Zakir- We have been learning about teamwork. We had to balance on benches. It was tricky because we had to listen to each other carefully.

Liv- The skills we used today were listening, respecting what people wanted us to do, and listening to other people’s ideas.

“I had to keep the ball close to me so I didn’t lose control of the ball” - Tobin

“You need to look straight ahead otherwise you won’t see your opponent” - Darlah

“You had to make sure you were aware of your surroundings when dribbling” - Max

In today’s PE lesson we practiced dribbling with our feet. We started to dribble and pass the football to our partner ensuring we kept control of the football before passing it. We learnt we needed to keep our head up whilst passing the ball to our partner.

“ I know we had to have good control whilst dribbling the ball,” Reuben

“ I know whilst we were dribbling the ball we had to keep our head up so we could look ahead before passing it to our partner,”

In today’s Geography lesson, SM1 were learning about the different layers of the Earth. They used their inferring skills, taught each other facts using their Teach Me More cards and wrote definitions for today’s key vocabulary: crust, mantle, outer core, inner core.

“The top layer of the Earth is called the crust. The second layer is called the mantle. The crust is the land that we walk on” - Dhruv

“In Geography today I learnt that the outer core is made of liquid.” - Shaan

SM3 have been recapping their learning on zones of regulation. They played charades and the children had to guess what emotion their face was showing.

In today’s PSHE lesson, SM1 discussed the zones of regulation.

Children were given a feeling card and had to discuss with a partner what zone each feeling went into and why. We then had a go at zones charades where children had to guess what emotion/feeling their face was showing.

In today’s music lesson, SM1 were introduced to notes on a staff. Children played a short tune on the glockenspiel using the notes G, A, B.

“Some notes have a high pitch and some notes have a low pitch” - Ariana

“In today’s lesson I played a harmony” - Shaan

In PE today, we learnt how to throw and catch a bean bag and how it changed when we we caught the bean bag low and high. We learnt how to catch the bean bag with one hand and whilst the bean bag was in the air, we had to do some fancy moves such as clapping, twirling and even star jumps. We learnt the importance of cooling down after exercise and we did lots of stretching exercises.

In today’s English lesson, SM1 developed their understanding of setting through tableaux, creating freeze frames to represent the bustling city of Pompeii. This was a fantastic activity to introduce our new book “Escape from Pompeii”, writen by Christina Balit. Children recognised that the best still images were created with strong shapes, complete stillness and expressive facial expressions.

“Tableaux is like becoming a statue. My freeze frame had different levels, some high and some low to show an adult and a child” - Shaan

“When doing tableaux, you have to keep still because you’re creating a freeze frame” - Esme

“I enjoyed creating each freeze frame” - Tobin

LI: To compare and classify rock types

In today’s Science lesson, SM1 observed and compared sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. We had a look at the different texture of the rocks, varying colours and learnt more about how they are formed.

“This igneous rock has a lot of bumps and a rough surface” - Roberta

“Sedimentary rocks have a lot of layers” - Hartaj

“Metamorphic rocks look like they have a pattern” - Shaan

In today’s Maths lesson, SM1 compared numbers. We looked at numbers greater than, less than and equal to. When comparing numbers, we start with the greatest place value column. If they are the same, we look at the next place value column.

 > means greater than.  150  >  125

 < means less than   99 < 140

“295 is greater than 251” - Aneeka

“When we compare numbers, we look at the hundreds place value column first” - Isaac

“444 is less than 960” - Rosie

LI: To write a setting description

In our first English lesson this morning, SM1 wrote fantastic adjectives, expanded noun phrases, verbs and prepositions about two scenes/images from our Escape From Pompeii text.

Following this, children put their ideas into a setting description of Pompeii.

“On the cobbled streets, people walked and chatted.” - Veer

“A mysterious girl was buying delicious, warm bread” - Suraya

“Next to the stall people were gossiping and laughing with friends” - Austin

“In the distance there was a large, beautiful mountain behind the city walls” - Oliver

“The brown, wooden boats floated on the clear, blue sea” - Dhruv

“On the harbour, the kind, hungry fisherman carried their delicate, smooth pots of fresh, delicious fish” - Reuben

“On the glistening sea, brown, wooden boats sailed across the sea searching for fresh fish” - Rupert

LI: To construct descriptive sentences

LI: To write a setting description

In English today we have had a very productive morning creating descriptive sentences using extended noun phrases, prepositional phrases and ensuring our sentences included verbs.

“A prepositional phrase is its relationship of position and explains where something is. Eg on the table, in the sky,” Liv.

We are reading the book ‘Escape from Pompeii’ so today we had to write down adjectives, verbs and prepositional phrases to describe the busy scenes from the book. We created a colourful ‘word carpet’ to help us build longer sentences.

Following the description, we then put this ideas into a setting description. Everyone in SM3 worked extremely hard and produced sentences using the carpet of words creates in the first lesson.

“The people were shouting loudly in the house,” Eddie.

“The fisherman were exploring the crystal, clear water,” Krish.

“Looking out of his window, Tranio could see Pompeii’s greatest protector, Mount Vesuvius,” Lottie.

“Against the wall, Tranio sneakily hid behind pots so no one could spot him watching the boats leave the bustling harbour,” Rueben.

“Below the stone, carved balcony, families noisily chattered and children strolled happily on the cobbled streets,” Arjun.

“In the harbour, strong, powerful men carried huge terracotta pots along the crowded streets to the bobbing yachts,” Evie.

“On the glistening sea, sails were blowing gently in the calm wind,” Louie.

“Behind the town, clear turquoise seas gently waved against the old stone walls,” Oscar.

LI: To summarise how an earthquake occurs

In today's Geography lesson, children became a seismologist! 

As a class, we discussed what an earthquake is and how earthquakes happen. We learnt that an earthquake is a sudden movement, or tremor, of the Earth's crust.

For our main task, children had to put the events of an earthquake in order of how they happen.

“A seismograph is used to measure the strength of an earthquake” - Darlah

“When an earthquake happens out at sea, it can lead to a tsunami” - Dhruv

“Tectonic plates hit each other or vibrate against each other which can lead to an earthquake” - Max

We have learnt:-

“When throwing you have to watch the ball really carefully” Cam

“To be a good teammate you need to listen.” Yuvaan

“You have to have eye contact and work hard.” Charlie

“Listening is the most important thing.” Taakshvee

We have collected creative vocabulary together to describe the ancient city of Pompeii.

The children constructed some amazing expanded noun phrases, listed exciting verbs and wrote prepositional phrases inspired by the text and illustrations of Christina Balit in Escape to Pompeii.

“We learnt how to make really good sentences.”

“In the distance, Tranio could see their greatest protector, it was called Mount Vesuvius.” Josh

“The mountain loomed over the city.” Audrey

“Down at the harbour, wooden boats Bob on the clear, blue water.” Alex

“Behind the dusty pots is young Tranio, looking at people haggling and trading.” Serene

Dakyeong: It is important to know how to change a Sprite so it matches the backdrop. This will create part of our story when we start creating algorithms.

Lacey A: I enjoyed finding new Sprites and got excited when I saw the doughnut Sprite!

The theme for national poetry day this year is play. Miss Steele did a fantastic worship about national poetry day on Monday and challenged children to write poems of their own ☺️

This week, year 3 have been thinking about what rights and responsibilities we have when in school and in our classrooms so that we can all flourish and shine in our learning.

‘We all have the right to learn and not be distracted.’ - Thomas

‘We have the responsibility to be kind to others so they feel safe.’ -Anika

The children were split into small groups and had time to practice their singing pitch and tone whilst also putting together a body percussion of eight beats using either clicks of their fingers or taps of their laps.

The children then had time to perform as a class using their skills of rhythmic pattern and different dynamics that were needed to put the performance together.

SM1 had a fantastic day at Cross Hands Quarry. We discussed how rocks are formed, the fossils that we might find in the sedimentary rock and explored the site using a trowel to dig for fossils.

Please ask your children about their day, I’m sure they will be very excited to show you the items they collected! It was tricky to determine whether some rocks were fossils or sedimentary limestone. If children weren’t sure, they put the rock in their bags so that they could have a better look at home.

The children had an amazing day at the quarry. What fantastic fossil hunters they are!

We learnt about the landscape and travelled back 170 million years to a time when Warwickshire was under a shallow sea.

After sorting selections of fossils to identify “imposters”, we had our fossil hunting eyes ready!

The children worked tirelessly to excavate their fossils and fill their bags with fossils to take home.

After lunch, we ventured into the quarry further and the children sketched a cross section of the quarry stone which showed the different layers of rock and crevices formed over millions of years.

It was a pleasure to see their enthusiasm and enjoy fossil hunting with such a great team - Go SM2! I hope you have enjoyed seeing the fossils they brought home and hearing all about what they learnt throughout the day.

SM1 completed some mindful colouring during Early Bird and shared what makes us happy. 

