Year 3

Friday 26th April

It has been a fun and busy week in Year 3 and the children are thoroughly enjoying learning about pneumatic systems in our DT topic. They were given the challenge to lift a bag of Mrs Chapman's sweets using a pneumatic system. We followed the steps carefully and worked in different groups to see if it worked. Thankfully all five groups were successful which meant they got to eat the treat inside the bag! Phew! Do see the pictures below or on the school's instagram page. 

In English, we have been continuing with our understanding of poetry with the poem, I am a Roman Soldier. It has been a great poem to dissect and pull out grammar devices, such as, determiners, as well as key vocabulary to set the mood. The children have really progressed with their learning as it is a grown-up poem to look at. Well done, Class 3! We will be continuing with our performing of poetry by working on a poem ready to perform for you on Thursday 2nd May at the Maypole celebrations. Please can children learn their lines off by heart as homework this weekend. Poem is attached below. 

In Maths, We have been working on Time and really consolidating our understanding of the 24h clock. It has been a challenge and the reminder of AM/PM timings is key here. Do keep this reminder of am/pm in your language with your child at home. I have heard some children are getting an analogue watch for them to help practise. This is a SUPER idea and will really help the 'drip-drip' effect of understanding. You can buy some fun (and cheap!) ones online. 

Overall, the children are working so hard at school and this has been a delight to see. Thank you for all your support with the spellings and reading at home. Keep it up!

Homework

The usual Maths and English homework are on Atom learning. This homework is compulsory and shows up who has/hasn't done it. Please can you ensure your child does it each week - if there are any issues, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

A reminder for your child to practise their lines in the Maypole poem (Thursday 2nd May).  

Flute group - please remember flutes for Tuesday. 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs Ralph, Mrs Wetz and Mrs Chapman 

Friday 19th April 2024

Dear Year 3,

Welcome back to Term 5.

Star of the week: welcome to Year 3

We have several exciting projects this term including People and Places, which is a short art topic on the famous painter LS Lowry.  This afternoon we learnt about perspective while creating a Lowry inspired picture, using pastels.  Here is a selection of their drawings:

Our DT topic this term is Moving Mechanisms. This project teaches the children about pneumatic systems. The children had a fun afternoon yesterday designing, making and evaluating a ‘crocodile’, which could open and close its mouth.

Our main class topic this term is Emperors and Empires. The children will learn about the growth and decline of the Romans and will discover the absolute power of the Roman emperors and study the hierarchies of Roman society.  We will also be learning about the history of mosaics, before focusing on the colours, patterns and themes found in Roman mosaic. The children will learn techniques to help them design and make their own mosaic border tile.

It was lovely to see so many of you at our Year 3 Bushcraft parent information meeting yesterday.  Please see the email sent to you on Thursday for details on the presentation which contains information about the kit list, menu and activities. We will be in contact a bit closer to the time about logistics (drop off / pick up etc.)

Have a great weekend 

Mrs Wetz, Mrs Ralph and Mrs Chapman

Homework:

English homework on Atom Learning - to be completed by Thursday 25th April.

Thursday 28th March

WELL DONE TO ALL THE CHILDREN for their brilliant hard work this term!

It has been a rather busy week with all the Easter activities from Easter acrostic poems, to baking Easter nests and making boxes. Not forgetting lots of Easter service rehearsals in the mix too!

Thank you to all of those that came to the parent consultations, whether that was via zoom or in person. It was lovely to speak with you about your child(ren) and celebrate them. We hope you found the time helpful. 

Next term, we will be fortunate to have Beckie Chapman join the Year 3 team as part of her teacher training. She will be doing some of the teaching in class as well as in small groups - we can't wait for her to be with us.

Our topics for next term are:- 

Emperors and Empires (History focused)

Moving mechanisms (DT)

Mosaic (Art)

If you have expertise in any of these areas then please do let us know, we'd love to have your support.

Homework 

There will be no homework on Atom this holiday as we want the children to have a well deserved rest.

Please do keep up with the reading - ensuring the children read a range of books/ magazines etc (we will be in touch with a book/magazine list in due course). Also, please recap times tables - use the TTRS site to engage the children and help them progress in their learning and speed of times tables.

Huge thanks for all your support and help with your child or in class this term. They are a delightful bunch and we love teaching them all. 

Finally, have a cracking Easter! 

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Wetz   

Friday 22nd March 2024

Dear Year 3,

Year 3 have had a lovely week swimming every morning.  They all enjoyed the skills training and fun games at the end of each session.

Last week, during our science lesson on magnets we watched the following clip and discovered there is iron in many common breakfast cereals.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/science-ks2-what-are-magnets/zbjn3qt

 If you put cereal in a plastic sealable bag with some water and leave it for a while, you should be able to collect the iron using a magnet on the outside of the bag.  Do have a go at this simple investigation at home.

This week, we looked at how we can see magnetic fields using bar magnets and iron filings in sealed boxes. The children enjoyed drawing the patterns created.  They then explained how the iron fillings moved when opposite poles were touching and how this then changed when the similar poles were close together.   We also designed an investigation to work out which materials are magnetic.

