Welcome to Year 3!
We are writing to share some information about life in year 3.
Our two classes are Hares class with Mrs Davies/Mrs Paxton and Rabbits class with Mrs Newman. Our teaching assistants are Mrs Rogers and Mrs Perrett.
Curriculum
Each term, we will explore a different question which underpins our project learning. In the Autumn our project question is ‘What does it mean to be human?’ We will use a range of texts including 'Stone girl, bone Girl, How to wash a Woolly mammoth and a range of non fiction texts about the Stone Age. In science, we will be discovering all about healthy eating and what our bodies need as well as how our bodies move. For our DT project, we will be creating our own robot and then making a moving robotic arm for him/her. In RE, we study the topics of important places and times for Jews and then move on to thinking about why light is an important symbol for Christians at Christmas.
KS2 celebration worship takes place on Friday mornings, where one member of each class is chosen to receive a certificate for how they have demonstrated our school values that week. The work of these children is shared and the rest of the key stage has a chance to hear about their achievements.
Reading at home
Even when your child enjoys reading and reads well on their own, they still need to read aloud all the way through their Key Stage Two years. Books can be borrowed from the school library– and each year group has a selection of books that your child can borrow and read at home.
Every time you read at home, you (or your child) should fill in the page numbers/chapters read in their home school reading record. Children will be awarded value points for every occasion on which they read at home. When children have finished a book, they need to record the title of the book at the back of the reading diary so we have a record of the types of book they are reading.
The children will again be taking part in the reading challenge where they will be earning certificates for reading 20, 50, 100 times and beyond and these will be awarded to the children in celebration worship on a Friday.
Reading Rewards
Children can earn ‘Reading Reward’ time for reading at home and recording it in the reading diary. To receive this reward time, children need to read at home on at least five occasions during the week and log these.
Homework
English homework is set each month and is usually a written task, based on a prompt, such as a story opening or illustration. In addition, children will be set weekly spellings on Spelling Shed to practise. These will be checked in school on a Thursday. They will be a mixture of words from the statutory word lists and those with particular spelling patterns.
Maths homework is set every week on a Thursday and needs to be completed by the following Thursday. This homework will be an activity on the website MyMaths and is based on what the children have been learning that week. Children have been given their log-in details for MyMaths, but if these have been misplaced, please inform the class teacher.
Times tables and related division facts should be practised on an on-going basis, ideally a few minutes daily. ‘Times Tables Rockstars’ - Times Tables Rock Stars: Play (ttrockstars.com) - is an excellent website to use to practise these and children have been provided with logins to access this at home. This year, we will focus on consolidating the two, five and ten three times table before moving on to learning the three, four and eight times tables. By the end of Year 3, children are expected to know their 2, 5, 10, 3, 4- and 8-times tables with related division facts.
All children are expected to complete and hand their homework in on time. If children are finding it difficult to complete their homework at home, they can choose to attend ‘Learning Links’ (homework club) for part of their lunchtime where they can receive support with their homework. In Year 3, Learning Links is held during Monday's lunchtime.
PE
PE in both classes is on a Wednesday and a Thursday, so please ensure your child/children come into school dressed in their in PE kit on those days each week. If there is any reason why your child cannot participate in a PE session, please let the class teacher know through the year three email address. PE is only cancelled in the event of heavy rain, icy or extremely cold conditions, therefore children can wear a pair of jogging bottoms (ideally navy) to keep warm. Children should wear school sweatshirts for PE. Children with pierced ears must be able to remove their own earrings or cover these with tape.
Water bottles and snacks
Children are required to have a named water bottle in school with them each day. A healthy fruit or savoury snack (for example, fresh fruit, a bagel, raisins) can be provided for break time. Just a reminder that a snack is no longer provided at breaktime for Key Stage 2 pupils. Any snacks and packed lunches must not contain any nuts or products containing nuts.
Uniform
Please ensure your child has a waterproof coat in school every day. All clothing, including PE kit, should be labelled with your child’s name. Children are expected to wear sensible, black shoes part of the uniform and trainers on PE days. Lost property is located in the first aid area.
We are looking forward to a fun and exciting year. If at any point you have a message for your child’s teacher/s, please send an email to year3@stwilfrids-hh.school as we check emails daily.
Best Wishes,
The Year 3 Team
Mrs Paxton, Mrs Davies and Mrs Malcolm