"Spending time with my family makes me happy" - Miss Sparkes

“Doing colouring makes me feel happy” - Poppy

“Playing with my sister makes me feel happy” - Aneeka

“Relaxing and watching some TV makes me feel happy”

“Playing with my sister makes me feel happy” - Meryem

“Having dinner and eating with my family makes me feel happy” - Austin

“Being with my friends makes me feel happy” - Annabelle

“Doing fun activities and swimming makes me feel happy” - Rosie

“I like walking with my family in nature” - Ariana

“What makes me happy is being at school” - Reuben

“Playing football makes me feel happy” - Suraya

“Playing with my sisters and cars makes me feel happy” - Veer

‘I have chosen to add coriander to my pasts because it will taste good with it.’ - Ajai

‘I have chosen to add chives to my pasts because it has a strong taste and nice texture.’ - Mason

“I learnt that you can have some different skills in cooking and I would improve my salad with some blue cheese next time”. Maya

“I enjoyed chopping, slicing, tasting and smelling.” Elsie

“I learnt to use the bridge and the claw technique to be precise when I cut with a knife.” Katherine

“I enjoyed adding the herbs and doing the chopping.” Ava

“I learnt that cooking is fun.” Cam

“It looks and tastes delicious, but next time it would be even better with some mayonnaise.” Audrey.

The children have explored characters and backgrounds and how to manipulate their Scratch character (Sprite). They have considered what an algorithm is and how precise a coding instruction needs to be.

We had lots of fun exploring the Scratch programme and increasing our knowledge in programme scripts using repetition for different effects.

Benefit of having a screen name:

If they know your real name, they may search for you and get personal information. (Katherine)

Benefit of having an avatar:

You should use an avatar, so then people don’t know what you look like. (Charlie)

Who to tell if you worried about anything online:

Mum or Dad so they can help. (Reuben)

Why have an online profile that is different to a real profile:

To protect yourself. (Leo)

So that you can’t get hacked. It’s important not to give personal information out online like telephone numbers. (Isabelle)

To start off today’s DT lesson, we discussed what a herb is, the different herbs we could name, what herbs are used for and where herbs grow.

SM1 then tasted and rated a range of herbs to see which herb they would like to add to their pasta salad when we make it in our DT lesson on Friday.

The herbs we tasted and rated were: basil, mint, chives, coriander and parsley.

"Coriander has a strong smell and I like the taste, so I have chosen to add it to my pasta salad" - Roberta

"I don't like the taste of the coriander." - Veer

"Chives smell like onions" - Max

"The basil leaf is light green in colour and smooth" - Darlah

L.I: To evaluate my pasta salad

After trying our pasta salad, we were ready to evaluate it. We discussed ways we could improve our salad, if we like the way it tasted, the skills we used, any problems we face and ingredient we added. Well done SM1 for working collaboratively today, sharing activities and creating a healthy pasta salad.

“In my salad I added sweet corn, coriander and cucumber. I like the way these vegetables taste” - Rosie

“I used the bridge method to cut the slices of cucumber in half” - Max

“Next time, I would add some sweet corn and some sauce to my pasta to add to the taste” - Veer

“I added chives, sweet corn and spring onion in my pasta salad. These are my preferred vegetables” - Arlo

“When weighing the pasta, I had to add it slowly in small amounts to make sure it was weighed accurately and otherwise I would have too much pasta” - Anna

“When I used the weighing scales, I put sweet corn and pasta into my container. I weighed 10g of sweet corn and 60g of cooked pasta” - Roberta

‘I tore the herbs to add to my pasta and practised my stirring skills.’ - Louie

‘My pasta salad looked amazing. It was colourful and tasty.’ - Hallie

‘To improve my pasta I would add cheese and a little less herbs to it.’ -Evie

In our RE learning, we have been considering the significance of nature for different worldviews.

In this lesson, the children considered aspects of nature which were important to them and why.

Children worked really hard in this lesson and produced fantastic double page spreads.

“The largest volcano in the world is Mauna Loa in Hawaii” - Oliver

“There are three types of earthquakes. The earthquakes originate from the hypocentre” - Ariana

“If a volcano is active, even if it erupted over 10,000 years ago, it could still still erupt again” - Rupert

“If an earthquake occurs under water, it can lead to a tsunami” - Anna

​

In today's lesson, we had another look at cast and mould fossils and discussed the difference between the two.

Then, using play dough (as sedimentary rock) , a shell (as our organism) and Plaster of Paris (to be the minerals and sediment that fill the cast fossil), we created our own mould and cast fossil. This activity helps us to deepen our understanding of the fossilisation process and the difference between a mould and cast fossil. 

Mould fossils form when all the parts (including the bones) have decayed and all that is left is the mould (imprint) of the animal.

A cast fossil is a fossil that forms when a mould of an organism fills with minerals or sediment.

“Today, we created a mould and cast fossil. When we pressed the shell into the play-doh, it left a mould fossil” - Ariana

“A cast fossil is when minerals and sediment fill the mould fossil” - Shaan

We had a lovely afternoon exploring fossils in SM2. We recalled what we had already learnt about fossils and how they are formed and then showed our knowledge with a quiz to identify mould and cast fossils. The children then had the opportunity to craft a cast fossil from play dough working from a photograph or the genuine fossils on their tables.

Finally, we made a fossil mould from the play dough using a variety of sea shells and filled the moulds to create our own cast fossils.

We hope you have enjoyed being shown the cast fossils after school today.

“It’s quite difficult to tell which fossils are which when the fossil is only partly exposed.” Reuben

“I enjoyed making the patterns in the play dough to look like a real fossil.” Taakshvee.

“That looks brilliant! I can see the shell mould!” Theo

Our new unit in outdoor PE is netball. We started the lesson by learning that in netball you cannot run with the ball. You must land two feet at one time or one foot then the other. We practised landing with 2 feet and landing with a pivot. We also practised passing using a chest pass and a bounce pass.

Children talked about how we use a chest pass if our partner is close to us. We might choose to do a bounce pass if our partner is further away. We also discussed how our knees are soft and bent when we jump and land.

"You should land with slightly bent knees when you catch the ball to help with balance"

"When using a chest pass, it's important to look at your partner to make sure the ball goes straight to them"

In today’s English lesson, we looked at how to correctly use a dictionary. We found different words in the dictionary, such as ‘amble’ and ‘deviate’ and found the meaning of each word.

SM1 then completed a dictionary challenge where children were working with their table partner to answer a range of questions, looking for words in the dictionary and their meaning.

“A dictionary helps us to find a word and the meaning of it. It can also help us with spelling a word by finding it in the dictionary” - Rosie

“A dictionary helps us if we don’t know the meaning of a word. It is in alphabetical order so that you can find the word you’re looking for quicker” - Amba

“A thesaurus is different to a dictionary because it tells us synonyms of a word” - Dhruv

In English today we learnt how to use a dictionary. We know that a dictionary is in alphabetical order and we agreed if a word is nearer the end of the alphabet that we need to turn more pages to find the word. We used the dictionary to find the meaning of the word soil and greatest. Everyone in SM3 worked well with their partner and shared the task. We completed a dictionary challenge which you can see in our pic collage.

Reggie “ A dictionary is a book which helps you to find words you are unsure of how to spell and it can help you when editing and improving work with spelling corrections.”

Kavya “A dictionary can help you understand the meaning of a word.”

Evie “A dictionary is in alphabetical order.”

Lottie “ A thesaurus gives us alternative words which have the same meaning. It can help us when editing and improving our writing.”

In today’s French lesson, we were learning numbers in French up to 10. We were first introduced to the numbers and had a go at saying the numbers out loud, thinking about our pronunciation. Children completed a worksheet where they had to write the French number next to the correct digit. We also played a game where a number was said in French and we had to show what number was said on our fingers.

In art, the children have been exploring Stone Age cave art. Having replicated simple animal line drawings, this week the children have been scaling up their drawings and using charcoal.

‘In our art lesson we used charcoal because we are focussing on prehistoric paintings. Charcoal is burnt wood that you can use to make markings.’ - Thomas

‘To enlarge means to make something bigger and you can make your drawing full size.’ - Lily

‘Scale in art means that the art is the correct size and in proportionate. That means if the head is big then the body is not going to be tiny.’ - Dakyeong

‘I a, proud of my artwork because I followed the lines carefully.’ - Lucas

In our Maths lesson today, Year 3 were identifying multiples of 2. We looked at a range of numbers between 0 and 500 and had to state the previous and next multiple of 2. E.g. My number is 142. The previous multiple of 2 is 140. The next multiple of 2 is 144. 

After talking to our table partner, we then discussed as a class how we know that all multiples of 2 are even. Children recognised that multiples of 2 are even because they always end in the digits 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8. As an independent activity, children had to shade all the multiples of 2 on their hundred square. To finish the lesson, Year 3 enjoyed completing worded questions linked to multiples of 2, resulting in a secret word at the end.

