'Be yourself. Everyone else is taken' - Oscar Wilde

Wow! I cannot believe that we are at the end of our first term together already. Time really does fly when you're having fun! I am so proud of all the children and the progress they have made so far this year; I really have loved every second and I can’t wait to see what next term brings. All of your children are unique and they should be very proud of that, and we are going to focus in on this next term by thinking about our strengths and qualities we possess.

We have had a busy but fun week together…

-In Maths we did our first assessment; which we worked super hard on! Well done Year 3! We also continued to look at time.

-In English we continued our learning on information texts and their features.

-In History we built Stonehenge out of biscuits - we named it ‘Biscuithenge’! Messy but fun!

-In P.E. we continued our games topic and practiced our chest and bounce passes.

-In R.E. we thought about our godparents and why they have such an important role in our lives.

Notices:

Harvest - your child has come home with a letter regarding donations for Harvest. This year we are supporting the shoebox appeal and as a class we have been asked to donate toiletry items. This could be a toothbrush, a flannel, soap (but please no liquids). If these items could be brought in to school the week we return we would be very grateful. Thank you for all the donations received so far.

Parent’s Day - I look forward to meeting you all on the 28th to discuss your child’s progress so far.

Math’s Day - We will be celebrating this day on the 31st October (the Thursday after we return). Your child can come to school in an outfit that represents number in some way! Some ideas could be: dice, a domino, a calculator…however, it could also be as simple as a t-shirt with a number on it!

Homework - there will be no homework over the holiday; however I would still like the children to be reading daily if possible (this can be a book from home).

I wish you all a wonderful and restful holiday.

Miss Heim-Sarac

We love Shakespeare!

We started the week learning all about the Merchant of Venice before the RSC visit on Tuesday. We learnt about the setting and characters, created freeze frames of different scenes and spent time in the hall with Year 4 acting out the play in ten sections. The children absolutely blew me away with their acting and understanding. Well done Year 3!

On Tuesday we were treated to an amazing performance of the Merchant of Venice by the RSC. What a show it was! The children were beautifully behaved throughout and they were very sad when it came to an end! A big well done to Sophie, Lillie and Oliver who took part in the performance by presenting the caskets and reading a line from the play. We are so lucky to be able to experience a performance of a Shakespeare play first hand from the RSC.

Here is what we have been learning this week…

-English: we have written some fabulous recounts of Stone Age Boy and started a new topic on information texts. I have asked the children to bring in any leaflets they may see when they are out and about this weekend that give the reader information - for example, a leaflet about local attractions.

-Maths: we have looked at measurement this week and had a focus on telling the time on an analogue and digital clock.

-History: we have learnt about Stonehenge and we will be making our own models of this famous landmark next week.

-R.E.: we have looked at the story of The Paralysed Man and retold it. We have also learnt about the importance of our Baptismal promises.

Our award winners this week are:

Maths: Tyler

Writing: Max & Oliver

Golden: Jayden-Thomas

We break up for school next Thursday, the 17th October, at normal finishing time and return on Tuesday 29th October. Please ensure you have an appointment with me for Parents’ Day on the 28th October which will be held in the school hall.

Please see the homework tab for this weeks tasks.

Have a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

How do you eat scones?

What a week we have had! Firstly, I just want to say how hard your children have worked this week but also how hard they have been trying to make the right choices. They have blown me away this week and I am so proud of them! This has definitely been our best week in Year 3 so far and I hope it continues.

We were very lucky to have had a special visitor in our class this week - my sister! She spent Tuesday and Wednesday with us and the children loved having her here. She lives in Devon, and spends a lot of her time on a farm, so as you can imagine the children were very excited about this. She brought in some lovely videos and pictures of various animals, and the children had the opportunity to ask her some questions. On Wednesday afternoon, she brought us all a scone with clotted cream and jam! I was so impressed as pretty much all of the children tried them. We of course had them the Devon way (cream, then jam!) Yum!

We have also done some fabulous learning, as always, this week…

-In English we have looked at compound sentences and sentence openers. It's so important that we don’t just use ‘the’ at the beginning of our sentences.

-In Maths we have been looking at 3D shapes and we have also started to learn subtraction by counting on.