The children have been working hard on perfecting their moves in our Easter dance, which is looking great! We are looking forward to seeing you all at our Easter service next week.

Homework:

Well done everyone who completed their homework on Atom last week.  A gentle reminder - could we ask that you make sure your child does this independently.  The algorithms are set to be at the right ability for your child. If you help them too much then the questions will become too hard and disrupt the algorithms. Many thanks for your understanding. 

Wishing you all a good weekend.

Mrs Wetz and Mrs Ralph

Friday 15th March

Well done Year 3 on another great week, school life continues to be busy and fun!

This week, we have moved on in our Maths from money to time. Please can you practise this at home as much as possible. Some children find the hour hand and minute hand confusing so if you have a big kitchen clock, do ask your child 'which hour are we in?' or 'How many minutes have gone past the hour?' The children have explored am/pm and their Atom homework this week is all on time. You can also do some time practice on this site: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/time/teaching-clock

In English, we have started to look at a new book, The King who banned the dark, which is very fitting with our Light topic. The children had to infer information from illustrations and will move onto exploring characters and their actions next week. The spellings this week are quite challenging ('que' makes a 'k' or 'g' sound) so please do practise them in sentences. Hopefully you should have the termly overview but the spellings are: vague, fatigue, unique, antique, mosque, technique, medicine, mention, minute, natural. Test on Monday as usual.

In other work, we have started looking at our DT topic - Moving Mechanisms. This is where we recap over levers and linkages before then exploring pneumatic systems and making one. It is unlikely that we will finish the topic this side of Easter. We have the Easter dance to rehearse as well as swimming next week so a few things that eat into our timetable.

On that note, the children have done brilliantly this week at picking up the Easter dance. It has been a delight to see them working so well together. If they want to practise at home (I know how keen they are!) then the song is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gklJ2XZwDHc

HOMEWORK:

Well done for supporting and completing the homework on Atom - both English and Maths. Could we ask that you make sure your child does this independently? The algorithms are set to be at the right ability for your child. If you help them too much then the questions will become too hard and disrupt the algorithms. Many thanks for your understanding. 

There are some photos from our week of learning below -time games were a success as you can see!

Have a super weekend, 

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Wetz 

Friday 8^th March 2024

Year 3 had another fun packed week in school!

The children all looked amazing in their costumes for World Book Day - well done everyone. There were witches and wizards, Darrell from Malory Towers, Isadora from the ballet, Matilda, The Midnight Gang, The Royal Rabbit of London, Angelina Ballerina, Fantastic Mr Fox and many more fabulous costumes.  Congratulations to our winners of the World Book Day jars.  Raphy created The House with Chicken Legs, Bella made The Tadpole’s Promise and Kitty used plasticine to create a fabulous sleeping dragon on top of her Impossible Creatures inspired jar.

Yesterday afternoon, as part of our World Book day activities, Year 3 joined the author Louie Stowell, creator of the ‘Loki: A Bad God’s Guide’ series on a virtual workshop. We heard all about the cunning trickster god Loki and his latest escapades, discovered fun facts about Norse mythology and listened to this award-winning author answer some questions about her bestselling series. Louie also shared her tips and tricks on creating comics and how to design our very own giant! The children brought their sketches home yesterday.

We have also had a busy week learning how to measure push and pull forces using different calibrated force meters, measuring the forces in Newtons (N). 

 We are starting a new topic in maths next week, learning about time. We will recap telling the time using 'a.m.' and 'p.m.', telling time to the minute, using analogue and digital time, and telling time by using both the minute and hour hands. We will then move on to learning to use the 24-hour clock. After this, we will be measuring and comparing time in seconds, minutes and hours, and finding start times and end times.

Homework:

Homework is now always online, via Atom Prime. Most children have been completing these in the time given. This week, there is Maths and English. Please can you make sure you let your child do this independently, as much as possible. The activities set are at the right level for your child. Any issues, then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Have a super weekend,

Mrs Wetz and Mrs Ralph

Friday 1st March

Week 2 and it has been another busy week - well done Year 3!

In our topic on Light and Shadows, we have explored reflective materials. The children used torches and a tube to see if the light was reflected off a material or if it was absorbed. They looked at fluorescent fabric, mirror card, mirrors, felt, dark coloured card and paper. Do take a look at the photos below. There are also some photos from last week which I didn’t manage to load onto the page (IT issues!) So please find some pictures from the carousel of activities of light investigation. The children have to explore how shadows were formed, what changed the size of a shadow and how some materials glow in the dark.

In Maths, we have continued on with our understanding of Maths. They have used addition of money to work out the cost of something and we have moved onto subtraction. Having a solid knowledge of column addition and subtraction is vital here. They have enjoyed some fun challenges where they had to find a certain amount e.g. £1.57 with the coins on their table. First table to do it got points for the team! Safe to say, it was a very competitive and noisy lesson!

In English, we have enjoyed exploring more of poetry and rhyme. The children had to find rhymes that matched those from the poem, My Shadow. We have also started to plan our own verse in the style of the poem. We hope to write these and perform these next week.

In both English and Maths, the children have been given targets to support them with the learning journey. These are stuck in their Eng/Maths books. We are trying to encourage the children to keep looking at them so they know what their next steps are. Please do talk to them about this at home too.

