Year 3 blog 8.7.22 - "Share your smile with the world. It's a symbol of friendship and hope." - Christie Brinkley

Although the weeks seem to by whizzing by, our learning certainly isn’t showing signs of stopping. This week we have been introduced to a new poem, “The Spider and the Fly”. Firstly, we listened to the introduction of the poem, which posed lots of questions and filled our minds with ideas about the poem, the characters and what might happen next. After this, we then watched the first part of the poem and compared our thoughts now that we could see the characters and the setting. Today, the children have been great detectives as they have investigated the crime that was/ has been claimed to have been committed by the spider.

We have also had the absolute joy of spending Monday morning with Mrs Curtis and a wonderful art lesson! All of the children loved spending time creating their clay creations. It is just wonderful to see the children explore new materials and use their imaginations to be creative. Well done everybody!

In PE this week we have continued to practise our bat and ball skills. The children are gaining great confident when batting a ball to a partner… we have had some great rally’s, along with lots of encouraging words to one another… so much so that the whole class were awarded the PE stars this week.

On Friday the children also found out the wonderful news that Mrs Lyons will be their teacher next year! The children will absolutely flourish under Mrs Lyons wonderful lead and we cannot wait to welcome her into one of our lessons next week! I know that she is also very excited for the year ahead!

Let’s Celebrate…

Esther… We continue to be so impressed by your wonderful effort each and every day! Each lesson you make sure that you give it your all, and we are always full of joy as we watch you tackle new challenges. You have also made such a kind and caring learning partner. Hearing you celebrate others fills us with such happiness! Never let go of these fabulous qualities Esther, we know you won’t!

Liam… For being such a wonderful learner! Reading your writing of, the Iron breaded dragon blew us away! You have soaked in all of our grammar and vocabulary skills throughout the year and have created a brilliant piece of writing! We are so proud of you! It is an absolute pleasure teaching you Liam, We just know that we are going to be reading more of your wonderful writing as you travel through the school. Keep up the amazing work!

Reminders

• Monday and Thursday are our PE days. Please bring or wear your PE kit on these days.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

The Year 3 team

Year 3 Blog 1.7.22 - Nothing is impossible. The words itself says, "I'M POSSIBLE!"

The weeks really are flying by! This week the children have WOWED us with their independent writing! We have a class of reflective learners and we are SO proud of each one of them. Our Year 3’s set off writing their own versions of the Iron Man… and then swiftly got their purple pencils out to add missing punctuation, improve their vocabulary choices AND sentence structures. Reading and marking their writing has been the biggest joy! Well done everybody!

We also had another special moment this week as we celebrated the feast of St Peter and Paul in church. Celebrating mass together as a school felt so special! Watching the children help one another with the parts of the mass was just beautiful, thank you children!

The children have also finished their investigations in science this week. We have been exploring different surfaces and seeing what effect this has when trying to make objects travel. The children worked brilliantly together and I am sure they could tell you lots about their findings!

Let’s celebrate!

A Determined learner… JACOB: A huge well done! You have shown such effort and focus this week and  always, “try, try, try” to do your very best. During our writing this week you made sure to carefully edit your work, checking to see if you had included all of our Year 3 skills, Brilliant Jacob!

A Co-operative and determined learner…BELLA: You have wowed us this week with your absolute focus and determination during your writing of the Iron Man. You thought carefully about the vocabulary you used and made sure to include the key parts of your story. You have achieved so many targets this year because you try so hard and never give up! Well done Bella!

Summer Reading Challenge:

Tpday we have had one of the librarians ftom St. Annes Library in to talk to us about the summer reading challenge at the library. This starts tomorrow and they are having a launch event with different activities. It is always good to keep reading ticking over during the summer holidays so why not sign up to complete the challenge. We are sure that the children will really enjoy it.

Reminders:

• Please remember that our PE days are Monday and Thursday. Make sure to wear your PE kit on these days!

