Y3- A Merry Christmas from Mrs Thorpe

We are now nearing the end of the Autumn term. I am extremely proud of how well all of Year 3 has performed 'A Christmas Carol'. They have their last performance tomorrow. Thank you for providing some fantastic costumes and practising lines at home. 

Today the children got to have a play of the new Reception out door equipment which they loved! Thanks to POWSA for all of the fundraising for this. I am sure we will be making more visits so that they can go on it again!

Today the children have bought home the biscuit boxes they designed and made and some delicious biscuits that they made and decorated. As well as their Christmas cards. 

Just a reminder that on Friday the children will be having Christmas party food instead of their hot/packed lunches. If you haven't put your name next to something, there is still time.

Finally I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy this magical time of year with family and friends. Thank you so much for your kind gifts.

 I look forward to seeing you all in 2019! 

Y3 Costumes

Thank you to everyone that has given in their child's costume. Just a reminder that we would like these in by tomorrow. The majority of you will have these from Year 2 where the children needed to dress up as a Victorians. Some of the children will need different clothes but this was all detailed in the letter you received last week and we have spoken to the children a number of times about this now. If you are really struggling still with the costumes please do come and talk to us as we have a few costumes that we could put together.

On that note if anyone has any angel wings, devil horns or prongs please could we borrow them. We just need 4 of each.

We hope that you are looking forward to the performance. The children are working really hard in their practices and singing wonderfully.

Apart from the practices we have been making and designing our biscuit boxes, practising handwriting, AR reading, writing the Christmas story and completing a number of maths tasks in our booklets. It may be nearly Christmas but we have a good balance of fun and work in the classroom.

On Friday we have our annual Christmas Technology Day where the children get to move round to 3 different classes and make something to take home. Your child can wear their Christmas jumpers for this. And then we have our Christmas Fayre after school!

Y3 Journey to the Stable

Today we walked to the United Church in town. The children moved around in groups to work through the stations. Along the way they learnt how the Sheppards and Wise men were invited to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We found out the importance of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. The children spoke about special journeys they might be taking over the Christmas period. At each station the children got to add things in to their bags which they have been able to take home. The final station was very special as it was the manger in the stable. We had to think about what we would give the world if we could give them anything. I was so impressed with the children's responses such as joy, love, happiness and peace. 

Thank you to Peter and all of the volunteers at the Church not only for the snack and drink but for all of the resources that were set up and the items the children got to take home. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit today. 

Y3 Trip tomorrow

Just a quick reminder about our trip in the morning. Weather permitting we will be leaving as close to 9am as possible. Normal school clothes please. We will be back for lunch this time. If you are able to help please just let us know in the morning.

Y3 Trip tomorrow

The weather is not looking favourable for our trip tomorrow! I will update you in the morning when we decide if we will continue with the trip. Please do bring everything just in case such as a packed lunch if you are not hot dinners and full waterproofs (coat and trousers if you have them). Children are all to be in their school uniforms please. 

Y3- Stepping back in time!

It was an extraordinary Monday at The Prince of Wales School! All of the children looked amazed when they walked through the corridor of our Dickens scene this morning.

Scrooge visited us all in the hall this morning to explain how he now enjoys Christmas now and is supporting Bob Cratchit and his family. We all then mixed up in our classes and wrote some different pieces of writing such as poems, persuasive letters and descriptions of a Victorian Christmas scene.

This afternoon we have been practising our Christmas performance. The children have learnt the words to the songs so well. We will be sending home costume letters tomorrow.

Y3- A decision on toys in school

We have started to have a number of children bringing in small toys in to school. These have been shared and in some cases lost during play time. Year 3 have had a discussion about bringing toys in to school. 

They have said that: 

-Having toys would make you fidget and not concentrate on your learning

-It could distract other people from their learning as well

-There should be no toys on the carpet 

-People might be sad that other people have toys and they haven't

-If you lose a toy, you will be sad, and Mum and Dad might not be pleased

-Toys might get broken

-Toys can sometimes cause arguments

-Toys might get taken out of your bag and you would be sad

-Toys might be acceptable on certain occasions if people are sad, scared or not confident

We have therefore decided that no toys will be allowed in school from now on. This includes for show and tell. If your child brings in a soft toy for a comfort for any reason we will ask them to keep it in their bag. Please do discuss this with your child at home again and discourage them bringing them in. We know that sometimes the children have smaller toys in their pockets that you might not know are there. If they do come in we will look after them until the end of the day. 

Thank you for your support on this matter

The Year 3 team 

Thank you Dorset Reading Partners!

Every week Rowan and Terry from the Dorset Reading Partners read, play games and look at handmade story bags. These bags were so kindly made by the Chideock WI. A huge thank you to them as lots of children enjoy reading them. This week it was 'The Troll' by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts.