HOMEWORK

Homework is now always online, via Atom Prime. Most children have been completing these in the time gvien. There is both Maths and English. Please can you make sure you let your child do this independently as much as possible. The activities set are at the right level for your child. Any issues, then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Have a super weekend,

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Wetz 

Friday 23rd February 2023 

Dear Year 3, 

Welcome back to Term 4.  Hope you all had a lovely half-term break.

Year 3 enjoyed their visit from Tom (Dr Rock), an engineering geologist.  He talked to the children about the different types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic), hazards in the ground and why foundations are so important for buildings. Dr Rock brought two pebbles with him that were unearthed on a construction site in London. It turns out these pebbles were deposited on a beach that had not seen daylight for 50 million years. The children had prepared some fabulous questions such as: What is the hardest rock? How do you cut diamonds? Which is the rarest rock? They particularly enjoyed learning the Hawaiian names for different types of lava, specifically one called 'a'a' which is rough and spiky, and so named because that's the noise you make when you stand on it! Ow! 

We have a science theme to this term with two topics. The first, Forces and Magnets, in which we will learn what forces are and what they do. We will identify and explain contact and frictional forces, using force meters to measure the forces needed to carry out everyday tasks. We will learn about magnetism, explore bar magnets and find out about magnetic attraction, repulsion and magnetic fields. We will test the magnetic properties of different objects and learn about the magnetism of the Earth and how compasses to work.

We will identify light sources, in our second science topic is Light and Shadows and investigate materials to discover which are reflective and which are non-reflective. We will learn the importance of staying safe in the Sun and investigate sun creams. We will also learn about how shadows change shape when light sources move and whether transparent, translucent and opaque materials cast shadows.

A very busy term!

Have a good weekend.

Mrs Wetz and Mrs Ralph

Homework:

English:

English homework is set up on Atom Learning. The activities this week involve nouns and pronouns.  It is important that children understand the different word classes and can recognise and understand the part they play in a sentence. Please could the children complete the activities on nouns and pronouns, for next Thursday.  Log-in details are in the back of the red homework books.

Maths:-

Maths homework is on Atom Learning and is under 'Maths Week 2.' The focus of the activities is on multiplication and division - both mental and written methods. Please make sure the children complete this as much as possible independently. If they need help then do give it to them but try to let them get to the right answer. Well done to those of you who completed the maths over half term. Please do say if you have any issues and remember it needs completing by next Wednesday. Many thanks for your support. 

FRIDAY 9TH FEBRUARY

WELL DONE EVERYONE! You have made it to the end of term and can now enjoy a week off. 

It has been a busy week to finish but thank you to everyone for coming to our Open Classroom event on Tuesday afternoon. It was so lovely to see you and the children so enjoyed showing you all their work from the beginning of the year.

TOPIC:- We enjoyed looking at our 'mini project' Cook Well Eat Well where we explored what is needed to make up a balanced diet and the different food groups. The children then made cheese and plain scones to practise their cooking skills and also so you could enjoy it at the Open Classroom event. Judging by the empty plates, I think it is safe to say you did! The children also finished off their topic Rocks, Relics and Rumbles, which has been great fun. Next term, we have a few topics...

Mrs Ralph will be teaching Lights and Shadows and Make it Move

Mrs Wetz will be teaching Forces and Magnets and People and Places

If you have any expertise in any of these subjects then PLEASE do get in touch. 

ENGLISH:- the children have been finishing off their stories on a pebble and what it becomes. The children had to follow quite a big success criteria which they enjoyed ticking off. E.g. using full stops and capital letters, using paragraphs, using conjunctions etc. It gave the children some direction as they wrote. 

MATHS:- We have finished off our Volume chapter with some VERY hard word problems. We have been using a bar model to help us understand what the question is asking us to do; i.e. add, take away, multiply or divide. If you are unsure what the bar model is then do read about it here: https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-bar-model-method If you scroll down, there is a good video to watch as MNP explain it. 

HOMEWORK

We have set English and Maths homework for your child on atom prime. The children have done a baseline assessment in class so just need a laptop in order to complete. Their login details are in their RED HOMEWORK books. 

Also, to consolidate what the children have learnt in their mini-project this term (Cook Well Eat Well), please can they design and make a savoury meal over the holidays, using many different food groups. This can be as simple as scrambled eggs with avocado on toast or ratatoutille with mashed potatoes. Can these be brought in on Tuesday 20th February. If you are away for the whole of half term, could the children either draw a meal they enjoyed on holiday (savoury) instead. Please see attached sheet for them to use. 

No spellings to learn over the holidays - new ones will be sent the first week back. 

Do take a look at all the photos of what we have been up to this week, see below. Otherwise, we wish you a very relaxing and refreshing half term break. 

Many thanks for all your support, 

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Wetz 

Friday 2^nd February 2024

Dear Year 3,

This week, as part of our topic Ammonite, we have learnt about the Fibonacci Sequence. Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician who discovered a special number sequence, which starts 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21. The pattern is continued by adding the two previous numbers in the sequence together. Mathematicians studied the Fibonacci sequence and discovered that it appeared in nature as naturally occurring patterns. The pattern can be seen in natural objects such as flowers, fruit, leaves and shells.

