Term 2: Parent weekly reminders (keep checking as it will be updated throughout the term):

Monday - bring in Forest School kit

Thursday - come into school in PE kit and bring in uniform

School coats and hats/gloves/scarves required everyday due to changeable weather (please ensure these are in line with the uniform policy)

Dates for the diary (keep checking for updates):

Tuesday 16th December - KS2 theatre trip (pm)

Wednesday 17th December - KS2 Carol service (6pm) 

Homework reminders:

Atom Maths and English comprehension homework are both due on Friday 12th December. Those with CGP maths books due in by Wednesday please. 

Reading books (and yellow reading diaries) due in Monday 8th December.

Friday 5th December

The weeks are flying by, and we are now on the countdown to Christmas! Attached to this page are the lyrics for the songs the children will be singing in the KS2 Carol Service. Please do practice with your child at home.

Maths

This week, the children have been working really hard on multiplying 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. We have been using the column method and focusing especially on how to ‘carry’ (or ‘rename’ in MNP) numbers into the next column.
Having quick recall of times tables is so important for this skill. Children who know their tables confidently have found it much easier to move on to trickier multiplication questions.

English

In English, we have loved creating our own fantasy characters, inspired by our class text The Winter’s Child. The children have been practising using similes, expanded noun phrases, and conjunctions in their writing.
We have also had thoughtful discussions about what counts as ‘fantasy’ and what is ‘real’. The children have been excellent at sharing ideas using paired and group talk.
This week’s spellings focused on homophones: bear/bare, hear/here, blue/blew, to/too/two, their/they’re/there.

Topic

We have now finished our Science unit on the skeletal system and nutrition. Through Active 60 activities, the children revisited key muscles and bones to help secure their understanding.
In Geography, we are coming to the end of our topic. The children have been recapping compass points, map keys, and important geographical features.

RE

This week in RE, we focused on understanding the Trinity and exploring how it is shown in the story of Jesus’ baptism. The children really enjoyed an apple demonstration—

• the skin representing God the Father,

• the flesh representing Jesus the Son,

• and the seed representing the Holy Spirit.
  Your child may enjoy telling you all about it at home!

Homework 

Homework and reading books are going home as usual. Please continue to write in the yellow reading diary each time your child reads—this can include comments on their understanding of the story and what has happened so far.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey

Friday 28th November

Another week has flown by in Year 3 and the children continue to work incredibly hard. We are now well over halfway through the term and looking ahead to December, when school becomes wonderfully busy with Christmas fun, singing rehearsals and of course the much-anticipated carol concert before we break up for the holidays.

English

In English, the children are continuing their work with our beautiful text Winter’s Child. This week they have been writing letters, carefully using conjunctions, adverbs, similes, prepositions and descriptive sentences using the senses. They have loved exploring the stunning illustrations in the book and using these to inspire their writing. It has been lovely to see how much they are enjoying this text and how confidently they are applying their new skills.

Maths

In Maths, the children are doing brilliantly with their multiplication and division. They have been learning how to multiply two-digit numbers by a one-digit number and are showing real security and pride in their work. We have also continued practising our times-table grids, and the progress they are making each week is fantastic to see.

Topic 

In Science, the children have carried on learning about the skeletal system, a topic they are finding both fascinating and fun. Following last week’s fabulous trip to Ashdown Forest, the children have also been finishing their Geography topic - Our Planet, Our World. To round off the week, they created beautiful watercolour landscape paintings inspired by the scenes they observed during the trip. They were truly stunning!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey

Friday 21st November

What a super week we’ve had in school – even if it has been a chilly one! It was lovely to meet and chat with so many of you at parents’ consultations. Thank you for taking the time to come; we hope you found the discussions useful.

Maths

This week, we’ve been solving problems involving multiplication and division. The children have been learning to use bar models to help decide whether to multiply or divide. This is a tricky concept, but an incredibly useful one once it clicks! If you’d like to find out more, you can explore the method here: https://mathsnoproblem.com/en/approach/bar-modelling

English

In English, the children have been working hard on a “big write.” They practised using adverbs of time (before, next, first, etc.) and conjunctions. Some children even challenged themselves by starting sentences with subordinating conjunctions and remembering to use a comma between the clauses—well done, Year 3!

They then applied these grammar skills to write a letter from the point of view of Tom in our class story. Their focus and effort were fantastic to see.

RE

This term, our focus is the Trinity. The children explored the passage in Matthew about the baptism of Jesus, identifying key vocabulary and noticing how many times the words baptise or baptised appeared.

Topic

In Science, we continued learning about the skeletal system, focusing on how muscles work in pairs.