“If a number is a multiple of 2, it will end in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8” - Esme

“Multiples of 2 are always even. Multiples of 2 always end in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8.” Dhruv

“My number is 88. The next multiple of 2 is 90. The previous multiple of 2 is 86” - Arlo

Today in English we learnt that a fronted adverbial gives extra information about a verb and that is goes at the front of the main clause. The extra detail given is about the time, place and manner. We learnt to place a comma after the fronted adverbial. As a class, we started to choose fronted adverbials to describe a setting scene from our new text ‘The Stone Age Boy’.

These are some of our ideas:

In the warm sunshine,

Beyond the cave,

Outside the stone cave,

By the hissing fire,

Under the bright, blue sky,

Near the cracking fire,

Behind the women,

Suddenly,

Patiently,

Quietly,

This week in our PSHE lesson, Year 3 had a look at a range of scenarios where there was conflict between people. The children explored the ‘solve it together’ technique as a way of resolving conflict.

We discussed our zones of regulation and how different breathing techniques can also help us to solve a conflict.

‘Conflict is an argument or disagreement that everyone has in their lives. For example, we might fall out with our friends but we must be honest and apologise.’ - Lacy T and Everly SM3

‘If we have conflict, we can talk to an adult at home or school. These adults can help us to solve a problem.’ - Roberta SM1

‘The solve it together technique is useful because it helps us to solve a conflict by helping each other.’ - Reuben SM3

‘If we feel in the red zone, we can take some deep breaths that can help us to feel more calm.’ - Aneeka SM1

This was an excellent opportunity for the whole school to sit back and listen to Eva’s amazing voice and be inspired to follow dreams and challenge themselves.

‘After listening to the signing, I definitely want to think about being a singer myself.’ Nancy Year 4

‘I loved how her singing tone changed in each song!’ Ilona Year 4

‘Eva’s voice filled the room with calming sounds of her voice. We hope we can listen to her again!’ Darcey Year 5

This week in Art, Year 3 have been creating positive and negative prints in the style of pre-historic cave art. We discussed the colour pigments and tools that would have been used to create pre-historic art during the Stone Age. We had a lot of fun recreating this in our classrooms.

“When we painted our hand and pressed it on the paper, this created a positive print” - Meryem SM1

“Scrunching the paper and using the pastel as the background created texture on the paper” - Esme SM1

“It looks so cool! It looks just like the real thing (Chauvet Cave) - Katherine SM2

18th November

In PE today we have been refining our netball skills and learning how to shoot a netball. We practised passing and landing with two feet and then using a pivot to move to find our partner. We learnt how to complete a chest pass and know where our finger tips should be on the ball so passing the ball is more smooth. Learning how to shoot a netball was quite tricky as we had no netball hoops but we know we need balanced feet, hold the ball in both hands high above the head, bend the knees and elbows and then extend.

19th November

Year 3 have been learning what loop, condition and forever means when using Scratch. We learnt repeating is when the loop repeats over and over again. Forever means until the programme is told to stop this using a condition. A condition in the computer programme is repeating until something happens. An example of this is ‘The birds sat on the eggs until the eggs hatched’. The birds on the eggs is repeating and the condition is until the eggs hatch.

Ajai. - A loop is repetition. Some objects may continue to just go forwards and backwards until the programme tells the, to stop.

Anika - A condition is something you tell your Sprite to do in a computer programme.

19th November

LI: To identify speech marks

In Year 3 today we have been learning what speech marks are and when they are used. We used speech marks to show a conversation between Om and Max from The Stone Age Boy. We had to act out conversations Om and Max may have had with each other before writing this in our speech bubbles.

Reggie “ Speech bubbles are used to show what a character or person is saying out loud in a story or comic”

Anika “Speech bubbles do not need speech marks. Speech must start with a capital letter and end with the correct punctuation. If we ask a question, we must put a question mark. We learnt that characters may say their words in a particular way such as cried, whispered, shouted or even mumbled.

"Today we looked at kenning poems. Kenning poems start with a noun and end with a verb. They each start on a new line, followed by a comma"- Anna SM1

"Some poems are short and some poems are long. They do not always rhyme." - Suraya SM1

"My poem follows a pattern. The verbs all end in 'ing'. For example, creatures hibernating, trees reddening, conkers splitting, wind blowing"- Rosie SM1

We learnt all about the changes in diet from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. During the Old and Middle Stone Ages, humans lived as hunter-gatherers and survived by hunting for animals and gathering food from wild plants. By the Neolithic Stone Age, people were living in permanent settlements and had farms near their homes. They kept and fed animals such as sheep, pigs, goats and cattle and grew their own cereal, such as wheat and barley.

Year 3 became archaeologists and investigated 'Stone Age Poo'. They looked at the evidence from the things they could find in each poo sample to determine the historical era each sample came from.

"Hunter gatherers ate fruit, hunted for animals and drank water from rivers and streams" - Rupert SM1

"In the New Stone Age, people had the use of fire. They ate animals from their farm and baked bread and cooked porridge from the crops they were growing" - Oliver SM1

"Today we looked at Stone Age Poo. In the Hunter Gatherer sample, there was spaghetti (bones) as the Stone Age people hunted and ate fish" - Audrey SM2

"Today we were learning about the diets and how they changed in the different Stone Age eras. The three eras are Neolithic, Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. In the Neolithic age, people started farming so had a more varied diet" - Hallie SM3

Year 3 loved all the activities involved in Stone Age day today. To start the day, we were read a story by Mrs. Fitzpatrick about a Stone Age Boy genius called Ug, who lived in the Stone Age. Even Ug's trousers were made of stone!

We learnt all about the changes in diet from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. During the Old and Middle Stone Ages, humans lived as hunter-gatherers and survived by hunting for animals and gathering food from wild plants. By the Neolithic Stone Age, people were living in permanent settlements and had farms near their homes. They kept and fed animals such as sheep, pigs, goats and cattle and grew their own cereal, such as wheat and barley.

Year 3 became archaeologists and investigated 'Stone Age Poo'. They looked at the evidence from the things they could find in each poo sample to determine the historical era each sample came from.

"Hunter gatherers ate fruit, hunted for animals and drank water from rivers and streams" - Rupert SM1

"In the New Stone Age, people had the use of fire. They ate animals from their farm and baked bread and cooked porridge from the crops they were growing" - Oliver SM1

"Today we looked at Stone Age Poo. In the Hunter Gatherer sample, there was spaghetti (bones) as the Stone Age people hunted and ate fish" - Audrey SM2

"Today we were learning about the diets and how they changed in the different Stone Age eras. The three eras are Neolithic, Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. In the Neolithic age, people started farming so had a more varied diet" - Hallie SM3

Year 3 have delved further into the Stone Age this afternoon with our artwork. The children have mixed their own paints creating tones and hues with various spices and natural flour and water paste.

We experimented with colour and looked at the Stone Age palette before working together on large art pieces inspired by prehistoric cave paintings.

The children drew wild animals with strong lines using charcoal and their home-made prehistoric paint.

What a wonderful artistic group they are!

These will look fantastic displayed in our classrooms and around school!

“In the Stone Age, people did not have paint. They made paint themselves to make art. They might have used spices like we did to create art in the caves” - Keaton SM1

“Adding more of the spices to the paint made it become a stronger colour.” Isabelle SM1

LI: To experiment with layering to add texture

Today for Christmas craft day, Year 3 made a Christmas gingerbread house. Children used a template/stencil to create the shape of the house. This included a roof, door, windows, chimney and other Christmas objects such as candy canes, sweets, presents, Christmas trees etc.

Year 3 carefully cut their gingerbread house out, ready to stick onto their painted paper plate. Children thought carefully about the way they layered their collage to complete their Gingerbread house which will look fantastic when hung from our Christmas hoop.

“I love Christmas! I’m cutting a door for my house” - Eddie Sm3

“I traced parts of the gingerbread house and glued them to my yellow paper plate. This will become the gingerbread house” - Lacey SM3

“Using a range of pastel colours, I coloured the different parts of my gingerbread house. I used the stencil to trace the template onto the card” - Ava SM2

With their table partner, children discussed their own definition of what bullying is, which was then discussed by the class and written into books. Year 3 created anti-bullying posters, highlighting how people should think about their words and actions and also the importance of being welcome, recognising that we are all different and unique.

"If someone was being unkind, I would say 'Stop, I don't like it' and I would tell an adult" - Arlo SM1

"I didn't realise that there were different types of bullying. Such as physical bullying, verbal bullying and cyber bullying" - Rupert SM1

"I worked with my table partner and collaborated on our anti-bullying poster" - Darlah SM1

"It's important to learn about bullying so that we can help others if they think they are being bullied" - Roberta SM1

In today’s yoga lesson, SM1 created a sequence of yoga positions. This included dancer, fox, down dog, tree, boat, side bend, warrior and half moon pose. Children worked with a partner to choose their sequence, working on balance and holding each position for 10 seconds.

