Welcome to Year 3
Hello and welcome to Year 3!
I hope you all had a lovely summer. I’ve been really impressed with how the class seem to be settling into Year 3 over the first week and a bit and have enjoyed listening to all the fun things that they have done over the holidays.
In this post I’ll go over some of the key things that you will need to know for this year:
Ok, here goes…
• PE is on Wednesdays and Fridays. Children will need a PE kit suitable for both indoors and outdoors. This should include a pair of trainers or pumps. I usually ask parents to bring in the kit at the start of the term and take it home at the end of each half-term to wash. This way, the children always have a kit. Also, please put the children’s name on the kit!
• We have a spellings and tables test each Friday morning. The new spellings and tables are written in the red learning lists books. These books are for the children to take home each day to practise. However, they should bring the books back in to school each day in case we do some practice in school as well. The children will be given ten spellings and ten times table facts to learn each week but they will only be tested on eight out of the ten. The times tables we learn in Year 3 are the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 times tables. The spellings we will be learning are a mixture of important spelling rules which may be revisited more than once during the year and specific vocabulary which will tie in with the learning in the literacy lessons.
• Homework is the same in Year 3 as it was in Year 2. There will be a mixture of creative and talk time homework with a few practice makes perfect as well. New homework is given out on Friday and is to be handed in by the following Wednesday.
• Some of the children have asked me what they are allowed to bring in for a playtime snack. They can bring in any type of fruit but not cereal bars, yoghurt, fruit bars etc.
• Tuck shop is starting next Tuesday and will be weekly on this day. Children can bring 20p to buy some fruit at morning break.
I’m sure I won’t have covered all your questions in this post so please pop into the classroom to see me or grab me in the playground if you have any queries – or even just to say hello!
Finally, I’d like to welcome Lennox to our class. He’s been made welcome by all the class and is already proving to be a great addition to Year 3!
Welcome back!
As most of you already know, I taught the current Year 4 two years ago in Key Stage 1. They were a wonderful group of children then and it’s great to see that Mr Wilks has had such a positive impact.
In literacy, Year 4 are currently story-writing in literacy. Further into the term, they will be learning about promotional writing (advertisements, leaflets) as well as writing reports (information texts – often a website or factual book). Encourage your child to read these different types of text when you’re out and about or if you spot an interesting report in a newspaper or magazine.
In maths we’re investigating place value (this is all about knowing the value of digits in a number, such as knowing 357 has three hundreds, five tens and seven units) as well as the four basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and divide). By the end of the year, your child has to know all times table facts up to 10 x 10. It is imperative that they practise their times tables every day for a few minutes until they can recall any times table within five seconds.
Parents’ evening will be towards the end of October; in the meantime, please feel free to drop in if you have any queries. Finally, I’d like to welcome Luca to our class. He’s slotted perfectly into our learning community and has already made excellent contributions– especially in art!
I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Fruit tuckshop returns!
Our fruit tuckshop, to be run by the Year 5 class this year, returns next week on a new day – Tuesday.
The tuckshop is open to all Key Stage 2 children during playtime. Reception and Key Stage 1 children receive free fruit at playtime.
Each item costs 20p and the fruit can be a snack for playtime or used to top up their packed lunch box – all contributing to their 5 a day!
As stated in our Food Policy, fruit is the only snack allowed at playtimes for Key Stage 2.
Maths websites
Today we looked at choosing the most appropriate number operation in maths. Based on the television programme Countdown, here is a website the children used to test out their skills – well done to Yasmin and Ayesha for your hard work today.
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/countdown/index.htm
Another version can be found on the excellent nrich maths website:
SEAL statement 07 September
This week we begin our new SEAL theme, New Beginnings, and the weekly statement is ‘I can make someone feel welcome.‘
Over this half term, as the children are experiencing new beginnings, each class will be looking at how they can all contribute to establishing a welcoming and safe environment for learning.
Welcome to Year 5
Welcome to the Autumn term of 2012. It is a new start for everyone including me; a change from Year 1 to Year 5 is interesting and so far it has been a very enjoyable one. Having taught most of the children before, it has been fantastic to see how they have progressed and matured and the first week back has been a pleasure.
A big welcome to Brannoc who has made a fantastic start at Moortown; he was nominated by Pavanpal and Amit to receive a certificate in his first assembly as they felt that he had made a “brilliant start with a smile on his face”.
Our first mini topic, over the next couple of weeks, will be “Materials and their Properties”. This is a science-based topic with investigations, predictions and lots of questioning. The brain will then be investigated (not literally!) in a “Brain Box Week” before our main topic starts which is “Rich and Poor”; more on this at a later date.
A busy half term with lots of learning to be done. As always, my door is always open if you have any problems or questions. I look forward to seeing you all at parents’ evening in October if not before.
Thank you.
PE
PE will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please ensure that your child has pumps for indoor PE and suitable outdoor footwear.
This half-term, we’ll focus on dance in our indoor PE sessions and throwing and catching skills in our outdoor PE sessions.
Reading
Oxford Reading Tree books will be changed on Tuesdays and Fridays.
If your child finishes their book before these days, they should have a go at the reading tasks (these can be found in their homework books). They should also re-read the book a couple of times (this is useful to develop instant recognition of some words, especially important for words that can’t be broken down into phonics eg ‘said’ – we sometimes call these ‘tricky words’).
We will allow children to have a book from the library at home, too. These can be changed on Wednesdays.
In addition to reading at home, each child will read some of their Oxford Reading Tree book once a week with Mrs Stewart. They will also read a separate book with me in one guided reading session a week.
Welcome back
Welcome back. I hope you all had an enjoyable summer break. I’ve enjoyed listening to all of the days out and holidays that the children have been on!
I’ve been really pleased with how motivated the children have been in our first week back. Our first few weeks will involve some re-capping. For example, we’ll revisit some of the phonics covered in Year 1. Children tend to slip back a bit over the long holidays so regular reading at home and practising of handwriting, counting and number bonds will all help.
For those of you who I don’t know, this will be my fifth year at Moortown Primary and my second year teaching in Year 2. Parents’ Evening will be towards the end of October; in the meantime, please feel free to drop in if you have any queries. I look forward to getting to know you all better.
Finally, I’d like to welcome Jorja to our class. She’s been welcomed by all the class and is already proving to be a great member of the Year 2 learning community.
A new school year
Welcome to Year 1!
We’ve had a great first week and I’m pleased with the efforts and behaviour of all of the children.
Just a few notes about the term ahead:
PE – this will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Children should bring their PE kits to school and leave in school until half term. If they get dirty they will be sent home for washing.
Reading – we aim to hear your child read on a weekly basis within school, once by a teacher and once by the teaching assistant. Please make time to read with your child and encourage them to discuss the text. It would be helpful if you make a comment of any reading done in your child’s reading record book.
Homework – children in Year 1 will receive homework on a Friday and it’s due back on Wednesday the following week. See the front of the homework book for more details.
Spelling – this will be set home on a Monday and a spelling test will take place on the Friday.
Class bear – Year 1 is home to Ralph Bear! A child will be rewarded each week by bringing Ralph home for the weekend. He will bring with him his suitcase and diary. Please encourage your child to write in his diary about his weekend. Photos are also welcome.
A warm welcome to Abigail, who has joined our class. She has fitted in beautifully and I am sure she will be very happy at Moortown Primary.
If you have any questions about the term ahead, please do not hesitate to ask.