The children had a wonderful trip to Ashdown Forest yesterday, where they enjoyed a fantastic walk through the heathland and woodlands, learning how to reads maps, use coordinates and learn about the forest's unique wildlife.  Despite the very cold weather, they were wrapped up warm and still managed to have an amazing, adventure-filled day of exploring, investigating the area and games. A huge thank you to Mrs Clark, Mr Patrick and Mr Golds for bravely facing the cold and supporting us throughout the trip. 

Homework reminders and key dates can be found at the top of the page for easy access.

Well done for another brilliant week, everyone. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Christmas Fair tomorrow!

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey

Friday 14th November 2025

Another wonderful week in Year 3! The children have been working hard as always and showing great enthusiasm in all their learning.  It’s been lovely to see them enjoying their time together and continuing to shine each day.

In Maths, the children have started learning how to divide by 3, 4 and 8, building on their previous multiplication knowledge. They are becoming more confident at spotting patterns and using their times tables to help them solve problems. It’s fantastic to see so many children beginning to excel in their times tables knowledge!

In English this week, we have continued with our class text The Winter’s Child. The children have been exploring ways to expand their vocabulary through the use of powerful verbs and adverbs, while also developing their narrative writing by creating detailed settings, interesting characters, and engaging plots. They have been learning how to use inverted commas accurately to punctuate direct speech, and it’s been wonderful to see how engaged and enthusiastic they are as they continue to learn at pace.

Year 3 enjoyed a super visit by Mr Guy, who works in the medical world as an anaesthetist.  He told us all about bones and joints and how important these are at helping us move and protecting vital organs. We talked a lot about what happens when we break our bones and the X-rays were fascinating. The children all sat eagerly awaiting answers to the questions they had prepared before his visit. Huge thank you to Mr Guy for such an interesting talk (even whilst wearing his scrubs!) and for giving up his time. 

Also in our Geography topic, the children have been learning about the different types of land use across the UK and have worked brilliantly in groups to create their own presentations. We are all very excited for our trip to Ashdown Forest tomorrow, where the children will extend their knowledge through real-world exploration and hands-on learning.

Finally, we are really looking forward to our trip to Ashdown Forest next Thursday 20^th.  Just a reminder for children to wear warm and comfortable clothes with appropriate shoes and bring the following with them:

Packed lunch

Wellies

Change of trousers

Waterproof coat

School red cap

rucksack

Thank you so much again to those parents who have kindly volunteered to come with us on the trip.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey

Friday 7th November

Welcome back, Year 3!

It has been great to see the children this week ready and enthused about learning once again. There are lots of photos of what we have been up to so please do take a look below. Here is an overview of our week:

Maths

We have started to look at multiplication, especially the 3x and 4x tables. We also looked at the relationship between the 4x and 8x table. This was quite a challenge but we used the diennes (aka chips and peas) to help us visualise it first before answering questions as a table group and then in our MNP books. There were two songs that really helped us with the 3x and 4x table: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BNUgRvM_xk  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlAXwhIRUDc

English

We have started a new text called, Winter's Child. It is a fictional fantasy book but we have been applying our understanding of noun phrases and prepositions to predict what the book is about from using the first couple of pages. As a class we created our own poem using these grammar devices and then the children have planned and written a narrative (story) based on their prediction. We finished off the week with lots of excellent work by writing a dialogue between two of the characters. The children are doing incredibly well and are showing great imagination and care in their writing - well done!

Topic

We have two topics this term: One planet, Our World - a geography based topic. Animal nutrition and the skeletal system is a science based one. We have looked at compasses, located countries on a map as well as used grid references. In science, we have looked at the main bones in our body and their importance. Do take a look at the photos where we drew round each other and had to label the bones. 

A plea - is anyone an osteopath or works in the medical field and would like to come in and tell us about their job and how bones/muscles/skeleton works? We would LOVE to have someone explain it to us. 

In Geography, we have started own new planet topic, focusing on developing our compass skills and looking closely at different types of maps. The children especially enjoyed making their own maps of the school and marking where interesting features can be found around the outdoor areas.

Homework

Atom maths homework - Well done everyone for completing the Atom homework. Remember to use the hints boxes and have a piece of paper/pencil next to your child so they can work out their answers. I gave out some housepoints to those children that brought these in to show me (totally optional but a good way to encourage your child!) New atom homework is live and needs to be completed by Friday 14th November.

Comprehension homework - From next week, the children will be sent home with a short weekly comprehension task.  We are just waiting for the books to arrive, but the plan is for the children to take them home on a Friday, complete the task and return the book to school by the following Thursday.

