Owl report
As part of our Life topic, we have written a report about owls as a class. We split into groups to write different paragraphs and this is what we came up with.
Owls
Owls are known for being wise like Winnie the Pooh’s friend Wise Owl. Interestingly, owls can’t actually turn their heads all the way around. Funnily enough, some schools have owls on their logo because they’re popular. Read this interesting report to find out amazing facts about owls.
Appearance
Interestingly, owls don’t have feet. They have sharp talons that grab their prey silently at night. They have brown, white and sometimes grey feathers which help them to camouflage. They have large, round eyes and pointed beaks.
Habitat
Interestingly, owls usually live near or in woods. They also live in the green wide countryside and nest in tall trees. This is because they need to stay away from large predators below. Shockingly, moist owls nest in long, green grass in the countryside so that they can hide from their prey.
Diet
Owls eat tiny insects, small birds, worms and mammals. Owls hunt at night because they are nocturnal. Owls eat their prey and regurgitate the indigestible parts. Owls eat smaller birds than themselves. Owls live in trees to try and find their prey.
This week
Maths
This week in Maths, we’ve been looking at finding equivalent fractions. Equivalent fractions are two (or more) fractions that are the same size. We’ve compared fractions using fractions tables.
As you can see 2/4 are the same size as 1/2. Why not ask your child if the can spot any other equivalent fractions?
We’ve also started to look at using multiplication to find equivalent fractions. The golden rule for this is to always do to the numerator what you do to the denominator (ask your child to explain this).
English
In English, we’ve been looking at reports on animals. We spent this week practising writing a report on owls and next week we will be doing an assessed piece of writing based on the animals we saw at Animal Intuition. Animal Intuition was a workshop in school where we all go to handle a variety of animals we might not normally get to see.
Even Mrs Bald got a hold!
Life
During Science this week, we’ve been learning about different diets and food groups. We came up with our own actions to help us remember the name and purpose of the key food groups: carbohydrates, proteins, fruit and vegetables, fatty and sugary foods and dairy. Why not ask your child about their evening meals and what food groups they can see?
School dinners
Our school dinner menu was discussed by our School Council this week. They also talked about ways to encourage others to try some of the new meals that are on the Spring term menu.
Did you know the menu is available to view on our website and also displayed on our dining room window. This is a good way to make your child aware of what the daily meals are.
The menu follows a three week cycle and it changed on a termly basis.
Here are the options for today.
School Council elections 11 February
Our current school councillors held their final meeting today as we prepare to elect our new school council. This year’s election date is Thursday 11 February.
Children from every class, including Reception, are encouraged to prepare a speech to present to their class as part of the election process. Our whole school homework before the election date (05 February) will give children the chance to plan their speech.
Thank you to our existing school council who have been involved with many decisions and discussions throughout the year. On today’s agenda, there have been discussions around the new school dinner menu, classroom reading areas, e-safety and general suggestions put forward by children in each class. It appears they have enjoyed the role as they all intend to stand again at the elections.
Museum trip
This week, we went to the Leeds City Museum to research animals as part of our Life topic. Have a look at a few pictures from our trip. Why not ask your child if they can explain what is happening/can be seen in the pictures below?
We had a really good time in the museum so why not visit yourself? You could even get some ideas for this week’s homework.
Borrow a book, borrow a bike
With 100 days to this year’s Tour De Yorkshire, a local bike library has been set up locally at Moor Allerton Library.
Leeds City Council has introduced a new Yorkshire Bike Bank which will allow residents to borrow bikes as well as books from the library.
This Week
Maths
For the past two weeks in maths, we’ve been looking at multiplication. We reviewed our multiplication tables last week and this week we’ve been applying our learning using the grid method.
Why not challenge your child to solve a similar question to this one?
Next week, we start to look at fractions of shapes.
English
Our English this week has tied in with our class spellings – contractions. Contractions are two words that have been put together to form one word. They’re punctuated with an apostrophe to indicate missing letters. We’ve been using contractions in letters and dialogues.
Why not ask your child to count the number of contractions that are in this post?
Next week, we start our learning on report writing which will link with our big topic, Life.
What’s the matter?
In this science mini topic we’ve looked at rocks, soils and fossils. We’ve been digging up the front playground, applying acid to rocks and investigating different types of fossils. Why not ask your child about how fossils are formed?
Tuck shop returns
Tuck shop will be back this Tuesday.
Eighty four portions per week have already been prepaid for this term but there is still chance to buy fruit on the day for 20p per portion.
Is your child in Year 3 and therefore goes swimming on a Tuesday afternoon? Some children buy a portion of fruit from the tuck shop and keep it for their healthy snack after swimming.
What’s the matter?
Our mini topic for the first two weeks is What’s the matter? In this Science-driven mini topic we will be looking at rocks, soil and fossils. Today, we’ve been investigating the properties of rocks. We conducted an experiment to see which rocks were permeable and which rocks were impermeable.
We used pipettes to add three drops of water onto a flat surface of a rock. We then observed what happened to the water. We were looking to see if it would soak into the rocks or just sit there. Why don’t you ask your child about the difference between permeable and impermeable rocks and how this experiment helped us to discover if rocks were permeable or not?
You could also explore whether other materials are permeable or impermeable – materials like raincoats, for example!
Fruit kebabs
Year 3 have been practising their peeling and chopping skills today when preparing a variety of fruits to make their own fruit kebabs. We considered other aspects of selecting fruits such as seasonal availability, allergies and individual preference. Children were keen to try new fruits, both fresh and dried.
At a time of year when many people make healthy eating goals, we all agreed this was a great way to get one of your 5-a-day.