Y3- Lantern making and learning in Year 3

Over the last couple of weeks we have been using 'Leon and the place between' to help us to write interesting sentences using similes, alliteration and metaphors. This week we have also been making sure that we have been placing speech marks in the correct places.

In Maths we have moved on to multiplication and are focusing mainly on our 3s, 4s and 8s. The children worked really well on this and can show their answers to reasoning questions by drawing arrays, groups and repeated addition.

During the independent learning challenge time the children have designed their own biscuit box which we will be making next week. The following week we will be cooking the biscuits to go inside!

Christmas singing is in full swing! We have now learnt the majority of the songs for our Christmas performance. I am sure you will hear your child singing away at home as they are very catchy! More information about lines and costumes will be sent home soon.

It was our last Forest School of 2018 this week. The children made their own Christmas tree decoration which will go on our school tree soon. I won't give too much away! Forest School will continue in the New Year.

This afternoon we went over to the preschool to support them making paper lanterns which will light up the sky during the Christmas Carols at Buttermarket square on Friday night. It was great to see the Year 3 children supporting the preschoolers in this creative task.

Finally just a quick note about the trip on Wednesday to The United Church. We still would like 2 more adults to support us walking to and from the Church. We will be leaving at 10.20 on Wednesday and will aim to be back for 3pm. If you can help, even if it is just for the walk, please do let us know.

Y3- Footballers of the future!

Well done to all of the Y3 and Y4 boys that took part in the Football tournament today. You all looked like professionals in your kit. We are all super proud of you and your efforts!

Y3- Where would your magic portal take you?!

This week Year 3 have been planning their stories using a story mountain. We have looked at how to make openers more interesting and have really tried to steer away from 'Once upon a time'. The children have been challenged to think of amazing adjectives to use in their stories and encouraged not to use the word 'said' but use words to describe how the character is speaking such as whispered, shouted or gasped!

Before the end of the week the children will bring home a copy of their work they have done this week. This is the home learning for the weekend. We are asking you to please sit down with your child and get them to tell you their stories. They are going to use their planning sheets on Monday to write up their stories. We are so impressed with how enthusiastic they have all been with their stories.

In Maths this week we have been looking at subtraction using the column method. The children have had a range of reasoning questions that have really got them thinking about how to answer questions.

In DT we have started our 'Shell structures' topic where the children will be designing, making and evaluating a Christmas biscuit box. We will also be making these seasonal treats in a few weeks time.

Please could we have log books and AR books in book bags every day. The children will be using both of these every day. Spellings will be in their log books so will have to go home too. The handwriting booklets in their trays should not be taken home please.

Just a reminder it is Children in Need tomorrow! The children can wear something spotty for a suggested donation of £1. There will also be a cake sale after school. If you did not enter the cake competition that closed on Wednesday, do not worry we will still be accepting cakes tomorrow to sell. All money goes to a fantastic cause.

Y3- Amazing story telling morning with an expert!

Year 3 have had a brilliant morning with the story teller Martin Maudsley. Martin tells fascinating stories that are lead by the children's imagination. He uses rhythm and rhyme along with his ukulele to tell some captivating and funny stories!

We spent the morning engaged in oral story telling using spells. Then we went outside to the roundhouse area and worked in pairs to find magical items.

After break the children then thought about magical portals that they could go through to imaginary lands. They have started to draw a map of their stories. Over the next week we will use these to write up the stories.

A huge thank you to Martin for inspiring everyone in the class!

Y3- Please can you have a look for.....

Just putting out a blog for a number of lost items that we would ask you to look for at home please. 

We have a couple of girls that have lost their cardigans, please can you check your child's cardigan and bring back any that are not theirs. 

We have a pink bike helmet with flowers on that is missing.

We also have a set of Forest school clothes with waterproof trousers on and PE shorts. 

All of these items are labelled. Please do have a check of your child's items to check they are the right ones. 

We are continuously reminding the children that it is their responsibility to bring in their jumpers and place them in the 'jumper dumper' and that other items are placed on their pegs. It is good for them to do this in the morning so that they know what they have in school. 

We understand that it is fustrating that these items are lost but hopefully we can work together to find them. 

Y3- Fantastic firework poetry

This morning the children worked in their Potter Pals to write a firework poem. Wow what fantastic poems they were! There was onomatopoeia, alliteration and similes!!This afternoon the children read these to each other around the campfire. These will now be displayed in the writing hall of fame.

Tomorrow we have a story teller with us to inspire us with our ‘magical’ stories.

Y3- A glass jar...

