class book Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl. In Maths we have been finding out how to do expanded column addition and see what we need to do when 100s appear in the 10s column!
In IPC we have been carrying out experiments to test materials for their best uses. Year 3 investigated materials for shopping bags, school uniform and nappies!
Weekend challenge: We are going to be exploring magnets next week. Can you investigate how many different ways magnets are used on objects in your own home?
Enjoy the weekend
Esse
Friday 18th January 2019
Dear Parents,
Year 3 have enjoyed the dry weather this week during playtimes. With the weather getting colder, please make sure they have school hats and a pair of gloves.
For English we would like pupils to choose a poem to learn following the theme of Family or Friends. This is to perform to the class in February and one or two pupils will be selected to enter the School Poetry Competition in March in the Front Hall. If your child does Lamda, please make sure it is not one they learned previously.
In English we have enjoyed learning about diaries and read about a lively labrador who just kept getting it wrong! In Maths we learned some different strategies to add and subtract using the 100 square and the jumping frog method.
In IPC Year 3 loved the chance to visit Pre-Prep and ride the bikes to help them investigate which is the best surface to ride a bike on. Many observations were made and written up in their books. Alongside this, they examined the materials the bicycle parts were made from and discussed what properties they had.
Weekend challenge: Pupils can revise what they have learned about materials and their properties using the following website:
Learn about the properties of materials as you experiment with a variety of objects in this great science activity for kids. Discover the interesting characteristics of materials; are they flexible, waterproof, strong or transparent? Play around with the objects and see what interesting facts you ...
Have a great weekend,
Esse
Friday 11th January 2019
Dear Parents,
It's great to see all the refreshed faces of Year 3 pupils back in the classroom this week, full of holiday stories and energy.
Pupils were bemused by our book in English this week called 'The day I swapped my Dad for two goldfish' by Neil Gaiman. We discussed items we had swapped and wrote sentences using the past and present tense. Our spellings follow the pattern tion and ation this week.
In Maths we revised place value and located two and three digit numbers on a number line. A fun game of 'Nice and Nasty' followed where they shuffled digits to work in their favour to be the team with the largest numbers. We are learning the 8 times table next week.
Our new IPC topic called Material World, which explores many different materials used to make everyday objects, has captured the classes attention this week. We began by weaving a materials wall to collect different materials in and are looking forward to finding out about friction, conductivity and properties of materials.
Weekend challenge:
Materials have different properties that make them suitable or unsuitable for certain jobs. Can you look around your home and see what different materials you can find? Perhaps you can explain why they are best suited for the item.
Here are some of the properties you can test for:
Strength, Flexibility, Elasticity, Transparency and Magnetic attraction.
You can see some of the things Lower Prep got up to last term. Please have a look at the Year 4 blog by clicking the Year 4 tab.
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse
Friday 7th December
Dear Parents,
Their spelling pattern this week is wa, que.
This week we concentrated on multiplication and division statements in maths linking in with our times tables. This helped us with working out division with remainder sums.
They are learning the 6 and 7 times table this week.
Weekend challenge:
Can you think of some rules for fossil hunting. To help you think of: dangerous cliffs, tools, hammers, goggles, other people relaxing on the beach and if you are allowed to take fossils away from the beach.
Final week reminders:
Clubs up until Wednesday (no paid extras though)
Tuesday – Christmas Concert at 18.30 in the Wortham Hall (the junior choir will be performing in this end of term concert)
Wednesday - Christmas Jumper day for SKRUM minimum donation £1
Thursday – Carol Service - white shirt and tie, blazers
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse
Friday 30th November
Dear Parents,
We were very lucky to spend some time with Jasper's Mum this week and begin a forest school activity in the woods by the river at Rowden. Pupils were collecting twigs, snipping them into shape with secateurs and preparing to make something for Christmas...
Year 3 have really enjoyed performing chant poetry this week and have produced some amazing ones of their own. We have looked at rhyming words and have been counting out the beats of syllables to follow a pattern.
Their spelling pattern this week is soft g, ge, dge.
Stop watches were at the ready in Maths this week as pupils began work on data handling. They timed each other writing out times tables and compiled the information in a table. They also looked at favourite colours, drew bar charts and answered questions about the data.
They are learning the 7 times table this week.
Dinosaur teeth were a hot topic of conversation this week in IPC as pupils considered how they might vary depending on the type of food the dinosaur eats. We made our first visit to the science lab where they were able to make detailed drawings of animal jaws and teeth from sheep, lizards and conger eels.
Weekend challenge:
What plant life could be supported by the environment during the time of the dinosaurs (Mesozoic)?
The following website provides a useful starting point: www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/plants
Have a lovely weekend,
Esse
Friday 23rd November
Dear Parents,
Your children have been entranced by books this week with the arrival of the book fair. They all relished the opportunity to nose through the books on display and later, share favourite pages with their friends.
There has been much laughter this week in English as we worked on creating images with poetry. Our first, 'When Daddy fell into the pond' was broken into stanzas and drawn. We then turned poetry into prose before performing 'Bug Chant' to each other in class.
In Maths they worked on time. First from analogue to digital and then looking at counting on in 5 minute and 15 minute intervals.
The diets of dinosaurs were the focus in IPC this week and how this might impact on teeth type and speed of the dinosaur. We discussed food chains, producers, consumers and decomposers.
Weekend challenge:
Can you draw your own dinosaur food chain? Make sure you name the dinosaur.
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse
Friday 16th November
Dear Parents,
Windy weather and autumn leaves have been a feature for Year 3 this week as they enjoyed the outdoors and created leaf art in Shackleton.
Along with story writing and comprehension, pupils focused on identifying word types within sentences in English. They improved these sentences with more adjectives and extended noun phrases.
In Maths they completed short assessments covering work from the term. They also worked on place value subtraction and addition using money.
Many used their knowledge from the weekend challenge grouping animals to sort pictures of dinosaurs and then begin using a classification key.
Weekend challenge:
From all the pictures of dinosaurs we have looked at, we know that they each evolved in different ways depending on their needs. Can you design and draw your own dinosaur deciding whether it is a herbivore or carnivore and has armour or distinctive features to reach or find food. Make sure it is labelled with all the information you want to share.
Have a great weekend,
Esse
Dear Parents
We began our week meeting Mr Collinson from Swaziland who explained more about our school charity SKRuM and what it is like to live in this small African country. He has asked if we are able to bring in any unwanted sports kit for Swazi children to wear when they do sport.
