Updates and this week's home learning

 

Hello everyone,

The children have been have settled back into Autumn term 2 well. This class, like most children enjoy opportunities to learn practically and have been very engaged over the past fortnight with our Inspired to Learn curriculum and activities. I'm sure the children have spoken to you about their History lessons with the Ancient Activity Centre, which they have been loving. I have shared some photographs at the end of this blog of history and our science lessons on forces. 

In maths so far the children have been learning column addition and subtraction. This can be a tricky skill to master at first but we will do lots of practice of this during our early bird work so that hopefully by year 4 it is something they have mastered. 

In English we are reading a new book that will look at lots of imagery and figurative language like similes and metaphors and I can't wait to hear the children's creative ideas. 

In science, we have been learning about forces. This is always a great topic but we are particularly lucky to have so many great resources which Mrs Thorpe was able to get funded for us through her work with the Ogden Trust - Thank you Mrs Thorpe the resources are amazing and give the children such important hands on experiences.   

In PSHE, the children have been learning about how families come in different sizes and combinations and we were very grateful to one child in the class who shared their family story with us.

In art, the children are working hard with Mrs March to create winter inspired sculptures and I can't wait for us to see the final pieces. 

Home Learning:

For this week's home learning, I would like the children to imagine their dream days and to record what time they would like to do each activity. This home learning is intended to inspire creativity whilst also thinking about how to record times on an analogue clock face. Many of the children may need help with recording the time, especially if they choose a time that isn't half past or o'clock. 

Hard copies of the home learning are coming home today but the link is here

Spellings

The children's online spellings will now be live on edshed and this is a great program for them to practice their spellings. 

A spelling sheet is also coming home today and links to these can be found below:

Spellings for group 1 here
Spellings for group 2 here 

As ever if you have any questions or comments, please get in touch with a member of the year 3 team.

Christmas Cracker Competition

In Computing this week, Year Three put their skills to the test and entered the 'Heart and Soul' Christmas Cracker Competition -

Mr Spracklen was blown away with the Year Three designs that have now been submitted to the judges. 

Please see below for a small selection - 

Rhys -

Otto -

Elsie -

Grace -

GREAT WORK YEAR THREE!

Have a great Half Term!

 

Hello everyone,

The children have had a great start to their time in year 3 and we are all really proud of how they are beginning to settle into year 3 routines. We hope your child enjoys a well earned break over half term and we will look forward to seeing them back at school on Tuesday 4th November. 

Next term, they will have PE on Tuesdays and Thursdays  and on Thursdays they will continue to need forest school type clothing (with additional warm layers) for their history lessons with the Ancient Technology Centre. 

Hard copies of home learning and spellings should have come home today but below is some information and electronic copies in case yours didn't make it home:

Homelearning:

Here is the link to Group 1's spellings sheet
Here is the link to Group 2's spellings sheet 

Upcoming Dates

From Friday 24th October - Half Term

Monday 3rd November - INSET 

Tuesday 4th November - All children return to school

Wednesday 5th November - Hand in any poppies made for the remembrance wreath 

Thursday 6th November - School disco 5 - 6pm

Thursday 13th November - World Kindness Day and Michael Rosen Day

Friday 14th November - World Diabetes Day

We hope you all enjoy a lovely half term break

Kind regards,

The Year 3 Team 😊🍁

Hands-on history alert!

 Hello Year 3 families

We were thrilled to welcome our visitors from Castle Hill Heritage Skills CIC today, who popped into class to introduce themselves to the children. Jen and Anthony will be teaching the children their history topic next half term - Stone Age to Iron Age. All of the learning will be hands-on and from the response this morning I think the children are going to absolutely love it!

All learning will take place in or by the roundhouse - come rain or shine! Please make sure your child has warm clothes, layers and sturdy shoes/wellies for their outdoor history learning next half term.

Anthony and Jen challenged the children to find out a little more about the Palaeolithic period over the holidays - when did it start and end? Were dinosaurs alive during the Palaeolithic period? And any other information they can find out!

We can't wait to get started!

The Year 3 Team

From Stone Age to Iron Age!

Hello Year Three Families

We are very excited to let you know that Year 3 will be learning about the history topic “Stone Age to Iron Age” with the help of the Ancient Technology Centre.

Each week, Anthony and Jenny—experts in the Stone Age and Iron Age—will be teaching the children what life was like from the Paleolithic to the Romans, and everything in between. The children will enjoy hands-on experiences, all taking place in Forest School and the Roundhouse.

