Year 3/4 - Penguin class

Welcome to Penguin Class!

We are a mixed year 3 and 4 class taught by Mrs Belcher and Mrs Boucher.

Mrs Boucher teaches on a Monday and Tuesday.

Mrs Belcher teaches Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Ms Elsworth and Miss Goodwin also support the learning in the class.

Please feel free to email us at: abelcher@standrews.dsat.org.uk  and lboucher@standrews.dsat.org.uk and we will endeavour to reply as soon as possible.

Topic Showcase on: Friday 14th February 2020

From 2:15pm parents are invited into school to see your children's topic work from this half term.

Flow

“From humble beginnings the river flows down the mountain and into the sea…. Let’s meander through the world of rivers, taking a dip into their watery world!”

We’ll be hopping on an imaginary boat and travelling down some of the world’s most majestic rivers and keeping a journal as we follow their course. (Cornerstones)

What do you already know about rivers? What would you like to find out? 

Keep Reading!

Please continue to keep hearing your children read as often as you can.

They have books based on their Accelerated Reader reading levels. 

If KS2 children read 10 age-appropriate reading books and can talk about these books they will be able to choose a book from the Brilliant Box of Books!

If they read independently can they tell you a little bit about the story or the characters in their fiction book or, a few facts if their book is non-fiction?

Below are a few links to reading lists for Year 3 and Year 4 children. There is also a free eBook link to the Oxford Owl website. 

Our topic is: Traders and Raiders 

Monday 10th February 2020 - New Barn Field Centre Trip

Wow! What a fun day we had today! Here are a few photos to show what we got up to on our trip today:  making butter, grinding wheat, making medicine, learning more about weapons, carving ruins and spending time in a smokey round house learning more about the Anglo Saxons and Vikings. Well done Penguins - you asked some great questions, gave thoughtful answers and your behaviour was fantastic!

School Trip!

Remember that it is the school trip on: Monday 10th February for Penguin Class.

Clothing for the trip:

Children will need to wear old clothing (as they will get messy) and please can they wear layers. The weather is very changeable at the moment and we do not want them to get cold. Please make sure they bring or wear waterproof clothing and warm clothing because they will be outside.

Food & Drink for the trip:

Please make sure they bring at least one named water bottle and a packed lunch. Also, please ensure there is a healthy snack for break time as well.

If they have a school meal they will be provided with a packed lunch. Remember no nuts!

Spellings to be tested on: Friday 7^th February.

division, invasion, decision, collision, confusion, possession, possess, occasion, arrive, women.

W/C 3/2/20

English:

The children have been learning about the Vikings as part of their non-fiction work this week. 

They have identified the features of non-chronological reports.

In the Teaching of Reading they have been summarising the main events in the non-fiction text.

Most children also remembered to put in a comma after using a fronted adverbial in their writing. 

Well done!

Science:

The children were thinking about what makes a fair test in science lessons this week. 

They have continued to learn about: solids, liquids and gases. 

Music:

The children have started playing harmonies on their brass instruments this week in their music lessons. They accompanied the music teacher (who played the melody). They have been learning about keeping in time and following the conductor. They have been practising their breath control to produce nice notes.

They have been learning about the following musical terms in their music lessons:

• Dynamics
• Pitch
• Beat
• Melody
• Harmony

Ask your child about these terms. Can they tell you what they mean? Can they give you examples?

If you would like your child to have music lessons after the 10 week block has finished a letter has been sent home. 

It is important that this is returned by Friday 28th February at the latest please. 

W/C 27/1/20

In Maths this week, we have been concentrating on measurement and converting between mm, cm, m and km. In English, we wrote our own Viking stories. We also learnt about King Alfred and what made him so great. On Wednesday, during our brass lesson, we learnt the note E.

Spellings for test Friday 7th February 2020:

division

invasion

decision

collision

confusion

possession

possess

occasion

arrive

women

W/C 20/1/20

It's been another exciting week in Penguin class! We have been reading more of 'The Last Viking' and written some wonderful character descriptions of a Viking warrior. In maths, we have continued to practise our multiplication and division skills.We had our second music lesson from the Dorset Music Service and had a long note competition! We also learnt how to play the notes C and D. In science, we sorted solids, liquids and gases.

On Tuesdays, for this half-term, we have a tennis coach, Matt Eaton, taking Penguins for PE. Please could all children remember their PE kit. Photos to come soon!