The children have created their own Fibonacci inspired drawings – a few examples are attached.  We will be using our sketches to inspire a 3D clay model which we have started this week.

Last week, on Wednesday, Year 3 went to the Natural History Museum.  This was a fabulous trip and the children were a credit to themselves and the school.  They were beautifully behaved and thoroughly enjoyed our two workshops.  They shared their ideas and knowledge enthusiastically and particularly enjoyed the Emergency! Earthquakes and Volcanoes Show, in which they had to become volcanologists to help predict whether a volcano was going to erupt on Volcano Town. They also learnt about seismographs and how to read the data they produce. 

A reminder that you are invited to come and look through your children’s books on Tuesday next week 3-3.30pm. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Wetz and Mrs Ralph

Homework:

English homework  - please add the missing punctuation.  Sheets are stuck in to the homework books.  Attached are some resources which you may find helpful. 

Friday 26th January

What a fun week it has been with our trip to the Natural History museum on Wednesday. The children had a super time and enjoyed both the workshop and show. 

In the classroom this week, we have been working on Volume in Maths. All the practice we have done on reading scales has been very beneficial as the children have had to identify the capacity of the different containers, as well as adding different amounts together. What has been a challenge for the children with both Volume and Mass, is that the children have to work with very large numbers. Knowing their number bonds to 100 is crucial here. i.e. if you know that 50 +50 = 100, then 500+500=1000. If the children want to make fun potion mixtures at home to pratise reading scales then do. All you need is some food colouring, water, a measuring jug and different sized containers...House points in store for those that do!

In English, we have been finishing off our storymaps on The Pebble in my Pocket. Children have worked really well in pairs to do this and used various reading skills to consolidate their understanding of the story too. Inference is the key skill to use in reading so do ask the children questions at home. Even if it is a couple of questions when reading a book together at bedtime. 

In topic work, we have finished off painting our fossils so they now really do look spectacular! The children have also enjoyed studying earthquakes, including the well known one in Italy in 2016, when many of the children were just small babies. We tried to act out how earthquakes happen, which if you look at the photos, was a very amusing exercise. It did help the children to understand how tectonic plates underneath the earth's surface move against each other and how this shock causes the earthquake.

Date for the diary:- Tuesday 6th February, 3-3:30pm, we have our open classroom for you to come and see all the children's work.

Spellings (to be tested on Monday):- 

forgetting

forgotten

beginning

beginner

preferred

extreme

favourite

February

forward

fruit       

Have a super weekend,

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Wetz 

Friday 19th January 2024

Dear Year 3,

It has been assessment week at school and the children need to give themselves a pat on the back for their hard work and perseverance.

Once we have completed the final chapter in our Maths No Problem Book 1, which is on volume and capacity, we will complete the last of the maths papers. I have suggested the children might like to investigate volume and capacity at home by looking in their fridges at the milk, orange juice, water and other liquid containers.  They might enjoy filling different size and shape containers with water and then, using a measuring jug, finding out which has the largest capacity. Maybe they could draw a bar graph or record their findings in a table. 

In English we have been learning about possessive apostrophes.  This is a difficult concept and the following BBC website might be a helpful resource:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zx9ydxs

As part of our topic work this week, we have used the lines of longitude and latitude to locate famous volcanoes on a World map. We learned that the lines of latitude run horizontally from east to west around Earth and the lines of longitude run vertically from north to south. The Prime Meridian is a special line of longitude, which passes through the geographical North and South Poles.

We are all very excited for our class trip to the Natural History Museum next Wednesday.  A huge thank you to those of you who have volunteered to help. We will be meeting at Hildenborough Station between 9 and 9.30am.  The children will need a warm coat, red school cap, packed lunch and a water bottle. They may bring £5 to spend in the gift shop. We will be looking at fossils in our workshop, Dino Dig and before we eat our lunch will enjoy a show on volcanoes and earthquakes.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Wetz and Mrs Ralph

Homework

English - the children have been asked to research and then write about a volcano.  They may choose any volcano. A sheet is stuck into their homework books. 

FRIDAY 12TH JANUARY

Happy New Year!

It has been a real joy to be in the classroom with your children this week after a year on maternity leave. They have been a delight. This week, we have been continuing our understanding of mass (weight) in Maths and the children have progressed well with it. However, many still find it difficult to work out the intervals on a scale. e.g. is it going up in 100s, 200s, 50s. Being such big numbers, it can feel quite daunting but remind the children to use their times tables of 2s/5s/10s and the fact that there are 1000g in a 1kg.   This game can help: https://www.teacherled.com/2015/02/04/reading-scales-mass/ and https://ictgames.com/mobilePage/mostlyPostie/index.html

I have also attached some OPTIONAL maths homework to consolidate their understanding. Please find attached at the bottom of this message. If they do this and bring in, there will be 2hp up for grabs! 

In English, we have been exploring adjectives in our new class text, A Pebble in my Pocket. The children came up with some wonderful ideas about how a pebble ended up in their pocket. From dinosaurs and volcanic eruptions to entering into a different world/portal! What a creative bunch of authors. We discussed the blurb of a book and identified different vocabulary and sentence structures for dramatic effect. 