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The Year 3 team

Year 3 Blog 24.6 - "What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." - Jane Goodall

Well what a week! Today we started the day with our Gym Jam Jog and my, what fun we had! …

In class the children have worked really hard with their Iron Bird stories this week and have been very focused and innovative. We have enjoyed sharing them too. Maths has been packed with telling the time and problem solving using the additive relationship, In RE we have thought about what it is like to be a Christian and how we should behave. PE has been packed with ball skills and fabulous co-operation. Yesterday the children were amazing, We have also done lots of reading and have been practising out tables facts too. A very busy week from us all. Keep up the good work children.

We hope that you enjoys these photos of the Gym Jam Jog this morning.

Certificates

For being a such an enthusiastic Bobby Bee and a co-operative Roger Robin too. Thank you Esther. You are always so focused, ready to work and willing to share your ideas, You are such a kind and thoughtful partner too. You are like a little ray of sunshine in the classroom.and such a delight to teach. Keep up the good work Esther. Well done.

For being a Creative Kiki Chameleon this week during our story writing. You were very enthusiastic and very creative and it was lovely to see your enthusiasm too. You really enjoyed being innovative and changing the story to make it your own. Well done Archie I know you had so much fun when you were writing this week. Keep up the good work.

Here are some photos of the children who went bowling this morning. What fun they had and what wonderful ambassidors of our school they were. Thank you children.

Reminders

• PE Days will now be on a Monday and a Thursday. Please make sure that the children are wearing or have access to a PE it on these days.

• Next Wednesday we are going to Church to celebrate Mass on the feast of Sts Peter and Paul. If you would like to walk to Church with us, we are leaving at 9:30am. and would be grateful of walkers to help us when walking. Many thanks in anticipation, (Please let us know if you are able to walk with us.)

We hope that you all have a lovely weekend and a good rest (especially after all of that running this morning.

Take care and God Bless

The Year 3 Team

Year 3 - "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." - Phil Jackson

It was just wonderful to welcome you all to celebrate our sports day once again! The children were so excited to show you how hard they have been working in PE. We were all so proud of them and how they supported and encouraged each other! A huge well done Year 3 and a big thank you parents for being a brilliant audience to spur us on! Having you there to watch the children this year was so special and created such a wonderful and exciting atmosphere. The children were beaming as they came back into class… I heard so many of the children saying, “that was my favourite sport’s day!” so a huge thank you for coming to celebrate this special school event with us!

We are such book lovers in Year 3 and on Monday we were super excited to finish our class novel, ‘The Iron Man’. We have then started to plan our own stories based on this book. We cannot wait to read your stories next week and to see all of those wonderful grammar skills that we have worked on throughout the year… I know Mrs Harrison will want to take a peak too.

Certificates

Co-operative and Determined Ella … You are such a delightful girl Ella! We loved seeing your determination during our sports day this week! You tried so hard and really spurred on those around you! We have seen this determination each and every day during our classroom learning. You try so hard and when things get tricky, you never give up! Because of this, things that you once found a challenge, you can do no problem. A huge well done Ella!

Co-operative, Focused and Enthusiastic Rafe … You are such an enthusiastic and focused learner, who we have thoroughly enjoyed teaching this year! Every single day you come into school with the most wonderful excitement and interest towards the days learning. You are such a Bobby-bee! You value everybody in our class, and in our school. You know that everybody is special and has something unique to offer. You have been a beautiful learning partner, supporting and encouraging those around you.  The biggest well done Rafe!

Gym Jam Jog!

Next week Friday 24th is our ANNUAL GYM JAM JOG (sadly postponed since 2019!) Below are the details for all joggers, old and new:

• The children are invited to school in their PYJAMAS plus cuddly friend.

• We arrive super early!!! The gates will open at 8 O'clock.

• The children are then invited to run with their friends or their parent (pyjamas not essential). It is important that you count the laps.

This is a sponsored event. There has been much debate at school council level about what the children want in their playground and they want a castle!!!!

