'The only way around is through' - Robert Frost

This week we have been talking about using our growth mindset to face any challenges that come our way. Having a growth mindset is about understanding that it is through our mistakes that we learn and that we need to face any challenges head on and not give up! This takes practice and we will work on this as the year progresses…however I can already see that lots of the children are trying to adopt this mindset which is wonderful to see. Even as an adult it can be hard to stay positive and be resilient, but hopefully by teaching the children these qualities at a young age they will be able to take these in to their adult lives.

It has been another lovely week in Year 3 and I am loving every moment that we are spending together! Here’s what we have been up to…

English - the children have written an informal letter to me based on the book ‘Dear Teacher’.

Maths - we have learnt about place value in a 3 digit number.

History - the children created a pre historic timeline.

Computing - we learnt about a file’s journey in a network.

Art - the children drew peppers using charcoal. They look fantastic!

R.E. - we thought about an occasion when we have visited church as well as learning about the parable of The Paralysed Man.

Music - the children had their first lesson with Miss Benson where they had the opportunity to sing and appraise a song.

Award winners

Maths - Lily - for wonderful work on place value.

Writing - Connie - for a wonderful informal letter that made me laugh!

Golden - Zahra - for her perseverance and for starting to have faith in her abilities.

Well done all!

Notices

• PE - will be on Mondays and Thursdays so please send the children into class in their PE kits on those days. No earrings can be worn for PE so please ensure that they are taken out at home.

• Water Bottle - we have provided the children with a school water bottle. The children need to bring their water bottle in daily, already filled with water. They will take their water bottle home at the end of each day to be cleaned.

• Homework - your child has now come home with a homework folder which contains their homework for this week (due in on Tuesday). The folders must come back in to school on Tuesdays where I will then collect them in and mark the children’s work. Homework will be sent home on a Friday.

• Home Learning-if your child is having to isolate for any reason and needs to access home learning, this will be accessible from the Year 3 Home Learning page. On the day we are informed of any child needing to isolate, it may mean that it will not be until the end of the day that a full timetable of home learning will be available on the Home Learning tab.

• If you need to contact me, please send me an e-mail to: year3@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk or contact me via Class Dojo.

• Finally, as part of our Christian family topic in R.E., we will be learning about the sacrament of Baptism. Please could you send your child in with a picture of themselves at their own Baptism? If you can pop their name on the back and I will ensure they are returned to you. Thank you!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

Miss Heim-Sarac

Our first week together...

Our first week together as a class has been so special. I am so proud of all of the children for their perseverance and resilience. The move from Year 2 to Year 3 is a huge change in the children’s school lives, they are now Juniors where the work expectations can sometimes worry them and throw them off balance for a little while. I want to stress to you that this is completely normal - and that is what we are here for - to guide them through this time as they adjust to their new place in school. Each year, the children always mention the stairs as something that has worried them or made them think that the Juniors is a somewhat scary place. It really isn’t…we are still a school and class family and the behaviour expectations are just the same as KS1. I can already see that the children have adjusted so well to their new class, and have taken everything in their stride. This is what I love about children the most, the way they adapt so quickly to new situations. So, please don’t worry…if your child does have any concerns or worries they can always come and chat to me or you can message or contact me to discuss and we can figure out a way forward!

A highlight from our first week together has to be our trip over to church on Wednesday. This was the first time we had been to Mass as a school in such a long time. We were there to celebrate ‘The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ which on its own is a special occasion for us as Our Lady is our patron saint. Yet this Mass was special for another reason - this was the final Mass that Father Jim will conduct for us as a school before he takes up his new post in Ulverston. As a school we are devastated to see Father Jim go, however at the Mass we were able to present him with some gifts and special words that we hope will be a reminder of how much he means to us.

Here is what we have been up to this week…

English - we are looking at informal letter writing through a wonderful book called ‘Dear Teacher’.

Maths - we have learnt about counting in 100s up to 1000 - forwards and backwards!

Science - we started our new unit of work on Animals including Humans. The children will become personal trainers this term!

P.E. - we have learnt some netball skills as well as starting to learn how to play handball.

Spanish - we learnt how to say hello, goodbye, good morning, good afternoon and good evening in Spanish.

R.E. - we thought about our families at home as well as our Christian family. The children described a special event they can remember with their families.

IT - we learnt about our school network and what a network means. We went on a network safari around school.

Art - this term we will be looking at fruit and vegetables. This week we looked at different artist representations of fruit and vegetables and evaluated them. Next week, we will be drawing peppers using charcoal.

As you can see, we’ve had a busy week and hit the ground running!

Award winners

Maths - Oscar - for wonderful counting to 1000.

Writing - Tommy - for editing his first piece of writing in Year 3 so well.

Golden - Ronnie - for his beautiful listening skills and willingness to learn.

Well done all!

Notices

• PE - will be on Mondays and Thursdays so please send the children into class in their PE kits on those days. No earrings can be worn for PE so please ensure that they are taken out at home.

• Water Bottle - we have provided the children with a school water bottle. The children need to bring their water bottle in daily, already filled with water. They will take their water bottle home at the end of each day to be cleaned.

• Homework - will be set through Class Dojo on a Friday and will be due in the following Tuesday.

• Home Learning-if your child is having to isolate for any reason and needs to access home learning, this will be accessible from the Year 3 Home Learning page. On the day we are informed of any child needing to isolate, it may mean that it will not be until the end of the day that a full timetable of home learning will be available on the Home Learning tab.

