Year 3

Year 3 have had an amazing start to the Spring 2 term and have been working incredibly hard across the curriculum. In English, the children have been enjoying our new class text, The Cloud Tea Monkeys, where we have been exploring life on a tea plantation. Inspired by the story, the children have written persuasive letters to the plantation manager, suggesting ways to improve the working conditions for the people who work there. They have carefully used adverbs, bullet points and the present perfect tense to make their writing clear and convincing. We hope the manager will be persuaded by their thoughtful suggestions to make some big changes for the workers!

In maths, we are coming to the end of our fraction unit. The children have been learning how to represent fractions on a number line and using bar models to help them understand the size and value of different fractions. They have shown great enthusiasm and confidence when tackling these challenges and have thoroughly enjoyed exploring fractions in different ways. Perhaps you can find some fractions on your scales or measuring jugs at home, what fraction is being weighed? 

In history, the children have begun their exciting new topic on the Tudors in London. We started by exploring what London Bridge was like during Tudor times and discovered that it looked very different from the bridge we see today. The children were fascinated to learn that people actually lived on the bridge in houses and shops, and that it could be a very busy and sometimes dangerous place. We also discussed some of the unusual features of the bridge, including the toilets that emptied straight into the river below!

In French, we have continued developing our number skills and have now moved on to counting up to 20. The children have been practising their pronunciation and using animal names to help them count how many pets they have. It has been wonderful to see their confidence growing as they use French in fun and practical ways.

We had a wonderful time celebrating World Book Day at school. Throughout the day, the children enjoyed listening to stories read by different teachers from across the school, which made the experience even more exciting. We also held a fantastic costume parade where pupils proudly showed their outfits inspired by their favourite book characters. 

We look forward to the rest of the half term as we enjoy warmer days!

                               

This week: 02.03.26	Next week: 09.03.26
Spelling rule - Homophones & near homophones   grown  groan  plane  plain  peace     piece rain reign   Key words:  Maths: equivalent, scales, volume English: present perfect, plantation, persuade Science: support, movement, protect History : Tudor, London Bridge, Henry VIII   Maths facts: Times tables (4, 6 and 8)	Spelling rule - Homophones & near homophones   sent  scent rode   road  steal  steel  waist    waste   Key words:  Maths: mass, capacity, kilograms, grams English: tea advert, entertain, persuade Science: joints, muscles, contract History : Queen Elizabeth I, explorers, trading    Maths facts: Times tables (4, 6 and 8)

 

Key dates: 

• World Book Day - Dress up - Friday 6th March
• Parents’ evenings 3.30pm - 7.00pm  - Tuesday 17th and Thursday 19th March

 

Year 4

We have just started reading our new text, The Iron Man by Ted Hughes and the children are already intrigued to learn from where the Iron Man has come.  They are planning their description of the Iron Man using similes, metaphors and other figurative language.

The children have been continuing to learn about fractions in maths, comparing and ordering mixed numbers and starting to look at the differences between mixed numbers and  improper fractions and converting between the two.  We will be moving on to adding and subtracting fractions next.

It was lovely to see so many parents at the MTC meeting last week.  Please continue to support your child/children with Times Tables Rock Stars and encourage them to ‘go green’.  As Mr Jackson mentioned, the key to success is little and often.  Practice does not always need to be online, for example, it can be done verbally whilst walking to school.

We continued looking at teeth in science and, using eggs instead of teeth, we explored how different liquids react with the “enamel”.  The children were fantastic at explaining how to look after their teeth and how long they should brush them each day.  We have now started looking at other parts of the digestive system.

We kicked off our new history topic looking at a timeline of events in Ancient Egypt and Iron Age Britain. Children were able to see advances that had been made in Ancient Egypt long before they made it to Iron Age Britain.

In RE this term, we are focussing on the religions of Christianity and Islam and exploring why traditions are important.  So far, we have considered the Easter story and Lent.  The children have been exploring greenhouses and how they might construct a stable one in their DT lessons.

Our returning swimmers continue their swimming lessons on Fridays whilst the remaining children have their indoor PE lessons.  

We can’t wait to see the costumes the children wear for World Book Day on Friday.

  

  

This week: 02.03.26

Next week: 09.03.26

Spelling rule - Words with a ‘soft c’ spelt with ‘ce’:   centre century certain recent experience sentence notice celebrate ceremony certificate   Key words:  Maths: improper fractions, mixed numbers, part, whole English: pronouns, determiners Science: oesophagus, stomach, intestines History : Ancient Egypt, Iron Age, pharaoh, tribe   Maths facts: Times tables (1-12)

Spelling rule - Words with a ‘soft c’ spelt with ‘ci’:   circle decide medicine exercise special cinema decimal accident city citizen   Key words:  Maths: mixed numbers, fractions, adding, subtracting English: paragraphs around a theme, fronted adverbials, possessive pronouns Science: oesophagus, stomach, intestines History: significant advances, technology, artefacts   Maths facts: Times tables (1-12)

 

Key dates: 

World Book Day - Dress up - Friday 6th March

Parents’ evenings 3.30pm - 7.00pm  - Tuesday 17th and Thursday 19th March