Please ensure your child has suitable clothing for outdoor learning. These sessions will take place every Thursday afternoon.

We cannot wait to get started!

The Year 3 Team

Wellies and home trousers tomorrow and this weeks homelearning

 

Farm and Forest School Kit

Just a quick reminder that the children need to come to school tomorrow (Thursday) wearing home trousers for the farm and forest school, along with wellies! They should wear their school uniform tops, but ideally also bring their full forest school clothes to change into for the afternoon.

Many of the children already have wellies at school, but it’s important that everyone brings a change of shoes — not just wellingtons — so that we don’t end up walking mud through the school.

Home Learning

This week’s home learning will be coming home on Friday, but here’s a little preview.

We’d like the children to think about ways they can choose kindness — at home, at school, or when they’re out and about. It would be wonderful if they could find opportunities to be kind every day, but we’re only asking them to record what they’ve done on three of the days.

The link to the home learning sheet can be found [here], and hard copies will be in book bags on Friday.

Spellings

Well done to all the families who accessed the spelling homework on EdShed (Spelling Shed)! Where possible, I strongly encourage the children to do a little spelling practice each day, or as often as they can.

The new home learning assignment will be available on Friday, and we’d like the children to complete at least five games over the week, please.

• This week’s Group 1 spelling sheet can be found [here].

• This week’s Group 2 spelling sheet can be found [here].

  

  

Thursday is farm trip and forest school

 

Hello everyone,

We have an exciting and active day planned for Thursday! Please could children come to school wearing trousers from home that you don’t mind getting a bit dirty. We ask that they still wear their school polo shirts and jumpers or cardigans on top.

Please also send a jacket or coat, and also send in their usual Forest School clothes as well.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to speak to a member of the team at drop-off or pick-up, or feel free to drop me an email.

Ms Browne 

Home Learning & Spellings coming home today

 Hello everyone,

Just to let you know that Home learning and the new spellings activities are coming home today - this is a day earlier than the normal day of Fridays. 

What to look out for:
A paper copy of the spelling sheet should be coming home that looks like this:

Hyperlinks to electronic versions of the spelling sheet can be found here:

[Spellings activities for Group 1 can be found here]
[Spellings activities for Group 2 can be found here]

The children will also be able to practice their spellings by logging onto Edshed at home. 

Once logged in, if you click on the assignments as shown below:

then choose the homework assignment as below to access the spellings the children will be learning the following week. 

I will give the children access to these spellings from the weekend but please be aware that they will not learn the spelling rule until the following Monday spelling lesson. 

Today children will also come home with a sheet detailing their autumn creativity home learning. That will look like this:

Some children will also come home with their CAPOW extended schools policy (those children accessing CAPOW). 

Any questions or confusions do please get in touch via email or talk to a member of the team. 

Autumn fun in Year 3

 

Hello everyone,

I hope you’ve been enjoying the beautiful autumn days we’ve had recently. Fingers crossed they continue into our Food, Faith and Farming Fortnight—especially for our farm visit next Thursday! At the end of this post, you’ll also find some key upcoming dates for your diary.

Spellings

We have recently made some small changes to the way we teach spellings in Key Stage 2 and Year 2. We are trialling a new approach designed to make learning spellings more enjoyable and to reduce the pressure often associated with traditional spelling tests.
Instead of weekly “tests,” the children will now take part in a Friday spelling check. Year 4 have already started this and are responding very positively.
Spelling homework will continue to go home on Fridays. These words will be linked to the new spelling rules the children will be learning the following week.

• [Spellings activities for Group 1 can be found here]

• [Spellings activities for Group 2 can be found here]

Home Learning

This week’s home learning is all about Autumn. We would love to see your child’s creative take on the season. Some ideas include:

• Taking an autumn photograph

• Writing a seasonal poem

• Composing an autumn-inspired story

• Creating artwork inspired by Andy Goldsworthy

• Or any other autumn-themed creative project!

You are very welcome to use the enclosed sheets, but feel free to use your own resources too. Please email any photos you want to share to c.browne@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk s

Upcoming Dates

• Tues 1st, Wed 2nd, Thurs 3rd & Fri 5th October – Book Fair

• Mon 6th October – Food, Faith and Farming Fortnight begins

• Thurs 9th October – Farm Trip (children will need wellies and a change of clothes—joggers or trousers suitable for muddy fun!)