• If you need to contact me, please send me an e-mail to: year3@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk or contact me via Class Dojo.

• Finally, as part of our Christian family topic in R.E., we will be learning about the sacrament of Baptism. Please could you send your child in with a picture of themselves at their own Baptism? If you can pop their name on the back and I will ensure they are returned to you. Thank you!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

Miss Heim-Sarac

Welcome to Year 3!

It has been wonderful to welcome your children in to Year 3 this week! I hope you have all had a fabulous summer and are ready for the year ahead. Your children are all lovely little people and I can’t wait to get to know them all as the year progresses. We have had a great couple of days together getting to know one another and establishing the rules and routines of Year 3. They have settled in so well and they all seem excited to be in the juniors.

Notices

• PE - will be on Mondays and Thursdays so please send the children into class in their PE kits on those days. No earrings can be worn for PE so please ensure that they are taken out at home.

• Water Bottle - we have provided the children with a school water bottle. The children need to bring their water bottle in daily, already filled with water. They will take their water bottle home at the end of each day to be cleaned (starting from Monday).

• Homework - will be set through Class Dojo on a Friday and will be due in the following Tuesday.

• Home Reading - the children have brought home their reading folders with a reading record and a book inside. The book is one the children have picked purely on whether they wanted to read it or not. Next week, the class will be taking their star reading tests to determine their new ZPD for Autumn 1. It is so important that the children are reading regularly at home! Please can you ensure their reading records are signed at home so they can get their stickers on their book marks too.

• Home Learning-if your child is having to isolate for any reason and needs to access home learning, this will be accessible from the Year 3 Home Learning page. On the day we are informed of any child needing to isolate, it may mean that it will not be until the end of the day that a full timetable of home learning will be available on the Home Learning tab.

• If you need to contact me, please send me an e-mail to: year3@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk or contact me via Class Dojo.

As of next week, I will include details on my blog of what the children have learned that week as well as some pictures of them hard at work!

Have a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

'Children are a gift of God' - Psalms 127:3

It was so lovely to welcome the children back to school on Tuesday after our isolation period. This is such a lovely time of the year where we get to celebrate the children’s successes and have some fantastic treats together so I was happy to be back in school and I think the children were too! I have been reflecting on the children’s learning journeys this week and I am just so unbelievably proud of how far they have all come. I am going to miss them so much but I am determined to make the most of our final week together. I have planned some lovely treats for the children next week, very kindly funded by our wonderful PTA. I’m keeping the plans secret at the moment and I can’t wait to see the children enjoying themselves after what has been a tricky and challenging year.

We have been lucky this week to welcome Miss Whitehead back in to our class to deliver some lessons to the children and for her to start to get to know the children a little bit more. The children have welcomed her with open arms and I know that Miss Whitehead is excited for the year ahead.

What we have been up to this week

-English - we have learnt about inverted commas and prepositions.

-Maths - we have been doing some further work on dividing a 2 digit number by a 1 digit number.

-History - the children learnt about the Roman gods and goddesses.

-P.E. - we had a game of football that ended in a penalty shoot out! We also had a great afternoon at our Sport’s Day.

-R.E - we looked at the order of the Mass.

Notices:

• Please remember to bring sun hats and wear sun cream on sunny days as we do spend time outdoors during the school day. Please also ensure your child has a coat in school just in case it rains - not unheard of in Blackpool - so that we may still go outside for play times.

• Please ensure the children bring their water bottles filled with fresh water daily (no juice please!)

• Please can each child bring in a ‘bag for life’ (as they will hold more weight) with their name on it, in preparation for sending work home by the end of this term. This bag needs to be in school no later than Tuesday please.

• On Friday 16th July it is the Teddy Bear’s picnic lunch. Please return the form ASAP if you have not yet done so.

• Your child’s end of year report has been sent home today. Please feel free to message me on Class Dojo or send me an email if you would like to discuss your child’s report: year3@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk

Certificates

• Golden Award - Jacob

• Writing Award - Isabella

There is no Maths award this week.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the football on Sunday…It’s coming home!

Miss Heim-Sarac

Sport's Day 2021

Today we finally managed to have our Sport’s Day! It was a wonderful afternoon topped off with a yummy ice lolly as a reward! Here are some pictures for you all as I know you would have loved to have been here…

Faith as small as a mustard seed…

This week we celebrated the Blackpool Family Schools Year 3 Mass, and the theme was ‘Faith like a mustard seed’ . This mass is usually when all Year 3 classes gather at St. Mary’s to celebrate this special service. However, as this was not possible, due to Covid, Fr Jim recorded the mass so all of the school could join in this special worship. The theme of this Mass helped us to remember that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed…it starts off really small and yet grows into something spectacular. This is just like our faith…where there is a tiny bit of faith, it can grow to immense proportions, spreading its influence far and wide and benefiting those who it comes into contact with. A seed does nothing until it is planted, just like our faith will not grown unless we live our the Word of God, through our words and actions.

A big thank you for supporting the ‘Dress the colour of the rainbow’ own clothes day event to raise money for gardening tools, it’s very much appreciated. The children all looked lovely in their different colours.

We have had another great week in Year 3. There has been lots of fabulous learning taking place. The children are excited for their school trip next week and to meet their Year 4 teacher - Miss Whitehead - next Thursday. Before we know it, it will be time for us to say goodbye ready for the summer holidays and the children starting their Year 4 journey in September. I am so proud of them all and will miss them greatly.