A place where imaginations can run wild! Needless to say, we need money for the build - we know as a community we can do this!

Use the sponsor form sent home this weekend to ask family and friends to sponsor you for each lap or to donate on the promise that you will jog your heart out!!!

We will jog right up until school starts when we will say goodbye to parents and jog into class - ready for breakfast!

We can't wait to share another event with the whole school family together!

Reminders:

Two groups have now experienced Crown Green bowls and all have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in this fun outing! Our group of bowlers next week will have a rather busy morning! With the Gym Jam Jog before school and then their trip to Ashton Gardens later on that morning.

Please make sure you bring your PE kit with you as you will be wearing your pyjamas!

PE DAYS!

Our PE days will now be on a MONDAY and THURSDAY. Please make sure you wear/bring your kit with you on these days. Thank you!

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." - Mahatma Gandhi

We welcomed our wonderful class back on Monday after the half term. It was great to hear all about the amazing adventures that have been had during these two weeks! The tans, new hair cuts and beaming smiles set the week off on a great note!

The children have been super busy celebrating our incredible Queen, learning all about her Coronation, her life from being a child and her reign. We are in AWE of her dedication from such a young age. On Wednesday we shared this celebration with the rest of the school as we came together for a picnic lunch. Although we had a soggy start to the day, God answered our prayers and dried out the playground… meaning we could all enjoy the picnic outside together! It was just wonderful to see everybody together… these moments haven’t been shared in what feels like forever! Everybody was up dancing, ice lollies in hand, marking this very special moment!

However, our learning hasn’t been solely been about the Queen, we have continued to share our class novel and are itching to finish the final chapter on Monday! I wonder if any of our predictions will be right?!

We have also been busy practising for our Sports day next Wednesday. I for one cannot wait for the children to show you their hardwork! Not only are they super competitive, trying their upmost. They have also become such compassionate and supportive sportspeople. Will are going to have the best afternoon!

Our sporting events don’t stop there! Our first group of children ventured out to Ashton Gardens today to experience Crown Green Bowling. The children were brilliantly behaved and absolutely loved learning about this new sport. I know our next two groups are equally excited to take part in this exciting opportunity! Well done Year 3! The previous blog has all the information needed regarding which groups the children are in and what they need to remember on their day.

Let’s Celebrate

Layla: You have wowed us with your focus and enthusiasm! We were blown away during maths, when you whizzed through your work on hundreds numbers.. you have been such a Bobby bee! You are working so hard and we could not be more proud of you! A huge well done Layla, keep up the great work!

Michael: A huge well done Michael! You have really stood out to us this week for your fantastic focus! We have been really impressed when looking at your work and seeing just how much you have got through, you haven’t wasted a second! As always, you have also been a wonderful, kind and supportive learning partner! Thank you Michael, you make us so proud!

Reminders

• Please don’t forget that this coming Wednesday (15th June) we will be celebrating our Sports day. This will start promptly at 1:30 and should last for around 1 hour. Please make sure your child comes to school in their PE kits, their water bottle, a sunhat and sun cream. Thank you!

• Crown Green Bowling: Each child will visit Ashton gardens over the coming weeks (one group have already done so) to take part in crown green bowling. Please see which group and day your child will be heading to Ashton Gardens. On their day they must wear their school PE kit, and suncream / coat - the British weather is SO unpredictable we are better off just covering all bases!

Change to PE days:

As from Monday 20th June our new PE days will be: Monday - Outdoor and Thursday - Indoor. Please make sure PE kits are worn on this day. Once again thank you!

Year 3 to go bowling!

A very exciting opportunity has come up for our class. We are off bowling in Ashton Gardens! Our school have been invited by Fylde Bowling Development Group and Fylde Council as they are keen to introduce more young people to the game of crown green bowling. This sport is ideal for all ages and abilities and the group are very keen to welcome the next generation of recreational bowlers.

Our Year 3 children will get to experience this in groups of 10 and therefore they will not all be taking part in bowling on the same day. The group will leave school in morning and be back in time for lunch.