Our pupils eat very well at school thanks to Thomas Frank our caterers. They spent some time with the pupils this week in a nutrition session aimed at encouraging the pupils to make careful choices at meal times.
In Maths we have practised using partitioning or chunking of numbers (473 = 400+70+3) to help us subtract and add using place value.
In English we have been looking at story planning. We enjoyed some class role play as small groups used a range of characters and settings to make up their own short stories to share with the class.
In IPC we have looked at different ways of sorting animals into groups. Following this we used classification keys to sort dinosaurs.
Weekend challenge
Palaeontologists believe that dinosaurs had bumpy-looking reptilian skin from the fossilised skin impressions found. Can you explore how you might replicate this texture and pattern using printing, rubbing or other techniques?
We hope to see as many of you as possible at Bonfire night tonight, enjoy the weekend.
Regards Esse
Dear Parents
There was great excitement on Monday morning as Year 3 took part in a fantastic Judo session in Wortham Hall. Many volunteered to be 'thrown' on the mat by Eva our instructor! I think lots of your children will have asked about the new Judo club starting at school.
In English we have focused on comprehension skills using texts on fossils to link in with IPC. They have thought hard about their sentence structure and punctuation.
In maths we have concentrated on finding different methods to halve and double even numbers up to 100. This has involved partitioning tens and ones to help with accuracy.
IPC, after half term, will be more science based with investigations into classifying dinosaurs, finding out about what they ate and adaptation.
Holiday challenge:
Dinosaurs were all shapes and sizes - can you think of some ways that we could sort them into groups? Can you explain your choice of groups?
Enjoy a restful half term,
Esse
Dear Parents
Year 3 have had a busy week; learning how to play the violin in music and team building skills in Shackleton being particular highlights. They have also enjoyed the arrival of some new toys for the Lower Prep including bouncy hoppers, noughts and crosses and giant connect four.
In English we have focused on instruction writing and using the imperative verb and time conjunctions with their chosen 'How to' activity.
In maths we have used Venn diagrams and Carroll diagrams to sort 2D and 3D shapes. There has been much handling and building of shapes with the construction equipment.
In IPC we have looked at the many dinosaur extinction theories and pupils are beginning to record these as cartoons.
Weekend challenge:
We know that dinosaurs couldn't swim - yet we have found fossils of dinosaurs on all the continents (i.e. North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Antarctica and Australasia.) How is this possible?
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse
Dear Parents
Year 3 had the most idyllic day at Lyme Regis for IPC on Monday learning all about fossils and the life of Mary Anning. I think many of you will find yourselves being persuaded to go back at half term with a hammer and some goggles!
In English this week we have looked at instruction writing and began with instructional drawing from Tony Ross the illustrator for Horrid Henry books.
In maths we have looked at symmetry using mirrors to check our lines of symmetry and 2D shape.
Weekend challenge: Pupils can write interesting facts about Mary Anning who first discovered fossils at Lyme Regis.
A reminder to those who are new to Goose Fair, Year 3 will be able to sign out form the Year 3 classroom as usual from 4pm if you wish to take them down to see the fair.
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse
Dear Parents
What a fantastic finale to the week with our trip to see the Awful Egyptians at the Northcott Theatre. I'm sure you'll hear lots about it over the weekend.
In English this week we have looked at a book called I'll take you to Mrs Cole by Nigel Gray. We have considered the characters feelings and described the story setting.
In Maths we have looked at greater than and less than signs using 3-digit numbers. We have also been adding and subtracting pairs of 2-digit numbers.
This week Mr Davidson introduced Times Tables Rock Stars to the pupils. There will be information sent home to you as the pupils can practise the set table of the week on the computer at home. We will issue pupils with logins and passwords which will be kept in their Reading Record book.
In IPC the pupils picked either the Jurassic, Triassic or Cretaceous period to study.
Weekend challenge:
Can you make a poster about your favourite parts or characters in the Awful Egyptians play at the Theatre?
Long may the sunshine last,
Esse
Dear Parents,
A blustery week began with our whole school Foundation photo at the College which went very well.
In English this week we have retold the story of the Enormous Crocodile and enjoyed sharing our favourite sentences with the class.
Place value and 1-9 number bonds were the focus in maths helping us add and subtract from 2 digit numbers. We began our times tables challenges with sums written as missing numbers and division for example 120 divided by 10 or 8 x ? = 16.
In our IPC work we have used the idea of 24 hours in a day to realise how long dinosaurs lived on Earth (from one minute past midnight to 5pm) compared to the one and a half minutes that humans have been on Earth. We wrote this out on a very long strip of paper to create out timeline.
Weekend challenge: Can you find out what a paleontologist does? Who was Richard Owen?
Friday 14th September 2018
Dear Parents
What an exciting start back to school! Year 3 have all settled quickly and are well underway with all their new classes.
We have enjoyed reading the Enormous Crocodile in English as it is Roald Dahl week. Pupils are creating their own storyboard to retell this well loved story. They have had their first set of spellings which are in the yellow booklet in their bags. They will have a test on these words next Thursday.
In Maths, we have been reminding ourselves about number bonds to 10 and 100 using multiples of 5. They have enjoyed using their first exercise books to write the questions down in!
In IPC they are looking at 'Footprints from the Past' and have already been detectives making excavations around school.
Weekend challenge
Choose a dinosaur that interests you. Draw and colour a picture of it adding as many facts as you can find to describe it.
This week they enjoyed Shackleton down by the river learning all about trust and communication. They worked together on small group challenges with great results. I put a note in their homework diaries asking that they wear old home clothes, a waterproof and wellies for this session on Mondays.
Please can your children have their blazers in school for the Foundation photo on Monday 17th September. Boys will need to wear white shirts and ties.
Best wishes
Esse
Friday 29th June
Dear Parents
All your children greatly impressed Mrs Davis, a Prep school Governor, this week with their presentation on Land, Sea and Sky. The three groups worked collaboratively to create a sketch packed with information and drama! They demonstrated just how much they had learnt this term .
Weekend challenge
We will be preparing a Rainforest debate for the end of term if your child would like to research some different points of view regarding the cutting down of rainforests.