What we have been up to this week

English - we started a new poetry unit on the poem the Spider and the Fly.

Maths - we have learnt to divide a 2 digit number by a 1 digit number.

History - we learnt about Roman roads and drew them on a map.

Science - we conducted an experiment to see if shadows change size the further they are from the light source.

P.E. - we have been practicing for Sports Day.

Music - we learnt how to play Mary had a little Lamb on our recorders.

Spanish - we practiced our Spanish phrases from last week. We were also very lucky as a girl called Carmen (who is Spanish) came in to our class to play some Spanish games with us. We learnt our numbers 1-6 and how to say stand up, sit down, jump and hands up.

Computing - we learnt how to add an attachment to an e-mail.

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week:

Golden - Riley

Maths - Chase

Writing - Scott

Well done to you all!

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

Notices

• Please remember to bring sun hats and wear sun cream on sunny days as we do spend time outdoors during the school day. Please also ensure your child has a coat in school just in case it rains - not unheard of in Blackpool - so that we may still go outside for play times.

• Please ensure the children bring their water bottles filled with fresh water daily (no juice please!)

• Within the next couple of weeks, please can each child bring in a ‘bag for life’ (as they will hold more weight) with their name on it, in preparation for sending work home by the end of this term.

• We will be holding the Year 3 Sports Day on the 29th June. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, we are not allowing any spectators for this event. I will, however, take lots of photographs for you to view on my blog that week.

• Our school trip is this coming Tuesday. I’m so excited! Please ensure your child wears their school PE kit and shoes that you don’t mind them getting muddy. They also need to bring a waterproof coat.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

Welcome back to our final half term!

It has been lovely to have the children back in school this week after the holidays. I hope you all enjoyed the break! I can’t believe we are now in our final half term together - time flies! I have really enjoyed teaching your children this year and I am really proud of the progress they have all made.

Today has been very special as I could announce to the children that they have now met their 10,000 dojo target! What an unbelievable achievement. The children will receive a fantastic prize on the final day of term for all their hard work.

What we have been up to this week

English - we have done some writing on the life of Boudicca, the Iceni Queen.

Maths - we have looked at fact families and multiplication.

History - we learnt all about Boudicca and her life.

Science - we designed our own sunglasses or hat to keep ourselves safe from the sun. We also learnt about UV light.

P.E. - we have been practicing for Sports Day.

Music - we played along to Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’ on our recorders and learnt another note.

Spanish - we have started to learn Spanish this week! We learnt how to say hello, how to ask people how they feel as well as how to say our names.

Computing - we learnt all about e-mails and how to send one.

Certificates

Here is our award winner for this week:

Golden - this week’s Golden Award goes to William who started in our class on Monday. He has settled in so well!

The Maths and Writing award will return next Friday.

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

Litter picking trip

Well done to our eco warriors who took part in a litter picking excursion yesterday. They did a fantastic job and managed to collect lots of litter! Well done! There are some photos of their trip at the end of this blog. Thank you to Mrs Hodgkiss for organising this.

Notices

• Please remember to bring sun hats and wear sun cream on sunny days as we do spend time outdoors during the school day. Please also ensure your child has a coat in school just in case it rains - not unheard of in Blackpool - so that we may still go outside for play times.

• Please ensure the children bring their water bottles filled with fresh water daily (no juice please!)

• Own clothes day is on Friday 18th June and we ask for the children to bring £1 for this. The theme is ‘Dress the colour of the rainbow’. We are raising money for some gardening equipment for school.

• Within the next couple of weeks, please can each child bring in a ‘bag for life’ (as they will hold more weight) with their name on it, in preparation for sending work home by the end of this term.

• We will be holding the Year 3 Sports Day on the 29th June. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, we are not allowing any spectators for this event. I will, however, take lots of photographs for you to view on my blog that week.

• There will be no homework this week.

• Yesterday, the school appointed Miss Whitehead as the new Year 4 teacher for next year. Miss Whitehead will be spending some time with the children over the coming weeks to get to know them as much as she can before September.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

'And they were filled with the Holy Spirit' - Acts 2:4

This Sunday, 23rd May, we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, when the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples of Christ to fill them with courage. Those first followers of Jesus showed incredible courage as they went out into the world to spread the Word of God, but they did so in the true and certain knowledge of God’s love for them. I hope that you feel the power and love of the Holy Spirit as we celebrate Pentecost this weekend - may the Lord fill you with the love and strength that you need to go forth and proclaim the love of the Lord.

I can hardly believe that when we return to school after the two week break that we will only have 6 weeks left together before the summer holidays. The children have worked hard this term and we will continue to do lots of fantastic work in the run up to the end of Year 3 to ensure they are ready for Year 4. I’m really proud of all of them for the progress they have made this year - not just academically…they are also maturing in to lovely young people and are starting to understand the importance of treating others how we wish to be treated ourselves.

What we have been up to this week

English - we have done tonnes of research this week in to different aspects of Roman life - Hadrian’s Wall, Legionaries and Education. We also created our own Top Trumps cards.

Maths - we have started to learn how to multiply a 2 digit number by a 1 digit number.

History - we described the three attempts to invade Britain by the Romans and then we had a silent debate as to whether we would have fought back against the Romans if we lived in Britain at the time or whether we would have accepted them as our new rulers.

Science - we looked at some statements about the sun and decided whether the statement meant the sun was a ‘Hero’ or a ‘Villain’.

P.E. - we had a handball tournament and consolidated our ball skills learnt from this term.