In Topic, the children learnt about the different rock types. Whilst the snow played havoc with us going on an actual rock hunt, I had brought in some of my own. The children looked at these closely using magnify glasses and ipads to understand the uses of these types of rocks (see photos below). We also talked about fossils and how these are made. This brings me onto a VERY exciting lesson for Monday - MAKING FOSSILS. CAN ALL CHILDREN PLEASE BRING IN SOMETHING TO MAKE A FOSSIL WITH. e.g. a plastic toy dinosaur, a shell, a small plastic bug/insect. I will have spares with me but it is much more fun to children if they find something they would like to turn into a fossil from home! We will be using air drying clay for this so the item will not get damaged, it just may need a bit of a clean. 

Hopefully you all received the email about spellings. We have been practising these daily in class but it is important to do so at home too. They all have a rule and it is vital to practise in sentences as they need to be able to apply their understanding in context. 

That's all for now - have a super weekend,

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Wetz 

SPELLINGS - TO BE TESTED ON MONDAY 15TH JANUARY 

English homework

Year 3 have a comprehension worksheet on volcanoes which has been stuck into their homework books.  Please complete and return to school by next Thursday. 

Friday 5th January 2024

Dear Year 3,

Happy New Year!

We have another busy term ahead with our topics Ammonite, Cook Well, Eat Well and Rocks Relics and Rumbles. 

We started our Geography topic this week by making a 3D model to represent the layers of the Earth.  This included an interesting conversation about why the inner core which, even though is at a temperature of about 6000°C, is still solid.  We learnt that the pressure of all the other layers of the Earth pushing down on it stops it becoming molten.  The iron, which it contains, cannot expand and so therefore cannot change state to a liquid. 

In English, we have looked at noun phrases in the story 'Escape from Pompeii' by Christina Balit. 

Year 3 will be given homework starting next week.

Thank you from the whole Year 3 team for all your lovely Christmas card messages and for our presents.

Have a lovely weekend! 

Mrs Wetz and Mrs Ralph

Friday 15th December 2023

Dear Year 3,  

Preparations are full steam ahead for the Carol Concert. The children have been working very hard on their carols and Christmas dance. Please remember to pack a Father Christmas hat with them for the performance on Monday evening.

This week our Contrast and Compliment art topic has culminated in a watercolour abstract Christmas card. The children used different watercolour painting techniques to create a variety of hues and textures.  In this topic we have used primary colours to make secondary, tertiary and complementary colours on the colour wheel.  We also learnt about the famous Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh. The children mixed different hues to match the colours in his famous painting Starry Night.  

In maths this week the children were continuing with their measurement topic. The children began looking at mass and weighing using gram and kilograms. This maths topic linked conveniently with their mini-DT topic Cook Well, Eat Well. The children learnt about the different methods of cooking and became star bakers creating very festive reindeer cupcakes!

Homework:

As the children have worked so hard and are utterly exhausted, the Christmas homework booklet that is being sent home is optional. As always, practicing times tables is a priority.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mrs Wetz and Miss Smart 

Friday 8th December 2023

The weeks seem to be whizzing by and there is now great excitement for Christmas!

Yesterday, we were very lucky with the weather and we had a lovely field trip to Sevenoaks. Thank you to those of you who helped with the trip, without you we could not have been able to do it!

The children had a lovely time collecting data on commercial land by making a tally of the different types of shops along the high street. We were then lucky enough to stop off at Sevenoaks library where the librarian explained how to use their library cards. The children were then taken on a tour of the museum and art gallery where they enjoyed dressing up, colouring and discussing artefacts. We finished off the trip looking at some recreational land use by having a play in Sevenoaks park.  
 

In maths, children have begun a new topic on measurements looking at centimetres, metres and millimetres. They have enjoyed seeing how close their estimations are to the actual length of different things around the school.

In English, the children have been writing play scripts based on the Cinderella story from the Korean culture. We are very excited to be acting out our play scripts next week.

Homework:

For homework this week please can the children complete the times table grid that has been stuck into their red homework books.

Please can the children also answer the questions about their school field trip to Sevenoaks.

We hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Miss Smart and Mrs Wetz 

Monday 4th December 2023 

Hi all,

I hope you have all had lovely and festive weekends! 

Please find the final spellings of the term below: 

1. truly

2. duly

3. wholly

4. fully 

5. daily

6. shyly

7. crumbly

8. certain

9. circle

10. different 

Have a lovely week!

Miss Smart

Friday 1st December 2023

Hi everyone!

Happy December! It’s certainly feeling more like winter already. We are all very excited in Year 3 for the Christmas fair on Saturday.

This week in maths, we have come to the end of our topic on multiplication and division. The children have been mastering dividing by 4 and 8. Their times tables are coming along very well so thank you for any extra work you have been doing at home!  Next week, we will be moving onto a new topic looking at measurements.

In English this week, the children have been practicing expanded noun phrases to create lost cat posters inspired by the book Small in the City by Sydney Smith. The children have also made some fantastic instructions on how to find four figure grid references. They have become such experts that there is a task for homework to find the four figure grid references of places in Japan.