Reading books - please bring these in on a Monday. Keep up the reading at home with your child! 

Have a super weekend, 

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey  

Friday 17th October

Well done, Year 3!
We’ve made it to the end of a fantastic first term together. Thank you all for your hard work, enthusiasm, and brilliant attitude to learning. There are lots of photos this week, so do take a look below!

To celebrate filling up our smiley jar, the children enjoyed a fun afternoon of board and card games — a lovely way to round off the term.
 

Open Classroom

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us on Wednesday for our open classroom event. It was so special to have your support. The children loved performing their rock song and showing off their books. We hope you enjoyed seeing just how much effort they’ve put into their learning this term.

Topic

This week has been all about finishing off!
We ended our topic with a fun quiz and, of course, baking those delicious rock cakes — don’t miss the photos!

Maths

In Maths, we’ve been working on subtracting two- and three-digit numbers. In our MNP lessons, we use the word renaming instead of carrying over, which some children find a little tricky at first. We’ve also talked about the word exchanging, which can help make it clearer. The class has also made great progress with their times tables — well done, everyone!

English

The children really enjoyed acting out dialogues in pairs this week, imagining what Tom and his Grandad might have said to each other in our class text, The Seal Surfer. They then wrote their conversations using inverted commas correctly.

We also focused on writing informal letters, practising using prepositions and expanded noun phrases, which have been our key grammar targets.

RE

In RE, we completed our topic People of God. We explored the promises God makes and compared them to the promises we make at school, at home, and in clubs. This led to thoughtful discussions about our class contract and the importance of keeping promises.

Homework

ATOM

 The children have been shown how to use atom and their first homework is ready to go! Their login details are laminated and stuck in their yellow reading diaries.  

1. Please go to https://atomlearning.com/ and login with your child's details

2. click on Year 3 Maths holiday homework (on place value and addition and subtraction)

3. Begin to go through each question

Homework should be completed by Wednesday 5th November.

⭐ Top tip: Have a pencil and paper nearby for working out. Encourage your child to use the hints before answering and watch the video explanations if they make a mistake.

Please let your child work independently so the programme can adapt to their needs accurately.

Reading

Please continue to enjoy reading with your child over the break. This can be a chapter book, magazine, or non-fiction text — it all counts! Regular reading is key to success in KS2, so thank you for keeping it going at home.

What a wonderful first term it’s been. We’re so proud of how well Year 3 have settled in, worked hard, and supported one another.

Have a brilliant half term, and we look forward to seeing you after the break!
Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey 

KEY REMINDERS for w/c 13th October

Wednesday 15th October from 2.45pm - open classroom event for parents 

Friday 10^th October

What another great and busy week it has been in Year 3! The children have had a fantastic time taking part in our Harvest Festival, showing great confidence and enthusiasm. It’s been lovely to see how much they are learning and growing each week, both in and out of the classroom.

In Maths, the children continue to improve and impress with their times tables knowledge and skills. We have also been working hard on addition, using renaming and now moving confidently into the hundreds.

In English, the children have been developing their reading skills through comprehension activities and guided reading sessions. We have continued our writing work based on Seal Surfer by Michael Foreman, and this week the children have enjoyed creating their own riddles using prepositions and expanded noun phrases.

In Topic, the children have been learning about life in the Iron Age, we looked at Celtic warriors and what they wore. The children then drew their own Celt and labelled it. They also found out about hill forts and how they were used for protection and community living.

As part of Black History Month, the children have been learning about inspirational Black figures from different areas such as politics, sport, and science. They each created their own hero poster celebrating people like Barack Obama, Rosa Parks, Marcus Rashford, and Mae Jemison. To finish, the class took part in a gallery walk to admire each other’s work and reflect on the importance of these remarkable individuals.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey

Friday 3rd October

KEY REMINDERS:-

Decorated Harvest envelopes and tinned/non-perishable goods in for our Harvest service on Wednesday 8th October. 

Open classroom event - Year 3 - Wednesday 15th October, 2:45pm - 3:30pm (see details below)

It's been another great week in class and time seems to be flying by! The children looked very smart in winter uniform for the school photos too.

What we have learned this week...

The class enjoyed two coding/computing lessons this week where they made a timeline with a moving stone age person on the program, Scratch. For those that don't know, it is a program that children use to code simple movements in pictures. Mr Miles comes in especially and safe to say that all children love it! Photos to follow. 

In Maths, we have started to add two numbers together without renaming (i.e. borrowing/carrying over) and we have looked at different methods, such as the numberline and columns. The children seem to prefer using columns which is great though some need to use manipulatives alongside it. Diennes apparatus, fondly known as 'chips and peas,' are used to help children visualise this process. 