Music - we played along to Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’ on our recorders.

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week:

Golden - Ayson

Maths - Rion

Writing - Zak

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

I hope you have a lovely break,

Miss Heim-Sarac

"After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God." Mark 16:19

Yesterday we celebrated the Ascension of Our Lord. Although we were not able to go over to church, to celebrate this Mass, Fr Jim brought the Mass to us! He live streamed the mass over to school so all classes were able to watch and take part, from our classrooms. It was such a lovely moment, as although we were all still in our classrooms, in our bubbles, it really brought us all together again, through worship. The children were so well behaved and listened to everything that Fr Jim was saying throughout. I was so proud of them.

I felt that it was important to mention in my blog this week that our school community are keeping their thoughts and prayers with Jordan Banks’ family and friends following the devastating event on Tuesday. It is clear to see what an amazing young man he was, we all send our deepest condolences. On Wednesday, Year 3 made a card for Jordan which I went to lay along with some flowers on Wednesday evening at Common Edge playing fields. We will be continuing to pray for Jordan, his family and friends.

What we have been up to this week

English - we created two pieces of blackout poetry! Ask the children to explain to you what this is. The first piece was about the Colosseum in Rome and the second piece was about Roman medicines and healing.

Maths - we have looked at related multiplication and division facts.

History - we have started to learn about the Roman attempts to invade Britain.

Science - we have started to learn about sun safety.

R.E. - we focused on the Ascension this week and sequenced this special event.

Art - we have begun to design our Mosaic art work; starting with the border.

P.E. - we have been learning about ball skills these past few weeks. This week, we focused on controlling the ball with our feet.

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week:

Golden - Frankie

Maths - Isabella

Writing - Max

Cape of Pride

Well done to Lexi Rose who had the opportunity to wear the cape of pride this week. There are lots of exciting privileges to be had for those children chosen to wear the cape so I will be keeping my eye out next week for some more children to wear it!

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

Smart watches

A few children have been coming in to school with the VTech smart watches. Unfortunately these are not allowed to be worn in school for a few reasons - their size, the capability to play games on there and their capability to take and store photos. A regular wristwatch or a small step tracker (like a fitbit) can be worn.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

'While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven' - Luke 24:51

On Thursday 13th May, we celebrate the Feast of the Lord’s Ascension. The ascension of Jesus was when he ascended back to heaven to be with His Father, leaving his disciples with an extremely important mission. Unlike when he died, this is a happy goodbye, because the disciples knew that Jesus would be watching over them from heaven, and that he would send the Holy Spirit to help them. It can’t have been easy for them to say goodbye to Jesus for the second time. However, Jesus needed to ascend to heaven so that the Holy Spirit could come to them. He needed to leave so that He could be closer to us through the Spirit.

What we have been up to this week

English - we started to learn all about the Colosseum in Rome ready for us to do some blackout poetry on Monday. More details on this to come on my blog next week!

Maths - we compared multiplication and division statements with our crocodile mouth symbols.

History - we completed our spy booklets on Britain before the Romans invaded.

R.E. - we spoke about how we spend our Sundays and then we learnt about why it is a special day for Christians.

Art - we started to design a stamp for a competition that we are going to be entering based around the heroes during the Covid pandemic such as Sir Tom and our wonderful NHS.

Certificates

Here is our award winner for this week:

Golden - Charlotte

There was no Writing or Maths award given out this week - they will return next Friday!

Cape of Pride

Well done to Max who had the opportunity to wear the cape of pride this week. There are lots of exciting privileges to be had for those children chosen to wear the cape so I will be keeping my eye out next week for some more children to wear it!

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

Important notice

Please read this important letter from Miss Haggerty…

Letter

I hope you have had a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

'We have a responsibility to look after our planet. It is our only home' - Dalai Lama

This week the children learnt all about recycling and how by recycling we are contributing to saving our planet. The children learnt all about the types of materials that we can recycle, and those we can’t. They also learnt about what items can be made in to compost. They then came up with different ways that we can help to save the planet. They came up with some fantastic ideas! Hopefully they will share these with you at home, although I am sure you do many of these already. As part of our learning around recycling this week, I have chosen 6 children to be our litter pickers and eco warriors around school. They will work with Mrs Hodgkiss each week to ensure our school and grounds are kept litter free. They will also lead other activities around school to educate the other children about how they can help to save the planet too. Those children are Joshua, Emelia, Lexi-Rose, Scott, Ayson and Riley. I know they will do a fabulous job!

I would also like to welcome Scott to our class. Scott started in Year 3 on Monday and he has already become a wonderful addition to our school. The children have made him feel very welcome which has been lovely to see. Welcome Scott!

What we have been up to this week

English - we have learnt all about Julius Caesar this week by looking at a variety of non-fiction texts and making notes from them. We then created a poster all about this great army general!

Maths - we have focused on divisibility this week.

Science - we started a new topic on Light this week and learnt about the difference between light and dark.

History - we became Roman spies and learnt about Britain before the Romans invaded.

R.E. - we looked at the meaning of The Last Supper and how this special event relates to Mass.

Art - we practiced Roman Mosaic borders and corners and watched videos of Mosaic excavations in Leicester and Chedsworth.

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week:

Golden - Scott

Writing - Emelia

Maths - Elsie

Well done everyone!