Keep enjoying the fair weather
Year 3 Tutors
Friday 16th June
What a wonderful trip we had to the Minack Theatre on Tuesday. It was a long journey to Porthcurno but it was well worth it when we got there and the children were fantastically behaved. Hopefully you'll have seen the photos on the newsletter but if you were unable to see them, let us know and we'll post them on the blog.
In IPC this week we've been looking at animal adaptations, and focused our study on the range of adaptations that bats and snakes have gone through. Our child-led discussion moved onto how humans have evolved too. We were very impressed with their knowledge and how their ability to listen to a different point of view. Next week we will be investigating different types of rocks and pebbles and thinking about how they were formed.
Weekend Challenge
Can you find a rock/pebble from your garden or weekend walk and try to identify what type of rock it is? You can follow the link on the picture to help with your identification.
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Dear Parents
The pupils have had a great first week back and it has been lovely to hear all about their half term adventures.
We have been focusing on adaptation of birds this week in IPC. They have enjoyed using the IT room to research specific birds, find out about their features and decide how they might have adapted to their particular environment.
This was brought to life by our experiments on 'beak' adaptations using tongs, tweezers and pliers to eat marshmallows on string, rice buried in logs and gummy worms hiding in bowls of soil!
We are all looking forward to our trip to the Minack Theatre on Tuesday to see Dr Doolittle. Pupils are asked to come in wearing home clothes suitable for the weather that day. They should also have a backpack with a water bottle, waterproof coat, sunhat, sun lotion and small towel in. No spending money is needed.
Weekend Challenge:
Today is World Ocean Day. Click on the link to find out more about our beautiful oceans and the sea creatures that inhabit them.
Enjoy a dry weekend and the recovery from Sports day! Please remember that children will need to have their swimming kits with them as of next week.
Kind regards
Year 3 Tutors
Friday 25th May
Dear Parents,
The pupils have had a great week enjoying the good weather and making field study sketches of plants and views from the shade of the trees on sunny slopes.We had some interesting presentations of bird comparisons from around the world which inspired some time in the IT room to research more about bird migration. They have drawn some amazing birds and have been learning about their anatomy.
As our topic Land, Sea and Sky covers so much, we would really like the pupils to send the class a postcard this half term with a picture or interesting fact that links in to IPC.
Enjoy the half term and have a relaxing break.
Regards Esse, Tamsen and Laura
Friday 18th May
On Wednesday we went to visit the Burrator Arboretum with South West Lakes. The children explored a variety of habitats and identified minibeasts from their pond dipping challenge. The day was finished off with an exciting trail around the arboretum where they had to answer questions about local organisms.
Weekend Challenge
Compare one bird from our local area with one from a different habitat from around the world.
Friday 11th May
What a week! The excitement of the dress rehearsal followed by their fantastic performance last night. They have all worked so hard to learn their parts and act on stage. Well done everyone.
In IPC we have been investigating animals that live in water. We discussed freshwater and seawater habitats as well as looking at marine life in coral reefs. We then had a go at creating our own classification charts, you may want to revisit this with your child via the link below.
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| Classification |
Next Wednesday morning we are visiting the Burrator Arboretum as part of our work in IPC on food chains and habitats. Please could we have all permission responses by next Tuesday.
Thank you for all your support with the play and enjoy the weekend.
IPC Weekend Challenge
Can you answer the following question: why is the sea salty?
Friday 4th May
Whist the play has taken precedence this week the pupils have also been learning how to gather data and draw bar charts in Maths. They have made some observational drawings of plants living in or near the lake at Heron’s Gate for IPC and they have been thinking about the importance of illustrations in books to encourage questioning the story in English.
Enjoy the good weather over the Bank Holiday weekend and we look forward to seeing you next Tuesday.
IPC Weekend Challenge
Can you investigate the life cycle of a fish. Why do they lay so many eggs? Maybe you could think about what effect rising sea temperatures might have to the fish living in the rivers and oceans. You may want to have a look on the following websites:
Friday 27th April
In IPC this week we have been talking about how every species on earth is uniquely adapted to its own special way of life. We've studied in detail how plants are essential to all life on Earth. In the lab, the children have dissected a daffodil and studied each section. Perhaps you could ask your child about this, they may even remember some of the parts of the flower?
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| Parts of a flower |
In Maths the children have been doing addition and subtraction using money. They also enjoyed learning about 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 turns and degrees by playing a game outside where they had to give commands in order to turn the other children clockwise or anti-clockwise.
Weekend Challenge In preparation for the Year 3 production of Wind in the Willows, we would like to ask the children to design a front cover for the programme. We will ask Mr Floyd to choose the winning design(s). Please can all designs be drawn on A4 paper in portrait layout.
Please can all children bring in their costumes by next week and keep learning those lines!
Friday 20th April
Welcome back to the summer term, we hope you had a restful Easter break. As always, please feel free to pop into class if you have any questions or queries you'd like to speak to one of us about.
Year 3 started the new term and their new IPC topic with a trip to the National Marine Aquarium on Tuesday. We found out about the different plants and animals that live in or near the ocean and discovered the different types of habitats. Back in class, we've been finding out what we already know about this topic and anything we'd like to discover. We've also written a recount of our day out.
Year 3 started the new term and their new IPC topic with a trip to the National Marine Aquarium on Tuesday. We found out about the different plants and animals that live in or near the ocean and discovered the different types of habitats. Back in class, we've been finding out what we already know about this topic and anything we'd like to discover. We've also written a recount of our day out.
We're hoping to watch a film version of Wind in the Willows at the end of the week as well as starting rehearsals for our own play! Please keep a lookout in the organisers for information about costumes.
Year 3 welcome two new students to our classes, it's lovely to have Elizabeth and Tilly join us.
Weekend Challenge
Can you find the difference between dry-land plants and water plants? Are all water plants the same?
Continue to learn your words for the play.
Can you find the difference between dry-land plants and water plants? Are all water plants the same?
Continue to learn your words for the play.
Friday 23rd March
We've now come to the end of our 'Temples, Tombs and Treasures' module, we've had great fun finding out about the Ancient Egyptian way of life. After Easter we will begin a new unit, 'Land, Sea and Sky' which will focus on habitats. For the Entry Point, we will visit the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth on the first day back of term (a separate letter has gone out regarding this, please can we have all replies returned as soon as possible).
Holiday Challenge
The main focus over the Easter holidays should be for your child to learn their lines for the play 'Wind in the Willows'. They will be coming home with the script today.