Please find below the attached file to find out what date your child will be going.

Please make sure that on the Friday that your child will be walking to Ashton Gardens they:

• Wear full PE kits

• Come to school wearing sun cream

• sunhats / coast (Weather dependent)

How exciting!

Miss Bassett

"Together, we are one drop. But together we are the ocean." - 20.5.22

This week we have reached the end of our half term. We have continued our preparations for our sports day by spending time practising the remaining events. We have found that skipping is proving to be quite the challenge, but my, what perseverant children we have. They have wowed me with their enthusiasm and determination, organising themselves by spending their break times to practise this skill. I am so proud of them all and I know that you will be to when you watch them on Sports day next half term.

In English we have read chapter three of the Iron man and although this was a short chapter, wow did it pack a punch! We spent time exploring the new vocabulary along with the events that happened. We are desperate to read on! Roll on Tuesday when we return after the half term and we can find out what happens to the Iron man, Hogarth and the farmers!

We have continued our bridging in maths and once again the children’s confidence in crossing over and back the 100s and 10s boundary astounds me! As I reflect back over the week, I am sat remembering so many moments that made me smile as I watched the children work with their partner, helping each other with such kindness and compassion. Well done Year 3!

Let’s Celebrate!

Once again as we reach the end of our term, we ask the children to reflect and chose our certificates. I am always impressed when reading their comments about each other… they really do value such wonderful qualities in each other.

This half term the children would like to celebrate…

Niamh: “You are a Bobby bee! You are so focused in maths and are really good at it! You are also really kind and compassionate towards me and play with me at breaktimes.” … “for being so focused.” … “for being a really kind learning partner.”

Liam: “…because if somebody gets hurt when we are playing football you always make sure the game is stopped and check if the person is okay. You are very caring!” … “for being a really good co-operative Roger robin.” … “for being a really kind learning partner.”

Reminders:

• Please remember that during the first week back we will be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a whole school picnic outside (pray for sunshine). This will take place on Wednesday 8th June and the children are asked to wear red, white and/or blue to mark this very special occasion.

• Sports day: Our sports day is on Wednesday 15th June at 1:30 and should last for 1 hour. On this day please make sure your child comes to school in their PE kits, their water bottle, a sunhat and sun cream.

We hope that you all manage to have a lovely two weeks break… I think this is something we are all very ready for! We cannot wait to welcome you all back on Monday the 6th June as we begin our final half term together. My goodness, the final half term… I am already getting emotional as I type that! Where has the year gone?

Also, please remember that the final half term is jam packed with different school events. Please keep looking at our class page and the schools calendar so that nothing passes you by.

Miss Bassett, Miss Brisco and Miss Russell

"Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much." - Helen Keller

We have continued to sink our teeth into our learning this week and have really been developing our cooperative skills. Many activities have included aspect of working with others. Although this has sometimes been challenging, it has also been so rewarding and the children are learning lots about themselves as learners!

In maths we have continued our bridging over the hundreds, this time with single digit numbers. Once again the children have shown wonderful focus and confidence and I am so pleased to say that many of us are now so confident to bridge both over and back from 100.

We have finished chapter 2 of the Iron Man in English. On Thursday we had a go at Rainbow writing. The children worked in house teams to see how much they could remember about the main characters and settings. Each house took it in turns to write on fact about a character/setting, making sure that they had read what had been written before them. The winning team was the house that wrote the most facts about the story so far. It was wonderful to see each house work together, building those all important cooperative skills, whilst also showing how much they had remembered about the text.

In PE this week we had a little practise of some of this years Sports day events, and I have a feeling that this year it could be a very close result! It was lovely to hear the children cheering one another.. roll on Wednesday the 15th when we are able to celebrate our children’s love of sports!