-In Science we looked at how our lifestyles might affect our diet. We had a go at creating a menu for somebody based on their lifestyle - for example, a bodybuilder will need more protein in their diet and a marathon runner will need more carbohydrates.

-In R.E. we have been looking at the extraordinary month of mission which is taking place throughout October. We have learnt about St Therese of Liseux who is the patron of this event, as well as looking at John Henry Newman who is to be canonised on the 13th October. We then watched a video about a nun who is a missionary and who travels to Africa to help people there. We also created our own missions to achieve this month.

-In History we learnt about Skara Brae which is a historical site in Scotland from the Stone Age. We used the ipads to research this special place.

Our award winners this week are:

Golden - Dainton

Writing - Ebony

Reading - Leo

We have the amazing RSC coming in to our school on Tuesday to perform The Merchant of Venice. We are so excited! It is such a fantastic opportunity for the children. If you would like to see this performance, there is one in the evening at 7pm. Please buy your tickets from the office to avoid missing out!

Please see the homework tab for this week’s tasks.

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Heim-Sarac

The greatest wealth is to live content with little - Plato

The highlight of our week was definitely European Languages Day which we celebrated yesterday! As a class we were ‘Greece’ and what fun we had - we really immersed ourselves in Greek culture. We learnt lots of interesting facts, made our own Greek flags, designed our own Greek vases, listened to Greek myths, learnt some Greek dancing and learnt some Greek phrases! Not to mention the food tasting! I was so proud of the children as they all had a go at trying the food - olives, feta, pitta bread, tzatziki and Greek yoghurt! Well done Year 3!

We have also been doing lots of amazing learning in other areas…

-English: We have had a conjunction focus this week and have also had a go at creating some compound sentences.

-Maths: The children have been learning how to double and halve numbers up to 40.

-History: The children have made some fantastic cave drawings and they have also had a go at trying to work out what sources can tell us about the past.

-R.E.: We have focused this week on signs and symbols of Baptism. In our worships we have been thinking about putting God first and not placing too much importance on material things.

-Spanish: The children have also started their Spanish lessons with Mrs McVey which will take place on a Friday afternoon.

Our award winners this week were:

Maths: Dainton

Golden: Lillie

Writing: Edie

Please see the homework tab for this week’s tasks.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Miss Heim-Sarac

We are actors, writers and bumblebee breathers!

Firstly, I apologise for the delay in getting this blog to you - unfortunately I was not in school Friday or yesterday due to the sad passing of my godfather. It has been lovely to be back in school with the children today as I have missed them! Last week saw lots of fabulous learning…

Maths: the children learnt how to order and compare numbers; add and subtract 2 two digit numbers AND start to learn their multiplication tables (3s and 4s)! The children will be Maths superstars before we know it!

English: the children created some fabulous sentences using adjectives; as well as writing their own adventure for Barney & Stig from Stig of the Dump. They also created some fabulous freeze frames for Stone Age Boy! We definitely have some budding writers and actors on our hands.

History: we pretended we were Stone Age hunter gatherers and went on a hunt around the school grounds to see what we could use to help us to survive if we lived in the Stone Age.

R.E.: Father Jim kindly conducted a Baptism over at Church for us so that we could see first hand how a child enters the Christian Family. Thank you for the beautiful pictures you have sent in with the children from their own Baptisms.

Science: we looked at the nutrient pyramid and learnt why we need different nutrients in our diet.

Your child may have mentioned to you that we have learnt how to ‘bumblebee breathe’. Ask the children to show you how to do it! It helps the children feel calm and mindful; and we have been practicing this at numerous points throughout the school day.

Reminder: European Languages Day on the 26th (this Thursday). We will be learning all about Greece so please can the children come to school dressed in white and blue (the colours of the Greek flag). Thank you!

Award winners:

Maths: Oliver

No other awards were handed out due to school photographs being taken on Friday.

Miss Heim-Sarac

Savage Stone Age

I can’t believe that we have had two weeks together already! This week the children have been so enthusiastic about their learning which has been lovely to see. It is such a big step for them to come in to Year 3; but they continue to amaze me with how well they are taking it all in their stride. I’m excited for the coming week together!