Could we ask please that everyone brings in a glass jar for Wednesday. These can be old jam jars etc. Please make sure they are clean and do not have any labels on the outside. We will try to bring in some spares just in case someone forgets.

Y3- Super proud!

What a fantastic class assembly today. The children were so confident and remembered their words so well. Thank you for supporting them with this at home.

The assembly rounded off our Rainforest topic from last half term. Next week we will be starting our 'It's Magic' topic, which will begin with a visit from a story teller. We will then be following this up with lots of creative story writing.

Another highlight today was the Bling a Bike competition. It made a very dazzling array in the Hall at our special assembly this afternoon. Thank you for all the inspired entries!

Old Pumpkins welcome!

Mrs Thorpe would like to take your old pumpkins off your hands! If you would like to drop these off outside of Y3 then please do. Please can you make sure that the candles have been taken out. 

Many thanks! 

Y3- Autumn 2 begins!

Welcome back to the second half of the Autumn term. It was good to see all of the children coming in and settling down to their work this morning. All morning work will be on the classroom board.

We focused again on addition in maths and looked at fact families. The children chose their level of challenge.

Well done to everyone that practised their lines in the holidays, please keep on doing this as our assembly is on Friday at 9.20am.

Just a reminder also that it is 'PANTS DAY' on Thursday where we will be supporting the NSPCC. This is optional.  It is also 'Bling your bike/scooter ' day on Friday. This will be during the afternoon.

Y3- The end of Autumn 1!

Wow half term already! We have had an amazing half term learning about Rainforests of the world. We have also been lucky enough to be involved in the South Dorset Ridgeway project where we made our 3D artwork with the help of Darrell Wakelam.

Over the half term we hope you all manage to rest and recharge ready for a busy Autumn 2. In the first week back it is our class assembly on the Friday. We also start our new story telling topic of ‘Magic’. Where we will look at the stories of many superb authors such as Rowling, Lewis and Dickens.

Homelearning over the holidays is to keep on practicing spellings and looking at your 3 and 4 times tables. If anyone if feeling creative then why not have a go at making a rainforest animal mask!

Y3- AMAZING art project and a reminder about tomorrow!

Over the last couple of days Year 3 have been working with Darrell Wakelam on this amazing piece of 3D art. They have made made every piece of this sculpture by using scraps of cardboard, paper mache and paint. It was fantastic to see the children working together to create this piece of art. They have been discussing the history behind the art. How this skeleton would have been living over 2000 years ago in the iron age. They looked at artefacts showing them the jewellery that would have been buried with him. This piece has stemmed from our involvement with the South Dorset Ridgeway Project and our visit to Maiden Castle. 

If you would like to see the finished piece of art, this will be on display very soon on the wall in our cloakroom. 

Well Done Year 3 good team effort! 

Just a reminder about the Wacky Hair Day tomorrow. £1 suggested donation for Weldmar Hospice. Please can we ask for no hair dye though as we have swimming in the afternoon and they will not be allowed in the water with this in. 

Can anybody help recycle these items please?

In the next couple of weeks Year 3 are going to be doing some collaborative art work and we need your help please. We would like to recycle any shoe boxes and kitchen roll tubes that you have lying around. Any size will do!

Whilst we are on the topic of recycling we would also like to take any pieces of bamboo or the odd slate tile or brick that you may have in your garden! We will be making some wildlife havens in our Forest School area after the half term and wanted to start a collection. Some of the pictures below show the materials we will be collecting. So please do have a look in your gardens for those unused terracotta pots or surplus logs.

Any donations can be handed to the Year 3 team. Thank you in advance!

Y3 Well done for your amazing performance!

Well done to all of the children for their performance yesterday. You sang brilliantly! Thank you to everyone that made it to the Harvest festival yesterday. We hope you enjoyed listening to our ‘It’s Harvest time’ song and looking at our leaf art work and Harvest writing.

It was great to see so many of you at Autumnfest too!

It is good to see lots of you reading the AR books at home. If you finish the books then please do give the quiz a go at home or when you come in to school. The idea is that the children finish their books and then complete the quiz within 24hrs. It shouldn’t be longer as it is not a memory test.

Next week we have an exciting opportunity with Darrell Wakelam the artist from the SDR event and who made an appearance at Autumn fest. Darrell will be within us on Monday and Wednesday to complete some 3D art work. We will update you through out the week.

Enjoy your weekend and see you all next week

The Year 3 team

Y3 AR books and reminders

Just a reminder it is dress like a farmer day tomorrow as well as swimming. Please can you write on the board by the door if you are picking up from the swimming pool.

The children did their Accelerated Reader tests today and so have been given their book numbers. A letter explaining more about this will be coming home tomorrow. If you have any questions after reading this letter please do come and talk to us.