Let’s Celebrate…

Cora for being a cooperative learner! You are such a caring and thoughtful member of the class! You always offer to help when there is a job that needs doing or friend that needs help… this makes our classroom such a brighter place. Thank you Cora! We have also been impressed with your enthusiasm! You are always excited for the next challenge and have shown such eagerness towards your reading! Well done Cora.

Faye for being a focused and cooperative learner! A huge well done this week Faye! You have been so focused during our learning and have shared some good ideas during our discussions. Not only have you been very focused, you have also shown great determination and super teamwork skills during our PE and really encouraged those around you! Helping and supporting those around you is such a wonderful quality Faye and one that I know your friends, peers and teachers love about you!

Reminders

• Just a little reminder that on June 8th we are celebrating in style with a Red White and Blue Day. At lunch time we will enjoy a whole school picnic outside on the field (let’s pray for a sunny day!). Jacqui, our school cook, has ordered special lunchboxes which will be filled with a picnic feast. If your child already has school lunches, you need to do nothing. However, if your child normally brings their own packed lunch, you can order a special picnic box by pressing here and completing a form. This must be paid for in advance on ParentPay at a cost of £2.35. Forms need to be completed by 8pm on Friday 13th May.

• Sports day: Our sports day is on Wednesday 15th June at 1:30 and should last for 1 hour. Keep your eye on the coming blogs for more information.

Year 3 blog 5.5.22: "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

In our PE this week we have continued to develop our teamwork skills to create an Iron Man dance. It is just wonderful to see the children working so cooperatively with each other! We have such a creative bunch, each groups dance is so unique and they come together beautifully. Well done Year 3!

The children continue to impress us with their focus and confidence during our maths work! We have continued to focus on using multiples of 10 to bridge over and back through 100. This week included lots of words problems, which did not prove to be a problem when we have such confident reasoners! They really are showing great depth, and whenever something is a challenge, we tackle these moments with great resilience! We are so proud of you all!

In RE the children have finished their diary entries as Peter. When marking their work I have been so pleased to see many of them using LOTS of their grammar skills, including one of our most recent… the ever difficult speech! Not only have they focused on these skills, they have also included many important moments in Jesus and Peter’s final days together, showing that they really know and understand the Easter story. Again, a huge well done Year 3! What a great week we have had!

Let’s celebrate:

This week our certificates have been awarded to Benjamin and Bella

Benjamin, you receive an Enthusiastic Bobby Bee certificate because you are always so enthuiastic and try hard to join in with all of the learning. You are always happy to share your thoughts and ideas and you make many valuable contributions in lessons. You are a little ray of sunshine in the classroom and you just love learning. Well done Benjamin – Keep up the good work!

Bella, you have been awarded a Concentrating Cooper Crab certificate for being such a focused worker this week. You have really tried hard to manage any distractions and to concentrate fully on all of your work. You have been super focused. Keep up the good work and keep concentrating!

Reminders:

• Hopefully you all received a text to explain that unfortunately there will be no food tech this term. Year 3 are sending Mrs Curtis lots of well wishes!

Have a wonderful weekend, fingers crossed for some beautiful sunshine!

Miss Bassett, Miss Brisco and Miss Russell

Year 3 Weekly Blog 29.4.22, "Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved."

The children have been full of enthusiasm this week as we continued our learning about the Iron man. We have focused on the vocabulary in the first chapter. The book really is filled with great description, we cannot wait to include it in our writing! In PE we have been using this description to create a short routine, dancing as though we are the Iron Man. The children have needed to develop their co-operation skills, ensuring their dances have included one movement from each member in their group. It has been great to see these skills develop; seeing the pride on everybody’s face when their movements have been included into the routine has been wonderful! Keep listening to each other Year 3, we want everybody to feel valued, you all have so many fantastic ideas!

We have continued to be wowed by the children's during maths this week. They have become SO confident in their bonds to 10, and to 100! We have been using this knowledge to help us to bridge over the hundreds. This week we have been deepening this knowledge even further by learning how to create our own number lines (to scale may I add) to show our reasoning when answering these questions. Your confidence is blowing us away! Well done Year 3!

