15th July 2022

We’ve had a hot and sweaty week in Year 3 but we’ve still managed to work hard and try our best!

In Science this week, we have been investigating shadows and how the position of our shadow can change during the day. Children worked together in pairs to draw around their shadows at three different times during the day. We discussed how our bodies are opaque and therefore they block out the sun which creates a shadow. We also talked about how the Sun’s position in the sky affects the length of the shadow. When the Sun is low on the horizon, the shadows are long. When the Sun is high in the sky, the shadows are much shorter.

In RE this week, we have focused on non-religious views with regards to the golden rule and how to treat others. We found out about the interesting life of Annie Besant and how she improved the working conditions of thousands of women working in the matchstick factories during the Victorian times.

In Art, we made our own printing blocks and will be looking forward to using them to produce our own prints in the style of William Morris.

On Wednesday, children got the chance to meet their new Year 4 teacher Mrs Le Templier and they could get a taste of what it is like to be in Year 4! Not long to go now but there is still a lot of learning and fun to squeeze into our last days of Year 3.

I have loved teaching all the children in Year 3 and will miss them all so much! Three days of Year 3 left to go!

Mrs Hayward

8th July 2022

This year’s Enrichment Week has been the best ever! We have had so much fun and there have been many surprises along the way!

On Monday, we enjoyed completing a nature hunt and participating in orienteering around Robinswood Hill.  We used our map skills to locate different stations and we needed to think carefully about holding the map the right way around! On the nature walk, we found a range of interesting sculptures and even had the chance to look through a telescope.  Thank you so much to the parents that helped us out!

When we returned to school, we were very surprised to find out that an air ambulance had landed on our school field! Since the air ambulance was not needed to transport anybody, we were allowed to talk to the pilot and check out the air ambulance close up!  This was very exciting and will be a memory which I’m sure will last a very long time!

On Tuesday, we enjoyed a trampolining session with Rikadee which was amazing! Children loved the endless bouncing and it definitely tired everyone out! We were all hot and sweaty by the end of the session but all agreed it was something we’d love to experience again.

The hall was brimming with enthusiasm on Wednesday as we enjoyed an assembly by iRocks. We loved the live music echoing through the hall and cheered and clapped away to the music performed by other Clearwater children. What a treat! We think many children will be interested in signing up to be in their very own band next year!

In class, we have completed Science experiments, made maps of the local area and enjoyed completing art work. We can’t wait for our Summer Fayre on Friday!

Have a lovely sunny weekend,

Mrs Hayward

1st July 2022

We’ve had the most amazing week in Year 3!

On Wednesday, we all enjoyed our trip to Techniquest and loved exploring the Science Museum. During our day, we loved finding out about the full force of a hurricane, felt the tremors of a realistic earthquake and competed against each other over who could hang from a metal bar the longest! There was even a giant piano which was used several times and many exciting contraptions, including one which catapulted tennis balls into the air and another which launched rockets! We all definitely had an amazing time and our love for Science is now even greater!

In RE, we have been considering generosity as a value and how Muslims show generosity to others. We then considered ways we could be more generous to friends and family members. Hopefully, parents will have generous offers thrown their way this weekend! A cup of tea in bed perhaps?

On Friday, we will be taking part in Sport’s Day and we are all very excited about this. In addition to our races, we will be enjoying many different activities and team games such as rounders and football. Being a good sportsman and playing fairly in a team will also be themes we will focus on throughout the day and we’re all excited to cheer on all the children.

Next week is our ‘Enrichment Week’ which kick starts on Monday with our orienteering trip to Robinswood Hill. We have plenty of creative, sporty and practical activities planned throughout the week and we know children will love experiencing many wider opportunities.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hayward

24th June 2022

We’ve had a lovely week in Year 3 and the days are flying by so quickly! I can’t quite believe that we are over half way through the summer term!

This week in PE, we have been practising our Sports Day skills and loved joining in with running races and using javelins! We are getting excited for Sports Day which is taking place next Friday.

In Science, we used cardboard boxes to investigate how light travels in straight lines. We enjoyed hiding items underneath the boxes and shining torches into the holes we made. The experiment also helped us to realise that darkness is the absence of light.

In Geography this week, we have been learning about the way canals are used today. We found out that canals can be used for fishing, canoeing, bike riding, walking, boating and sight-seeing. We will soon take a walk down to the canal near to the school to create our own sketches and to identify the human and physical features.

Mrs Hayward

17th June 2022

The sun has been shining on us all in Year 3 but fortunately our classroom has been keeping us nice and cool!

In Maths this week, we have been adding and subtracting lengths before moving onto measuring and comparing mass. We have enjoyed using the weights and reading measurements on the scales. At the weekend, have a look on some of the food packages at home children to see if you can find their mass and whether this is recorded in grams or kilograms.

In English, we have thought carefully about the character Varjak Paw and we selected the most appropriate adjectives to describe his personality. We used a thesaurus to select more interesting synonyms and our word choices are now even more impressive! Children will write a character description of Varjak on Friday and we will focus on using place adverbials when describing his actions and movements.

In Geography this week, we have started to learn about canals. Using ‘Google Earth’ we identified where the Gloucester to Sharpness canal is situated and which towns and villages it runs through. We started to ask our own questions about the canal and we are looking forward to visiting the canal in the upcoming weeks.