Useful websites for Viking research:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/ztyr9j6/articles/ztqbr82

www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk

https://www.planbee.com/blog/viking-facts-for-ks2/

W/C 13/01/20

We have had another great week in Penguin Class. We have been writing creative setting descriptions and producing information posters about the Anglo Saxons. 

On Wednesday, we enjoyed our first Brass lesson with the Dorset Music Service. Don't forget to bring your trombone, trumpet or cornet into school every Wednesday for the next nine weeks! For help on how to hold your instrument or general practice, have a look at YouTube 'Dorset Music Service trumpet/cornet/trombone' with your parents.

Maths Homework.

The children have also been sent home with maths homework.

Year 3: multiplying a 2 digit number by a 1 digit number.

Year 4: multiplying a 3 digit number by a 1 digit number.

Reading Homework.

Please can children read as often as possible at home.

As the children finish books, that are age appropriate and at their reading level, they can come and tell us about them and earn a sticker for their reading bookmark. Some books may be read in school (as well as at home) but we really want children reading as much as possible outside of school to boost their reading time.

Thank you for your support.

Spelling Homework for a test on: 24/01/20:

automatic

autograph

autocue

autopilot

autobiography

history

learn

knowledge

build

earth

Spellings.

Spellings tested on: Friday 17^th January 2020.

1 ate

2 eight

3 herd

4 heard

5 through

6 threw

7 fruit

8 medicine

9 century

10 caught

W/C Tuesday 7th January 2020.

Welcome back and Happy New Year to you all!

On Tuesday is was our Vision Day. Year 3 and Year 4 looked at #makeadifference for everyone. 

The focus was on diversity and how everyone is special in their own way. They used the context of sport, art and music and dance to explore and celebrate diversity. We were really impressed by the children's ideas, and responses throughout the Vision Day.

The topic is 'Traders and Raiders' for this half term. 

On Wednesday the children have been busy during their Topic Impact Day making Viking Shields and learning how to write their names using Viking Runes. The children have also been making battle banners because the Vikings used to have these as they marched into battle. Photos of these will follow. 

The children have hit the ground running with their learning and have been working hard in their other lessons this week as well. In maths lessons this week, the children have been working on subtraction. The Year 3s have been working on subtracting a 2 digit number from a 3 digit number and the Year 4s have been needing to subtract 4 digit numbers (with an exchange).  The Year 3s progressed to subtracting 2 3 digit numbers (with no exchanges) and the Year 4s progressed to 2 4 digit numbers (with exchanges).

In English lessons this week the children have been started looking at their new text 'The Last Viking.' They wrote predictions based on the  front cover and then using the blurb. The children had to use their skills to predict based on stated and implied information. 

Useful websites for Anglo Saxon research:

BBC Bitesize

DK Find Out

English Heritage

Viking Food Facts

The children thought about the colours they wanted to use. 
They used textured crepe paper and carefully built up their tree designs.

In art lessons last week the children thought about the four seasons and the colours associated with these. 

They have created some truly stunning calendars. 

Something that can be admired throughout the new year.

Website links...

Below are some website links that may support you with your learning. 

Please only click on the links below with parental supervision and permission. 

W/C  Monday 9^th December 2019   

This week the children have already been working hard learning their lines in preparation for the Christmas Show and later this week they will begin rehearsals in the hall.

The lines for the show and song words were sent home at the end of last week. Please check that your child has passed these onto you and is using them at home.

Please can we ask you to encourage the children to learn their words off by heart if they can so that they can put all their energy into performing on the stage next week?

On Tuesday they had a fantastic topic day of history and art lessons linked to the Bronze Age. They have been learning how to make a Beaker Folk Pot out of clay and transferring their designs onto the clay using tools. The children also made bread and butter and they have been getting even more creative by weaving wonderful designs as well. It has been a very busy day! Photos to follow – watch this space!

W/C Monday 2^nd December 2019

The children have done incredibly well this week and worked hard in class. In English and reading lessons this week they have been studying Gangsta Granny by David Walliams and writing letters to the author.  

They have now completed their Autumn term assessments. Well done all of you!

Please can your child read as often as they can at home and keep practising their times tables so that they become confident and quick at recalling them?

W/C Monday 25^th November 2019

In science this week the children have been learning about the positive and negative aspects of the sun. They were given statements and had to vote whether this made the sun a ‘hero’ or a ‘villain’. The children have been learning about the importance of sun safety.

The children went onto design sunglasses and sun hats with features that would best protect their eyes and skin. They learned about the importance of wearing proper sunglasses with UV protection and covering up to protect skin from the sun as well.