In Maths, keep up with the times tables and, if you're lucky enough to get an Easter egg, can you explore what Maths you can get out of one egg??
If they would like to research for the new IPC unit, then perhaps your child could have a a think about the following:
- food chains in different world habitats
- the life cycle of a particular plant or animal
- the environmental changes that are threatening our planet and ways we help to protect it
Have a lovely Easter and we'll see you back in class on Tuesday 17th April.
Friday 15th March
In IPC this week we have put ourselves in Howard Carter's shoes and re-lived the moment he discovered and peered in to the chamber holding Tutankhamen's tomb. In addition to this, we have learnt about the ancient Sumarian people and now realise how amazing they were understanding the world around them so well.
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| Ancient Sumer, Mesopotamia |
In English we have been learning about dialogue; writing parts of speech and using the past tense by looking at Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox.
In Maths we looked at scaling up and scaling down 2D shapes as well as using our times tables to help us calculate division sums.
Weekend Challenge
We have discovered that with out the ideas of the Sumarians, the world today might have been a very different place. Can you try and find out about the inventions they made and how we still use them today?
Friday 9th March
In IPC we’ve really enjoyed finding out about some of the gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt this week. We enjoyed finding out that local deities could become popular in a particular area and new gods or goddess were often introduced. For this reason, there were hundreds of them and Ancient Egyptians became very tolerant about people believing in different religions and deities.
We thought it would be fun to create a
game with our favourite gods or goddesses so the children have enjoyed
playing ‘Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses Top Trumps’.
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| Top Trumps |
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| Class Working Display |
In English we’ve been looking at the
formal language that is used for report writing and revisiting clauses and
conjunctions. In Maths we’ve been working out multiplication using the grid
method. Lots of us found this challenging, maybe you could ask your child what
the grid method is?
n IPC this week we have been finding out about the Rosetta Stone and decoding using the hieroglyphic alphabet. The children had mixed views on whether the Rosetta Stone belonged in the British Museum and enjoyed finding out why it was written using three different scripts. We had fun writing messages to each other using hieroglyphics but found some of the symbols confusing.
In Maths we have been looking at division and using our multiplication facts to help us.
Weekend Challenge
You can find out about the Rosetta Stone and other facts about Ancient Egypt on the British Museum's website: British Museum
Next week we will be finding out about the gods and goddesses that Ancient Egyptians believed in. Can you have a think about why they had so many? The British Museum's website has some good information.
Friday 9th February
We have enjoyed the start of our new IPC topic in Year 3 this week. Our trip to the museum on Tuesday made an excellent Entry Point and it was great to see the children full of enthusiasm to find out more about Ancient Egypt. You'll be able to read more about our trip on the School Newsletter on Friday.
In Maths, we've been adding and subtracting pairs of 2 and 3 digit numbers. We use number bonds to help as well as looking at how to separate the tens and ones. We'll be doing lots of work on multiplication and division next term so please do keep practising those times tables. As a guide, in Year 3 we look at multiples of 2, 5, 10 followed by 3, 4, 8.
Half Term Suggestions
Learning opportunities this half term include:
- E-Safety (following Tuesday's 'Safer Internet Day'). Useful websites for adults and children: Childnet and Thinkuknow
- Enter a story on the BBC Radio 2 '500 Words' 500 Words
- Shrove Tuesday - aside from the discussion about why it's important, if you are to make pancakes then maybe you could ask your child to measure the ingredients for you! Don't forget to talk about the units involved.
- Please also do practise reading poems for the Poetry Recital. Ideally, children will be able to recite them by the time they come back.
Have a lovely half term.
Friday 2nd February
Not only have the children been practising reading their weather poems for the Poetry Recital Competition, we've also been studying performance poetry and writing our own raps this week. These have created quite a buzz and Mrs Buckett, Mrs Armstrong and myself think we could have spotted a few potential rappers in our midst!
In Maths, we've finished measurement however it would be really helpful for you to involve your child when ever a practical measuring-opportunity arises at home and perhaps discuss the units that we use for measuring length, mass, volume and temperature. This really will help secure their learning. In class, we've now moved onto Place Value (we can never have enough place value!).
IPC
As you may have noticed, the school has recently been placing a lot of emphasis on cutting back on its use of plastic. As part of our IPC topic Material World, this has also been a hot topic for us in class. We've been exploring alternative materials that are produced around the world, looking at where these materials can be sourced and whether they are renewable or non-renewable. Finally, we encouraged the children to think about creative ways they could reuse a plastic drinks bottle.
Weekend Challenge
A plea from Mrs Tribe: can children please bring in a shoe box and some buttons or jewels to start making an Egyptian sarcophagus next week (there's a request we don't often make)?
Next week we will be starting a new IPC unit and over the next few weeks we will be following a unit of work on a theme that explores ancient civilisations. We will begin our 'Tombs, Temples and Treasures' unit by visiting Exeter Museum and explore their Egyptian artefacts. Perhaps in preparation for this, children could start thinking about what they already know about ancient Egypt and whether they have any specific questions they would like to ask the tour guide at the museum?
Friday 26th January
The Year 3 children braved the rain on Tuesday and we enjoyed a day out at Wheal Martyn in Cornwall. You can find out a bit more of our day on the Mount Kelly Newsletter this week but we discovered a lot about how people lived in the past as well as what china clay is used for. It gave us a great insight into how a material can be extracted from the ground and turned into so many uses. A perfect field trip for our IPC topic this term.
In class we've started to look at Performance Poetry in English and in Maths we've been measuring and estimating (including the school grounds!).
Weekend Challenge
We've been investigating magnetism in the lab this week. Can you find out how magnetic materials are used? You can look for examples at home or research in books and on the internet for a variety of everyday uses for magnets. e.g. fridge magnets, door magnets, screwdrivers, jewellery, compasses, magnetic toys, credit cards etc.
Please keep up with times tables practise when ever you can too.
Also, this weekend is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. You may want to do your own birdwatch at home? You can find out all about it on their website: Bird Watch
Friday 18th January 2018
Dear Parents
We've had a busy week in the Year 3 classrooms this week. As part of our IPC
lessons, the children have been exploring the different materials that are used on a
bike. We have also been experimenting with the different types of bag and predicting
which material is most effective at carrying the shopping! We overheard some
excellent scientific conclusions, well done everyone.