“We did yoga poses. My favourite yoga pose is the dancer pose. You have to balance on one leg and your arm helps to keep balanced” - Rosie

“My favourite yoga pose is the half moon. I liked it because it gave me bit of a challenge. It is a harder position to keep balanced” - Amba

“In our sequence, we did 8 yoga positions. We worked with our partner to create a sequence of poses” - Aneeka

Gifts we would give a new born baby would be a teddy so we would hope Jesus would cherish and love him as he grows up. We thought lighting a candle would help us remember memories of someone who is no longer with us. We shared that special places we visit create happy memories and can be a safe place.

SM1 concluded granite was the most durable, because it could not be scratched/indented with the lollipop stick and also did not absorb water. Chalk was the least durable, because it was very easy to break away and the water almost immediately was absorbed into the rock.

“If a material is durable, it doesn’t wear wear away easily. It lasts a long time and is not easily damaged ” - Roberta

“The chalk was easily scratched away and when I dropped water onto the chalk, it got absorbed” - Veer

“Flint was a durable rock because it didn’t break or indent when we used the lollipop stick to scratch test” - Suraya

In today’s RE lesson, Year 3 made links to the holy Trinity - the unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one. We discussed how ice, water and steam can be used as a metaphor for the Trinity, as all three elements are the same, but different. Some Christians explain the Trinity like this - three things in one.

Year 3 then created their own artwork to represent the Holy Trinity, using key colours like red (to represent fire) and blue (representing water).

“God has three things that make up who he is. These are The father, the Son and The Holy Spirit.” - Alice SM1

“The Father is God himself, the Son is Jesus and there is also The Holy Spirit. These three make up the Trinity” - Shaan SM1

Today SM1 enjoyed a walk in the sunshine around the advent trail, reflecting upon the true meaning of Christmas.

Together, we recalled the events leading up to Christmas and the birth of Jesus. Children enjoyed exploring the meaning of this special time of year and had some time to reflect.

Our English text this half term in Year 3 is Oliver Twist. In our first lesson, children were introduced to the story, the original author (Charles Dickens) and Gill Tavern, who has retold the story using the events from the original novel by Dickens. In yesterday's lesson, children used Vocabulary Victor skills to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words in our text including 'gruel', 'devour', 'cavernous' and 'peckish'.

Today, we used Rex Retriever and Inference Iggy skills to collect information about a character (Oliver Twist). We used echo reading as a class to read the text and to gather information about Oliver Twist. As a plenary, using the information we had collected, children wrote a sentence to describe Oliver:

“Oliver Twist is an orphan and has no family. No one is very kind to Oliver until he gets to London and meets the Artful Dodger. I predict that he isn’t very kind though” - Osman SM3

"Oliver Twist is an orphan. He does not have any food or money. His clothes are old and dirty" - Arlo SM1

"Oliver Twist doesn't have a mum or dad. He was working and living at the workhouse where he was treated badly." - Suraya SM1

“Oliver was so brave to ask for more food and to run away from the unkind family that he had been sent to live with” - Owen SM2

"Oliver Twist has no friends or family. Oliver went to London because he was being treated badly and thought he would be safer there." - Max SM1

“The grown ups in the workhouse kicked Oliver out because they thought he was a bad example for other children and thought they might want more food” - Reuben SM2

“Oliver must have felt scared when he was walking to London. He had to sleep outside in ditches for 7 nights!” - Ava SM2

We started our lesson by discussing what type of game tennis is: A net game played on a court with a net separating opponents. The object is to hit the ball over the net and into the court without the opponent returning it.

To practice controlling our ball using the tennis racket, children took part in a range of activities which required careful focus and concentration on the ball. Examples include balancing the ball on the racket, dropping the ball from the racket and bending our knees to scoop it up and having a go at bouncing the ball on our racket to see if we could avoid dropping it on the floor.

With a partner, children then practiced control of the ball by hitting the ball with their racket into a hula-hoop, which was placed between partners.

“Today we learnt how to control the tennis ball with our racket. We practiced aiming the ball into the hoop to our partner. It was important to hit the ball lightly so that it didn't go too far away from our partner" - Roberta SM1

"Tennis is a game which involves a racket, ball and a net. Today we were controlling the ball. We hit the ball in the air and tried not to let it fall. To control the ball I made sure to keep my eyes on the ball all the time" - Dhruv SM1

"We had to carefully control the ball to ensure it stayed on the racket. This involved focusing on the ball and keeping our eye on the ball at all times." - Anna SM1

"I found it interesting to learn how to hold the tennis racket. We had to check that we had the correct grip on the handle" - Kavi SM2

"I enjoyed working with my partner. It was easy to balance the ball on the racket, but we bounced the ball on the racket, it was harder to control." - Sienna SM2

"We learnt how important it is to keep control of the ball and how powerful the racket is. We don't need to hit the ball too hard, or it could travel far away from our partner" - Anika SM3

"It took me a while to practise skipping two notes, the F and the B, but I got used to it." - Esme SM1

"I was proud of being able to jump over certain notes get to the higher pitched notes in the scale." - Shaan SM1

"I enjoyed practising a melody, which I know means a main tune, but had to practise the direction of the beater quite a bit." - Oliver SM1

"A pentatonic scale is where C, D, G, E A go up on a scale." - Oscar SM3

"A pentatonic scale is a scale that only has 5 notes." - Everly SM3

"A pentatonic scale is like a pentagon because it has 5 sides like the shape" - Spencer SM3

"I enjoyed learning about the pentatonic scale because we used the instruments. I loved it so much I want to play it forever" - Katherine SM2

"I have enjoyed learning how to play the pentatonic scale on a new instrument" - Takshvee SM2

Using torches and a variety of objects (mirror, wood, carpet, shiny paper, plastic ruler and a metal spoon), children were investigating which objects were most reflective.

Children started with a prediction, predicting which object they thought would be most and least reflective. As part of the activity, children had to rate the objects from most to least reflective and conclude whether their prediction was correct/not correct.

"In our lesson we looked at reflection. I found the most reflective object was the mirror because when I shined the torch light on the mirror, it reflected brightly on the roof" - Darlah SM1

"Reflection is when light bounces off an object. Light travels in straight lines. Bright colours are reflective, such as bright yellow and bright pink" - Ariana SM1

"It's important to wear reflective gear at night, like a reflective jacket, because that way we can stay safe and be seen" - Roberta SM1

To create interesting point and patch balances.

"To make your balance even better you can hold your body really still and point your hands and feet." - Lily SM3

"It's important to warm up our muscles before gymnastics because otherwise you could risk injuring yourself" - Max SM1

"You can focus on one point to help you keep your balance" Zakir SM3

"In a point balance, you will be balancing on a small part of your body and in a patch balance you can balance on a large body part like your back" - Thomas SM3

"In gymnastics it's important to keep your core strong because it helps you to stay in position and balanced" - Roberta SM1

"Body tensions is where we keep our bodies stiff so that our balances aren't all wobbly" - Louie SM3

This week in SM1, Austin borrowed a world recipes book on Mexico and used it to plan and prepare a fantastic family feast at home! Following the recipes carefully, Austin chopped vegetables and made nachos with salsa, guacamole, and even a savoury fruit salad.

It is wonderful to hear/see how books from our library are encouraging creativity, independence, and a real love of learning.

We hope this inspires others to explore, create, and share their own library-led adventures!

In science this week, the children have been investigating shadows. Our practical activity allowed us to investigate if different materials created shadows.

Ask us what our three key words were today!

‘The book is opaque. I know this because it doesn’t let any light through and it creates a strong shadow.’ -Rayyan SM3

‘Objects which let some light through but not all are called translucent. One example of a translucent material is tracing paper.’ - Thomas SM3

"Transparent objects allow light to pass through the object. for example, a glass is transparent and we can see through it," - Roberta SM1 

"A translucent object is an object that some light can pass through. For example, tracing paper. Whereas opaque objects do not allow any light through, such as your hands and fingers." - Austin SM1 

In today’s English lesson, Year 3 revised key reading skills. We reviewed the reading assessment paper completed last week and, as a class, read through the text together. We discussed each question, focusing on what it was asking, how to locate answers within the text and how to apply important skills such as inference and scanning.

"We were checking for any questions we misunderstood. I checked them back to check they made sense and looked carefully at the paragraph for the answer" - Ava SM2

"I improved my score by breaking down the questions before I answered them and then I looked for the words with the same meaning and underlined these words in the text" - Lacey T SM3

"It is important we know how to scan a text so that we can quickly look through the text and find the answer/word we are looking for. This will help us to find the answer" - Reuben SM1

"If a question says find and copy, we need to look carefully at exactly what it is asking us to do and we need to make sure we copy it exactly how it is written for the mark. This includes the spelling." - Alice SM1

"You can use the text to find out the meaning of a word. The word 'annual' is a synonym for the word 'yearly' - Aneeka SM1

SM1 had a fantastic morning with Prime VR. Children were able to see a range of volcanoes, some that were dormant, others that were exploding. Children saw volcanoes in Russia, Iceland, America and Vanuatu!