Please can your child read as often as they can at home and keep practising their times tables so that they become confident and quick at recalling them?

W/C Monday 18^th November 2019

This week the children have made their own mini versions of Stonehenge. They had great fun digging out soil to make the base and then finding stones to build their replicas of the famous prehistoric monument.

The real Stonehenge can be found on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. It is a huge man-made circle of standing stones.

In science the children have been thinking about shadows and how they are formed. They have also talked about their understanding of transparent, translucent and opaque to re-cap prior learning.

Please can your child read as often as they can at home and keep practising their times tables so that they are confident and quick at recalling them.

Computing

We will be looking at and designing our own Scratch animations this half-term.

Use the following link to practise at home:  https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor 

Click on the TUTORIALS icon, follow along and have fun!

Spellings for test on 29th November

there

their

they're

whether

weather

naughty

promise

favourite

heart

busy

Spellings: Week: 1.  Friday 8^th November         

                                                       Year 3/4 Spelling Homework.

Each week the children in Year 3/4 will be given 10 spellings to learn. They will be tested on the following Friday.

Please learn the following ten spellings for a test on: Friday 15th November.

The spelling pattern (for the last 5 words on the list below) this week is the prefix re-.

1 Strength

2 Weight

3 Imagine

4 Interest

5 Exercise

6 Reappear

7 Remove

8 Rebuild

9 Rearrange

10 Rewrite

W/C Monday 4^th November 2019.

We hope that you all had a lovely half term. Welcome back - what an exciting first week back it has been!

Our topic this half term is ‘Tribal Tales.’ The children will be learning about life in the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. They have created some fantastic fact files about the Stone Age this week.

The children have been enjoying hearing about the adventures that Ben has been having in Gangsta Granny by David Walliams. In their English lessons they have been learning to: draw inferences about characters, write in paragraphs, use time conjunctions and adverbials, as well as editing and to improving pieces of writing using purple pens.

In science lessons the children have started learning about ‘Light and Dark’. They have talked about different sources of light. Maybe they can tell you about five different sources of light that you have in your home?

We have 10 spellings that will be sent home for the children to learn for their spelling test on Friday 15^th November.

On Monday 11^th November it is Remembrance Day. We will have a Remembrance worship in school in the morning followed by a 2 minute silence at 11am.

Remember it is Children in Need Day on Friday 15th November.

Week: 6.  Monday 21^st October

                                      Year 3/4 Spelling Homework.

Every Monday the children in Year 3/4 will be given 10 spellings to learn. They will be tested on the Friday of that week.

Please learn the following ten spellings for a test on: Thursday 24^th October.

The spelling pattern (for the last 6 words on the list below) this week is the suffix –tion.

1 Naughty

2 Ordinary

3 Peculiar

4 Possible

5 Question

6 Adoration

7 Admiration

8 Celebration

9 Conversation

10 Imagination

W/C Monday 14^th October 2019.

This week we have been working hard again.

In English, we read 'The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs'. Then, we used role-play to act as the Wolf and a Police Officer to discuss whether the Wolf was guilty or not guilty. We studied features of a newspaper report ready and wrote a report on the story.

In topic, we have been designing and drawing an ultimate predator!

We thought carefully about the features of predators that make them effective and we tried to include these in our designs.

In maths, we have been learning about addition and subtraction. The year 3 children have been focusing on adding and subtracting 1s, 10s and 100s and noticing patterns. The year 4 children have been adding and subtracting 1s, 10s, 100s, and 1000s and noticing patterns.

Homework:

The sheet that will be sent home on Friday 18^th October 2019 will be double-sided.

Year 3 have their spellings and 3x tables to learn.

Year 4 have their spellings and 6x tables to learn.

Please remember that it is our Topic Showcase next Thursday 24th October. We will welcome parents into school from 2:15pm to celebrate our learning this half term with you. 

Week: 5.  Monday 14th October

                                      Year 3/4 Spelling Homework.

Every Monday the children in Year 3/4 will be given 10 spellings to learn. They will be tested on the Friday of that week.

Please learn the following ten spellings for a test on: Friday 18^th October.

The spelling pattern (for the last 5 words on the list below) this week is the suffix –tion.

1 business,

2 certain,

3 decide,

4 consider,

5 important,

6 invention,

7 investigation,

8 injection,

9 creation,

 10 direction.

W/C Monday 7^th October 2019

The children have been observing different birds of prey, learning about them and creating beautiful drawings and paintings of them this week in art lessons. We have lots of budding artists in our year 3 / 4 cohort!