• Fri 10th October – Autumn Fest

• Fri 17th October – Harvest Festival (9:15–10:00am), followed by food tasting

• Tues 21st October – Early Parents’ Evening

• Thurs 23rd October – Late Parents’ Evening

• Mon 27th–Fri 31st October – Half Term Holiday

• Mon 3rd November – INSET Day

• Tues 4th November – All children return to school

As ever if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to a member of the year 3 team. 

Year 3 learning update

 Hello everyone,

Here's a brief update of what has been happening in year 3.

In maths, we have been focusing on place value, developing a strong understanding of number and the value of digits  based on their position within a number. 

In science, our topic on plants has sparked lots of curiosity and thoughtful questions, as the children explore the different parts of a plant and what they need to grow. 

In English, we have begun our exciting new book Leon and the Place Between, which has really captured the children’s imaginations.

In DT the children are exploring seasonal eating and are working towards making a seasonal tart which we hope you will taste after our KS2 harvest festival.  

A quick reminder: please ensure your child brings their AR book into school every day, so they are ready to read to an adult or read independently. They especially need to bring them on Thursdays for our library session. 

On Fridays, children also need to bring in their AR books and reading records so we can keep track of their progress.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of the Year 3 team. We are always happy to help.

Forest School Today for year 3

 

Good morning everyone,

Just a quick reminder that it is forest school today for year 3. 

Please could children bring in some wellies or suitable shoes to change into and a change of clothes that can get dirty for forest school. They will also need a coat or jacket that can protect them from the rain. 

Please could someone also post this message on your Year 3 parents group. 

Hopefully I will see some of you later for the Parent information session in the staffroom at 9am.

Thank you,

Ms Browne 

Welcome to Year 3

 

Hello everyone,

What a brilliant first day we’ve had in Year 3! The children came in full of smiles on Friday and quickly made themselves at home in their new classroom. It was lovely to see so many wings too – thank you for supporting this special start to the year.

One of our first tasks was creating our class charter. The children thought about the kind of classroom we want and shared wonderful ideas about how we can all work together to make it a safe, happy and fun place to learn. It was especially lovely to see them already living out our school ethos of choosing kindness in the way they listened to and encouraged one another.

Later in the day, the children began decorating their creative curriculum aprons. These will travel with them through the year, and we can’t wait to see the colours and designs grow as their learning unfolds.

Notices for this week:

• Please make sure your child brings a bookbag every day.

• PE is on Mondays. Kits should be complete, clearly labelled and left in school.

• Forest School is on Thursday afternoons. Children will need wellies or suitable outdoor shoes, and a change of clothes ready for muddy fun!

• Our Parent Information Session will be this Thursday at 9am in the staffroom. It would be wonderful to see you there.

We are so proud of the confident, thoughtful and kind way the children have begun their Year 3 journey. This is going to be a fantastic year, and we’re very excited to share it with them.

If you have any questions, please do come and catch me at the door in the morning.

Wishing you a lovely weekend,
Ms Browne, Mrs Burgess, Mrs Jackson-Young and Mrs Thomas

Brilliant trip to The Etches Collection and a BIG thank you!

Hi Year Three Families,

We had a fantastic trip to the Etches Collection today! The children were curious, enthusiastic, and full of questions from the moment we arrived. It was wonderful to see them so engaged and fascinated by the incredible fossils and stories of life from millions of years ago.

From ammonites to ichthyosaurs, the children were captivated by the chance to explore ancient sea creatures and understand how our local area was once deep underwater. They particularly loved the mighty Pliosaur, and many of them shared some really thoughtful ideas and observations — true budding palaeontologists! 

Their designosaurs were fantastic too, congratulations to the competition winners as judged by the staff at the collection.

The staff at the museum were very complimentary about the children's behaviour, manners, and eagerness to learn. We were so proud of the way they represented our school.

Trips like these are a brilliant way to bring learning to life, and today was no exception. 

I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for all the thoughtful and wonderful gifts that the children have give us today.

It has been a wonderful year and myself, Mrs Scott and Mrs Thomas have really enjoyed accompanying the children on their learning journey this year!

I hope you all have a wonderful summer and I know everyone will have a brilliant Year with Miss White next year! Exciting times ahead for these fantastic bunch of children!

Thank you, as always, for all your support.

Ms Evans, Mrs Scott and Mrs Thomas