Friday 15th March 2024

We’ve been keeping ourselves busy again in Year 3 this week. Not only did the children manage to practise for and put on a fabulous St Patrick’s Day assembly, we have been taking part in Science Week. This included having a lesson taught by a teacher from Nicholas Breakspear, learning about a scientist called Brianna Green and running an investigation to answer the question given to everyone by Mrs Carey: Does having longer legs mean you can run faster? Our findings showed that it was certainly not true.

Following our assembly today, we had a wonderful time making soda bread and enjoyed an extra play for winning the attendance award. We also had an unsuccessful attempt at making our own butter!

Although we’re sure you have your own, here are some pictures of our assembly today. Well done to the children for working so hard and putting on such a great show.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs Lines and Mrs McNamara

Home learning

Spellings on spelling shed

Science whole school home learning as detailed in the newsletter

Please also practise the songs for The Way of the Cross here, which will need to be learnt off by heart by the service (Tuesday 26th March).

KS2 Way of the Cross – lyrics to learn

Please use the lyrics and links below to learn the songs for the KS2 Way of the Cross service.

Lyric sheet can be found here.

My Soul is Sad

My soul is sad. My heart is breaking tonight.
Could you not watch and comfort me until light?
Am I alone, surrounded only by night?
Could you not watch one hour with me?

Could you not keep awake for one hour with me?
Is it so hard that you should do this for me?
I die for you that you might always be free.
Could you not watch one hour with me?

And so I weep, and there is no one to hear.
I am in pain; will no one witness my tears?
I am your God, and as my Passion draws near,
Could you not watch one hour with me?

Stay With Me

Stay with me
Remain here with me
Watch and pray
Watch and pray

Walk Alone

Take your cross now Jesus man.
Walk the road to Calvary alone.
Your innocence a mockery Nazarene for what crime do you atone?
Walk alone.

Battered bruised and bloodied now, stumbling on the long and dusty road.
Stripped of all your dignity.
This final journey holds a fate well known.
Walk alone.

Death’s dark journey calls your name.
Crown of thorns, crown of shame.
Faces filled with hate and blame.
The good you’ve done forgotten now.

Take your cross now Jesus man. Walk the road to Calvary alone.
Walk alone.
Walk alone.
Walk alone.

Born For This

Born for this. You were born for this.
Born to walk this road and bear that rugged cross.
But it’s breaking my heart to see you like this.
My son, my precious child.
The agony, Oh, the agony.
I see you suff’ring and there’s nothing I can do.
But I’ll walk by your side till we come to the end.
My son my precious child.

I see the anguish in your eyes.
I’ve prayed this cup will pass you by, but I know that it has to be so. Though I don’t understand the reason.
So much pain so much confusion,
but you were born for this,
you were born for this.
My son, my precious child.

Fallen Again

Fallen again. Kneeling in shame.
Frightened, rejected unbearable pain.
Suff’ring in silence such patience unknown, not moving.
Can he go on?
Fallen again. Face to the ground. Soldiers abusing, heckling crowd.
Slowly he rises feet heavy unsure.
Strength fading still he goes on.

All Hail, King of the Jews

O great king O royal one, your cross awaits. Is there anything your majesty desires?
Is your cross too heavy sire?
May I shine your crown?
Let us relieve you of your splendid royal attire!
All hail king of the Jews!
All hail King of the Jews!

Come now king and rest awhile you’ve walked so far!
We bet you’re very glad the journey’s almost done.
We like your regal garments so we’re sharing them around.
Casting lots to see what can be won.
All hail king of the Jews!
All hail king of the Jews!

Murderers and brigands,
We thought we’d seen it all.
Every kind of criminal there can be.
But this one they call Jesus is the strangest of the lot!
A self proclaimed Messiah is he!
All hail King of the Jews!
All hail king of the Jews!
All hail king of the Jews!

Father, Forgive Them

Father forgive them for what they have done. They know not the scale of their crime.
Guilt in their eyes and my blood on their hands.
Forgive them dear father forgive.