It has been fascinating learning about frogs in our science lessons this week.

The children have been busy re-telling the story of Akimbo in English lessons and they have been showing off their writing talents using expanded noun phrases, dialogue and prepositions in their writing.

In maths the children have been continuing to work hard on place value and ordering numbers. The children have all been given their Mathletics log-ins now. Please can children use Mathletics to continue their maths learning out of school?

The children are using Accelerated Reader to support their reading. They have been selecting books from the library based on  the colours that they have been given. after completing some comprehension tasks on the computer. Please continue to read as much as you can and as often as you can at home.

Week: 4.  Monday 7th October

                                      Year 3/4 Spelling Homework.

Every Monday the children in Year 3/4 will be given 10 spellings to learn. They will be tested on the Friday of that week.

Please learn the following ten spellings for a test on: Friday 11^th October.

The spelling pattern for the first 7 words this week is the suffix – able

1 comfortable

2 changeable

3 affordable

4 adorable

5 capable

6 believable

7 breathable

8 breath

9 breathe

10 believe

W/C Monday 30th September 2019.

It has been another busy week at St Andrew's this week! The children have been learning all about animal skeletons and muscles. They have been researching raptors, as well as drawing and learning about their food chains. In English lessons the children have been listening to The Akimbo Adventures and following the events in the story which has taken them into the heart of Africa, onto a nature reserve with the wild animals, and introduced them to range of different characters. 

The children have been learning about expanded noun phrases,  fronted adverbials and how to correctly punctuate speech in English lessons. In maths lessons they have been learning more about place value and ordering numbers. Please can all pupils keep learning their time tables! The quicker and more confident their recall of their multiplication facts - the easier other areas of maths will become over the following weeks.

The children are still enjoying their tag rugby workshops led by Project Touchline and they have been thinking about ways in which they can demonstrate our school values both on and off of the pitch. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm and eagerness to get out there in all weather conditions and work together as a team. 

The children have been working on various pieces of art work linked to their work with Project Touchline. We will be selecting pieces to go on display next Thursday - there is still time to do more at home! The children are working towards their awards: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. 

Remember: Next Thursday 10th October is #HelloYellow Day. Letters have been sent home and the letter is also posted on the 'Latest News' section of our website which can be located under the 'Parents' drop down tab. Children can wear something yellow with their uniform (or all yellow) that day! We will be talking about ways to try and stay positive and talk about the importance of being/staying mentally fit and well as well as being/staying physically fit and well. 

W/C Monday 23/09/19.

Topic, including English:

This week the children have been working  hard on their research skills in IT lessons to record information and fun facts about various predators that they have been interesting in finding out about. In English lessons they planned their own reports on these animals and they thought about the key features of non-chronological reports from last week's learning when they did this. Finally, the children have gone onto write their reports out in neat and have published these in their Cornerstones Topic Books. 

The children have been learning about fossils and are taking part in some science investigations this week to learn more about how water is transported around plants. Photos will be added next week!

Maths:

The Y3 children have been learning how to + and - 1, 10, 100 from any number. 

The Y4 children have been learning how to + and - 1000 from any number. 

They have been placing numbers on number lines and reasoning why numbers go where they do.

Please can children keep learning their times tables so that they can quickly and confidently recall these facts. Children should know all of their times tables by the end of year 4. 

Project Touchline

The children have been doing really well in Project Touchline Lessons developing both rugby skills and skills in so many different areas at the same time. They have shown perseverance, trust, love and respect for one another in lessons. It has been wonderful seeing them cheer each other on and shake hands with each other in the games that they have played. Today there was a focus on ball skills and they have persevered to try and master some quite tricky challenges. Well done everyone!

Polite reminder:

Please make sure that your child brings in a waterproof coat everyday so that they do not get wet on the playground. 

Please make sure that your child brings in their full PE kit, including spare socks and outside footwear e.g. trainers (no studs) to enable them to take part fully in outdoor PE lessons. We go out in all weathers! 

Thank you!

Finally, the children have been wonderful ambassadors for our school this week and when Mr Andrew from Project Touchline led worship we were so impressed with their behaviour and listening skills that every child was awarded a starfish. There wasn't a single sound - the hall was in complete peace and quiet waiting for worship to begin today. 

#makeadifference.

Week: 3.  Monday 30th September

                                      Year 3/4 Spelling Homework.

Every Monday the children in Year 3/4 will be given 10 spellings to learn. They will be tested on the Friday of that week.