In Maths we've been learning about fractions and we all agreed that fractions are
much easier when you talk about them with reference to food (chocolate and pizza
especially!).
In English, the children are writing a diary about an animal of their choice. We've
particularly focused on adverbs and use of speech. Perhaps you could ask your child
to point out an adverb or how and when speech marks are used whilst
they're reading to you?
Don't forget, its our trip to Wheal Martyn next Tuesday. We'll need to leave school by
8.30am and, since it's been pretty cold recently, girls may want to wear thick tights or
leggings under their skirts to keep warm?
Weekend Challenge - Poetry Recital Competition
All Prep children are being asked to choose a poem for a Poetry Recital competition. Year 3 children have been asked to choose one with a weather theme. The poem has to be a minimum of 8 lines and ideally be one they like because they have to be happy with reading it out loud. Please could all children have chosen their poem by next Friday.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Have a lovely weekend.
Tamsen, Esse and Laura
Friday 12th January 2018
Dear Parents,
Year 3 have returned to school full of enthusiasm and they have had a fun filled first week back. They began with a scavenger hunt for materials to start off their IPC topic on Material World.
We were delighted to welcome Mr Semple (Jamie's dad) in on Thursday for a hands-on workshop extracting Tungsten from rock. Caring for the environment through planting trees and building bat houses, managing noise levels from blasting and careers in engineering were all discussed.
An email has been sent out to let you know Year 3 will be swimming on Fridays.
We would be grateful if you could send in your replies for the trip to Wheel Martyn.
The spelling pattern for next Tuesday's test is 'tion' and 'ation'. We are beginning a times table speed challenge on Wednesday starting with 2, 5 and 10. When a high score is made, pupils will move on to the next level.
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse, Tamsen and Laura
Friday 15th December 2017
Dear Parents,
Year 3 have had a fun packed week full of Christmas activities. We hope you all have a well deserved break and enjoy your Christmas holidays.
We look forward to seeing you refreshed and ready to begin our new topic 'Material World' on Tuesday 9th January 2018.
Friday 8th December
Dear Parents
Christmas cards and festive hats are arriving along with stories of mischievous elves! In IPC we have begun to look at the history of electricity and the light bulb. The weekend challenge is to see if pupils can find out who was involved in discovering electricity or the story of the light bulb. Click on the link below.
In Forest School pupils were inspired by the creations of artist Andy Goldsworthy as they collected a variety of coloured autumn leaves to make their own pieces of art. Perhaps you'd like to send in some photos of your holiday creations?
Please can all pupils have Shackleton home clothes and wellies in school on Monday as it's not ideal to be wearing their games kit in the woods for Forest school.
Spellings this week focus on wa and qua. Tables or divisions are written in their organisers.
All bags will go home next Wednesday. It would also be useful to have a small extra bag to put more delicate things in .
Hope you find some snow at the weekend.
Best wishes
Esse
Friday 1st December 2017
Dear Parents
Year 3 have had an exciting week beginning with Forest School activities with Mrs Forgan on Monday. They all wore safety gloves and were assisted while cutting wooden 'cookies' from a hazel branch with a saw. These were later decorated and are hanging in the classroom.
Please can all pupils have Shackleton messy clothes and wellies in school on Monday for out next adventure.
Our IPC topic on electricity has caused great excitement with many different materials being tested with the circuits they built.
Spellings this week focus on soft g, ge and dge. Tables or divisions are written in their organisers.
The Advent service and decorating of the Christmas tree in the Front Hall has marked the beginning of the festive season! We are looking forward to the next two weeks.
Enjoy your Advent calendars,
Esse
Friday 23rd November 2017
Playtimes filled with leaves have been the theme this week! The boys had fun using leaves to help build some wonderful dens and shelters.
We looked at folktales in English and had a go of re-telling ‘The Tiger Child’, a traditional Indian story. In Maths we have cut up lots of shapes to find lines of symmetry and create 3D shapes to help us learn about their properties.
We have been talking about inspirational people from around the world and have pictures and writing about some in the classroom. As a challenge, can your child find any other sporting, academic or entrepreneurial people they would like to tell us about?
Spellings next week are words with ed or ing endings. Times tables or divisions will be written in their organisers.
Friday 17th November 2017
Your children have excelled today as they performed their Exit point for Chocolate to Year 2, Miss Pole and Mrs Davis one of our Prep School Governor. Facts, quizzes, miming 'bean to bar' and acting out the story of chocolate were all on the menu as the younger pupils watched and listened. We were all spoilt with drinks of hot chocolate from the kitchen and Chocolate cakes topped with Fair Trade golden stars from Mrs Ball.
Our next IPC topic is called Bright Sparks. Do ask your children how they began the topic in the lab today!
In DT Mr Briggs has asked that pupils bring in ingredients for their lesson next week to add to their chocolate bars. Please look in their organisers to find out more.
Spellings next week are comparative words with y, er and est endings. Times tables or divisions will be written in their organisers.
Have a great weekend
Esse
Friday 10th November 2017
Dear Parents,
Year 3 have worked tremendously hard this week. It's been a pleasure to see how much they have enjoyed coming back to school and being with their friends.
In RS we have talked about Remembrance day and the history behind it. They made poppies and thought about those first flowers growing after the war.
In English before half term we were excited to learn that the book we were studying was written by Grace Stirling's Grandad. We were even more thrilled when he replied to our letters from Australia!
Spellings for next Tuesday teach them about making the plural of nouns.
Times tables or division facts are written in their organisers for next Wednesday.
Thank you so much for all the fantastic research, products and photos that have come in all about Fair Trade for IPC. This has given us all lots to think about when we buy our food and drinks.
Have a lovely weekend
Esse
Friday 13th October 2017
Year 3 have had a busy week. They enjoyed sharing their freedom related poems around the campfire at Rowden and then returning the stones to the River Tavy.
Information for W/C 16.10.17
Spellings this week follow the pattern el, le, al and il endings
Times tables are written in the pupils organisers.
Pupils are continuing to read well and are collecting points through their book quizzes. Keep up the good work!
The Year 3 Parent's Consultation will be held in the classroom after school in the first week back after half term. Information regarding signing up for a particular time and day will follow shortly.
IPC
In IPC they have completed a timeline of the history of chocolate. Some pupils have even visited chocolate factories, which we discussed as we talked about chocolate bar production.