Father why have you forsaken your son.
Alone I am left here to die.
My flesh and my spirit both wounded the same. Forgive them dear father forgive.
Eli Eli lama sabachtani. Repeat

Precious Saviour

Precious Saviour laid to rest.
Shattered hopes, such emptiness.
Lifeless Lord. It is over now.

Night has come, the darkest hour.
Our hope has gone.
Here in this stone-cold grave the one we thought would save us, where is solace to be found?
It is over now.
It is over now.

You Are The Way

You are the way
to our Father above!
Jesus send Your Spirit,
help our hearts to love.
You are alive!
You’re our friend and our guide.
We can always trust in you as you’re here
by our side!

At the cross,
forgiveness we pray
for moments when we’ve fallen astray.

Through the cross,
the darkness has passed.
The Lamb of God is light that will last!

We will take up our cross,
it’s a gain, not a loss.
We’ll reach out, love the poor and the lost!

8th March 2024

We’re not sure we could have fitted more into this week if we tried!

On Monday, we went to Celtic Harmony for our History trip. Year 3 made shelters, hunted mammoths, made soup, listened to a story and saw how flint tools were made. Thank you to Lucas’ mum who was a helper on the trip.

On Tuesday Year 3 joined Year 4 in an e-safety workshop about keeping safe online. They were set challenges to solve and they enjoyed watching their class mates participate in the workshop through acting, answering questions etc.. They came away from the workshop empowered to become digitally resilient.

On Wednesday, along with Year 4, Year 3 attended a parish mass at OLSV as part of their Lenten preparations. Thank you to Noemi and Dafne who took up the offertory gifts.  We also had a visit from Louis’ mum to read her favourite books. The class really enjoyed her storytelling.

Yesterday it was World Book Day. Everyone looked fantastic in their outfits. WBD is a highlight in the school calendar, recognising the power of books. We know that reading is important every day, not just once a year. World Book Day provides an opportunity to come together and share a love of reading, We also watched the live lesson on the BBC like hundreds of schools around the country. Miss Pringle came to Year 3 to read to the class in the afternoon and the children enjoyed seeing her in their classroom too.  Your child has been given a World Book Day token.   The £1 tokens and £1 books give all children the chance to experience choosing and owning a book – for free. So do encourage your child to take their token along to the relative shops to receive their free book.

We also did a book swap this afternoon.  Some members of the class brought in a reading book and got one back in exchange!  The children are keen to do this again…so please send in a reading book that your child no longer wants and your child should come home with another!

Wishing you a restful weekend!

Mrs Lines and Mrs McNamara

Home Learning

Next Friday, Year 3 are doing the St Patrick’s Assembly.  They have been given their parts already and we would like them to practice them.  Also, the class are singing two songs:

Christ Be Beside Me… and May the Road Rise to Greet You.  Please give your child time to learn the lyrics to both songs by clicking on the name of the songs above.

Spelling shed for spellings and grammar task.

TTRs – log on and revise your 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables.

Mathletics – complete the tasks set.

Spring 2 Spellings: Spring 2 Spellings

NB: Some children have mentioned that their accounts are working properly.  I have been in touch with Mathletics and they are going to get back to me early next week.  In the meantime, we hope that if your account is working, your child can complete the work set.

1st March 2024

Welcome back!

This week has whizzed by!

We would first like to remind you that we have a class trip planned next Monday 4th March to Celtic Harmony.  Please see the reminder below:

Year 3 Trip – Stone Age Day, Monday 4th March

The children in Year 3 are  on a trip to a Stone Age Day at the Celtic Harmony Camp, as part of their creative topic for this term.  The class will be travelling by coach to the Celtic Harmony Camp, Brickendon (near Hertford), Hertfordshire SG13 8NY and will be experiencing a range of exciting activities including:

  • Watching the Friction Fire lighting display
  • Gathering food in the forest and cooking with prehistoric herbs
  • Building their own woodland shelter.
  • Seeing the flint knapping demonstration, viewing a range of stone tools and hunting the mammoth!

We will be leaving school at 9.15am and expect to return to school before the end of the school day.