Spencer: ‘We put the figure wearing a crown of the thorns in incarnation because this looks like Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.’ SM3

Lottie: ‘Font is where babies are baptised and we know Jesus was baptised so this links to incarnation.’ SM3

Lily: ‘We put the huge angel in Salvation because it looks like the devil is tied up and the angel is saving people from the devil.’ SM3

Louie: ‘The hugging figures look like they are coming back together so we put this under reconciliation because this means forgiveness.’ SM3

"A cross is a representation of Jesus dying so God could forgive humans their sins." - Darlah SM1

"Coventry Cathedral was bombed during the war. Instead of retaliation, they decided to re-build the cathedral. A cross of nails was made and has been sent to other countries to promote reconciliation and peace" - Anna SM1

"Buildings can represent a theological idea because people can go to religious places to worship and pray like the cathedral, churches and the gurdwara in Leamington. " - Shaan SM1

We heard a wonderful story about Jerry Sweetly who was a tosher (someone who worked in the sewers searching for lost treasures, jewellery and money that had been lost). It was a story of history and magic involving sewer rats and the queen rat, who could appear as a human lady in the streets of London.

The children listened in awe and particularly liked the sound effects when things dropped into the sewer!

"I liked the way Jason acted out the story as he told it. It made it really interesting" - Poppy SM1

"My favourite part about the story was that the rats eyes can turn red and that if a rat bit you, you would be safe in the sewers of London" - Anna SM1

"It is almost like magic that the queen rat could turn into a human being" - Theo SM2

We discussed that all 2D shapes have a perimeter, as long as they are closed shapes (are not incomplete with gaps). Children had a go at drawing their own 2-D shapes with a perimeter and examples of shapes that do not have a perimeter (because not all the edges join together). At the end of the lesson, children were starting to find the perimeter of shapes on squared grids by counting along the edges.

“Perimeter is the total length around the edge of a 2-D Shape.” - Alice SM1.

“If each side of a square was 2 cm, the perimeter of the square would be 8 cm.” - Darlah SM1.

“A shape needs to be connected and have all sides joined together to be 2-D shape.” - Ariana SM1.

"You must always add the units of measurement when calculating the perimeter" Sophie SM3

"Perimeter is the total of the sides of a whole 2-D shape. It has to be a closed shape" - Osman SM3

Year 3 used drama and persuasive language to 'stand up in court' and plead whether Oliver was guilty or innocent. Children used a fantastic range of vocabulary and were very persuasive. We believe the court will find it tricky to come to a decision!

“This boy is guilty. He was there when the crime happened!” - TW SM1

“Charge this boy! He is guilty of stealing from innocent Mr. Brownlow” - AC SM1

“I believe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I saw a different boy carrying my silk handkerchief, not Oliver” - ACR SM1

"'Without a doubt' can be used to persuade someone" - Lucas SM3

"'You have to believe me' and 'certainly' are examples of persuasive language" - Zakir SM3

‘To make my rolls better next time, I would try to breathe calm. This would help me to keep my balance.’ - Osman

We have noticed how some designers use nature in their work or are inspired by nature.

We started the lesson with a warm-up activity, where we had attackers in bibs and children had to get from one side of the playground to the other, avoiding the taggers. Children had to be aware of the space they were in whilst also being aware of where the attackers were.

In pairs, children stood at opposite ends and took turns to dribble the football across the space to their partner. We discussed using the inside of our foot to kick the ball (keeping it controlled) and using tiny touches so the ball stayed close and under control.

"You need to keep the ball close when dribbling or someone from the other team could steal the ball away from you." - Darlah SM1

"You need to keep control of the ball but also be able to look up and around you so that you can look for free space" - Poppy SM1

"You can use different parts of your foot to move and stop the ball. Like the inside/outside of your foot to change the direction of the ball and the bottom of your foot to stop it." - Tobin SM1

"You need to be looking up at the defender so you know where not to pass." - Lacey TB SM3

"‘Go to space where no one is to get the ball. Help your team by finding an open space" - Spencer SM3

"To score a goal you need to make sure you are working together as a team". - Hallie SM3.

How did you feel when you were dancing together as a class?

Rayyan: I feel happy when we dance together in unison.

Eva: It puts me in a good mood! SM3

Evie: I feel happy, proud and excited. SM3

Shaan: I felt calm and happy. SM1

Alice: I felt jolly and cheerful. SM1

How might dancing show religious ideas and help people feel closer to their worldview?

Zak: Instead of saying a prayer in church, you could do actions instead to worship, like dance! SM3

Esme: Dancing helps people express their religious feelings to other people. SM1

Isaac: Dancing makes people feel happy and remember God. SM1

Meryem: Dancing makes them feel closer to God. SM1

Hartaj: Dancing makes people feel happy and because they are happy, it makes God extremely happy. SM1

In groups, children were given images of Abdul Kazam and had to describe the character, thinking about his facial expression, his features and his clothes. We also thought about expanded noun phrases we could use to describe the images and Abdul Kazam.

"Abdul Kazam seems a mysterious man. He is wearing a green, glowing ring on his right hand" - Rupert SM1

"Abdul Kazam has curly, green shoes. His eyes are wide, yellow and glowing" - Amba SM1

"Abdul Kazam has a magical, purple cloak. He wears a red top hat and is a magician" - Ariana SM1

"Abdul Kazam seems a mysterious man. He is wearing a long, golden necklace around his neck which has a picture of an eye" - Esme SM1

"His golden, glowing eyes shimmered."  Everly SM3

"He looks magical" Spencer SM3

"He is wearing beautiful, curly shoes." Eva SM3

"I would feel a bit scared by him if I was Leon. We don't know if he is a good or bad man."  Sophie SM3

"Abdul Kazam appears to be a very dramatic character" - Taakshvee SM2

"I think the magician is about to do a fantastic show" - Sienna SM2

"I found out what a barrel organ is. They were from the Victorian times and make loud and cheerful music." - Oscar SM2

The children began by practising key skills including exploring the running and back stitch. After perfecting these skills, we then used our lesson time to create a bookmark- using our design drawings to support us along the way.

‘I have used appliqué in my design . Appliqué is when you attach one piece of fabric to another piece. This was quite tricky as the fabric was tough for the needle to go through.’ -Lottie sm3

‘I found tying off the thread at the back quite tricky. I asked for help from an adult and my friends.’ - Oscar sm3

In our Art lesson this week, Year 3 were joining 2D shapes to make 3D structures.

We discussed that a sculpture can be big or small and can be made in lots of different ways:

• modelled from one material (like clay)

• carved (from wood for example)

• A sculpture can be made by joining materials together.

Children had a go at building a 3D structure that stands up on its own by using different ways to join card shapes together.

"The 2D shapes I cut were two rectangles and two triangles. I folded the shapes to make them 3D and had a go at putting them together to make a 3D structure" - Suraya SM1

"The structure is 3D because it is not flat. You can look at it from different angles" - Darlah SM1

This afternoon the children had time with their Year 6 buddies to read together and share their favourite books. The sun was shining and it was lovely to sit outside and read. The children were excited to read to their buddies and also to be read to!

This afternoon we opened our new class picture book, The Invisible by Tom Percival. The children listened intently and were really engaged in the story and beautiful illustrations.

Ally explained what the word “vibrant” means “It means very bright - sort of glowing.” and Evan explained what it means to not be able to afford something. “It’s when you don’t have enough money to buy things.”

The story was about a little girl called Isabel who had very little financially, but enjoyed her simple home and family. When her family are unable to afford the bills, Isobel and her family have to move to a flat in the city. In her new, grey environment, Isobel needs to find the beauty in her new environment and build a new home and community. She does this by connecting with others who feel ‘invisible’ and together they make a huge difference.

“I think the story is about hope,” said Charlie, “Isobel lost her hope but she found it again.”

“I would like to be like Isobel”, said Videh.

“It shows that you can make a big difference when you work together.” said Hugo.

We found out sculptures can be interactive, different sizes and made of different materials.

The children looked made 2D shapes and then experimented with ways to make their shapes 3D.

We then looked at how to join the shapes together (no glue or tape!) to make free-standing sculptures.

“It was quite difficult to fold the card accurately.” Videh

“This has given me lots of ideas about how I can make things.” Reuben

“I’d love to go to an interactive art gallery and explore 3D sculptures like the ones we saw.” Leo

“These look amazing! They are so clever!” Katherine.

“I didn’t know you could make 3D shapes from 2D shapes.” Alex

“Sometimes it’s hard for everyone to agree on a game and so it’s kind to take turns and let everyone have a little bit of time to play their favourite game.” Kavi SM2

“If we feel sad about something, it always feels better to talk about it with a good friend or a grown up. Good friends are good listeners.” Josh SM2

“I think that a good skill of friendship is noticing if someone looks sad or is on their own and asking them if they would like to join in with your game.” Sareena SM2

If my friend seemed upset with me and they didn’t want to talk about it, I would ask a grown up if they can help us to sort it out.” Charlie SM2

'You can be a good friend by helping your friend and showing care if they are hurt or need support with something' - Austin SM1

'In this scenario, Ellen could say sorry to Fergus for accidentally breaking the ruler and a new one could be bought to replace it. Next time she needs to ask if she can borrow it' - Hartaj SM1

'We can be a good friend by saying kind words and being supportive' - Ariana SM1

'The other children could ask Erin if they want to join in with their game so that no one is left out. Or, other friends can be found so that she is not on her own' - Darlah SM1 

Today, they drew, labelled and explained their design, talking about what it was made from, how it worked and what their project did. Tomorrow, SM1 will be reflecting on their design and explaining their idea in a letter that will be sent away for the competition.