In topic this week, the children have been completing their UK city fact files using the computers. They have also impressed Mr Miles with their coding skills and have finished making a game where a bin collects rubbish to help the environment.

Watercolour painting club has been in full swing and we will be completing our snowstorm pictures next week.

Homework:

• Reading comprehension on healthy eating (this links to the mini topic of Cook Well, Eat Well)
• Four figure grid reference task

Have a super weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Miss Smart and Mrs Wetz.

Monday 27th November 2023

Hi all, 

Please find the spellings for this week below: 

1. basically 

2. frantically

3. dramatically 

4. magically 

5. actually 

6. accidentally 

7. occasionally 

8. height

9. weight

10.centre 

Have a lovely week! 

Miss Smart 

Friday 24^th November 2023

We have enjoyed catching up with more of you this week for parent consultations - thank you for making the time to talk with us.

This week in maths, we have been tackling division and have made a promising start. We will continue next week and begin looking at solving word problems.

In English, the children have been learning how to use the present perfect form when writing a diary entry on Small in the City.

The children have used their geographical knowledge on how to find a 4-figure grid reference to write an instructional text for English.

The children have also been working hard on using imperative (bossy) verbs.

We have had a busy week of science in class with our mini topic ' Animal Nutrition and the Skeletal System’. They have learnt about the importance of joints to enable us to move.

In Geography, the children have been using their computing skills to make fact files on UK cities.

The class enjoyed a visit from Mr Miles. They used coding to make a game where a rubbish bin collects litter linking to their geography topic.

Thank you to the parents who have offered to help with the geography field trip to Sevenoaks town on 7th December 2023. We are still looking for one more parent helper/driver. Any volunteers would be very appreciated. Please contact the office if you are available.

Homework:

Please complete the following that have been stuck into the red homework books and return to school by next Thursday:

• Times table grid
• GPS worksheet focusing on adverbs

We hope you have a super weekend.

Miss Smart and Mrs Wetz

Monday 20th November 2023 

Hello everyone!

Please find below the spellings for this week. The spellings are focusing on creating adverbs using the suffix -ly (when the root word ends in 'le'). 

1. gently

2. simply

3. humbly 

4. horribly

5. terribly

6. possibly

7. probably 

8. women

9. describe

10. calendar

Have a lovely week!

Miss Smart 

Friday 17^th November 2023

Hi all,

In literacy the children have been reading a book called ‘Small in the City’. They created poetry focusing on how overwhelming a busy city can be. The children aimed to use expanded noun phrases, prepositions, repetition, similes and personification. Mrs Haysom was very impressed with their work and several head teacher awards were distributed!

In maths this week the children have been securing their knowledge of the 8 times tables and have begun looking at division problems.

In geography the children have been predicting and observing the local weather

In science the children have been learning the purpose of a skeleton whilst locating and naming bones in our bodies.

Homework:

• Maths – 8 times table worksheet in their red homework books.

• Topic – Use the split pins sent home and the skeleton template to construct a moving skeleton.

• Spellings and Times table practice (particularly 4s and 8s).

It has been lovely meeting with you this week in parent consultations and we look forward to catching up with more of you on Wednesday evening.

Have a lovely weekend!

Miss Smart and Mrs Wetz 

I had a great time with Year 3 at the Gurdwara on Tuesday. The children were all very well behaved, respectful and engaged, asking lots of good questions. They seemed to particularly enjoy listening to the Priest reading from the Holy Scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib and a highlight was eating in the community kitchen (langar) at the end. I was very impressed that they all tried the food even though it was quite different to what they were used to, many went back for seconds! Hopefully they all learnt new things about Sikhism and are well placed for the rest of this term's learning about the religion. Thank you to those parents who came to help out and drove.

Mrs Cheshire (photos on website and some on the school's instagram account.)

Monday 13th November 2023

Hi all, 

I hope you have had a restful weekend. Please find below the spellings for next week focusing on adverbs.

1. happily 

2. angrily

3. easily 

4. greedily

5. wearily 

6. cheekily 

7. sneakily 

8. group

9. arrive 

10. busy 

Many thanks,

Miss Smart 

Friday 10th November 2023

A very warm welcome back to Term 2.  It has been lovely to see all the children this week and hear about their half term break.

In maths, we have begun a new section focusing on multiplication and division. This week we have been revisiting the 3 and 4 times tables and beginning to conquer the 8 times tables. The children have enjoyed using the iPads to revise their times tables. We encourage you to use the following free online resources at home.

• https://www.timestables.co.uk/
• https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/times-tables
• https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/318/Tommys-Trek-Times-Tables

In Literacy, the children have been using conjunctions to have a debate about the pros and cons of living in the countryside and the city. The children have also been looking at structures of travel leaflets in preparation for completing their own next week.

Between now and Christmas, we will be studying four mini topics including science (Animal Nutrition and the Skeletal System), geography (Our World, Our Planet), DT (Cook well, Eat well) and art (Contrast and Complement).