Please learn the following ten spellings for a test on: Friday 4th October.

The spelling pattern this week is the suffix: -ous.

1 dangerous

2 enormous

3 fabulous

4  hazardous 

5 famous 

6 various

7  address 

8  answer 

9 busy

10  believe 

Week: 2.  Monday 23^rd September

                                      Year 3/4 Spelling Homework.

Every Monday the children in Year 3/4 will be given 10 spellings to learn. They will be tested on the Friday of that week.

Please learn the following ten spellings for a test on: Friday 27^th September

The spelling pattern this week is the suffix: -ly.

1 actual

2 actually

3 accidentally

4 occasionally

5 probably

6 simply

7 finally

8 completely

9 horribly

10 gently

Week: 1.  Monday 16^th September

                                      Year 3/4 Spelling Homework.

Every Monday the children in Year 3/4 will be given 10 spellings to learn. They will be tested on the Friday of that week.

Please learn the following ten spellings for a test on: Friday 20^th September

1) various

2) group

3) favourite

4) experience

5) different

6) bravely

7) nervously

8) happily

9) enjoyment

10) excitement

W/C Monday 16^th September.

What an exciting week it has been! The children have been learning all about predators and prey this week. Ask them to talk to you about producers, consumers (including primary, secondary and tertiary), apex consumers and decomposers. The children thought about different diets that animals and humans have.  They also went onto learning more about the food chain and had fun creating chains deciding what eats what!

In English this week the children have been researching various insects including spiders! They have been learning about the key features found in information texts. They practised including these key features when they created a fact page all about spiders!

In maths this week the children have been focusing on 10s, 100s, and 1000s. They have been working hard and sharing what they notice about patterns.

The children continue to enjoy the Project Touchline Worship and lessons that they have been having. The children have also been drawing and painting pictures about the Christian values that they have been using in these lessons.

Well done to everyone who brought in their PE kits and a water bottle this week!

Remember to bring in a healthy snack (fruit or vegetables) for break time.

W/C 09/09/19

We have just finished our first whole week back in school after the summer holiday! We have been busy! This week we have been getting to know each other even better and developing friendships within our new class. In maths, we have spent time establishing basic expectations and explored how we handle the maths manipulatives that help us learn (such as dienes, cuisenaire and numicon). We used the resources to demonstrate our understanding of place value. In English we carried out our first assessed independent writing task using a video clip that was shared across the school. Some children had some very imaginative ideas to create their own stories. 

We are all taking part in the Daily Mile challenge - going out at least twice a week this term, building up to 3x a week in the Spring term until we are going out every day. This is a wonderful opportunity for the children to take part and enjoy the fresh air and improve well being by being outdoors. The children will have the opportunity to walk, jog or run it. 

We have also been given a wonderful opportunity to link our School's vision and values to sport! This week we started Project Touchline! We have been working on our teamwork skills and learning about the importance of values within sport and played tag rugby this week  with our coach Mr Andrew.

The children need to have PE kit that is suitable for both indoor and outdoor PE in school please so that they are ready to take part in these exciting lessons in all weather conditions. Project Touchline is every Thursday for the next 6 weeks!

W/C Monday 8^th July

The Native Americans enjoyed sharing stories so this week the children have been working hard drafting, editing and improving their own myths this week. They finished the week by reading these to each other.

We had all had an exciting morning on Tuesday when we visited our new classes. From September we will be mixed class of year 3/4, we will be in: Penguin, Dolphin or Seal Class from September.

Today we had a delicious opportunity to do some food tasting. It is also open after school today. Parents can pop in at 3pm with your children to taste the foods on offer!

In RWI spelling lessons this week we have been learning about the spelling pattern: - ture.  We will have a test on: Monday 15^th July 2019.

Our spellings are:

1 picture

2 fixture

3 nature

4 adventure

5 capture

W/C Monday 1^st July  

This week the children have completed their wonderful weaving. Photos to follow soon! In English lessons they have been studying two myths, The Spider Woman and The Boy Who Caught the Sun.  The children went onto plan their own myths.

In maths we have been doing some investigations and collecting data. We then put the data into graphs and wrote about what the data showed us.

Please keep practising your year 3/ 4 words.

W/C Monday 24th June 2019

Topic Work:

We have finished our wonderful Dreamcatchers. Please look at the gallery below to see our creations. 

English:

This week we have been predicting what will happen next to Omri and Little Bull in the story, 'The Indian in the Cupboard.' We have been learning about characters' feelings in our Teaching of Reading book: 'Fantastic Mr Fox'.