Esse Buckett
Friday 6th October 2017
Your children were a credit to the school during our trip to the Eden Project last Friday.
As they explored the Mediterranean Biome they made excellent sketches of the wide variety of plants and made many interesting observations.
The Chocology workshop challenged them to find out about the history of chocolate and how it is produced today through role play and tasks in the Tropical biome.
IPC Challenge
If pupils would like to find out more about the types of plants from the rainforest which have medicinal properties, it would be very interesting.
Information for W/C 9.10.17
This weeks spellings follow the pattern silent letters b and k and are for next Tuesday. Times tables will be for next Wednesday and information will be in their organiser.
Thank you to the many who brought in water bottles with donations to the Shelter Box appeal. We look forward to finding out how much has been raised.
Friday 29th September 2017
What an exciting week filled with poetry. Year 3 have enjoyed some Dahlicious wordplay to help them create a chocolate bar poem.
What an exciting week filled with poetry. Year 3 have enjoyed some Dahlicious wordplay to help them create a chocolate bar poem.
They have also walked along the riverbank collecting stones to write poems on with a theme of Freedom for National Poetry Week.
We have been excited all week waiting for our trip to Eden. There has been lots of discussion about how chocolate is made and whether we'll get to eat a cocoa bean!
Information for W/C 2.10.17
This weeks spellings follow the pattern soft c and are for next Tuesday. This weeks times tables are either mixed x2 or times and divide for x2 x5 and x10 or mixed x2 x5 and x10.
This will be for next Wednesday and information will be in their organiser.
Many pupils have taken a book quiz now. They are encouraged to read the book carefully so they can answer the questions as well as possible.
Friday 22nd September 2017
Year 3 have settled well into their new routine of being in the prep and are full of confidence as they move from class to class.
Next Friday is our trip to the Eden Project so please return your permissions to myself or the office.
Information for W/C 25.9.17
Each week pupils will receive spellings and times tables to learn for a test the following week. This week's spellings follow the pattern 'all' and 'al' and are for next Tuesday. This week's times tables are x5. Pupils can be tested on them in order or by answering my out of order questions. This will be for next Wednesday.
They have taken their Star Reader test and are using reading books from the library. After they have finished a book they will answer some quiz questions about the book and earn points.
IPC Challenge
We will start to explore the history of chocolate if your children would like to find out some facts to share with the class.
Year 3 Our Delicious Start to Term!
Celebrating Roald Dahl Day!
All of the pupils in Year 3 have returned to school bubbling with excitement and full of fascinating facts to share with the class. We began our IPC topic on Chocolate by becoming 'Senses Scientists' in the lab and carried out tests on chocolate and other foods. In English we will start by celebrating the work of Roald Dahl and read from Charlie and the Chocolate factory.
On 29th September we will be visiting the Eden Project to take part in a Chocology workshop. Why don't you click on the link below to learn more about where we're going.
The Eden Project
Information for W/C 18.9.17
Each week pupils will receive spellings and times tables to learn for a test the following week.
This weeks spellings follow the pattern sp and spr and are for next Tuesday.
This weeks times tables are x2 and x10. Pupils can be tested on them in order or by answering my out of order questions, this will be for next Wednesday.
They will take their Star Reader test soon to enable them to use books from the library. Until then, keep reading books from the classroom or home.
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| Class Working Display |
Weekend Challenge
Next week, we’ll be revisiting the
process of mummification but looking at the importance of the treasures that
Ancient Egyptians were buried with. We'll be examining how
we can find out so much about their lives from the artefacts that they
left behind. We’ll also be finding out about the archaeologist Howard Carter.
Maybe children could research why he was famous and why his discovery was one
of the greatest finds in history?
Friday 2nd March
n IPC this week we have been finding out about the Rosetta Stone and decoding using the hieroglyphic alphabet. The children had mixed views on whether the Rosetta Stone belonged in the British Museum and enjoyed finding out why it was written using three different scripts. We had fun writing messages to each other using hieroglyphics but found some of the symbols confusing.
In Maths we have been looking at division and using our multiplication facts to help us.
Weekend Challenge
You can find out about the Rosetta Stone and other facts about Ancient Egypt on the British Museum's website: British Museum
Next week we will be finding out about the gods and goddesses that Ancient Egyptians believed in. Can you have a think about why they had so many? The British Museum's website has some good information.
Friday 23rd February
We've had a lovely week in class after a restful half term. It sounds like the children had a fun week out of school and it was great to hear about some of their pancake making!
This week in class we've particularly enjoyed finding out more about the Ancient Egyptian way-of-life in our IPC topic 'Temples, Tombs and Treasures'. We haven't quite left-behind the gore of mummification, however we have focused more on they daily life of an Egyptian in around 2000BCE, and the importance of the river Nile. We've talked about the sort of job we would have liked if we had been an Ancient Egyptian and what our houses would have looked like (and realised they didn't all live in pyramids!).
Linked to our topic, Year 3 will be holding an assembly on Friday 9th March at 8.40am (in the Wortham Hall) and parents are welcome to attend. Children have been given their parts and whilst it would be lovely if they could learn their lines, it's no problem for them to read from their script. We know how difficult it can be to organise costumes, so we've tried to keep it simple by encouraging the children to wear white tops and shorts or white sheets.
On Friday 2nd March Anara's family are raising money for research into NF1 which is a genetic condition affecting nerves in the body. Her cousin, Harley, was diagnosed with this Neuro-genetic condition when he was 6 months old. Her family are organising a cake sale for after school on Friday 2nd March, it would be much appreciated if pupils could bring in some money to buy cakes with that day.
Weekend Challenge
Next week, Year 3 will be reading their poems to each other in class for the Poetry Recital Competition. The children will vote on their favourite readings and the top 3 children will be selected to be put through to the final (at the end of term). It would be great if all children have learnt their poem by next week.
Next Thursday 1st is World Book Day. The children have been encouraged to dress up as a character from a book, perhaps they could find a character from a more unusual book/author? They have also been asked to prepare a short extract from the book to share with their class on the day.
Friday 9th February
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| RAM Museum |
In Maths, we've been adding and subtracting pairs of 2 and 3 digit numbers. We use number bonds to help as well as looking at how to separate the tens and ones. We'll be doing lots of work on multiplication and division next term so please do keep practising those times tables. As a guide, in Year 3 we look at multiples of 2, 5, 10 followed by 3, 4, 8.