In English, we have read a little more of our Seal Surfer book and looked out for new vocabulary. e.g. buffeted and dissolved. The children used dictionaries to find out what these words mean so they have a glossary in their book. They also enjoyed exploring a poem by Robert Frost called Seal. The poem uses lots of verbs and adverbs to describe how a seal moves around. 

In topic, we have moved from the Bronze Age to the Stone Age and noticing the impact of these moments in history for Britain and the world. Lots of good discussion and posters have been made as well as finishing off our pots. 

Big news - we have our Year 3 open classroom event which we would kindly like to invite you to, on Wednesday 15th October, at 2:45pm. This is an opportunity to see some of the children's work, listen to a song we have been practising and celebrate a great start to Year 3 altogether. 

Homework:

Reading books in on Monday please - thank you for writing how the children have got on in their reading over the weekend. Please note, they are not expected to read the whole book over the weekend. Remember it is fine to take it in turns to read the book together e.g. one page each or one chapter each if that helps keep the momentum up. Children become much more independent in selecting and choosing the right book from our class library. They can be overly ambitious at times! 

Thank you for all your support - have a good weekend,

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey 

Friday 25^th September

It has been another busy week for Year 3, filled with lots of great learning and exciting things happening! We’ve really enjoyed getting back to our usual lessons after all the hard work of assessments last week.

In Maths, we are starting to cover addition and subtraction.  We began by adding 1s and then moved on to adding 10s, which the children have picked up really well. They have also been working hard and making great progress with their times tables.

In English, we have been continuing to explore Michael Foreman’s Seal Surfer. The children have been busy writing their non-chronological reports filled with fascinating facts about seals. They have also been using their new knowledge of prepositions and expanded noun phrases to make their writing even more detailed and exciting.

In topic this week, the children finished off their prehistoric pots by painting them with great care and creativity. They had lots of fun completing them and were very proud of their finished work! – photos to follow.

Year 3 had a super time at Knole Park on Tuesday, exploring everyday life in the Stone Age. It was a hands-on day and all the children got to explore different artefacts, wear stone age jewellery and clothes, see what they would have eaten and even made some fun cave paintings using orange and brown chalk. The children made a den out in the middle of Knole Park exploring how they would have lived and need to protect themselves from the elements as well as unwanted animals! Thank you to the parent helpers on the trip, we really appreciate you coming along. Well done to the class, the children behaved really well.  

The children got to enjoy a drama workshop on Wednesday by West End Schools where they go to act out Jack and the Beanstalk in a fun and creative way. The children were all very engaged.

Homework

Reading books to be handed in on Monday - please listen to your child read and write in your child's yellow reading diary to explain how they got on. If they are finding a book too hard then do take turns to read each page. 

(Atom - we have not set this up yet but will keep you posted once it is up and running).

Reminder: to decorate an envelope for our Harvest service with a monetary donation inside for Bondeni school. Please can they bring it into school by Monday 6^th October.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey

Friday 19th September

KEY INFORMATION for the trip on Tuesday, 23rd September:

- Children need to come into school in full PE kit and trainers as well as a school coat and their red school cap

- They will need a packed lunch, snack and bottle of water (all named please)

- They can also bring £5 in a named purse to buy something from the gift shop (apologies that this information didn't get put in the letter that went out to you)

- We will be leaving after registration and be back before the end of the school day (so no before or after school clubs are affected)

Overview of the week:-

The children have worked so hard as we have completed our baseline assessments in Maths, GPS and reading. They did enjoy a little chocolate biscuit as a treat for working so hard. 

In Maths, we have recapped a lot of our times tables and practised counting in 100s. This can seem daunting as the children will have only worked with two-digit-numbers. However, we looked at how it is only the hundreds digit that changes so in fact is not as scary as it first appears! 

In English, we have started to look at seals and record facts about them. Next week we are going to begin writing a non-chronological report on them, linking to our class text, The Seal Surfer. The focus of our spelling has been on adding the suffix -ing and -ed to root words and how there are different rules depending on how the root word is spelt. The words we have looked at are: ask, buzz, help, hunt, jump, point, pull, push, want, swim, rob, stop, worry, marry. 

In RE, we enjoyed acting out the story of Noah (see photos) and thinking of how he followed God and how that would have been hard. It was nice to do some drama after completing assessments! 

In topic, the children have enjoyed looking at the end of the Stone Age before then moving onto the Bronze Age. The children loved decorating their pots with Mrs Carey on Friday, a fun way to finish off the week. 