Maths:

We are working hard on learning our times tables. We need to keep practising our 3x, 4x and 8x tables. Well done to everyone who has been persevering with these! We have been using Mathletics as much as possible this week and lots of children are improving their scores. Congratulations to all of the children who have won certificates. 

Science:

we have been learning about electricity and making circuits in our science lessons this week. We used lightbulbs and buzzers to make our circuits more interesting! 

Sports Day (next week)

Next week will be Sports Day afternoon for LKS2 on Tuesday 3rd July.  We hope to see you there!

Please ensure that all children bring in a named sun hat, a named water bottle, their PE kits with appropriate footwear (plimsoles/ trainers and a spare pair of socks) into school on Tuesday. Also, it might be a good idea to bring some sun-cream  (named) for Sports Day if it is hot!

Homework this week... Set: Friday 21st June 2019.

1) We are sending home a maths sheet: 'Multiplying a 2 digit number by a 1 digit number' today for the children to work through. 

2) Children still need to practise their times tables, especially 3x, 4x and 8x, so that they are more confident at recalling these multiplication facts. 

3) Please use Mathletics as much as you can - it is set so that the children need work through questions on time before working on other areas of maths.

Spelling Homework.

This week the children have been learning about the spelling rule/pattern: Adding the suffix –ous.

Please learn to spell the following words for the Speed Spell test on Monday.

1. Famous
2. Enormous
3. Fabulous
4. Nervous
5. Generous

Next week is Mathletics Week! 

W/C Monday 17th June 2019.

This week we have been working hard on our topic 'Road Trip USA!'

Art
We have been studying Native American artwork and we have been practising how to add texture and tone to our sketches by using different shading techniques and adding further line detail. 

History 

We have been learning more about the Iroquois people.We have been learning about the longhouses that they lived in. 

Science

In science lessons we are learning about electricity and circuits this week. 

Maths 

We have been solving word problems in maths lessons this week. We have been thinking about our learning and about what we needed to do to solve the problems. We are going to be doing more work on multiplication later in the week.

English

In our English lessons we have been planning and writing our diary entries in role as Omri, from our class story, 'The Indian in the cupboard.'

W/C 10^th June 2019

This week was the first week of our new topic, ‘Road Trip USA!’

We started with a memorable experience visiting and naming the different states of America. We started locating the states on a map and thinking about where each one is.

History

We were learning about the native people of America, the Iroquois. We looked at pictures of the longhouses that they lived in and started to draw pictures of these from our observations.

English

We started doing further research into the Native Americans and we recorded this in our topic books using headings and sub-headings.

Maths

We have been learning to add and subtract using efficient methods, the formal column methods for both.

Vision Week...

 Tuesday 4th June - Friday 7th June 2019 was Vision Week in our school.

Year 3 and Year 4 were learning about the part of our vision that includes 'making a difference for everyone.' 

To celebrate our learning we created a Year 3 display of work linked to our School Vision: 'Make a difference for good; with each other; for everyone; in our community.'

Some of our learning activities included:

- Thinking about what the term 'everyone' means.

-  Thinking about how our school vision links to the Bible and Jesus's teaching. 

- Learning about the Baha'i Religion from Debbie, a special guest visitor.

- Thinking about the values that are important to use and asked friends which values they saw in us that we demonstrate.

- The children enjoyed learning about the different temples, virtues and beliefs.

- There were many similarities and links to the Christian religion and to our school vision to 'make a difference for everyone.'

- We did lots of colourful drawings to celebrate differences - we are all different but live in the same world. 

- Designing artwork based on our school vision - ideas from the children's designs will be used to create the canvases in the school entrance.

- Designing artwork based on our school values - ideas from the children's designs will be used to create the canvases in the school entrance. 

- Painting pebbles linked to our school vision and values.

- We found out about Alison's story, a lady who was awarded a special award from the Prime Minister (a Point of Light) and a special New Year's Honour from The Queen (a B.E.M - a British Empire Medal) for #makingadifference in her local community through her voluntary work and her charity work.

- We learnt about how her work links in with our school vision of: 'making a difference for good, for each other, for everyone in our community.'

- After we heard Alison's Story we thought about ways in which we would might also be able to #makeadifference to everyone as well. 

Tuesday 4th June - Weymouth Outdoor Education Centre

We had an amazing time at WOEC today! The children enjoyed a variety of activities including indoor and outdoor climbing as well as low-ropes, orienteering, team challenges and tunneling. Penguin class demonstrated great determination and perseverance and were very encouraging and supportive towards each other. Well done!