Maths - we have been looking at what happens when we add and subtract a 1 digit number to/from a 2 digit number. We spotted lots of patterns and could then apply this to larger numbers too!

English - we have immersed ourselves in the story of the Stone Age Boy this week! We have learnt the story through story maps and boards; and used adjectives to describe a setting from the story. We also created a piece of drama!

History - we started our Stone Age topic by looking at what prehistory means. We placed the three parts of the Stone Age on to a timeline.

Science - we created a healthy meal on paper plates (following the guidance from the eatwell plate). Ask your child what meal they designed!

Yoga - we had our first yoga sessions with Mrs Ward. It was so relaxing and she taught us how to have a mindful body.

R.E. - we wrote about a special occasion in Church. Next week we will be starting to learn about how we join the Christian Family - Baptism. I have asked your children to please bring in a photo from their own Baptisms (please don’t worry if your child hasn’t been Baptised/you don’t have a photo). The photos can be copies. If these could be in school for Wednesday that would be great.

Roald Dahl Day - on Friday the children celebrated Roald Dahl day and took part in lots of fun activities!

Phew! As you can see, we’ve been very busy! The children were also given their login details for times tables rock stars. We are currently trialling this in school and so far the children seem to be enjoying it. They can log in at home also; so please can you ensure your children are logging in at least three times a week to practice their tables. Thank you.

Our award winners this week were:

Maths - Sam. For blowing me away with his number bond knowledge.

Golden - Sophie. For settling in to Year 3 beautifully.

Writing - Tyler. For producing some fantastic sentences this week.

Well done!

Please see the homework tab for details of this of this week’s tasks.

Finally, some dates for your diary…

26th September - European Day of Languages. We will be looking at Greece this year so please can the children come to school dressed in the colours of the Greek flag.

31st October - Math’s Day. The children can come to school dressed in an outfit related to number I.e. a domino, dice etc.

I hope you have had a lovely weekend.

Miss Heim-Sarac

Welcome to Year 3!

Hello and welcome to Year 3! Each week, I will write a blog for you to read about what your children have been learning. I will also include any important notices and homework tasks.

Your children have blown me away this week. They have started Year 3 with a positive attitude and an enthusiasm to learn. I couldn’t ask for any more!

Despite it being the first week back, we have still managed to do lots of amazing learning…

Maths - we have been recapping our number bonds to 10 and 100, and then looking at adding three and four numbers together! The children have done some fabulous work and you wouldn’t think they had just had six weeks off!

English - we have completed our star reading tests this week and we have also written a story set in the past.

Science - we have started a topic on animals (including humans). Firstly, we thought about what we already knew, and then we had a go at sorting some foods in to the five main food groups as we are going to start our topic thinking about diet.

R.E. - we are starting our year thinking about our Christian family. We discussed this as a class and then we drew a picture of who we thought was in our Christian family. We also spoke about a special time we have shared with our families.

Art - we created some beautiful adjective posters with watercolours to describe ourselves! They are super!

We also voted for our school councillors for this year. Well done to Max & Abigail who will be the Year 3 representatives. I know they will do a fabulous job.

Important notices:

• P.E. days are Monday and Thursday. In Autumn term the children also need to wear their PE kit on a Tuesday as they will be taking part in a yoga session on a Tuesday afternoon.

• Your child will come home with a reading book and log. Please sign and date when your child has read. I do expect the children to read nightly. Once the children have read a book they will then take a quiz on accelerated reader based on their understanding of the book. If you have any questions about accelerated reader, please ask. I will be sending home a letter next week with your child’s details so that you can log in yourselves and track their progress.

• The children will come home with weekly spellings to learn (starting next week) but there will be no weekly spelling test. Instead, the children will consolidate their learning through activities in class and an end of term assessment.

• I will put details of times tables work that I would like the children to complete at home on my blog next week.

• Please do not hesitate to call school or catch me at the end of the day if you would like to chat about your child. I will be more than happy to do so! Unfortunately, I am unavailable in the morning as I will be in the class room preparing for the day ahead.

• Homework details will always be put on the website on a Friday under the homework tab. Homework is given out on a Friday and due in on a Tuesday. There will be no homework this week.

I am extremely excited for the year ahead - your children are so lovely and I can’t wait to see what the year brings!

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Heim-Sarac