A few ideas include:

• The Tidy Desk Machine

• The Space Drone

• The Homework Robot

• Smart Fixer Robot

• The Shoe Cleaner

• The Story Teller

• The Gardener

In today's lesson, Year 3 asked closed questions to group objects and working with their partner, created a branching database for dinosaurs.

Questions children considered when creating their database:

• Does it have a tail?

• Does it fly?

• Does it have a fin on its back?

• Does it have stripes?

"A branching databases uses closed questions where the answer is yes or no. This means the question has to be quite specific so that it can be answered with only yes or no" - Anna SM1

A branching data base is when the data base looks like tree branches going down. Each branch gives you a new answer to the questions you are asking" - Alice SM1

"Is the dinosaur Orange? Yes or no? Does the dinosaur have fins and live under the water? Yes or no?" - Ariana SM1

Our Y3 children have had some wonderful discussions in PSHE this week as they considered how they can keep themselves safe online.

The children looked at the risks of playing games online or downloading apps and this included the children sharing and discussing online safety tips that they can use now and in the future.

“I would say that the most important online safety rule is to never send people pictures or information about yourself like your name, age or school.” Sareena

“I think that I would like to play this game with my friends but one risk is that other people, who we don’t know, might try and message us as well.” Ally

“I would never give anyone my password because they could pretend to be me and send people unkind messages.” Serene

“This game sounds really fun, but I would only ever add friends that I already know in real life.” Evan

"It's important to check the reviews because they might not be real and they might be tricking you." Sophie SM3

"The most important rule is to never share any information online like pictures or your real name. Anyone can use this and it's dangerous." Liv SM3

"Don't say unkind things to others online." - Ariana SM1

"Don't give anyone your passwords, even if they are your friend. You never know what they could do with your information" - Rosie SM1

"Make sure to treat people online with respect. If something doesn't feel right, talk to a trusted adult" - Hartaj SM1

Once the database had been created, children were able to 'play' and work their way through the questions with an animal in mind to check that it worked. Children then challenged themselves and created a branching database with 12 different animals.

"On the computer we were making branching databases to sort six different animals. We asked closed questions such as 'do they have a shell?' to help sort the animals in the branching database" - Lottie SM3

“We used J2data to make a branching database. When you make a branching database, you need to use closed questions that are only answered with yes or no. It was harder to think of different questions when doing the challenge” - Shaan SM1

"There were lots of animals to choose from, that all had different features. This made it easier to help us choose close ended questions and sort them into specific groups" - Josh SM2

In music this week, Year 3 put together all their learning on pentatonic scales and Chinese New Year to perform a piece of music as a group.

At the start of the performance, only the glockenspiels were played, making the music feel quite mysterious/suspicious. When the drums were added to the performance (making the piece of music louder and more intense) the Chinese Dragons began dancing around the children playing the instruments.

“The drums were an indicator for the masked dancers to join the performance. During the performance, the tempo of the music increased. This means it got faster” - Shaan SM1

We are now at the end of our outdoor PE unit on football. In this weeks PE lesson, Year 3 had a go at playing in a tournament. Children had to referee and manage the game themselves, following rules and showing honesty, making sure the game was fair and fun for all. Children took turns being a striker, defender and goalkeeper. Children recognised the importance of knowing where their team members were and communication with one another when passing the ball. 

“When you pass the ball, you use the side of your foot, not the front. When playing a game of football, if you have the ball you can try to shoot in the goal, but if it is not possible, you should pass to a team member. That's why it's important to know where they are whilst you are playing.” - Dhruv SM1

"Football is all about working as a team. Pass the ball and use the skills of dribbling the football to help you" - Liv SM3

"If a player is surrounding you whilst you have the football, pass it to a team member" - Ajai SM3

This week for Shakespeare week, Year 3 have been looking at a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In our first lesson, we were introduced to the text and the characters and used one of our reading dog’s, Rex Retriever, to answer comprehension questions.

Today, Year 3 used scripts and drama to identify direct speech. There were two different scenes the children recreated, thinking about how the characters would speak/ actions they could include and emotion in the characters voice.

“It’s important to project your voice and speak clearly when you are doing drama so that everyone can hear you. You also need to make sure you speak clearly. “ - Rupert SM1

“I love doing drama. It’s fun to bring a script to life through drama instead of just reading it. You can make it more interesting and add actions” - Alice SM1

“I like to read it in different ways to change the meaning and we tried different parts in our group” - Reuben SM2

“We worked together as a group to decide who would be which character and actions we could do” - Kavi SM2

Together, we read the Easter Story and considered the three main events of Holy Week: Palm Sunday (Jesus arriving in Jerusalem on a donkey), Good Friday (Jesus being crucified) and Easter Sunday (the resurrection of Jesus).

In Thursday's lesson, Year 3 wrote down the three main events during Holy Week and drew a picture to go with each event.

On Friday, children recapped the Easter Story and had a go at designing a cross they thought would be suitable to represent the events that happened on Good Friday, where Christians remember the day that Jesus died on the cross.

Lottie 'Palm Sunday is represented by Jesus holding palm leaves on my cross.'

Liv 'Good Friday is represented on my cross by the crown of thorns.'

Mason 'The colours on my cross and the simple use of Easter eggs represent Easter Sunday.'

Finally, Year 3 wrote a poem all about Good Friday and Holy Week, answering our key question 'Why do Christians call the day Jesus died Good Friday?'

"On Good Friday, Jesus died on the cross. He rose again on Easter Sunday. This is called the resurrection of Jesus. " - Anna SM1

"Palm Sunday is when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on donkey. He had a special dinner with his friends known at the Last Supper. On Good Friday, Christians remember when Jesus died on the cross" - Ariana SM1 

"When Jesus died on the cross, he forgave us and took away our sins." - Rupert SM1 

"I know that crosses are important during Easter. The cross for Palm Sunday is made from palm leaves. The Good Friday cross shows us Jesus. Jesus sacrificed himself. The last cross shows us the wood of the cross Jesus." - Isabelle SM2

Our new outdoor PE unit is athletics, and in our first lesson this week, SM1 focused on developing their sprinting technique.

We began by warming up our bodies with a couple of fun games alongside some stretching exercises.

The children then played “Catch Me If You Can,” where they worked in pairs to try and catch their partner before reaching the finish line, swapping roles after each turn. This helped to build their speed and reaction time.

Following this, the children challenged themselves to improve their sprinting distance. They sprinted for 10 seconds and marked where they reached with a cone. They then repeated the activity, aiming to beat their previous distance.

“It’s important to look up when you’re sprinting to see where you are going”. - Veer SM1

“You should only sprint as fast as you think you can, because you don’t want to fall over if you can’t keep up with the speed that you’re running” - Suraya SM1

“Technique is important to help you run quickly. Looking behind you slows you down and you could trip over. You need to make sure you use opposite arms and legs”- Max SM1

The children worked on their running and sprinting technique in PE today. After warming up our joints and muscles, SM2 worked in pairs to identify effective running techniques. We looked at what made our bodies more efficient when we run and how we could change our positions and movements when we run to increase our sprinting speed.

Taking it in turns to run a set distance, the children spotted their partners and then gave constructive advice to help them improve their sprinting speed.

We used set, timed runs to compete against our own personal best distances to test out the suggested techniques.

“I helped Cam by helping him stretch out his legs when he runs.” Leo

“Technique means how you do something.” Josh.

“To improve your running technique, you can push your chest forward to go faster.” Sareena

“A sprint is much faster than jogging and you push your body weight forward.” Ally

“I got faster by stretching my legs and making my strides longer.” Cam

“Technique is when you move your arms and legs in a particular way or to a certain position.” Evan

“I like to sprint because I can stretch my legs out further and go much faster.” Kavi

SM3 thoroughly enjoyed our athletics lesson as they were able to use the school field. As a warm up, SM3 jogged around the school field and then completed some stretching exercise for their leg muscles. The children worked in pairs finding ways to improve their speed and to beat where they had placed their first marker after having to run fast for timed runs. They suggested ways to improve their technique.

“My heart was racing fast when I ran,” Sophie

“When you run around, your heart pumps blood around your body,” Spencer

“When you swing your arms backwards and forwards, you run faster,” Everly

“You should a never look backwards as this will slow you down. You must focus on running on ahead,” Louie

“I learnt that if you lean forward with your chest you can run faster,” Eva

Today we continued our abstract art unit looking at structures and sculptures. The children experimented in small groups with a variety of materials.