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

Have a lovely and sunny weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

'No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted' - Aesop

We have had a busy but lovely week in Year 3! It has been so nice to have the sun shining down upon us…we have managed to get outside lots and enjoy the weather. The children have worked really hard this week and it is nice to see the children maturing as we come closer towards the end of their Year 3 journey. I can’t believe we’re nearly in May! We continue to have lots of discussions together each week around kindness, respectfulness and maturity. In particular, we are focusing on kindness lots at the minute. I am trying to instill in the children how important it is to treat others how we want to be treated. If we can do this, we will not only be happier in ourselves but we will also make the people around us happier too.

What we have been up to this week

English - we have done some super writing this week! The children wrote two letters of application for the job of Chief Roman Investigator. They had some help from me with the first letter; however they completed the second letter independently. I was very impressed as the children remembered where to use conjunctions in their writing.

Maths - we have used our knowledge of multiplication and division facts to solve some problem solving questions.

Science - we carried out an investigation as to how water is transported through a plant. We also completed a Science test to mark the end of our Plants topic.

History - we took our Roman shields outside and created some Roman Army formations (see pictures below!).

R.E. - we started a new topic - The Eucharist. We began by learning about the events of The Last Supper.

Art - we learnt about the artist Romero Britto with Mrs Gibbons and created some artwork based on his style.

Music - we started our Music lessons with Miss Benson again. The children recapped their A and B notes ready to learn G next week!

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week:

Golden - Joseph

Writing - Avie

Maths - the whole class!

Well done everyone!

Cape of Pride

Well done to Rion who had the opportunity to wear the cape of pride this week. There are lots of exciting privileges to be had for those children chosen to wear the cape so I will be keeping my eye out next week for some more children to wear it!

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

Curiosity boxes

Most of the class have today brought home a Curiosity Box which were kindly donated to school. The boxes will either have a theme of ‘Amazing Earth’ or ‘Deadly Creatures’. They are filled with fantastic resources and investigations for your child to complete. I would love to see pictures of anything you do at home so please send these to me on Class Dojo! There were sadly a few children who missed out as we didn’t have a full class set (to make it fair I drew names out of a pot) but what was so lovely was other children in the class then donated their boxes to every one of the children who didn’t receive a box. I was blown away by this act of generosity! I have promised those children that when we next receive anything similar in to school they will be the first ones on the list to receive the treat.

Have a lovely and sunny weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

Welcome to our Summer Term!

Welcome back after the Easter break! I must say, the children have come back to school with a great attitude and have worked hard this week. It has been lovely to see the children being kind to one another and thinking about others too. Kindness is going to be a big focus in our class this term as it is important to show kindness and respect to those around us just like Jesus would have done - and we really want to follow in His footsteps! The children have also blown me away with how much their lining up has improved over the last few days. They are working very hard to be good role models to the younger children. Keep it up Year 3 - I have every faith that you can do it!

What we have been up to this week

English - we have a started a non-fiction unit of work on the Romans. The children are applying for the job of Chief Roman Investigator so we firstly spent some time looking at the job advert and understanding what we needed to do to apply! We worked out that the children will need to create a leaflet on the Romans. To get us prepared, we looked at some vocabulary and researched the meaning of these words in the dictionary. We also learnt about conjunctions and how to use them in our writing.

Maths - we looked at the 8 times tables and their matching division facts.

Science - we learnt about the life cycle of a flowering plant.

History - we created our Roman shields and they look fantastic! Next week we will be taking them outside and practicing some Roman Army formations.

R.E. - we thought about Reconciliation and described this sacrament in our own words.

Art - we started a new art project this week on Roman mosaics. Firstly, we learnt about what mosaics are and how they are made. We also learnt what materials they are made with. Next, we looked at some examples of Roman mosaics. The children then practiced and created their own mosaics using the Greek Key pattern.

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week:

Golden - Ola

Writing - Rion

Maths - Zak

Well done everyone!

Cape of Pride

Well done to Frankie and Jacob who both had the opportunity to wear the cape of pride this week. There are lots of exciting privileges to be had for those children chosen to wear the cape so I will be keeping my eye out next week for some more children to wear it!

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

Have a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

'He is not here for he has risen just as he said' - Matthew 28:6

The week leading up to Easter is known as ‘Holy Week’. It marks the final week of Jesus’ life, from Palm Sunday (when Jesus entered Israel’s capital city, Jerusalem, looking like a king), through Maundy Thursday when Jesus ate his last supper with his disciples, to his arrest, trial and eventual execution on Good Friday. The belief that Jesus died on the cross to cancel out the bad things of the world is one of the most important beliefs in all of Christianity. Equally important are the events of Easter Sunday itself, when Christians celebrate Jesus coming back to life. His resurrection is a sign of his power over death, and symbolic of the new and eternal life He gives to people.

What we have been up to this week

English - we had a writing focus on Holy Week. Each day we watched Miss Haggerty’s reflections and applied them to our work. We retold each day of this special time - Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The work the children produced was wonderful!

Maths - we looked at the 4 times tables and their matching division facts.

Science - we wrote a conclusion for our plant investigation and drew a detailed diagram of our plants now that our investigation has finished. We have learnt that a plant cannot grow without water, heat or light.

History - we started to look at designs of Roman shields ready to create our own after the Easter break.

R.E. - we learnt all about Holy Week and the events leading up to the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.

Art - we finished our daffofil dance art. The children have worked so hard on these wonderful paintings and we have had lots of compliments on them now that they are on display. I will upload some images of these after the break.

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week:

Golden - Elsie

Writing - Bobby and Oscar O’C

Maths - Joshua

Well done!