Half Term Suggestions
Learning opportunities this half term include:
- E-Safety (following Tuesday's 'Safer Internet Day'). Useful websites for adults and children: Childnet and Thinkuknow
- Enter a story on the BBC Radio 2 '500 Words' 500 Words
- Shrove Tuesday - aside from the discussion about why it's important, if you are to make pancakes then maybe you could ask your child to measure the ingredients for you! Don't forget to talk about the units involved.
- Please also do practise reading poems for the Poetry Recital. Ideally, children will be able to recite them by the time they come back.
Have a lovely half term.
Friday 2nd February
Not only have the children been practising reading their weather poems for the Poetry Recital Competition, we've also been studying performance poetry and writing our own raps this week. These have created quite a buzz and Mrs Buckett, Mrs Armstrong and myself think we could have spotted a few potential rappers in our midst!
In Maths, we've finished measurement however it would be really helpful for you to involve your child when ever a practical measuring-opportunity arises at home and perhaps discuss the units that we use for measuring length, mass, volume and temperature. This really will help secure their learning. In class, we've now moved onto Place Value (we can never have enough place value!).
IPC
As you may have noticed, the school has recently been placing a lot of emphasis on cutting back on its use of plastic. As part of our IPC topic Material World, this has also been a hot topic for us in class. We've been exploring alternative materials that are produced around the world, looking at where these materials can be sourced and whether they are renewable or non-renewable. Finally, we encouraged the children to think about creative ways they could reuse a plastic drinks bottle.
Weekend Challenge
A plea from Mrs Tribe: can children please bring in a shoe box and some buttons or jewels to start making an Egyptian sarcophagus next week (there's a request we don't often make)?
Next week we will be starting a new IPC unit and over the next few weeks we will be following a unit of work on a theme that explores ancient civilisations. We will begin our 'Tombs, Temples and Treasures' unit by visiting Exeter Museum and explore their Egyptian artefacts. Perhaps in preparation for this, children could start thinking about what they already know about ancient Egypt and whether they have any specific questions they would like to ask the tour guide at the museum?
Friday 26th January
The Year 3 children braved the rain on Tuesday and we enjoyed a day out at Wheal Martyn in Cornwall. You can find out a bit more of our day on the Mount Kelly Newsletter this week but we discovered a lot about how people lived in the past as well as what china clay is used for. It gave us a great insight into how a material can be extracted from the ground and turned into so many uses. A perfect field trip for our IPC topic this term.
In class we've started to look at Performance Poetry in English and in Maths we've been measuring and estimating (including the school grounds!).
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| Measuring the grounds |
We've been investigating magnetism in the lab this week. Can you find out how magnetic materials are used? You can look for examples at home or research in books and on the internet for a variety of everyday uses for magnets. e.g. fridge magnets, door magnets, screwdrivers, jewellery, compasses, magnetic toys, credit cards etc.
Please keep up with times tables practise when ever you can too.
Also, this weekend is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. You may want to do your own birdwatch at home? You can find out all about it on their website: Bird Watch
Friday 18th January 2018
Dear Parents
We've had a busy week in the Year 3 classrooms this week. As part of our IPC
lessons, the children have been exploring the different materials that are used on a
bike. We have also been experimenting with the different types of bag and predicting
which material is most effective at carrying the shopping! We overheard some
excellent scientific conclusions, well done everyone.
In Maths we've been learning about fractions and we all agreed that fractions are
much easier when you talk about them with reference to food (chocolate and pizza
especially!).
particularly focused on adverbs and use of speech. Perhaps you could ask your child
to point out an adverb or how and when speech marks are used whilst
they're reading to you?
Don't forget, its our trip to Wheal Martyn next Tuesday. We'll need to leave school by
8.30am and, since it's been pretty cold recently, girls may want to wear thick tights or
leggings under their skirts to keep warm?
Weekend Challenge - Poetry Recital Competition
All Prep children are being asked to choose a poem for a Poetry Recital competition. Year 3 children have been asked to choose one with a weather theme. The poem has to be a minimum of 8 lines and ideally be one they like because they have to be happy with reading it out loud. Please could all children have chosen their poem by next Friday.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Have a lovely weekend.
Tamsen, Esse and Laura
Friday 12th January 2018
Dear Parents,
Year 3 have returned to school full of enthusiasm and they have had a fun filled first week back. They began with a scavenger hunt for materials to start off their IPC topic on Material World.
We were delighted to welcome Mr Semple (Jamie's dad) in on Thursday for a hands-on workshop extracting Tungsten from rock. Caring for the environment through planting trees and building bat houses, managing noise levels from blasting and careers in engineering were all discussed.
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| A powerful magnet separating iron and tungsten. |
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| Thank you Mr Semple |
We would be grateful if you could send in your replies for the trip to Wheel Martyn.
The spelling pattern for next Tuesday's test is 'tion' and 'ation'. We are beginning a times table speed challenge on Wednesday starting with 2, 5 and 10. When a high score is made, pupils will move on to the next level.
Enjoy the weekend,
Esse, Tamsen and Laura
Friday 15th December 2017
Dear Parents,
Year 3 have had a fun packed week full of Christmas activities. We hope you all have a well deserved break and enjoy your Christmas holidays.
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| Merry Christmas from Year 3 |
Have a wonderful holiday.
Best wishes,
Esse
Esse
Friday 8th December
Dear Parents
Christmas cards and festive hats are arriving along with stories of mischievous elves! In IPC we have begun to look at the history of electricity and the light bulb. The weekend challenge is to see if pupils can find out who was involved in discovering electricity or the story of the light bulb. Click on the link below.
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| The History of Electricity |
Please can all pupils have Shackleton home clothes and wellies in school on Monday as it's not ideal to be wearing their games kit in the woods for Forest school.
Spellings this week focus on wa and qua. Tables or divisions are written in their organisers.
All bags will go home next Wednesday. It would also be useful to have a small extra bag to put more delicate things in .
Hope you find some snow at the weekend.
Best wishes
Esse
Friday 1st December 2017
Dear Parents
Year 3 have had an exciting week beginning with Forest School activities with Mrs Forgan on Monday. They all wore safety gloves and were assisted while cutting wooden 'cookies' from a hazel branch with a saw. These were later decorated and are hanging in the classroom.