We will be outside all day so your child should wear their PE kit, with extra layers to keep warm.  Your child should have a coat, gloves, a hat and scarf. Children can wear thick socks with their wellies/old trainers. Your child will also need to bring a packed lunch, with no glass bottles or fizzy drinks, and no nuts please.

 

This week in Maths the children have been working hard  on subtraction with exchanging 10s for 1s and 100s for 10s.  In English, we have begun our new unit based on the book Flotsam. The children built up their inference and deduction skills by searching though trays filled with flotsam that gave clues about a character.

In RE the class have spent time explaining what they already know about Lent and Holy Week as well as recalling the three practices of Lent. This week we have also launched our RE focus on the Stations of the Cross and Catholic Social Teaching (CST).  Throughout Lent  we will be emphasising a different CST principle each week, employing art as a medium for exploration. Following a launch assembly about this by Miss Donatantonio, the children contemplated the concept of “Care of Creation,” discussing and reflecting upon the painting below:

It was so lovely to hear how the  children responded to this work of art on multiple levels.

 

 

Home Learning:

TTRs Log on and practise your 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables.

Sing along times tables songs:  3 times tables

4 times tables

Log onto Mathletics : complete the times tables activity and Maths assessment that has been set.

Spelling shed. New Spelling List can be found here:  Spellings spring 1

A SPaG activity has also been assigned on spellingshed.

UPDATE******************************************
Spelling sheet for this half term found here: Spring 2 Spellings

Apologies for the error in initial uploading.

Friday 16th February 2024

 

 

 

Our final week has been a busy one, filled with some wonderful activities.

On Tuesday we celebrated Mardi Gras and made pancakes. The children showed fantastic cooking skills with the crepe maker.

On Wednesday, along with the rest of Key Stage 2, Year 3 attended the Ash Wednesday mass at OLSV. Thank you to Christian and Leonie who did the offertory so well.  The children were reverent and sang beautifully throughout.

Today, the children shared their Lenten promises in class and attended house meetings about the fundraising we are planning.

It was wonderful to see you all at parents’ evenings this week to celebrate your children’s success and share their targets. We look forward to continuing to work together next half term.

Have a wonderful break

Mrs McNamara and Mrs Lines

 

The children have enjoyed learning a new song about The Stone Age Era. Here are the lyrics below if they wish to perform it to you.  Unfortunately I cannot upload the music on here.

Now the weather’s warmer we don’t have to move around.
It’s the end of hunter gathering, it’s time to settle down.
We’re domesticating animals, we’re cultivating crops,
We’re producing more than we can store, we’re making lots of pots.

Nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.

No more chasing animals, we’re taming them instead.
We’re building sturdy houses for the living and the dead.
We’re learning how to stitch and weave, we’re wearing handmade clothes,
And we look as sharp as the tools we carve from stone and flint and bone.

Nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.

We’re learning how to get on with the neighbours. (Morning! Turned out nice again!)
We’re making rules to help to keep the peace. (Get off my menhir!)
We’re growing so much food we’ve got a surplus. (Mm, delicious einkorn, I’m stuffed!)
So some of us can choose a new career:
Potter! Weaver! Builder! Fighter! Leader! Artist! Priest!

Nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.

We’re harvesting and sowing,
The population’s growing,
We’re giving up to-ing and fro-ing,
We’re staying put instead.

Nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.

No, no, nomadic no more, we’re living in the New Stone Age. 
Oh, we’re farmers for sure, we’re living in the New Stone Age.
Living in the New Stone Age [x3]

Friday 9th February 2024

On Tuesday, it was Safer Internet Day. Year 3 showed excellent knowledge about what they would do if they felt unsafe while online. Through a story about Digiduck, they explored the theme of being kind online and what they should and should not share. They also watched a live lesson streamed by the BBC which was viewed by hundreds of schools around the country.

Our Science learning about rocks developed this week by learning how fossils were formed. Year 3 drew the process in their books and also made their own cast fossils. They still need to dust away some of the playdough mould to gently excavate the fossil, much like real archaeologists.

In English, Year 3 have been writing up their final stories and showing off some beautiful handwriting.

In Maths the class have continued to explore division by grouping manipulatives and answering worded problems,  They are working hard on understanding the correct vocabulary to apply the correct rule of number.