Cape of Pride

Well done to Isabella and Riley who both had the opportunity to wear the cape of pride this week. There are lots of exciting privileges to be had for those children chosen to wear the cape so I will be keeping my eye out once we return to school for some more children to wear it!

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

Notices:

NOTICES:

• We return to school on Monday 12th April, and start and finishing times will remain the same.

• PE days after half term will remain the same-Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please ensure your child is not wearing earrings on these days.

• We have enjoyed some lovely weather this week! If this weather does continue after half term, please ensure your child in wearing sun screen on these hotter days.

• I have not set any homework over the Easter break, but please still encourage your child to read as much as possible.

Finally, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support this term. It has been very challenging at times and we are all more than ready for this break. I wish all of you a holy, healthy and happy Easter and I will look forward to seeing the children soon.

Miss Heim-Sarac

'They took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' - John 12:13

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, which commemorates the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–9), when palm branches were placed in His path. This marks the beginning of Holy Week, leading to His arrest on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion on Good Friday. Next week, we will be exploring a part of the Easter story each day. We have also been challenged to create two canvases to mark two of the stations of the cross which will be taken over to Church next week.

What we have been up to this week

English - we have started a new non-fiction unit on the Romans. This week we have looked at various images from Roman times and generated questions about them.

Maths - we had a focus on collecting and presenting data to tie in with the 2021 Census. We had a mini class census and then presented the data using bar charts.

Science - we have continued with our plant investigation and we have also been caring for our vegetables (pictures below). We also dissected daffodils to learn about the different parts of the flower and their jobs. Finally, we learnt about pollination and fertilisation.

History - we looked at the 5 reasons why the Roman army were so powerful.

Music - we did some further practice on our recorders and played along to the song ‘Hey You’.

P.E. - we had a handball tournament and a yoga lesson this week.

R.E. - we focused on the Sacrament of Reconciliation and finished our booklets from last week.

Art - we have continued with our daffodil dance art project and started painting this week. They are looking fantastic!

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week:

Golden - Mickey

Writing - Riley

Maths - Bobby

Well done!

Cape of Pride

Well done to Zak and Amelia who both had the opportunity to wear the cape of pride this week. There are lots of exciting privileges to be had for those children chosen to wear the cape so I will be keeping my eye out next week for some more children to wear it!

Headlice

Please continue to be vigilant and check your child’s hair regularly for any signs of lice.

Homework

Now we are back in school we will revert back to our weekly homework set through Class Dojo. There will be a reading, Maths and English task (I usually include a word search too for the children to have a go at). Homework is due in on a Tuesday.

Nature boxes

The children brought home some nature boxes yesterday which were kindly donated by Blackpool Park Rangers. Maybe you could have a go at some of the activities over the Easter break.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

P.S. Here are some pictures of the children with the vegetables they have been growing as part of our Plants topic…

'Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due them all' - Pope Francis

Today, Friday 19th March, marks the Feast of St Joseph. In a new Apostolic Letter entitled Patris corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis describes Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows. The Holy Father wrote Patris corde against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble Saint Joseph, “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,” who nonetheless played “an incomparable role in the history of salvation.” In this way, let us all celebrate the ‘ordinary’ in our lives and find joy in the simple pleasure of serving God.

What we have been up to this week

English - we have looked at various information texts about the Romans and answered questions about them.

Maths - we have started to look at the 3 times tables and their matching division facts.

Science - we started a plant investigation where we have taken away one element of what a plant needs to grow to see whether it can still thrive. We also planted our own vegetables and we have already seen some of the seeds begin to sprout!

History - we started to look at the Roman Army and why they were so powerful.

Music - we did some further practice on the a and b notes.

P.E. - we had a handball tournament and completed a daily mile.

R.E. - we focused on the Sacrament of Reconciliation and completed a booklet with instructions on how to receive this sacrament.

Art - we have continued with our Art project and this week we did a full practice of the Art work we will be starting from next week and we also went outside to observe the daffodils in the allotment.

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week:

Golden - Hallie

Writing - Frankie

Maths - Charlotte

Well done!

Two important requests!

Firstly, can I please remind you that if anybody in your household is awaiting the results of a Covid test that you please refrain from sending your children in to school until you receive the results of the test. The guidelines clearly state that all household members must isolate until the results are received. We want to keep school as safe an environment as possible but we cannot do this if the rules are not being followed. Thank you.

Secondly, despite numerous chats with the children about this, some children are still continuing to discuss with other children in school the clown Pennywise from the film IT. This is extremely concerning and a completely inappropriate topic to be discussed especially in a school environment. I have made Miss Haggerty aware and if this continues I will have to speak to individual parents about this. Some of the children have stated that they are seeing clips and images of this character via You Tube so I would urge you to consider putting some parental controls on your children’s devices. I would also ask you to remind your children that this is not an appropriate topic for them to bring in to school.

Homework

Now we are back in school we will revert back to our weekly homework set through Class Dojo. There will be a reading, Maths and English task (I usually include a word search too for the children to have a go at). Homework is due in on a Tuesday.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

Welcome back!

It has been so lovely to welcome the children back to school this week. We had missed them so much. I must say, I am so impressed with how well the children have settled back in to our school routines after so long away. This just proves how resilient they are and what a fantastic job you have done with them at home. It now feels as if we have never been away! The children are all tired now and deserve a good rest this weekend.