They looked at how to fold and manipulate materials to strengthen them and make 3D free standing structures. We worked with newspaper which was very flimsy and we tried different ways of rolling, folding and twisting the newspaper to create sturdy 3D forms.

The children also tried to join materials in different ways. We worked with folds and twists, cutting slits to slot pieces together, cutting tabs to create surfaces for glue for perpendicular joins and even experimented with tying pieces together with string.

“We had lots of ideas and used different ways to connect the shapes we made.” Isabelle

“I liked slotting pieces together to make my structure stand up. I then made a sail for the top of it.” Audrey

“It was really tricky to tuck the paper in and fold it so it wouldn’t unravel without using glue.” Katherine

“It’s amazing how strong the newspaper was when we had folded it and rolled it. You could really build with it. I did

Didn’t think it would have been possible.” Charlie

Key vocabulary for this lesson included: monitored, hacking, phishing, scams and digital footprint. 

In the lesson, we discussed concerns about sharing information with others online and the information an adult would need to provide in order to create an account for a service online. We considered first and last name, password, email address, date of birth, phone number, home address, post code, login name and more. 

Year 3 were then data detectives and had a look at example online profiles, seeing how much information they could gather from someone's profile. At the end of the lesson, children discussed why privacy settings are so important to ensure strangers cannot see our personal information. 

"Online safety is all about keeping us safe. It is important you do not share any passwords with anyone." Reuben and Joey, SM3 

"Always tell an adult if you think a website does not look safe" Sophie SM3

"Phishing is when someone tries to find out personal information about you so they can pretend to be you" - Thomas SM3

"To stay safe online, don't give anyone your address details. Before you go online or if you see anything you aren't sure of, check with an adult'. - Aneeka and Arlo SM1 

"If someone asks you for your details, do not give it to them and talk to an adult immediately" - Alice SM1 

"When you are playing a game online and someone asks you for your date of birth, name, where you live or account details. Don't reply, block them and tell a trusted adult straight away." - Shaan SM1 

Louie- “Collaboration is working together as a team to make something or do something together. It isn’t always face to face and maybe online”

Sophie “ To work as a team, skills needed are sharing, good communication and good listening skills.

Reggie and Liv “ It’s better to work as a group”

In computing this week, Year 3 have been discussing what it means to collaborate. Children collaborated to gather information/facts about dinosaurs, sharing information with one another. We discussed how we search the internet and make sure the websites we click on are safe and age-appropriate. Year 3 thoroughly enjoyed researching information about dinosaurs.

Children thought of a range of questions to research:

• What did dinosaurs eat?

• When did dinosaurs become extinct?

• How many teeth did dinosaurs have?

• Where did dinosaurs live?

• What is a fossil?

“Collaborate means working with others and working as a team.” - Rosie SM1

“To make sure the website is safe, you should type in ‘for kids’ or ‘KS2’ to make sure it is appropriate for your age” - Rupert SM1

“In a team, you need to work together, be a good listener and be encouraging. You also need to be kind. Especially if you are the team leader.” - Esme SM1

‘Foundational skills are things like jumping, balancing and skipping.’ - Lottie SM3

‘When we move to a sprint, our bodies lean forward and we use our arms more. Our head faces down and we try to get faster.’ - Zak SM3

‘One way to join is to use tabs. This helps shapes like cylinders to stick down.’ - Ajai SM3

Today, the children were challenged to use their bodies to make a statue which demonstrated reconciliation.

‘Reconciliation is when you forgive someone after a fight. It can also be where you show that you respect the person’s difference.’ - Lottie, Evie and Hallie SM3

‘I think reconciliation can be difficult because if you fall out with someone, sometimes you need time to forgive them. It can be hard to do that but it depends on the situation.’ - Joey and Zak SM3

"Reconciliation means coming together. This could be after an argument or conflict. It doesn't always happen straight away". - Rupert SM1

"It's important to consider the worldview of others. We are all different and have difference experiences." - Max SM1

"I feel happy and proud after i have reconciled with a friend. It is a lovely feeling" - Sienna SM2

"Reconciliation means forgiving each other after you have had conflict" - Josh SM2

"Reconciliation isn't always easy. Sometimes you need to give each other a bit of time to feel calmer and then you can come back together" - Serene SM2

In this week's PSHE lesson, Year 3 were discussing wellbeing, discussing what it means and what we do to feel healthy, safe and happy in our body and mind.

Over the next two weeks, children will be designing a garden for people who face a particular challenge. Such as: People who are visually impaired, people who cannot walk, people who cannot hear, people who are disabled etc.

Children worked as a team to choose who the garden is for, started thinking about how they would design their garden and what decorative features they would want to add to help that persons wellbeing.

"Wellbeing means things that make you feel calm and things that are good for your mind and body. For my wellbeing, I like to play football and watch movies." - Shaan SM1 

"We have chosen a garden for a child who does not have a safe place to play, to help their wellbeing. Our garden includes a swimming pool, a tent, a water fountain and a swing chair which will make it peaceful and enjoyable." - Isabelle and Esme SM1

Does it have a name?

Is it edible?

Why are there holes in it?

Is it safe to touch?

What was inside the packet before it was opened?

Why does it make sound when you crunch it?

Can I wear it?

Why does it have layers?

When we had decided the questions that Eric may ask, we asked our partners the questions and they had to explain verbally our answers in as much detail as possible. We enjoyed our lesson and it was a good opportunity for speaking and listening skills.

Spencer and Reggie - “Curious means we want to find our more information and we are interested to learn more”

Hallie - “ Exasperated means you are feeling frustrated”

As the audience, SM1 also listened carefully and thought of interesting questions to ask about each presentation.

Well done SM1!

"I enjoyed listening to the Presentations. It was interesting seeing what my classmates have been up to, like their favourite holiday or hobbies"- Amba Sm1 

"I enjoyed preparing my Shine in the Spotlight Presentation. It was fun to find photos of animals that linked to what I was speaking about in my Presentation. I tried to make my presentation engaging by adding photos and animations" - Alice SM1

"When I was preparing my Shine in the Spotlight, it was fun because I got to think about fun facts and questions I could include about my topic on baking" - Shaan SM1

"My favourite part of my Presentation was sharing it with the class. I enjoyed talking about my baptism and the reason I was baptised." - Rupert SM1 

"I enjoyed my Shine in the Spotlight because I am passionate about Harry Potter and enjoy magic and the wizard world" - Meryem SM1 

The children have been developing their research skills by searching for information online and then copying and pasting key facts into their blogs. Some children also included images and hyperlinks to make their blog posts even more engaging and informative.

Year 3 have really enjoyed using Purple Mash to design and create their blogs, and they especially enjoyed reading and leaving positive comments on their classmates’ work.

"It's good to be able to comment on a post and interact with others. I have also learnt how to split my screen and have 2 windows open together. It's much easier to post things that way!" Reuben SM2

"I like it that I can ask a question in the comments and then we can help each other by sharing our facts and information." Charlie SM2

"I managed to add a video to my blog post. It was interesting learning how to copy and paste from a different website" - Tobin SM1

L.I. To us colour and texture on 3D sculptures.

The children have been creative, exploring abstract 3D sculptures. We have looked at positive and negative spaces in abstract art and everyday objects to inspire us to see shapes and patterns differently. The children worked independently or in groups to then manipulate their sculptures and 3D shapes using colour and texture. We looked at how colour can direct the eye, bring a form together or transform it into something new.

Using paint and collage materials, the children decorated and developed their ideas with colour and texture.

“I liked mixing the paint for different effects. We then cut holes in tissue paper to layer over the top so the effect could be seen through the gaps as a negative shape.” Sophia

“I used layers on a small scale sculpture. I like the effect of strong colours and the layers to make my sculpture seem like a different shape.” Owen

“It’s amazing how the colours have changed it. The negative space is now stronger than the positive space!” Cam

Last lesson, the children learnt that a magnet creates a non-contact force. This lesson, children have been exploring more about magnets and have investigated which magnets have a stronger magnetic force.

Eva- ‘I know that opposite ends of a magnet will attract each other. This means they will go to each other.’

Oscar- ‘I know the ends of a magnet are called poles. Of the poles are the same, they will repel. This means they push away from each other.’

L.I: To explore and evaluate existing products

This week in DT, Year 3 are looking at linkages and levers. 

In their first lesson, they learnt all about Archimedes. He was an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer and inventor. He discovered the ‘law of the lever’ which has led to many inventions and discoveries based on his ideas. Year 3 discussed the movement of a lever and that a linkage is a mechanism made by connecting together levers around a pivot to produce a movement. 

In their second lesson, Year 3 looked at examples of cards with levers and linkages (using split pins). Children enjoyed having a go at pulling the levers and making the images move. For their activity, children then had a go at sketching a diagram of one of the cards, labelling the different parts of the card (split pin, lever, linkage, moving image, card). 