This week the children began looking at the mini topic, ‘Animal Nutrition and the Skeletal System’ by reminding themselves of what we know about living and non-living things. The children were also excited to be beginning the topic ‘One Planet, Our World’. They have been enthusiastic in their atlas work and have partaken in a treasure hunt to research the human and physical features in the UK.  

Please can the children bring in their coats and wellies on Monday as they will be completing a weather walk around the castle grounds. 

Homework this week consists of the children completing the 8 times tables task and book recommendation worksheet that have been stuck into their red books. Please can we ask that the red homework books are returned by Thursday of next week.

We hope that you all have an enjoyable weekend and we look forward to seeing you next Wednesday for parent consultation evening.

Mrs Wetz and Miss Smart 

Monday 6th November 2023 

Hi all,

I hope you have enjoyed the half-term break!

The spellings to practice for this week focus on creating adverbs by adding the suffix -ly without changing the root word.

1. kindly
2. quickly
3. safely
4. sweetly
5. bravely
6. secretly
7. finally
8. appear
9. often
10. continue

Many thanks,

Miss Smart 

Friday 20th October 2023

Happy half term!

In some respects, we can’t believe it is the end of our first term together.  However, we are all exhausted and in much need of a break!  We can’t thank all the children enough for their incredible start to Year 3.  They have all worked so hard and have settled well into Key Stage 2.

In history this week, we have finished our topic ‘Through the Ages’. We have been so impressed with how engaged the children have been in this topic and look forward to introducing our next topics. We will be moving away from history to work on a variety of mini projects including science (Animal Nutrition and the Skeletal System), geography (Our World, Our Planet), DT (Cook well, Eat well) and art (Contrast and Complement).

In maths this week, the children have been consolidating their knowledge on place value and column addition and subtraction. Although we are not setting any homework over the half term, you may like to practise adding and subtracting two 3-digit numbers together using the column method.  We are also working hard with the 4 times tables, but we would be grateful if you could continue to practise this at home.

In English this week the children have been writing excellent character descriptions of The Twits, using a thesaurus to broaden their vocabulary, as well as using similes. Next term, we will be starting our new class text, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe’ – all are welcome to bring their own text if they would like.

We hope that you all have a very restful and enjoyable break over the half term.  We look forward to seeing all the children fully refreshed next term.

Miss Smart and Mrs Wetz 

Friday 13th October 2023 

Hi all,

In maths this week, Class 3 have been battling on with addition and subtraction problems using the column method.

In English, we have been analysing John Clare’s autumnal 19^th century poem, ‘Pleasant Sounds’. The children have been working on using onomatopoeias in their poetry and used Clare’s poem as inspiration. After a woodland walk through the castle grounds, the children thought of some exceptional onomatopoeias to use in their own poems.

During topic this week, the students became Bronze Age craftsmen and women. They found metal ores (milk and white chocolate bars) and mixed the copper (milk chocolate) to the tin (white chocolate) to create an alloy of bronze. The bronze was then poured into the axe mould to create their Bronze Age weapons.  

Later in the week, the class embraced their Celtic personas after finding out that they used woad (a type of cabbage to make dye to use as war paint). The class boiled a red cabbage to create a purple dye which they have used to tie dye cloths.

Homework:

• Please continue to practice the children’s spellings over the weekend.
• In their red homework books a 4 times table task has been stuck in. Please can the children complete this and return it to school by Thursday of next week.

Have a lovely weekend!

Miss Smart and Mrs Wetz 

Class 3 were amazing at their spellings today - I was very impressed! 

The new spellings are words with a short 'i' sound spelt with a 'y'.

1. myth

2. gym

3. Egypt

4. pyramid

5. mystery

6. symbol

7. system

8. breath

9. breathe

10.because

Many thanks,

Miss Smart 

Friday 6th October 2023

Dear Year 3,

Year 3 have been battling with column subtraction this week – good progress has been made with this difficult concept but we will be continuing to work on mastering this next week using our dienes equipment to help us.

In our topic work, we learnt about Celtic warriors and how they painted themselves in blue paint before they went into battle.  This paint was made from woad, a plant related to the cabbage family.  They dried the leaves and then crushed them to make a powder.  This was then mixed with water to create the bright blue paint.  The class enjoyed dressing Kitty up as a Celt and Mrs Wetz painted her face to look like a warrior ready to go into battle with the Romans.

The children also analysed some writing from the famous Roman, Julius Caesar, which described the Celts and decided whether the quotes were a good source of historical evidence.

This week, we have started to learn the 4x tables – we have sung a song and played a game. Please could you continue to learn your 4x table at home.

Enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

Mrs Wetz and Miss Smart

Times table homework 

4x table song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QU_E0u-tP4

Hi all, 

Thank you for all your support at home practicing their spellings!

This weeks spellings are as follows:

29th September 2023

Dear Year 3,

Another busy week in Class 3!

In English we have been developing our dictionary skills on a scavenger hunt to define Bronze age vocabulary. Furthermore, Year 3 took their politician skills to the next level during a heated debate based on the motion that school uniform must be mandatory. Arguments were given for and against from the proposing and opposing sides. The debate was opened up to the audience and ended in a ballot vote, which resulted in the majority of the class agreeing that school uniform should be mandatory. (School uniforms should continue to be worn on Monday!)