We have done lots of work this week on our well being. I thought it was important to focus on this with the children having been away from school for so long and because the Covid situation has been ongoing for such a long time. We created self-esteem wheels where we wrote down our best qualities. The children are going to keep these in their trays for days when they are feeling a little sad so that they can be reminded of how fantastic they are. We also created a bag for our worries and places our worries inside. Finally, we have completed a well being journal each day which the children will be bringing home with them this afternoon.

What we have been up to this week

English - we completed our well being journals.

Maths - we have had a recap of column addition and subtraction followed by a test today.

Science - we recapped the different parts of a plant and completed a booklet to showcase our knowledge.

History - we started our Romans topic and looked at the start of the Roman Empire.

Music - we practiced playing the a and b notes on our recorders and then attempted to play along with a song called ‘Hey You’ on Charanga.

P.E. - we had a handball tournament and completed a daily mile.

R.E. - we created our Lenten promises.

Art - we have started an Art project which will take us up to the Easter break based on daffodils. This week the children learnt how to draw daffodils from different angles.

I am so impressed with everything the children have managed to achieve this week.

Certificates

Here are our award winners for this week. It was so hard to choose as the children have worked so hard and settled back in to school so well.

Golden - Poppy

Writing - Amy

Maths - Amelia

I also want to say congratulations to Jacob who was our class winner for the bookmark competition.

Reading Folders

Quite a few children came back in to school this week stating that their reading folders had been lost. We have replaced these with a new reading folder and reading record. However, this does mean that a few school reading books have been misplaced. I have told the children that if this happens again there will unfortunately be a charge issued to parents for the misplaced books. We are willing to forego this on this occasion due to the extended period of time that the children have been away and the nature of the absence. It is important that the children learn to take responsibility for their things and I would appreciate your support with this.

Homework

Now we are back in school we will revert back to our weekly homework set through Class Dojo. There will be a reading, Maths and English task (I usually include a word search too for the children to have a go at). Homework is due in on a Tuesday.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend,

Miss Heim-Sarac

Well done my little superstars!

Thank you!

I just want to start by saying a massive thank you to all of you. Over the last few months, you have truly been incredible and have made me very proud. The resilience you have all shown and the hard work that you have put in week on week has been amazing and I thank you so much for that. I also thank your parents for the support they have given you in your work and for keeping me updated on what you have been doing. You have not only supported your children through this difficult time but me too and I will never be able to thank you enough for that. Your children are extremely lucky to have you.

I have loved receiving photos of your smiling faces and they have really helped keep us connected whilst we’ve been apart. I now look forward to next week when we can all come back together in the classroom once again. It might feel a little bit strange coming back to school but we’ve got some lovely things to look forward to over the next few weeks. I will make sure you all feel back at home on our first day back, and I will hopefully settle those nerves within minutes! I think after our first day, it will feel like you have never been away!

Return to school

ALL children will be welcomed back to school on Monday 8th March. Drop off and pick up times will be the same as before for all of Year 3. 9am drop off at Thornhill Close gates, and 3.30pm pick up from the same place. For our family groups, drop off will be at 8.40am at Thornhill Close and pick up will be from the same place at 3.15pm. On Fridays, pickup will still be at 1.15pm for all of the class; apart from our family groups who need to be collected at 1:05pm. Our PE days will still be Tuesdays and Thursdays. Miss Haggerty has but a detailed blog up on the News page, with more in-depth information about our return to school and the safety measures that will be in place-it is important that you read this before the children’s return. Click here to read this.

With this message in mind, please ensure that if your child is unwell, you keep them off school and arrange a test. We will continue to screen children in school and if we think they are unwell or the children complain of feeling unwell, we will be sending them home for a test to be arranged before they can re-enter school. As the virus changes, the symptoms that we have to keep an eye for are also changing. It is no longer just a case of a cough, fever or change in taste/smell - please keep an eye out for the following symptoms……

All staff will continue to do TWO COVID tests each week, so please be mindful that things in school COULD change with very short notice. Everyone needs a back up plan in case our bubble has to close with little notice. In the event of our Bubble having to close, we will revert to Home Learning set through the HOME LEARNING page, the google drive and Class Dojo.

World Book Day

It was so lovely to see you all yesterday in school and on zoom. You all looked fantastic and I loved sharing a story with you. I hope you all managed to complete some of the World Book Day activities that I put on the google drive for you…as well as lots of reading of course! In school, we read outside and learnt how to draw with Rob Biddulph. We also created our own bookmarks and book covers. It was a busy but fun day!

Certificates

Year 3, I am so VERY proud of all of you for how hard you have worked at home and in school over the past eight weeks. For those of you at home, your Class Dojo Portfolios look amazing and are a super record of all you have done at home during lock down. For those of you who have been at school, your folders look super too!! I am amazed by all your dojo points too. Here are our award winners for this week…

Learners of the week: Lexi Rose and Elsie

Busy Bee award: Ola and Joshua

Shining Light award: Oscar O’C and Jacob

Finally…

I would also like to take this opportunity to say a massive THANK-YOU to my wonderful teaching assistants, Mrs Hodgkiss, Mrs McCooey and Mrs Dunford without whom none of this would have worked. These wonderful ladies have pulled together and taught the children in school three days a week which has enabled me to work from home and support my son through his home schooling. They are absolutely wonderful (which I always knew anyway!) but I will never forget their commitment during this time.

Have a wonderful weekend and I can’t wait to see you all on Monday!