Let’s celebrate with this week’s certificates:

This week we have two Roger robins!

Niamh: You make us so proud Niamh! You are such a kind, calm and caring learning partner, always taking on board your partner or groups ideas. I am sure we can say on behalf of anyone who has worked with you, thank you! Thank you for listening, thank you caring and thank you for respecting! Seeing and hearing your confidence continues to fill us with delight! We love hearing you share your thoughts and opinions. A huge well done!

Rose: You are such a caring and supportive member of our class and always make a wonderful learning partner. You respect everybody and understand that not only can you help somebody, but also learn from them too. We love hearing your kind words and celebrating those around you. Thank you Rose! You have also shown great determination towards you learning, not giving up, particularly in Maths. You are showing such wonderful resilience, we are so proud of you!

Reminders: Important food tech information!

• Food Tech: Here are the new dates and new recipes for Food tech this half term. Please check which group your child is in and the date that you will need to bring the listed items. It is so important that they arrived to school on their day with all of the ingredients listed so that they are able complete their recipe. Thank you!

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau

What a wonderful start we have had to our summer term in Year 3! Our children came into school on Tuesday, bright eyed and ready to go after their Easter break. Miss Brisco sang the children’s praises on Tuesday! They had all shown such brilliant focus, determination and cooperation throughout their first day together, and this only continued as the week went by. The children are really becoming so caring and compassionate towards each other and we could not be prouder of them!

This week we have been introduced to our new class novel, ‘The Iron Man’. Our English lessons have been full of drama as we have become familiar with the main character and our minds have become full of curiosity as to what may happen next. The children worked in groups to perform a poem based on the main character. Again, the children showed such great cooperative skills as they worked together, taking on board each others’ ideas to create a short piece of drama. Well done Year 3!

In math's we have been continuing our learning when bridging through 100. The children have WOWED us with their confidence and ability to explain their reasoning. This skill is so important across so many aspects in maths so seeing their confidence is just wonderful!

Let’s Celebrate!

Theo…You continue to impress us with your wonderful focus during our lessons. This week we have particularly noticed your super focus and determination during maths. You have become so confident when bridging over 100, we could not be more proud of you! Keep going Theo!

Rex… We were blown away with your confidence and enthusiasm during this weeks drama activities Rex! You moved brilliantly as the Iron man because you had listened so carefully to the words of the poet. You have also shown great determination towards each lesson this week, whizzing through your learning… just like Bobby bee would. Well done!

Notices…

• Food tech: There will be no food tech next week for Art group 2. A text message has been sent out to those of you who this effects. Food tech will now be as follows:

Year 3 Weekly Blog "No one has ever become poor by giving." - Anne Frank

What a special moment it was on Wednesday! Our Year 3’s were so excited for you all to see their books and to share some of their favourite pieces of work so far. We have definitely missed your presence in school during the past year and a half. Having you in school to look at your children’s learning was just magical!

In class the children have been working very hard! The BUZZ of excitement during science has been infectious. This week our apprentices have had to work with their group to make a motor and a buzzer work. The children have worked together, listening to each others’ ideas and had problem solved when things haven’t gone to plan. Some groups had a few ups and downs as they needed to rethink their ideas.. but not one person gave up! Hearing their cheers of happiness and seeing their smiles when they have succeeded has been one of those wonderful teacher joys!

In English we have been continuing our learning of how to use inverted commas for speech and Maths we have grappled with some large numbers, looking at represented them with concrete apparatus and then using our reasoning skills to problem solve.

Our History has got in to full swing this week, as we thought carefully as to why Emperor Claudius may have wanted to invade Britain, after Julius Caesar had two failed attempts 98 years earlier. The children enquired and analysed explanations, looking for key evidence!

Let’s Celebrate!

Isaac…For always showing such interest and excitement towards learning. During your science this week you have shown great focus, resilience and so much enthusiasm towards making your circuits work. Seeing your face light up was an absolute delight! You have also made such great progress with your throwing and catching and we could not be more proud of your effort with this.