Have a look at our photos to see what we got up to.

Our ‘Burps, Bottoms & Bile’ Topic Showcase

will be on: Friday 24^th May from 2pm.

This is an opportunity for you and your child to share what they have been learning this half term. The children will be modelling their digestive system t-shirts (or, sharing their posters), displaying their 3D digestive system models that they have created in teams and talking to you about their learning experiences this half term.

W/C Monday 13^th May 2019.

It has been another busy week of ‘Burps, bottoms and Bile’ in our class this week. The children have been designing and making a model of the human digestive system. The children have been working closely together as a team to create their 3D models.

In maths the children have been learning to find the correct change by ‘counting on’ using number-lines. They have been explaining their reasoning when tackling word-problems and they have been thinking about which metacognition skills are needed when they have been solving money word-problems.

In English lessons the children have been budding journalists and have been planning and drafting news reports about dental hygiene and have been creating news stories about teeth!

Well done to Penguin Class for a great Class Worship this week.

Thank you to all of the families who came to join us for this worship on the theme of Friendship.

W/C Tuesday 7th May 2019.

We hope that you all enjoyed a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend.

The children have been busy with their learning this week already and it is only day 2!

So far the children have been working non-stop!

They have been rehearsing for their Penguin Class Worship which will be on: Thursday 16th May. 

It is based on the theme of Friendship. The children are invited to bring in other clothes to wear for this (please do not buy anything new - they have all been told to either bring in some clothes from home or to wear school uniform).We are really pleased with how well they are doing rehearsing this already.  We hope that you will be able to come and watch them perform this. 

In maths lessons this week they have been thinking about time duration and solving time-based word problems.

Please can we ask you to keep practising telling the time at home so that they can continue to build their confidence. 

This week in reading we have been studying 'The Iron Man' by Ted Hughes. The children have been working hard on their comprehension and reading skills during our 'Teaching of Reading' sessions. 

The children have been learning about Hinduism in RE lessons this term.

W/C Monday 29th May

What an exciting week we've had! 

Our Tooth experiment is still in our classroom and we have been looking carefully at consequences of drinking sugary drinks.

This week we have been exploring the digestive system in animals. We looked carefully at some real organs and learn about the job of each of the main parts of the digestive system. 

We have drawn the human digestive system onto t-shirts and thought about the role and function of the digestive system when we eat and drink things. 

Our English work this week has been based on the amazing story of the Demon Dentist by David Walliams.

We wrote a letter to PC Plank to persuade him to go and arrest Miss Root. Miss Root's behaviour had to be stopped and we felt strongly that PC Plank needed to do something about the situation!

In our maths lessons we have been learning about telling the time. We have been telling the time to the nearest minute.and converting time from analogue to digital.

We have thought about our daily routines and when we do things using am and pm.   

We have been learning about Friendship in worship and thinking about how we can be the best friends that we can be.

W/C Monday 1st April 2019

What a wonderful week we have had!

Talent Show.

Well done to Seal Class and to Dolphin Class who won the Talent Show last week!

All of the classes performed brilliantly. Every single pupil in Seal, Penguin, Dolphin and Whale classes were a credit to themselves, their class and to their teachers. We all enjoyed watching you share your singing and dancing skills. 

Easter Experience.

The children took part in an RE lesson in the church on Wednesday where they learnt all about the Easter story through a range of activities in the church to give them a real 'Easter Experience'. Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers at St. Andrew's Church who ran this event and taught the children so much. 

Easter Egg Hunt. 

Today, Friday, the children have been on an Easter Egg Hunt and have won various goodies after finding ten hidden eggs around the school building.  We hope that they enjoy their treats. 

Playlist Topic Showcase Afternoon. 

Thank you to all of the families who came along and supported our Playlist Topic Showcase afternoon. 

The children all sang their talent show song entries and shared their Playlist Topic books that were filled with all their learning from this term. Some of their learning has included:

- Music-inspired artwork that they created after studying work by Kandinksy and Klee. 

- Science work on 'Sound' and the science behind how we hear things. 

- Leaflets about their favourite singers and pop stars.

- English work on 'The Bear and the Piano' as well as many more lessons...

We would like to wish you all a very Happy Easter Holiday. 

From the Year 3/4 Pod 

W/C Monday 25th March 2019

On Monday Year 3 & 4 started thinking about their favourite popstars or pop groups. Then they did some further research in their IT lessons and made notes so that they could spend the rest of the week planning and drafting their own information leaflets on their favourite musicians.

