We have been straight back to it! What hard work we’ve been doing!

In English this week, we have been looking at non-chronological reports based on Harry Potter – which is our new class book for this half term (once we finished Running Wild on Monday and Tuesday!)

In Maths we are focusing on using our column addition and subtraction skills to solve word problems. We have been using the RUCSAC mnemonic to help remember the steps – Read the question, Understand what it is asking (maybe drawing a picture), Choosing which calculation to use (+ – X / ), Solving the problem using column method, Answering the questions (putting the answer in the right place), Checking the answer (by using the inverse or trying it again).

In grammar we are focusing on using the correct determiner in front of words – this week using ‘a’ or ‘an’. We’ve been looking at vowels and consonants, and also at what happens in front of words like ‘hour’ which have a consonant but start with a vowel sound!

Music has also been fun – we have been learning different musical notations, and now know the difference between crotchets and quavers – we have even been composing our own rhythms using our new notes!

Important dates 

Monday – Recorders

Wednesday – Indoor PE and Spellings

Thursday – Homework to be handed in

Friday – Outdoor PE / Homework given out

The children worked really hard and I must say, with enormous enthusiasm to finish their dioramas this week. They demonstrated how well they can work in a team, as well as their knowledge of the different layers of the rainforest. Well done Year 3.

On a different note – just a reminder that no homework was set for half term except to learn spellings and keeping persevering on the road to times tables rock stardom.

Enjoy the holiday and see you all next week.

Half term is already upon us and we have really enjoyed our last week at school before the break!

Our final week meant lots of finishing off ready for the new half term on the 30th October, and we are really happy to show you our completed rainforest dioramas that we did with Mrs Thomas – they look fantastic!!

We’re keeping them at school for now, but our rainforest animals, parrots and leaves from our display will be on their way home after the break!

On the last Thursday there was a cross country competition which several representatives from Year 3 attended – a great afternoon!

The Year 3s who were still at school got a really great treat as well – a full afternoon with Danny playing in a tag rugby tournament! The year 6s were on hand to help us out and show us some of their skills – and even though it rained towards the end and we got a bit wet and muddy, we still had a great afternoon outside.

Friday saw us REALLY excited for film night after school – it was so good to stay at school and relax with a film and a goody bag – a HUGE big thank you to the PTA for working so hard to organise events for us!

So that’s us at the end of term. Next half term our topic changes to “Meridian Explorers” where we will be journeying through the countries on the Prime Meridian line, investigating the people and places we come across and comparing them to our home in England! We’re looking forward to the first week back and making our own clocks to explore the world’s different time zones!

See you after the break!!

Mrs Gates and Mrs Thomas

Important dates for Autumn 2

Monday – Recorders

Wednesday – Indoor PE and Spellings

Thursday – Homework to be handed in (None given over the holiday!)

Friday – Outdoor PE / Homework given out

Year 4 really enjoyed a whole day devoted to exploring electricity. Fran, from C-STEM, delivered an entertaining and interesting day and we all learnt a lot. We became electrical engineers, building different kinds of circuit using wire, batteries, bulbs and switches. We tested materials to see if they were insulators or conductors of electricity. We even tested Joshua to see if would conduct electricity (safely)!! We  learnt how to complete a drawing of a circuit using the correct symbols. We talked about how our lives are dependent on electricity and what we would do without it. We also found out how electricity is made and we talked about the future of electricity production with our limited resources. What a full day!

Our children have helped fill a Volvo estate full of food kindly donated by our children as part of our Harvest giving.  We are really trying to express our value of responsibility in as many practical ways as possible. This year we wanted to provide a bumper delivery of food although we support throughout the food bank all year as well. Thank you to all who were able to support the charity.

The volume of food filled the boot and the back seats and we were informed that it was in great need and would be very helpful.

Revd Snow came to celebrate Harvest with us. He thanked Nursery for their Harvest display in church. The children listed foods that might be harvested and spoke about vegetables they’d tried in school and told Revd Snow about the baking they’d done with the school apples – apple crumble and apple muffins. We sang Hallelujah Praise the Lord and add our own verses. Revd Snow also spoke about our amazing world and beautiful trees and food growing from tiny seeds. We enjoy singing with and talking to Revd Snow.

Excitedly, we went on an Autumn walk. We spotted falling leaves and collected lots of different colour leaves. We used the parachute to toss them in the air and watch them fall. We used great describing words eg fluttering, swirling, crunchy… We saw but didn’t touch berries. We looked for signs of squirrels and built animal homes ready for Winter. We collected conkers and chestnuts. We found they were good for counting.

Our Head Girl, Boy and Deputy Head Girl and Boy join their fellow school councillors from other schools at the Netherwood Hotel for this term’s Pupil Parliament.  Joining them was a very special visitor the Rt Hon John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons.  He answered the children’s questions and led a debate linked to recycling and the ocean’s wildlife.  The children once again had a superb and inspiring time.