Homework

Reading books to be handed in on Monday - please listen to your child read and write in your child's yellow reading diary to explain how they got on. If they are finding a book too hard then do take turns to read each page. 

(Atom - we have not set this up yet but will keep you posted once it is up and running).

Have a great weekend and don't forget to visit the book fair!

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey 

 Friday 12^th September

Well done to all the children for another fantastic week at school!

We are both so impressed with how the children are working and how confidently they are adapting to KS2.  It’s wonderful to see them managing the big step up from KS1 with such focus and determination.

This week in Maths, the children have been counting in 50’s, spotting number patterns and starting to count in 4’s and 8’s. They have all worked really hard and we are pleased with the progress they are making. We have also been working really well on our times tables facts, reviewing the 2’s, 5’s and 10’s and are now moving on to explore the 3’s, 4’s and 8’s more closely.  Please do not worry if your child finds this difficult at the moment, with more practice, they will become more confident and secure in these new skills.

In English, we’ve been continuing our work on this term’s writing text, Seal Surfer, focusing on prepositions and how they show time, place and cause within sentences.  The children have loved using these and have been busy creating their own alternative openings to the story.  We continue to be impressed with the creativity and progress in their writing. 

We have also introduced our new spelling programme this week, which began with reviewing the common exception words from the Year 2 Statutory Spelling List and then focusing on new words which are connected to our writing text, Seal Surfer. (please see below this week’s words we have been working on)

accident(ally)                   experience             recent

appear                             extreme                 strength

breath                              heard                     through

breathe                            natural                   disappear

caught                             often                      ordinary

In topic, the children continue to learn about the Stone Age and the tools they used as well as their settlements.  They have also just had a fantastic time exploring Prehistoric Pots and getting hands-on to make their very own from clay. It was wonderfully messy and everyone (including Mrs Carey!) loved being creative and seeing their ideas take shape.

Homework

Reading: The children will take their reading book home on a Friday and then need to bring it back on Monday.  Please can you try and listen to your child read and write in the yellow diary how your child has got on.  These diaries and books will be checked every Monday. 

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey 

Term 1: Parent weekly reminders

Monday - bring in Forest School kit

Thursday - bring in PE kit 

School coats required everyday due to changeable weather! 

Dates the diary:

Tuesday 23rd September - school trip to Knole on Stone Age (more details to follow but we will be looking for parent helpers/drivers)

Wednesday 8th October - Harvest service, 9:15am. 

Friday 5th September 

A very big welcome to Class 3 and well done getting back into the school routine! We have had a lovely time getting to know your wonderful children this week. We have been so impressed with their ability to apply themself to lessons and they have worked really hard. Well done everyone. Please note any key dates or important information will be at the top of the class page for easy reference. 

An overview of our week:- 

In maths, we have looked at place value of three digit numbers following our maths no problem scheme. The children enjoyed some hearty competition having to work in tables to make a number using diennes blocks and then writing the number out on place value charts. Do have a look at the photos below. 

In English, we have started our new writing text, Seal Surfer. The children enjoyed having to predict what the book is about from the front cover and some items - shells, wetsuit, goggles and stones. Lots of lovely discussion ensued and the children wrote some amazing predictions. Their handwriting is brilliant! We have been so impressed. Well done to all the children who have handwriting pens in school, it really does make their writing look smart. To those that don't, please can you purchase some over the weekend and bring in on Monday. Thank you. 

The children also enjoyed swapping postcards and talking about what one of their highlights was over the holidays. Well done and thank you for all making the effort to do this. Please see photos below. 

We have two topics this term, Through the Ages and Prehistoric pots. The children have started to look at how the Stone Age was a very long period of time and is divided up into three sections. The children had a great time putting together some dates and then discussing in groups. They also looked at stone age settlements around the united kingdom and how this has impacted our history. 

Homework

No homework as yet. As mentioned at the curriculum meeting, KS2 complete most of their homework on Atom online. Before we set this up, we need to complete the baseline assessment in school. You will receive a login for your child over the next week but please do not do anything until we have completed the baseline in school. We will let you know when this happens and when it is all set up. For now, just keep the login safe to hand. 

We have no set spelling test as have adopted a new writing scheme (Pathways to Write) as a school. We will have a rule to learn each week with words to practise over in class. We will put these on the class page for you to see so if you would like to reinforce them at home when reading with your child, you can. For more information about our new scheme, please see the addition in the newsletter by Mrs Hester, our English lead. 

Reading books will be started next week and more information on this will follow. Please do carry on reading for pleasure at home with your child. 

Have a great weekend, 

Mrs Ralph and Mrs Carey