Welcome to Year 3!

The class teacher is Mrs De La Bertauche (Mrs D) and the teaching assistant is Ms Lloyd 

Please could I ask all children to bring in an apron or old shirt for art lesson to protect their clothes. 

English

This week, we put all of our planning into action and wrote descriptive letters to our favourite environments. In our letters, we explained what we loved about these special places, how they are being damaged, and what we can do to help protect them.

We explored a variety of environments, from the ocean and the jungle to the mountains of Wales. Each of us described our chosen environment in detail, using rich vocabulary to help the reader picture the scene, while also explaining the importance of caring for it. We thought carefully about the positive actions we can take to help preserve these wonderful places for future generations.

We thoroughly enjoyed learning about the format and features of a letter and were very proud of our finished pieces. We are looking forward to putting these skills into practice over the next few weeks when we write thank you letters following our school trip.

Mathematics

This week, we successfully completed our Place Value topic. We developed a strong understanding that the value of a digit depends on its position within a number. We worked with three-digit numbers, carefully placing digits in the correct columns of hundreds, tens and ones, and were then able to identify the value of each digit.

We also explored finding 1, 10 and 100 more or less than a given number and became increasingly confident in explaining how numbers change. We compared numbers using the greater than (>), less than (<) and equal to (=) symbols, as well as estimating and ordering numbers.

We are proud of the progress we have made and the confidence we have shown throughout this topic. We are now looking forward to applying our place value knowledge in our next topic, Addition and Subtraction, where we will begin by revisiting and strengthening our understanding of number bonds.

Geography

This week, we began our exciting new Geography topic on Volcanoes and Earthquakes. We learned about the structure of the Earth and discovered that we live on the Earth's crust, which is the outermost layer. Beneath the crust are three more layers: the mantle, outer core, and inner core. We were fascinated to learn that each layer gets hotter and hotter as you travel towards the centre of the Earth.

We also learned how volcanoes are formed and what causes them to erupt. To help us understand this process, we carried out a fun volcano experiment using vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. When the two substances were mixed together, they created a gas called carbon dioxide. As the gas built up, pressure increased until the foamy "lava" burst out of the volcano model. This helped us understand how real volcanoes erupt when pressure from molten rock and gases builds up beneath the Earth's surface and eventually forces its way out.

We thoroughly enjoyed watching our volcanoes erupt and using the experiment to bring our learning to life. We are looking forward to finding out more about volcanoes, earthquakes, and the powerful forces that shape our planet over the coming weeks.

Science

This week in Science, we learned all about fossils and discovered how they are formed over millions of years. We learned that fossils are the preserved remains or traces of plants and animals that once lived long ago. Fossils form when a living thing dies and is quickly buried by layers of mud, sand, or sediment. Over time, more and more layers build up, and the remains are slowly replaced by minerals, eventually turning into rock and creating a fossil.

We explored different types of fossils and discussed how they provide important clues about life on Earth in the past. Fossils help scientists learn about extinct animals and plants, what environments were like long ago, and how living things have changed over time.

One particularly interesting fact we discovered was that you will never find a fossil in igneous rock. This is because igneous rocks are formed when hot magma or lava cools and solidifies. The extreme heat would destroy any remains of plants or animals before they could become fossilised. Instead, fossils are usually found in sedimentary rocks, where layers of sediment can bury and preserve remains over long periods of time.

We enjoyed examining fossil examples and discussing how they were formed. This has helped us to develop our understanding of Earth's history and has sparked our curiosity about the creatures and environments that existed millions of years ago.

Religious Education (R.E.)

This week, we continued our learning about Christianity and explored the different types of prayer. We learned that Christians pray for many different reasons, including:

• Praise – thanking God for who He is.
• Thanksgiving – showing gratitude for blessings and good things in life.
• Confession – saying sorry for mistakes and asking for forgiveness.
• Intercession – praying for other people and their needs.
• Petition – asking God for help, guidance, or support for ourselves.

After discussing these different forms of prayer, we spent time reflecting on what is important to us and wrote our own prayers. Some children chose to give thanks, while others prayed for their family, friends, community, or the wider world. We then shared our prayers with the class, showing respect and appreciation for each other's thoughtful ideas. It was wonderful to see everyone expressing their thoughts and feelings so carefully and confidently.

We are looking forward to continuing our learning journey and discovering even more exciting things across all of our subjects next week.

 

Our PE days are Monday and Wednesday. 

Our value this term is Generosity.