Pippa… We have been so impressed with your wonderful determination and ability to reflect on your work. It is an absolute pleasure teaching you. Your humour, kindness and your friendly way with others is so welcomed in our classroom. You listen carefully during discussions and we see this in your writing. A huge well done Pippa!

Notices…

• Don’t forget the next parent meeting appointments are taking place on Wednesday 23rd March from 2:30pm - 5:30pm.

Year 3 4.03.22 'I do believe something very magical can happen when you open a book' J.K. Rowling

Year 3 have been very creative this week in their English. This week we have been developing our inference skills in reading, continuing to infer the thoughts and feelings of our characters in ‘The Green Children’ text. Then using this knowledge and understanding to write our very own diary entry as one of the green children. I can’t wait to see their depth and how they have applied all of their grammar work to their writing! The children’s homework that they competed on the Green Children last week, looks fabulous in our classroom. Such thought and effort has clearly gone in to them so thank you.

In PE we have continued looking at games across the centuries, where the children are working in groups to set up and play these games. They are working so hard on working as a team and listening to the rules, to ensure all games are fair and consistent. The hope is that these games can then be played fairly on the playground, giving the children more choice and ideas as to what to play. Maybe you could try these games at home, our focus this week has been different adaptations of Hopscotch and Queenie. Why not ask the children how to play these games, they are a lot of fun! In Maths we have used stem sentences to approach calculations, using known facts to help us add and subtract from 100. They are doing very well with this!

World Book Day was a big hit! On Thursday our classroom became the home to Cinderella, Wally.. although he wasn’t always easy to spot… footballers, a handful of Harry Potter’s and many, many more wonderful story book characters. We had such a wonderful day celebrating the magical world of books! Reading is such a special skill that can take our imagination and transport us to a new world. To celebrate this we put our memories to the test with a, ‘Walkabout Bingo’ where the children walked around the classroom, asking one another about the different books they have read and enjoyed. We had so much fun, whilst also gaining lots of book recommendations! We also had a fun game of Quiz, Quiz, trade… this time the questions were created by the children based on their favourite books. We had great fun quizzing each other and learning about books our friends have enjoyed reading.

On Wednesday we celebrated Ash Wednesday with a liturgy led by Father Peter. What a beautiful way to enter our Lenten Journey. The children were extremely reverent and reflective during this liturgy, as we thought about the sins we are asking forgiveness for and what we can offer Jesus during this period. In council this week the children have been discussing ways in which we can raise money during Lent.

After much thought we have decided that our almsgiving through Lent will focus on CAFOD’s Walk Against Hunger and we will be praying for all those around the world who are in desperate need. The children will be asking you to sponsor them as each class tries to walk at least 200K (125 miles!) over the next five weeks in our lead up to Holy Week in school. You can do this by donating on ParentPay which will be live from today. If every family donates at least £5 in sponsorship we should be able to head towards that magical £1000 for this very worthy cause. In the past a few families have collected Lenten alms with wider family and friends and passed on the donation to our chosen charity so we will put this item on ParentPay showing a range for the amount to be donated but there are no expectations and all donations are gratefully received. Below are some of the items and support which CAFOD is hoping to provide:

·         £12 can buy ingredients to make a highly nutritious sesame seed paste so a new mum can help her
malnourished child grow big and strong

·         £20 can fund expert nutrition and healthcare classes for new mums and dads in rural communities

·         £200 can feed ten malnourished children sesame paste for a week, helping them grow big and
strong

·         £500 can provide an entire community with pepper seeds for planting season

·         £600 can help local experts deliver a highly effective door-to-door campaign in rural communities,
training people in proper sanitation, hygiene and nutrition

Year 3 have decided to run each day around the school playground. We are recording each lap that we do in our Walking against hunger passports. We have also decided to link up with our Year 5 friends to go on a special walk to a church towards the end of the half term.

Let’s Celebrate!

