Year 3 2015 – Spring 1st half term newsletter 5.1.15

Dear Parents and Carers,

Year 3’s trip to the Museum of London, Roman Gallery, November 2015

Happy New Year to you all and welcome back to the Spring term in Year 3.

Mountfitchet Castle: we would like to begin the fund-raising activities for our

trip to Mountfitchet Castle in the summer term. Mountfitchet is a

reconstructed Norman motte and bailey castle built on the site of earlier Iron

Age, Roman, Saxon and Viking settlements. Baron Mountfitchet was one of the

barons chosen to enforce Magna Carta, a charter signed by King John in June

1215 to protect the rights of the church and the nobles and this year marks the

800th anniversary of Magna Carta. When we visit Mountfitchet we do so in full

costume, including accessories made by the children. FROGS have already

contributed £150 to pay for the children’s tickets, but we need to raise around

£500 more – to pay for the coach, costumes and adult tickets. We aim to take

as many parents as we can afford to, and I will let you know the date of the visit

as soon as it is confirmed. Parent volunteers would be welcome to organize

fundraising, coach travel and costumes. Please let me know soon if you can help.

PE kits are needed for PE with Nick on Thursdays, and we recommend that your

child brings in a kit and leaves it in school for the duration of half term. Please

note: after February half term Year 3 will go swimming every Thursday. As

Nick and David are with the class on Thursdays, we will be asking for a rota of

Mums to help supervise the girls’ changing area. Please let us know if you can

help with this.

Books and book bags: please ensure your child brings their book bag every

day, as there are often notes or letters to send home and children will need

access to their books and reading diaries every day. We will continue to visit

the School Library on Thursdays.

What we are learning about: below I have outlined the particular topics for

this half term and given an overview of what we will be covering in Literacy and

Numeracy.

Literacy: we will be studying myths and legends (with links to our History unit,

see below), looking at a selection of Greek myths; the legend of King Arthur and

the epic Anglo-Saxon tale of Beowulf and his fight with the monster, Grendel.

Numeracy: we will cover the following topics:

Numbers to 10000: ordering, comparing, more, less, patterns & place

value;

Mass: revising g and kg & length: revising cm, m & km;

Time: hours, mins, conversion (digital/analogue); duration;

Money: adding, subtracting and word problems;

Division & multiplication, with a focus on the 6x table.

History: the decline of the Roman empire and the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in

Britain. We will visit the Sutton Hoo collection at the British Museum on Tues

10th February – see attached permission slip.

Science: vertebrates and invertebrates (grouping and identifying).

RE: living as a Muslim (going to the Mosque).

PE: dance on Thursdays.

Music: exploring rhythmic patterns; recorder lessons (with Lisa).

PHSCE: friendship

ICT: animation and digital stories

DT: moving monsters (with Nadine).

Spanish: with Dayanira

Planning, Preparation & Assessment (PPA) & SENCO duties: I will be out of

the class every Monday afternoon this half term, during which time Year 3 will

have either DT (with Nadine) or Spanish (with Deyanira). I continue to work

as SENCO on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with Nick in class.

Homework: I have changed the homework format this half term, to provide a

wider selection of activities for your child. Spellings are now taken from the

new 2014 National Curriculum spelling list, a copy of which is attached.

All children should continue to complete:

a) spelling revision – for a test on Friday each week.

b) topic homework – to hand in on Tuesday each week.

c)

In addition, your child can chose (ie: it is optional) to complete a further activity

in an area they feel they need practice in, namely handwriting, sentence

extension, or learning their times tables, telling the time or other basic maths

skills.

Please also encourage your child to read every day, and to record what they are

reading in their reading diaries. Please make sure that all school readers are

kept in book bags, so that they can be exchanged regularly.

Finally, please tell us (or the office) about any absences, before or after the

event.

Best wishes,

Debbie Ashton

Class Teacher

Year 3: Permission slip for forthcoming Year 3 trip:

Please sign below to indicate that you give permission for your child to attend

the following trip:

1. British Museum (Sutton Hoo Collection) – TUESDAY 10th FEBRUARY

2015.

We will leave school at 9.10am and all children will need a packed lunch.

Please note that packed lunches should not contain any products with nuts or

sesame seeds, and children are not allowed fizzy drinks, chocolate or crisps.

There is no charge for this trip.

Parents are welcome to accompany us on this trip. Please indicate below if

you wish to join us.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I give permission for my child, __________________________ to visit the

British Museum on Tuesday 10th February 2015.

I understand that my child will need suitable clothing (including a coat and

sensible shoes) and a packed lunch (no nuts or sesame).

I am able / unable to accompany the class on this trip.

Please print your name if you are able to come with us: _________________

Signed: ___________________________________