In RE, Year 3 have continued to learn more about what messages are given to us through the Exodus story and what the writer was trying to convey. They also learnt about what Passover was like in the time of Jesus.

In History the children have started to explore the Neolithic Era (New Stone Age Era) and have started to find out about Skara Brae.  Their own research in this area has enhanced group discussion immensely. They have also learnt a new song about this era.  In computing this afternoon the children explored Scratch, combining sound commands and ordering notes into a sequence…the classroom was noisy with many tunes this afternoon!

We look forward to seeing you all next week at parent consultations.  If you have not had the opportunity to book, please log on and do so.

Have a wonderful weekend

Mrs Lines and Mrs McNamara

Home Learning

Please bring in a small plastic plant pot next week as we will be planting bulbs in them.

Spellingshed

Mathletics – complete the tasks set.

TTRs and continue to learn the 3 and 4 times tables.

Friday 2nd February, 2024

This week in Year 3 the children have been busy with their learning.

In Maths the children have been provided with lots of practical experience of dividing by sharing and grouping.  They looked at how the use of arrays emphasises the link between multiplication and division. They were then supported to develop their understanding of grouping by visualising arrays and have begun to solve worded problems.

In English, Year 3 have begun writing their final piece which is an alternative ending to The Finger Eater. There have been a whole range of ideas on how to stop the troll from doing his nasty habit!

In recorders, the children have been practising the note ‘C’ and revisiting their B-A-G songs.

A highlight for this week was the children’s work in their history topic, The Stone Age.  The focus was looking at  the similarities and differences between the different Stone Age periods.  We looked at musical instruments, hammer stones, pottery and cave paintings and discussed which stone age eras they were part of.  Then the children tried their hand at stone knapping using a bar of soap. In the same way a Stone Age person would knap a flint core into an axe, a bar of soap can be knapped in the same way! The children had great fun doing this!

Click here to see the photos.

In Science we tested the permeability of rocks. By dropping water onto different types of rock, Year 3 were able to observe which ones allowed water to pass through.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs McNamara and Mrs Lines

Home Learning:

TTRs please log on and practise your 2, 3, 4, 5and 10 times tables!

Log onto Mathletics and complete the tasks set

Spellingshed

We will be making fossils next week! The children can bring in a shell, or small toy they would like to make a fossil of.

 

Dice Game Challenge Afternoon!

Click here to see what the Key Stage 2 classes were busy doing yesterday afternoon!

Why don’t you click on Dice Games and try some of the dice games yourself?

Maths Dice Games Thursday 1st February, 2024

Dice Games –

  1.  Click here for Dice Games A
  2.  Click here for Dice Games B                  Drop Zone (p 29)  Differences (p9)   Step Adding ( p 18)  *

Equipment Needed:

a partner

Dice (up to 6 dice)

paper or squared paper

Pencil

 

Have Fun!!

Mrs McNamara, Ms Varga and Miss Donatantonio

Friday 26th January 2024

In English, we read to the end of our class text to find out what became of the finger eater after Gudrun put her plan into place. The children wrote letters in role, imagining that they had come into contact with the troll in his new toothless state.

In Maths we have been looking at building arrays to develop or times table knowledge and this week our focus has been on the 3 times tables.  Click here to listen to the song that is helping us to do so!

In Science, we improved our understanding of the rock cycle through sweets. By chopping them to make sediment and then putting them under various pressures and heats, we were able to see how each rock is formed.

The children made some wonderful freezeframes in RE, where they showed the events of Exodus when Moses and his brother gave instructions.

 

In Computing we have continued with our programming work using Scratch and have started to learn about how to start a program in different ways and create a sequence of connected commands.

Have a wonderful weekend

Mrs Lines and Mrs McNamara

Home Learning

Mathletics

Spellings on spelling shed

Big Bird Watch   worksheet

Big Schools’ Birdwatch is back for 2024!  Please help us join thousands of other schools to find out which birds visit your garden. Together, we can make it count. The sheet to assist you recognise the bird is attached.  Happy Bird Watching!!