Miss Heim-Sarac

'Lent is a time for reconsidering our feelings, for letting our eyes be opened to injustice, to open our hearts to those suffering' - Pope Francis

Lent provides us with the opportunity to stop and reflect over the past year and consider how we can become closer to God in the coming year. We have all done a lot of reflection in the last year as a result of the situation we have found ourselves in and we have had time to consider the changes we would like to make to our lives when we finally reach the other side. Well, that time is coming. Let us use this period of Lent to prepare ourselves for what is to come and to ensure that we emerge a better person, and one closer to God, when we reach Easter.

I hope you have all had a lovely week - how fantastic has it been to finally have some sunshine! Spring is certainly in the air. It has been great to see all of the fantastic learning that the children are continuing to do at home. Once again, I have been so grateful for the hard work from those of you at home who have kept your children’s learning going through this difficult time. Our return is nearly here but please don’t give up yet! I still need to see your home learning work and it is still so important to complete the tasks as much as physically possible. Please keep going for one last push!

We will welcome all children back to school on 8th March - please see Miss Haggerty’s recent post regarding this. Whilst we are delighted to have all our school family back together again, it is still vital that we stick to social distancing rules, wear masks whilst on school grounds for drop off and pick up times and ensure that if your child is unwell you keep them at home. We must do all we can to keep each other safe to ensure that we are doing all we can so our school bubbles remain open to all. Many thanks for your continued support with this.

https://www.ourladyassumption-sch.co.uk/news

This coming week, we have World Book Day to celebrate!

We would like to invite all children in school and at home to dress up as a BOOK character for a day filled with reading fun! If your child is at home, please send photos of their reading, work and costumes through Class Dojo, and at school myself and Mrs McCooey will be delighted to see you all dressed up for the day. To support our work on World Book Day I have arranged a Reading Bookmark Competition, supported by our wonderful PTA. Whether your child is at school or at home they can all join in! If at home, please send your completed bookmark back to me by email year3@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk by Monday 8th March. The competition will be judged at school and all winners will be announced on Friday 12th March. (There will be a class winner and an overall KS1 and KS2 winner, with prizes having been donated by the PTA.)

BOOKMARK COMPETITION ENTRY

The bookmark entry will also be available to download from the google drive (the link to this is under the home learning tab). I have also put on to the drive lots of different activities for your children to complete that day. There will be no matching tasks for these on Dojo - please just upload pictures of the work under your child’s portfolio along with pictures of their costumes and anything else they get up to that day! If the children do not want to dress up, they could decorate an item at home relating to a book, for example: a paper plate or wooden spoon. If they are coming in to school that day they could always bring this item in to school with them to show me.

I will also be hosting a zoom call on Thursday at 10:30am where I will be sharing a story with the children at home and at school. The details for the zoom will be on Dojo and the google drive.

Here is a message from Miss Benson letting you know what the Music lesson for the coming week is:

Year 3 'Music & Image'

Listen to the song ‘The Dragon Song.’ Close your eyes and listen to the words. Can you imagine everything in the song?

Also, have a go at Challenge 1 in the Warm Up Games section.

When we are back in school, Year 3 will be continuing to have their recorder lessons on a Wednesday. Please ensure that your child’s recorder is in school for the Tuesday of each week.

Finally, I would like to share with you who achieved the certificates for this week:

Learners of the week: Zak & Frankie

Busy Bee awards: Avie & Max

Shining light awards: Lexi Rose & Hallie

Golden award: Ayson

Well done!

Have a lovely weekend and remember how proud I am of you all!

Miss Heim-Sarac

Happy half term!

We’ve made it! Children, I am so unbelievably proud of you all for your hard work and perseverance over the past 6 weeks. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of your parents too - your kindness and patience has made this whole experience a lot easier. I will be forever grateful to you all. The children at home and in school have done some amazing work and have made good progress - have a think back over everything you have achieved over the past 6 weeks and I think you will be surprised! You are all ready and deserving of this upcoming break. I realise that there are so many things that we can’t do at the moment, but I intend to focus on the things we can do. Next week, I am going to go on lots of walks, read, stay up late and spend time with my family. Hopefully the weather will be pleasant enough that we can spend lots of time outside.

Next Wednesday, 17th February, marks the beginning of Lent, a very special time of reflection, leading up to the death and resurrection of Christ. As we are on half term next week, I have just attached a few activities that you may wish to do to mark the beginning of this special period of time. If we were in school, we would be writing our Lenten Promises on this day, so I have also attached the template for this and it would be lovely if you do manage to still write yours. Our promise is a time to reflect on what we could do differently or maybe more of/less of during this time. Perhaps we could be more compassionate towards others, or take more time out for peaceful prayer? Or maybe you feel you need to be more forgiving to others, just as Jesus was. Have a careful think about what your promise could be.

Ash Wednesday Power Point Lenten Promise Sheet What could we give up for Lent?

Please also keep an eye on the Church website as I am sure Father Jim will be posting information or even a Mass for Ash Wednesday next week: https://www.olablackpool.org/

Here are our learners of the week:

Bobby & Isabella

Well done to both of you, again it was a very tricky decision as you are all working so hard! As I said in my video on Dojo last week, after half term I am going to change the way I celebrate my learners of the week on a Friday. I am going to have a few more certificates available for the children to achieve as I am so spoiled for choice so this will enable me to celebrate more children. More information on this after half term. I am also going to be including a PE task and a spelling task in the activities I set for the children starting after half term.

Thank you again for all of your hard work and support. Have a lovely half term break and stay safe.

Miss Heim-Sarac