What a wild and exciting week we’ve had here in year 3!

On Monday Mrs Thomas was in with us, and we had a great time getting near the end of finishing off our rainforest dioramas – they’re looking fab!

From Tuesday, Mrs Gates has been with us and we have started the tough topic of using a column method to subtract – some of us are even moving onto exchanging to help us! We have been working really hard on this – and also on remembering our unbreakable maths laws, including: one number per box, lining up digits of the same value in the correct column and always starting adding or subtracting with the ones column – we’re getting really good at this now, and presentation and progress in books is great to see!

In English this week we have begun looking at poetry about rainforest animals – we have read the book ‘Rainforest Animals’ by Paul Hess. We have learnt some lines off by heart and performed them for the rest of the class. Next week, we are going to be writing our own poems about rainforest animals, and will be publishing them into our own class poetry book!

Performing poetry

On Wednesday, we went to Knowsley Safari Park – and what a wonderful day of weather we had!! Thankfully, we all had our coats – and lots of wellies – to keep us dry! The journey even as far as J36 was interesting, with lots of deep puddles for the bus to drive through, so we were a little late arriving. However, our guide Sue was ready for us and we had a fantastic classroom session learning all about different rainforest animals and their habitats. We learnt which layers of the rainforest each of the animals lived in and how they were adapted to that environment. Sue was really impressed at our knowledge of the layers of the rainforest, and that we know all about where rainforests are located around the world – near the Equator, most often between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn!

After the classroom session, we went to the gift shop for some real life maths – it was great fun working out which items we could buy with our money! Then, it was off for lunch and to see the sea lion display! The sea lions were called Roger and Arthur – and they had been trained to do lots of tricks! The could balance balls on their noses, clap, demonstrate how they’re different from seals (and do great impressions of seals), eat loads of fish and also hit a ball that was hanging really high out of the water – what fabulous animals!

After lunch, it was the birds of prey – raptors – and at least we were indoors again because of the weather! We got to see different species from owls to vultures (who only eat dead things because they are scavengers!).

Finally, we went on the safari drive. We knew that we needed to get back to school ASAP as we’d had a call saying all the roads were shut and people were being send home, so we rushed round with Sue showing us all the animals. Lots of the animals were hiding out of the rain, but we did see lots of deer, antelope, camels, lions, baboons – and even a baby Rhino! We got stuck in the lion’s enclosure for a few minutes because one of the lionesses decided to stand in the middle of the road and hold up all the traffic – we think she’d spotted a tasty snack in one of the cars! After that, we said goodbye to Sue and Mrs Gates got us all an ice lolly from the shop – just the weather for it! Thankfully, we managed to get back to school with only a few floods on the road – although it was exciting driving near the river Lune and seeing it so high and flooded across the fields! We managed to get home in the end!

Thursday and Friday have been back hard at work – although Friday morning there was a surprise for us all in class – Mrs Gill, one of our governors, brought her pet snake in for a visit! We learnt so much from her about Reggie – the lovely corn snake. We really enjoyed meeting Reggie, and we spent some time on Friday writing some facts that we learnt about snakes in the morning. A really huge thank you to Mrs Gill for coming and sharing all of her fantastic snake knowledge with us, and also to Reggie for coming and being so good for us!

Next week:

Everyday – Children need to have their planners in school each day so we can record when they are reading with us. Please mark in when you have read at home or when you have discussed the children’s books with them. For another copy of example questions, please ask Mrs Gates or Mrs Thomas.

Wednesday – Spellings – Blue spelling books required.

• After school Math’s evening – school hall. This meeting is for parents to go through the school’s approach to mathematics. Mr Jones and Mr Bromley will be demonstrating some of our calculation policy as well as looking at the progression between year groups.

Thursday – Outdoor PE. This week, Year 3 are going to be outside all afternoon (1-3pm) playing a tag rugby inter-house competition with Danny. They will be on the field come rain or shine. Please can you ensure children have suitable clothing and footwear – it is likely to be cold and muddy!

• Yellow homework due – needs to be in on a Thursday so it can be marked that evening ready to be sent home on a Friday. We have looked at maths homework and are using this now as a consolidation of the work covered in class that week, so nothing should be new to the children. Please encourage your children to ask Mrs Gates at the beginning of the week if they would like some help rather than waiting until Thursday afternoon! For handwriting – children should complete a full line of each of the spelling words to help practice both the spelling and the letter formation in cursive. Tracing over the given example to help with the letter forms can help before having a go on their own.

Friday – End of term. We will try to ensure PE kits etc are sent home on Thursday so that they aren’t left in school over the half term.

Have a fantastic holiday!

Here in Year 1 we are having a wonderful time learning about Superhero’s and thinking about what it takes to have special powers and what we would do for the day as a Superhero!

What special powers would you have if you were a superhero?