We are looking forward to seeing lots of you at the Harvest celebration at 10am. I must say our song is fantastic! Any food donations can be given to a member of the team on Friday morning.

Lastly we just wanted to emphasise the importance of still doing spelling practice at home. All the spellings will be in the little log books and these will be tested either every half a week or once a weekly depending on which group your child is in.

The Year 3 team

Y3- Fire and Hapa Zome....

This week we are in full swing with our Harvest work. The children have been writing why and how we celebrate the Harvest. in Art we have been making lots of different pieces of art linked with the Autumn.

In Forest School this afternoon we spoke about the importance of bread. Half of the class baked bread on the fire whilst the other half has a go at 'hapa zome'. This is where you place a leaf between a piece of fabric and hit it with a hammer to squeeze all the colour out.

It's great to see so many pieces of home learning being bought in. Just a reminder that these can go in the top tray by the door.

In the mornings we are really trying to encourage the children to come in quickly, pack away their own things and then settle down to their morning activities. For the next few days we are going to have their POW passports out so that the children that need stamps can get them and we can also fill in certain sections.

Y3- Farm trip and the bees!

We have had a brilliant trip to a sunny Maiden Castle farm.

Hazel spoke to us about the wheat and barley that they store and make in to animal feed. 

We went and saw the cows and saw them eating the food. It was really interesting to see the food and the different grains in it. 

After that we went to the pigs and fed them. Hazel fed the pigs some maze, this looks just look a sweetcorn cob but not delicious!

This morning we watched live footage at the Watercress farm of a beekeeper. It was fascinating to learn about the bees and what they make. Such as did you know that bees make royal jelly and feed up the Queen bee so that she is bigger. 

It was amazing to watch them on a live stream and learn about the importance of bees. 

Y3- Farming fortnight begins!

Today we launched our 'Farming fortnight'. I hope you all enjoyed seeing the tractor outside of school this morning! Over the next couple of weeks we will learn about local farming, visit Maiden Castle farm and focus on Harvest ready for our Harvest assembly next Friday. 

In Literacy we are still focusing on our Rainforest topic. Today the children started to write their own 'What am I?' piece of writing. They had to include key facts such as the type of animal they were, describing colour, movement and diet. We had some fantastic descriptions of animals pouncing and stalking their prey. 

In Maths we are still focusing on place value and in particular hundreds, tens and ones. Please do still go on mathletics. This should be updated now with some new challenges. Purplemash also has some fantastic resources on it. 

Just a reminder about the farm visit on Wednesday. Normal school jumpers but home trousers and wellingtons please.

At the end of the day we were visited by Twinkle the calf. The children tasted cheese and got to understand a little more about dairy cows. All of the children loved this visitor. We are very privileged to have such amazing, hard working farmers near and involved with our school so thank you!

Y3 Farm trip and information about Forest School

Next Wednesday afternoon is our farm trip. If any one would like to and is available to help we will be going in the afternoon this year. Please just let a member of staff know.

On Monday I will be on the Accelerated Reader training all afternoon so I’m afraid Forest School will not happen next week.

Mrs Thorpe

Y3- Windy trip to Maiden Castle!

We have had a fantastic day at Maiden Castle. I am extremely proud of all of Year 3 and how well they walked to Maiden Castle and handled the rather windy weather. They all got involved in the activities and were very polite. Well done! A huge thank you to our parent helpers this morning and to the South Dorset Ridgeway project that hosted the event.

We started our trip at the top of the hill where we were talking about boundaries. There were some amazing settlements that had been set up and some interesting boxes with different pieces of art work in.

Then we started to head down where we learnt about the defences at Maiden Castle and what a struggle it would have been in battle. 

After that we split in to groups and did a number of activities such as natural painting, 3D art work, Dance, flint demonstration, animal totems and finally we made badges. 

Y3 Our fantastic encounter with rainforest creatures!

Wow what a morning! Nick the Bugman came in and gave such an informative show about the creatures that live on the forest floor and below!

The children saw so many different bugs including stick insects, scorpions, snails, millipedes and tarantulas.

Can you believe that this creature on the left is actually a stick insect!

 The stick insects varied in size and colour. The boys were always the smaller of the species and were mainly a shade of brown.

 This bug was called the 'twin spot assassin'. We weren't allowed to touch this one as it had quite a pincer on it!

This was 'Sally' the bird eating spider! She was the slower of the two tarantulas today. I wonder if the children remember why they were not allowed to hold this one? The adults were brave though and had a hold.















Below area selection of photos from our morning. We will put the others on the screen in the classroom tomorrow.

(Mrs Thorpe isn't the biggest spider fan!)