Each week, usually on a Friday, you will find an update about our weeks learning and adventures! Within this class blog I will summarise what we have been up to in our lessons, inform you of our superstar learner from the week and also remind you of any useful information, whether this be homework or dates. Keep your eyes peeled - our first blog will be on Friday 4th September!
Friday 27th November 2020
As usual we have had lots of fun in giraffe class this week. A highlight for the teachers and teaching assistants has been the sheer determination and perseverance of each and every child in the class. Whether this has been a focus on improving their behaviour, their focus within lessons or even personal goals such as handwriting - you have all shown you are capable of anything you set your mind to!
This week we kick started our English with a new class text called 'I was there.' This book has hooked every child into our Victorian unit of work and allows us to unpick the life and work of a Royal Nursemaid called Charlotte (Lottie) who cared for Queen Victoria's children. We have had so many interesting discussions and children have applied their historical knowledge to the unit to help us unpick details. Throughout the week we worked on character descriptions and I am aware from Miss Roberts that the children produced some beautifully descriptive pieces of writing on Friday.
In Maths we have been focusing on our multiplication knowledge, trying to recall our 3x tables. The concept of times tables is proving quite difficult for the children at the moment as they are not confident in recalling multiplication facts. A way to support at home is encouraging children to chant in multiples first, recall facts in order and then progress onto recalling out of context once confident. We have asked for each child to engage with the sound check on TTRS at least once a week in school as well as at least once a week at home. This check requires children to recall facts quickly and is something that the children are struggling with. As we have told them in school 'practice makes perfect.' Thank you in advance for any time you can dedicate to learning times tables at home.
Our afternoons this week have seen us explore colour mixing in Art, explore Victorian inventions in History, learn body percussions in PE and engage with glockenspiels in Music. Lots of exciting learning all round.
This week our homework focus is on Spag. Please login in to Spag.com (username and password is in your child's diary) and you will find a task focusing on different aspects of grammar. Please engage with your reading book at least 3 times a week to earn your merits!
Have a lovely, restful weekend!
Friday 20th November 2020
We have had a very successful week in giraffe class. Some amazing non-chronological reports created on giraffes. Lovely feedback from the children on this. They really enjoyed researching facts and learning new knowledge themselves, they were so engaged and could quite easily have spent all day on this! We then planned our reports and wrote them up neatly to put on display in our classroom.
In Maths we have been busy recapping mental methods for adding and taking away by exploring how to take multiples of 10 or 100 off a number. We have also recapped written methods by looking at column addition and subtraction.
Foundation subjects are well underway too. The class are loving their learning on the Victorians. So far we have explored where the Victorians fit on a historical timeline, looked at real life objects and artefacts linking to Victorian Britain and then explored who Queen Victoria was. In Art we have been busy unpicking the work of Vincent Van Gogh and getting stuck in learning his techniques. In PSHE we have engaged with learning around anti-bullying, we created hearts with act of kindness on them and kindness/positive quotes and then created a class jigsaw to show everyone fits in. We will be adding this to a whole school display so watch this space! In RE we have been creating Rangoli patterns using tissue paper. Some of our work will be on a Diwali showcase on the school website on Monday.
Friday 13th November 2020
Happy Friday everyone!
As usual a busy but fun week in giraffe class. We have begun learning all about non-chronological reports in English and the children have been superb detectives, spotting the features within this genre. In Maths we have been exploring addition. We kick started the week well by recapping our mental methods, looking at how we can add multiples of 10 or 100 to any given number. We then explored column addition and the children were definitely experts with this!
We have had some really special moments in school during our foundation subjects. This week we have been exploring Remembrance day - creating diaries from the perspective of a solider, waterproof poppies and some war inspired artwork. We have also started looking at Diwali as part of our RE unit on Hinduism. Next week we are looking forward to creating our own Rangoli patterns using tissue paper and chalk.
A huge thank you to you all for taking time out of your day today to engage with our parents evening consultations. It has been lovely to catch up with you regarding how your child has settled in to Year 3 and discussing ways in which you can support them at home. Remember if you ever need anything then you do not need to wait until the next consultations. Feel free to dojo or email and I will always support in any way I can.
Have a lovely weekend all!
Friday 6th November 2020:
Hi all,
Learning is well underway in giraffe class. We have had busy English and Maths lessons as usual but our highlight for the week is implementing our full curriculum again. The children have really shone in Art, History and Music this week. I can clearly see that the children have been itching to engage with these again!
Invites for parents' consultations should have been sent out to you all via the school office so please book a suitable slot. I appreciate lots of you work full time and so during the day may not be suitable for you please let me know if this is the case and I can try and find an alternative time to suit.
Please also note that these meetings will not be held in school and so will be held remotely as phone calls. These meetings will be roughly 10 minutes and update you on how your child has settled in to Year 3. I will cover friendships, attitudes, behaviours as well as how they are doing academically. If you think of any questions or concerns please do raise them so I can support in whatever way possible.
Our consultations will be held next Friday - Friday 13th November - 8am until 5.30pm.
Have a lovely weekend!
Sunday 1st November 2020
Good morning all,
Hope you have managed to have a restful but enjoyable half term with your children. Thank you for your dojo updates over the half term. It has been useful to identify which children will be self-isolating so I can ensure that home learning is accessible to you all. If you haven't updated either myself or the school office then please let us know ASAP.
Please can I remind you that children should be coming to school dressed with extra layers of clothing on or at the very least a jumper or fleece. We will be keeping internal doors and windows open to ensure we have appropriate ventilation and to allow fresh air to flow through the classroom. Please can I also ask that PE kits return to school on Monday morning, our PE sessions have moved to a Wednesday (indoor) and our outdoor PE lesson still remains on a Friday afternoon.
We have a busy but exciting term planned for Giraffe Class. Lots of new knowledge and skills to be explored as we will be implementing our full curriculum. Please head over to our 'curriculum info' tab to find out what we will be learning about
Enjoy your last day off and I will see you all in the morning!