Chiddingstone Church of England School
Going Above and Beyond Together
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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 10th 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 25th 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 6th 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 12th 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