Thank you everyone

We wanted to say a massive thank you to all of you for our fabulous Christmas gifts. You have thoroughly spoilt us and we are really appreciative. We have had a wonderful first term with your children. We have enjoyed seeing them settle into the Junior School and adapt to the new routines. We have watched them develop in confidence with each other, other adults and most importantly in themselves. 

We wish you all a very happy and safe Christmas and a merry New Year.

We weren't expecting that much snow!

During the last fortnight at school we have been very busy as usual. We have enjoyed a couple of music rehearsals where we practised our year 3 songs, tea party songs and whole school carols. Unfortunately, on Monday with the school closed, our events didn't go ahead. However, with the rescheduled performance now being on Tuesday, on the school playground, we hope you can join us with some festive songs. Singing outside as such a large ensemble is a Crabtree first for many of us so please wrap up warm and come join us, but perhaps bring tissues as the songs are definitely 'crowd pleasers'.
Although we have been singing, the rest of the curriculum hasn't slowed down at all. In Maths we have been working hard on fractions. We can draw them, recognise them, count forwards and backwards in them, find fractions of numbers like a 1/4  of 16 and also when the numerator is a non-unit like 3/5 of 15. Why not ask your child these questions to see how they tackle them?

1. 2   of    12  =                              2.      3   of  20  =          3.   5  of    40  =
    3                                                          5                                8

In English we have had lots of fun doing a unit called 'Take a book'. We used a book called the Hodgeheg as a stimulus and write a diary entry from the adventurous Hedgehogs point of view and then we wrote a non fiction text, a newspaper, reporting on how hedgehogs are becoming more scarce and are now protected.

Here is Cormac's opening paragraph
Hedgehogs usually hibernate between mid November and mid March but the mild winter means many may not have done so yet. With December, the wettest month on research, the animals may struggle to find enough to eat as food supplies can be hard to find.

In Science we have just come to the end of our topic on Rocks and soils so we have been testing the children on their knowledge of the unit and going through any misconceptions. We hope they have really enjoyed the topic. Our next topic is Healthy bodies and the human skeleton where we talk about bones. Mrs Mercer will bring in her recent x-rays to show how easily bones can break!

As the term comes to an end we also finish our topic of the Egyptians, which the children have thoroughly enjoyed. Why not ask them what their favourite bit of the Egyptians was? Why not have a go at this fun quiz and see if you can answer them all. (We haven't covered the Gods so they might need help on that one!)
Year 3 Egyptian quiz for fun

In Computing we have come to the end of our unit on Scratch and we think the children have enjoyed the challenges block coding brings, although it has been a tricky unit.

We have two school days left this term and still lots to enjoy. We have the Christmas Pantomime on Monday, Dick Whittington and our alfresco carol concert on Tuesday, which we hope to see many of you at. For those of you that are unable to make it we will endeavour to record snippets and Blog them if possible.

Please pass our apologises onto any Grandparents that were disappointed that our tea party didn't go ahead, the inclement British weather has a lot to answer for.

Enjoy your weekend
The year 3 team

It's been a busy week!

Dear year 3 parents,

Year 3 have had a very creative couple of weeks!

At the beginning of the week, the children designed and made their own Ancient Egyptian cartouches (name plates), writing in hieroglyphics. They are really looking forward to painting them next week once they are fully dry.

The children also enjoyed our science day today where they learnt all about fossils and Mary Anning and even made their own fossils which we plan to excavate next week.

 We have started rehearsing our Christmas songs for the Grandparents Tea Party on Tuesday 12th December. We would really appreciate your support in helping your children learn the words to the songs below. They have also been sent home with one line to learn ('What Christmas means to me'). We would like the children to know their lines by heart by Thursday next week. Loud, clear voices please!

Please note, although the children will be in school uniform, it would be nice for the children to wear something a little festive to the party- a Christmassy hair band, a little tinsel or other small festive accessory would be great. The children can wear these to school on the 12th.

P.E Lessons

We are outside once a week and the weather has definitely changed and become cold. Please can you ensure your child has suitably warm clothes for P.E including socks! (Quite a few girls wear trainers and no socks) Joggers, sweatshirt, gloves and a beany hat are advisable. Thank you it makes lessons so much easier if the children are warm to start with.

Amanda Tizard

Away in a manger

Away in a manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down His sweet head

The stars in the night sky
Look down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay

The cattle are lowing
The Baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes

I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my bedside
'Til morning is nigh

Be near me, Lord Jesus
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me, I pray

Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And take us to Heaven
To live with Thee there

Come and join the celebration

Come and join the celebration

It’s a very special day

Come and share our jubilation

There’s a new King born today

See the shepherds

Hurry down to Bethlehem

Gaze in wonder

At the son of God who lay before them

Chorus

Wise men journey

Led to worship by a star

Kneel in homage

Bringing precious gifts from lands afar, So

Chorus

God is with us

Round the world the message bring

He is with us

Welcome all the bells on earth are peeling

Chorus

Let the photos tell a story

Today year 3 had their Big Bang Egyptian day with Charlie. It was so much fun. The children learnt lots about the Egyptians and how they used to live. We chiselled hieroglyphics on stone, built an amazing pyramid, made papyrus, practised mummifying a mannequin and so much more. The children had an amazing experience and thoroughly enjoyed all the activities. Why not look through the photos with your children and ask them what they did and how they felt about each of the activities they did. 

In Maths we have been continuing to look at addition and subtraction. We are beginning to consider partitioning as a method which will lead into more formal written methods later on. 

In Computing we are continuing to look at Scratch and make our own animations. This week we learnt how to glide our sprites and next week we will hopefully make them speak! Why not ask your child what their animation is about?

In English we have come to the end of instructional texts and next week we are having four days of grammar to practise some needed skills. We are looking at word types - nouns, adjectives, adverbs, coordinating and subordinating clauses. Why not ask your child to give you an example of  a noun, adjective, verb or adverb? 

Thank you for taking the time to read our Blog.

Have a fabulous weekend

The Year 3 Team