Layla… for showing such improvement when listening in class. This focus is having a huge impact on your learning and you are starting to grasp skills that you once found quite a challenge. Keep up this wonderful effort and determination Layla. We are so proud of you and cannot wait to watch you continue to fly.

Dominic… We have been so impressed with the wonderful determination you have shown towards improving your handwriting skills! You should feel so proud of yourself and the hard work you have put in to develop this important skill… what a difference this has made! We are very proud of you Dominic, well done and keep up this wonderful effort!

Notices…

• Don’t forget our open afternoon on Wednesday 16th March to look at your child’s learning. You book this through the form found on the last week’s blog on the discovery page.

• Don’t forget your parent meeting appointments which are taking place on Wednesday 9th March and Wednesday 23rd March from 2:30pm - 5:30pm.

Year 3 11.2.22 'Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don't let anybody else use it and get a new one every six months'

We can’t believe that we have reached the end of the first Spring term, these last few weeks seem to have flown by! How time flies when you’re having fun and of course learning as deeply as Year 3 are. On Tuesday We kicked off our Online-Safety learning. This is such a crucial part of the curriculum as the children are becoming more computer literate and are using online platforms more and more, it is so important that we explore the positives and sometimes negatives of this usage, as well as given them the tools to explore these in a safe way. This week (as you may have guessed from the title), we have been discussing the need for passwords, why we have them and what we can do to protect ourselves. They have also been introduced to blogging, looking at how written responses can often be misunderstood and then we created our own rules when communicating online: making sure she are always kind, respectful and appropriate, always making sure we are clear in what we write. We even created our own class blog, where we shared our thoughts of how we use the internet and how we should behave online. This blog remains open on purple mash, but the comments have to be approved by the teacher. For their homework, we have asked them to add more of their thoughts to this blog. This would be a great opportunity to share and discuss this area further as their parents, making sure they fully understand the need for appropriate behaviour online.

Year 3 Learning this week …

In English this week we have been continuing with our new unit of ‘The Green Children’, we have been looking at story openings of many books and using our inference skills to match with the pictures. We have also explored some new vocabulary that will be find in the text we are reading after half term, we have had lots of fun finding synonyms, clapping the syllables and making up actions for our verbs.

In Maths have approached another new strategy that we can apply when subtracting numbers. The children have worked extremely hard to master these, they have required us to be real Sadie Spiders and Isabella Insects!

Let’s Celebrate!

A suggestion had been made in one of our class council meetings that the children are able to chose the certificates at the end of each half term, and so we have done just that! We thought carefully about what qualities we look out for when awarding a certificate and then the children kept this in mind when making their decisions.

It was heart warming reading their suggestions and why they had chosen that particular child.

We have counted up the votes and our two certificates this week go to:

ELSIE for being. “A kind learning partner,” “For concentrating carefully during every lesson” and “for believing in herself and going for her targets.”

FAYE for being… “always being kind and focused” and “because you are just so kind and you are always focused. You put your hand up every time.”

Notices…

• Upon reflection and much discussion, as a community, we have decided that Holy Communion will now take place in Year 4 not Year 3. This has happened the last two years and we feel the children at this age are much more ready and have a much deeper understanding of this spiritual journey and commitment to their faith.

• Don’t forget to book on to our open afternoon on Wednesday 16th March to look at your child’s learning. You book this through the form found on the last week’s blog on the discovery page.

• World book day is on Thursday 3rd March and we will be celebrating its 25th anniversary! For this day, we would like to invite the children to dress up as their favourite book characters!

• Parents meetings will be available to book via the newsletter on the discovery page. These meetings will be held on Wednesday 9th March and Wednesday 23rd March from 2:30pm - 5:30pm.

And finally…

This week each class has been set a task to think of something we would love to see in our outside playground. We have then created a video and each class has voted for their favourite idea. We cannot wait to see which idea has been chosen - we would love them all! Here is our video, led by our two class councilors Liam and Ella.