Then, on Tuesday afternoon Year 3 went over to Dorchester for their swimming lessons. We are all impressed at how they are trying their best, showing perseverance and improving each week.

On Wednesday afternoon we all had a wonderful time throughout the school. We all mixed classes to decorate crosses for an RE project being run by local churches. Year 3 Penguin class swapped with Starfish Class and the children were kind and caring to one another and helped each other and shared resources. It was a lovely afternoon filled with creativity and friendship between the classes.

On Thursday Year 3 Penguin Class made some special Mothering Sunday Cards. They enjoyed drawing lots of beautiful pictures and writing their own special messages inside.

Finally, on Friday the Year 3 & 4 Pod are looking forward to the eagerly anticipated Talent Show that is taking place at 10am! The children have been creating their own class songs with their own individual lyrics to perform to the lucky Orca Class! The children have all worked hard on this and we’ll have to wait and see which class will become the lucky winners of this competition.

After school the children will be having a fantastic disco kindly arranged by our school’s PTA. We are all very grateful to the volunteers who put so much time and effort into providing wonderful opportunities for the children in our school.

Enjoy your weekend!

Next Week:

• Wednesday morning - ‘The Easter Experience’ at St Andrew’s Church - Wednesday morning - Please ensure your child brings a named water bottle to take with them.
• Friday 2pm – Topic Showcase - a chance for you to come in and see what your child has been learning about this half term.

Playlist:

The children will be learning about different styles of music, creating music-inspired art (after studying the abstract work by Klee and Kandinsky).

In science they will be learning about sound - how it is made and how people hear.

The children will also study the story, ‘The Bear and the Piano’ and they will learn more about narrative from this text. 

In English and topic lessons the children will go onto studying song song lyrics as well as practising their year 3/4 spellings and grammar skills.

The Potions Topic Showcase Afternoon is on: Friday 15th February

at: 2pm

in: your child’s classroom. 

We invite you to come along to find out about what the children have been learning this half term. 

Our topic after half term is: Playlist!

Wednesday 7th November

 Our Ancient Greek Day has been brought forward one day to Wednesday 7th November. 

Welcome to Year 3 Penguin Class.

Our class teachers are: Mrs Boucher (on: Mondays and Tuesdays)

& Mrs Belcher (on: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays).

PE days: 

Monday (indoor PE)

New day: Thursday (outdoor PE)

Please make sure you have your PE kit in school on Mondays and Thursdays. If you wear ear-rings please either take them out on these days or, bring some microporous tape into school to cover them over (if they are newly pierced and/or cannot be removed).

Please make sure you bring in the following each day:

A named water bottle with fresh water in it.

A healthy fruit/ vegetable snack to have at morning break if you wish to have something to eat in the morning (before lunchtime).

A coat/hat/pair of gloves/scarf if the weather is cold or if rain is forecast.

A bookbag/ school bag with your reading book and reading record in it (filled in with what you have been reading at home).

RWI Spellings to log and learn W/C 5/11/18.

Test will be on: Monday 12th November 2018.

1) school

2) chaos

3) ache

4) stomach

5) echo

Pupils who did have their pink spelling books in school today will also have a copy of these words recorded in their books. Please bring in the pink spelling books daily. Many thanks.

As part of our Scrumdiddlyumptious Topic we have been tasting, evaluating, designing and then making smoothies!

We have written some fantastic mouth-watering recipes for a variety of smoothies as well!

We have been sketching produce from the allotment and remembering to 'Draw what we see, not what we think!'

Items that we studied included: tomatoes, apples, courgettes, runner beans, and last but not least... an enormous marrow! (Week:1)

Today we made Mud Pies! (week:2)

During this week we will be making some Blackberry Muffins! (Planned for Week: 2)

Reading: We encourage children to read a wide variety of fiction genres, as well as non-fiction. Your support at home can make a crucial difference to your child's reading progress, which in turn often has a significant effect on the quality of their writing. Encourage your child to answer questions about the text, try to predict what happens next, write a book review...

Time tables: The government expectation is that nearly all children will be fluent in all times tables up to 12 x 12 by the end of their next school year (Year 4). Regular class work on the 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10 and 11 times tables this year would ideally be supplemented by quizzing and activities at home. Links to some suggestions are below. Topmarks has links to a wide variety of computer-based education resources and games.

http://www.teachingtables.co.uk/

http://www.multiplication.com/

Topmarks

Mathletics

Purple Mash