Please can all pupils have Shackleton messy clothes and wellies in school on Monday for out next adventure.
Our IPC topic on electricity has caused great excitement with many different materials being tested with the circuits they built.
Spellings this week focus on soft g, ge and dge. Tables or divisions are written in their organisers.
The Advent service and decorating of the Christmas tree in the Front Hall has marked the beginning of the festive season! We are looking forward to the next two weeks.
Enjoy your Advent calendars,
Esse
Friday 23rd November 2017
Playtimes filled with leaves have been the theme this week! The boys had fun using leaves to help build some wonderful dens and shelters.
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| Jacob and Austin's Shelter |
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| Barney and Oliver's Den |
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| Well done boys! |
We have been talking about inspirational people from around the world and have pictures and writing about some in the classroom. As a challenge, can your child find any other sporting, academic or entrepreneurial people they would like to tell us about?
Spellings next week are words with ed or ing endings. Times tables or divisions will be written in their organisers.
Our next IPC topic is called Bright Sparks. Do ask your children how they began the topic in the lab today!
In DT Mr Briggs has asked that pupils bring in ingredients for their lesson next week to add to their chocolate bars. Please look in their organisers to find out more.
Spellings next week are comparative words with y, er and est endings. Times tables or divisions will be written in their organisers.
Have a great weekend
Esse
Friday 10th November 2017
Dear Parents,
Year 3 have worked tremendously hard this week. It's been a pleasure to see how much they have enjoyed coming back to school and being with their friends.
In RS we have talked about Remembrance day and the history behind it. They made poppies and thought about those first flowers growing after the war.
In English before half term we were excited to learn that the book we were studying was written by Grace Stirling's Grandad. We were even more thrilled when he replied to our letters from Australia!
Spellings for next Tuesday teach them about making the plural of nouns.
Times tables or division facts are written in their organisers for next Wednesday.
Thank you so much for all the fantastic research, products and photos that have come in all about Fair Trade for IPC. This has given us all lots to think about when we buy our food and drinks.
Have a lovely weekend
Esse
Friday 13th October 2017
Year 3 have had a busy week. They enjoyed sharing their freedom related poems around the campfire at Rowden and then returning the stones to the River Tavy.
Information for W/C 16.10.17
Spellings this week follow the pattern el, le, al and il endings
Times tables are written in the pupils organisers.
Pupils are continuing to read well and are collecting points through their book quizzes. Keep up the good work!
The Year 3 Parent's Consultation will be held in the classroom after school in the first week back after half term. Information regarding signing up for a particular time and day will follow shortly.
IPC
In IPC they have completed a timeline of the history of chocolate. Some pupils have even visited chocolate factories, which we discussed as we talked about chocolate bar production.
A question for next week which pupils can think about is 'Does chocolate give you tooth decay?' Can they think of any ways we can gather evidence for this question? Next Thursday 19th October, Year 3 will use disclosing tablets for an enquiry into whether chocolate can cause tooth decay. Please can your child bring in a small bag with their toothbrush and toothpaste in to clean their teeth. If you would rather they didn't take part in this activity, please email me.
Fingers crossed for a sunny weekend!Esse Buckett
Friday 6th October 2017
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| Year 3 Eden Trip September 2017 |
As they explored the Mediterranean Biome they made excellent sketches of the wide variety of plants and made many interesting observations.
The Chocology workshop challenged them to find out about the history of chocolate and how it is produced today through role play and tasks in the Tropical biome.
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If pupils would like to find out more about the types of plants from the rainforest which have medicinal properties, it would be very interesting.
Information for W/C 9.10.17
This weeks spellings follow the pattern silent letters b and k and are for next Tuesday. Times tables will be for next Wednesday and information will be in their organiser.
Thank you to the many who brought in water bottles with donations to the Shelter Box appeal. We look forward to finding out how much has been raised.
Friday 29th September 2017
What an exciting week filled with poetry. Year 3 have enjoyed some Dahlicious wordplay to help them create a chocolate bar poem.
What an exciting week filled with poetry. Year 3 have enjoyed some Dahlicious wordplay to help them create a chocolate bar poem.
They have also walked along the riverbank collecting stones to write poems on with a theme of Freedom for National Poetry Week.
We have been excited all week waiting for our trip to Eden. There has been lots of discussion about how chocolate is made and whether we'll get to eat a cocoa bean!
Information for W/C 2.10.17
This weeks spellings follow the pattern soft c and are for next Tuesday. This weeks times tables are either mixed x2 or times and divide for x2 x5 and x10 or mixed x2 x5 and x10.
This will be for next Wednesday and information will be in their organiser.
Many pupils have taken a book quiz now. They are encouraged to read the book carefully so they can answer the questions as well as possible.
Friday 22nd September 2017
Year 3 have settled well into their new routine of being in the prep and are full of confidence as they move from class to class.
Next Friday is our trip to the Eden Project so please return your permissions to myself or the office.
Information for W/C 25.9.17
Each week pupils will receive spellings and times tables to learn for a test the following week. This week's spellings follow the pattern 'all' and 'al' and are for next Tuesday. This week's times tables are x5. Pupils can be tested on them in order or by answering my out of order questions. This will be for next Wednesday.
They have taken their Star Reader test and are using reading books from the library. After they have finished a book they will answer some quiz questions about the book and earn points.
IPC Challenge
We will start to explore the history of chocolate if your children would like to find out some facts to share with the class.
Year 3 Our Delicious Start to Term!
Celebrating Roald Dahl Day!
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| Year 3 exploring the weir in Shackleton |
All of the pupils in Year 3 have returned to school bubbling with excitement and full of fascinating facts to share with the class. We began our IPC topic on Chocolate by becoming 'Senses Scientists' in the lab and carried out tests on chocolate and other foods. In English we will start by celebrating the work of Roald Dahl and read from Charlie and the Chocolate factory.
On 29th September we will be visiting the Eden Project to take part in a Chocology workshop. Why don't you click on the link below to learn more about where we're going.
The Eden Project
Information for W/C 18.9.17
Each week pupils will receive spellings and times tables to learn for a test the following week.
This weeks spellings follow the pattern sp and spr and are for next Tuesday.
This weeks times tables are x2 and x10. Pupils can be tested on them in order or by answering my out of order questions, this will be for next Wednesday.
They will take their Star Reader test soon to enable them to use books from the library. Until then, keep reading books from the classroom or home.