In maths, the children have been continuing to master column addition!

During computing the class instructed Miss Smart on how to make a jam sandwich. They soon realised precise instructions are vital, as she began to spread the jam with my hand. They then used clear and precise instructions (algorithms) to program each other (as human robots) around obstacles in the playground. The children also had a computing session with Mr Miles where they had to use scratch to code a Stone Age man to move across the page.

The class enjoyed Roald Dahl day where they focused on the Fantastic Mr Fox. We were very lucky to have a visit from a secret reader (Mrs Nobel-Ardelean). The children demonstrated their fabulous drama skills during a Fantastic Mr Fox workshop held by West End in Schools.

Homework:

Please continue to practice times tables and spellings at home.

Additionally, we have sent home a times table practice colouring worksheet for the children to complete and bring in to school for Thursday next week.

Have a lovely weekend! 

Mrs Wetz and Miss Smart 

Hi all, 

Please find below the slightly delayed spellings for this week:

Hi all,

Another jam-packed week in class 3 full of learning!

Class 3 have become mathematicians as they have begun to master the column method in addition!

Whilst in English, they have been showing off their estate agent skills. They could sell Stig’s den with newspaper and bracken for beds to the King! The children have used contractions, plurals and lists in their writing of cave rules, Stone age diary entries and estate agent adverts.

Thank you for attending the curriculum meeting on Wednesday. I hope the amendments to the PowerPoint give you a better idea of what we will be learning about in our topic lessons this year!

We have enjoyed reading the short writing homework about our trip to Knole and we will share a few in class next week.

A new red homework book will be sent home this evening with some English work to practice plurals. 

Please continue to practice times tables at home - the games attached to the curriculum meeting PowerPoint are a great online tool to engage the children in their learning! Furthermore, on the PowerPoint, there are blank timetables grids which you can adapt and we urge you to practice at home with your children to improve their fluency.

Additionally, please continue to practice the children’s spellings in their orange spelling books before their test on Monday afternoon. On the PowerPoint sent home there are lots of activities to make spelling practice as enjoyable as possible! You will find the spellings for next week on the class page from last Monday.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.  We look forward to seeing some of you at our Harvest Festival on Wednesday.

Miss Smart and Mrs Wetz J

Spellings

Hi Class 3,

Well done with your spellings earlier today - I was very impressed!

The spellings for the week commencing the 18.09.23 are as follows:

1. hey
2. they
3. obey
4. grey
5. prey
6. disobey
7. convey
8. address
9. although
10. again

Many thanks,

Miss Smart :) 

Friday 15^th September 2023

Dear Year 3,

Today we enjoyed a fabulous trip to Knole House for a Stone Age workshop.  We became archaeologist, carefully digging for Stone Age artefacts.  Using our knowledge of the different periods of the Stone Age, we then had to determine whether the artefacts were from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic or Neolithic period.  The children also made and decorated thumb clay pots, learnt how to plait making Stone Age bracelets, built a den and waterproofed it with animal skins and created Stone Age cave paintings. A very busy day!

The children were very engaged in the activities, asked some interesting questions and were well behaved, definitely a credit to themselves and the school.

A huge thank you to all our parent helpers and drivers. 

Homework has been set this week – please see details below:

Times tables – the children have brought home a snakes and ladder times table game.  This is a fun way to practise the x2, x5 and x10 tables.  On Thursday next week, we will have a mixed times table grid to complete which will focus on the times tables previously taught in Year 2 (x2, x5 and x10).

Short writing task: please write a short recount of your Stone Age trip to Knole House and bring in to school by Thursday 21^st September.  What did you enjoy most about your trip?  What was the most interesting thing you learnt about the Stone Age on your trip?

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Wetz and Miss Smart

Friday 8th September 2023

Dear Year 3,

We hope you have all had wonderful summer holidays!  

We were delighted to read about all the exciting things you have been up to in your postcards.  Thank you for bringing them in – we now have a wonderful display in the classroom of your adventures.

What a fun start to a new school year we have had in Year 3.  First, we started the week off with some computing and designed some creative posters for their own class rules using word documents. We then had to rescue Fred the jelly-worm after he had capsized his boat on Bough Beech Reservoir.  This activity involved working well in our teams and developing our communication skills. Fred had not taken the safety precautions seriously and his lifejacket was underneath his boat.  This was a very tricky procedure involving paperclips and definitely no hands.  The great part about this challenge was we got to eat Fred at the end.

Our topic this term is Through the Ages and we will be learning about British prehistory from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, including changes to people and lifestyle caused by ingenuity, invention and technological advancement. Our first topic lesson focused on learning timeline vocabulary such as BC and AD. 

We began to discuss the class book we will be reading together – Stig of the Dump by Clive King. The children came up with imaginative predictions looking at the front cover and the blurb.  

Spellings and times table homework will be set next week. 

Just a reminder that we will be going on our school trip to Knole in Sevenoaks next Friday for a workshop on The Stone Age, Iron Age and Bronze Age.  This should be great fun!

Have a great weekend (enjoy the sunny weather) 

Miss Smart and Mrs Wetz