"It was interesting to see how the loose pivot on the card made the image move. Some levers made the picture go up and down, others made it go side to side" - Anna SM1

“A lever is a hard part which moves around a pivot. A see saw has a pivot in the middle of it” Anika

“ A mechanism is something which moves” Kavya

“ A linkage helps something to move. It is made by connecting levers around a pivot” Rayyan

“ A guide holds the lever in place” Osman

All the class were engaged whilst listening to each other and they spoke clearly with good pace and volume. They spoke confidently and with enthusiasm. Whilst the class listened, the children had to think of a quiz question or a question to ask about the presentations. All the teachers enjoyed listening to the children.

It was a lovely opportunity for the children to share something that we didn’t know and for the children to discover some interesting facts.

We only managed to take videos but here are a few of our thoughts on our presentations.

“I enjoyed Shine in the Spotlights because we were able to listen to other people and find out exciting information” Spencer

“I liked that we could learn new facts” Eva

“I felt nervous presenting my Spotlight but felt proud afterwards” Evie

“I really enjoyed presenting mine because you could talk and share anything you wanted to. My presentation was on the gymnastics bar and I liked showing my video clips of myself performing in the garden” Hallie

This week, we finished our sculptures by decorating them with paint and other materials. Some groups used tissue paper to wrap parts of their sculpture, other groups chose to use paint on some or all of their sculpture.

The children were encouraged to view their sculpture from every angle to see which shapes it made and how best to decorate it.

‘A lever is a simple mechanism. Mechanisms make things work or move.’ - Everly

‘A linkage is made up by connecting more than one lever.’ - Reggie

‘We used a fixed pivot and a loose pivot on our cards to create movement. My card moved horizontally left and right.’ - Liv

In our lesson today, we have been using our senses to describe the sight, smell, touch and taste of a chocolate cake. Year 3 have thought of fantastic descriptive words including: scrumptious, moist, mouth-watering, tempting, crumbly, glistening, fluffy. Next lesson in their writing, children will describe eating the chocolate cake – just as Michael Rosen does.

"The cake looks moist, creamy and delicious" - Roberta SM1 

"The smell of the cake is mouth-watering. It has brown, gooey chocolate icing and it's so tempting" - Alice SM1 

"The cake tastes delicious. It is sugary and sweet. It is tempting to have more." - Shaan SM1 

"Ricky dance was a lot of fun this morning. I liked that we were doing Oliver Twist and I liked the song and the moves too." - Isaac SM1 

"I liked doing the Ricky Dance today. It was active, we were working with partners, and we moved round a lot. It was helpful that Ricky was doing the dance with us to help us remember the moves." - Ariana SM1

"I really liked Ricky Dance today. It was dancing but also acting as we were pickpockets and different characters from Oliver Twist" - Alice SM1 

The children then recognised that all ballads have similar features.........

Darlah SM1 : The harmonies and instruments used in each ballad are sometimes the same. They all have a slow tempo.

Rupert SM1 : Sometimes ballads are not always happy and they tell a story about how people are feeling.

Spencer SM3- 'A ballad usually tells us a story, which can often be sad or romantic.'

Mason SM3- 'I noticed that the ballads we listened to all had an instrumental section, this was often at the start of the song where there was no singing.'

Audrey SM2 - If you have an encounter with someone of different faith, you need to be gentle with them and be caring.

Josh SM2 - You need to listen to other peoples opinions even if they differ from yours and work with them to reconcile.

Esme SM1 - 'Reconciliation is when you try to fix something like an argument or disagreement. Hopefully you will be able to find forgiveness'.

Alice SM1 - 'To have a positive encounter, you should be kind and show interest in their faith/religion/worldview.'

Shaan SM1 - 'People will have a different worldview to your own. You could ask them how they celebrate in their faith and religion and what traditions they follow.'

Rupert SM1 - 'It is good to get to know a range of people with different religions and worldviews. You can learn things from these people'.

Lily SM3- I'd liked being able to find out something about my partner that I didn't know before. Such as, we both like crafts!'

Liv SM3- 'I found out that Anika has a different worldview to me. It was nice, because we don't normally speak to one another because we are playing with our own friends.'

Thomas SM3- A positive encounter means trying to greet someone in a friendly way, such as smiling and showing them respect.'

We began by discussing what data is and exploring different ways it can be collected, including observations, polls, questionnaires, and surveys. The children considered how data helps us organise information and answer questions.

Next, we explored Microsoft Excel and learned about some key spreadsheet features, including cells, columns, rows, and cell addresses. The children practised identifying these parts of a spreadsheet and discussed how they are used to organise data effectively.

To gather their own data, the children walked around the classroom and collected information from their classmates. They recorded details such as names, ages, number of siblings, pets, and favourite colours in a table. This data will be entered into Excel next week, where the children will begin creating and working with their own spreadsheets.

"Today in computing I collected data and found out that Rupert's favourite food is olives and his favourite sport is golf" - Austin SM1

"From collecting my data, I can see that the most popular colour was blue" - Alice SM1

Anika- ‘ repetition is when you repeat something over and over again. Like in the text, they are talking about the pancake over and over again.’

Osman- ‘a folktale is a story where it is passed on to other people and the people might change the story into their own words. A folktale is only said in words by people it is not written in a book by a single author.’

SM1 thoroughly enjoyed creating actions to the start of our folktale ‘Thick, Fat Pancake’ in English today. Repetition and creating actions will help us to learn the folktale, ready to have a go at re-writing it later in the week.

"A folktale is a story that has been passed down through generations and is not written by just one person. It shared through word of mouth." - Ariana SM1 

"Our folktale is called Thick, Fat Pancake. It is about a mother who lived in Norway who had seven hungry children. They loved pancakes and the mother decided to make one enormous pancake instead of seven ordinary-sized pancakes to feed them all." - Shaan SM1 

"Today we have read the start of the folktale and made actions for it. This is to help us learn the folktale and help us understand it more. We started with two actions, swish for a comma and boom for a full stop. My favourite action so far is pretending to flip a pancake for the word 'pancake' - Rupert SM1 

This week in Maths, Year 3 have been looking at 3D shapes. We have looked at a range of 3D shapes including square-based pyramids, spheres, cuboids, cones and cylinders.

Today using nets, children had a go at constructing two 3D shapes, a cuboid and a triangular-based prism. We discussed the number of vertices, edges and flat faces each shape had.

'A cuboid has 6 flat faces, 8 vertices and 12 edges. - Alice SM1 

'A triangular-based prisms has 4 flat faces, 4 vertices and 6 edges' - Dhruv SM1 

'A net is like the outline of a 3D shape. You can fold and stick a net together to make a 3D shape' - Shaan SM1

In Geography this week, Year 3 explored what climate is and learned about how climates can vary around the world. The children discussed the difference between climate, which describes the usual weather patterns in a place over a long period of time, and weather, which can change from day to day.

Working in groups, children were each assigned a different country and were challenged to create their own weather report, just like a television weather presenter. They researched and discussed the climate of their chosen country. The children then wrote a weather report explaining what climate is and describing the typical weather conditions found in their country.

A number of groups then confidently presented their weather reports to the class, sharing interesting facts about climates from around the world and demonstrating their understanding of the topic.

'In South Africa, the days are mostly warm in the summer and cooler at night. The average temperature in the summer is 25 degrees and in the winter, 16 degrees celcius.' - Austin and Rupert SM1

'Norway lies within the arctic circle and regularly has snow and rain year-round' - Oliver SM1

'The weather can be changeable throughout the year in Sydney Australia. It commonly rains in the summer, but it will be sunny so don't forget your sun cream!' - Hartaj and Annabelle SM1

Using spaghetti and play dough we constructed a cube and cuboid but then using nets of a cuboid and triangular based prism, we had a go at making these shapes. We used key vocabulary such as face, edge and vertex to describe each shape.

Sophie- A 2D shape is flat but a 3D shape isn’t.”

Louie - “A face is a flat surface on a shape.”

Ajai- “ An edge is a line which connects one vertex to another.”

Thomas - “ A vertex or vertices are points where two or more lines meet.”

Ajai

Kavya: “Human features are things like buildings and roads. Human features are made by people.”

Hallie: “Physical features would still exist even if humans did not.”

Jaskirat: “Physical features are features that are made by themselves such as seas, land, grass and flowers. It is natural.”

"We have looked around the school grounds at human and physical features. We worked with a partner and wrote the features down using our clipboards. At the front of school, we saw houses and a road which are human features” - Anna SM1

“We went into the copse and saw a few physical features including vegetation, the pond, hills and forest. Physical features are features that are here naturally, they haven’t been made by humans” - Shaan SM1

“Today in Geography we went outside and we were looking at human and physical features. In our local area, human features include include schools, roads, houses, churches and shops” - Ariana SM1

“I didn’t realise there was so much here,” Ally

“Wow! I can see lots of woodland in the horizon.”

LA physical feature in geography is something that is natural. It’s part of the Earth and it would be here even if humans weren’t.” Owen

As well as our outdoor practical work we had some great discussion about the difference between human and physical geography including some conversation about the building and purpose of canals in the area.

“A canal is a man-made river with a path along it.” Audrey

Everyone was quite amazed when they thought about the engineering needed for canals to go up and down hills!