This week has been our Healthy Eating Week.  We all took part in a live webinar where we found out about the types of food we should rarely, sometimes and often eat. After taking in all of this information, children then produced their own food pyramids where they could illustrate food choices into each of these 3 groups.

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

Mrs Hayward

10th June 2022

I hope you have all had a lovely Jubilee half term break! We are already back into the swing of things in Year 3 and fully embracing our lessons.

This week in RE, we have started our new unit: ‘How and why do people try and make the world a better place?’ We considered what is wrong in our world and children thought carefully about many serious issues including pollution, climate change and deforestation.  We also started to think about ‘The Golden Rule’ and how important it is to treat others to way we would like to be treated. Children were able to use their ‘Get Creative’ learning powers to design their own posters related to these themes.

In English this week, children have been introduced to our new core text, ‘Varjak Paw.’ We have been using place adverbials when describing a new setting. We can’t wait to find out more about the characters in this story and to discover the adventures Varjak will have.

In Science, we all took part in a very exciting experiment! We were investigating different soil types and planned to find out which soil was the most permeable when testing chalk, sandy, clay or loam soil. The results were surprising and we started to think about the size of particles in each soil type and how this affected the results. Many of us thought that clay soil would be the most permeable but in fact chalk soil absorbed the most water. This helped us to consider which soil would be the best for a farmer who wanted to best conditions when growing his crops.

We have lots of exciting lessons, events and trips scheduled for the new term and we’re going to love the second part of the Summer Term!

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Hayward

20th May 2022

National Numeracy day excited us all this week in Year 3! We thought carefully about using our learning powers in Maths and we always ‘have a go’ whilst resisting the urge to give up during tricky challenges. Children then tackled a fun problem called ‘Pascal’s Triangle’ and worked well to show off their learning powers when collaborating with a partner. Finally, children entered a national competition where they needed to decide on the job they would like to do when they are older whilst considering how this occupation involved numbers. We had some great entries from children in Year 3!

In Music this week, children were excited to use the glockenspiels to follow a range of pentatonic notes. We needed to follow the notes fairly quickly and this required great levels of concentration! Towards the end of the lesson, the notes being played were even in time and there are some budding musicians in Year 3!

In History, we have been looking at the significance of Robert Raikes and how he introduced Sunday Schools to Gloucester. Children have been researching his interesting life and we will use the facts to write our own fact files. We all couldn’t believe that young children couldn’t go to school and instead they needed to work every day! They didn’t get the chance to learn the values they would need to be kind, happy and responsible children. One Year 3 pupil even remarked that these children would have just needed a Clearwater Academy in their lives!

We have still been busy telling the time in Year 3 and moved onto digital clocks which are not quite as straight forward as we first thought! Luckily, our mini classroom clocks have definitely helped up and lots of practise during MOT sessions is making all the difference! Keep practising telling the time at home- every little helps!

In English, we are getting ready for our ‘Big Write’ by identifying the features of non-chronological reports. We are using the life and time of Mary Anning as a focus and children now know a huge amount about her significant discoveries and how they shaped Science and our understanding of fossils. I can’t wait to read all of your non-chronological reports on Mary Anning next week!

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Hayward

 

13th May 2022

What a busy week we’ve had in Year 3!

We have loved being artists and creating our own sea shell art work. Children used oil pastels to add colour and thought carefully about how they could highlight the interesting patterns found on their shells. We have put individual creations together to make a group collage and the results are fantastic!

In PE this week, we have loved learning the skills involved in cricket. Children have been bowling the ball underarm and overarm in an attempt to hit the wickets. Once the cricket bats were out, children really got serious and there were many powerful hits from our aspiring batters!

In Science, we have worked hard to become petrologists while investigating the properties of rocks. We tested how hard the rocks were and whether they were permeable or impermeable. Using pipettes to squirt water onto a range of interesting rocks was lots of fun! Did you know that sedimentary rocks are often soft and crumbly? We used the knowledge we learnt from our Science lessons to predict whether the rocks we were testing were igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary.

In our Maths lessons this week, we have been learning how to tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes. This is not always easy to grasp straight away so we have been practising lots! Children have concentrated brilliantly in lessons and any extra support at home on this would definitely help. We have also found out about Roman Numerals and we realised that we see them in many places, e.g. large clocks, watches and at the end of film credits!

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Hayward

6th May 2022

This week, we’ve enjoyed all of our exciting lessons and playing outside with our friends!

In English this week, we have been using time adverbials to sequence events in the texts we write. Our core text this half term, ‘Stone Girl, Bone Girl’ has helped us to find out about the life and times of Mary Anning. We have written our own letters from Mary which explains to a friend what ‘curiosities’ are and all about the different treasures she found.

In Art, we have been looking carefully at patterns found in nature. We have started looking carefully at seashells and we used our sketching pencils to carefully draw the outline and detailed patterns we could see. This week, we have also worked with our partners to design our own bunting ready to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. When it is all finished and put together, the bunting will be displayed in Quedgeley Library for everyone to see!

In Science, we have been learning about the formation of rocks and the difference between igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. We have tried to test 6 different rocks to find out whether they are permeable and how hard they are. This has helped us to find out which category each rock belongs to.

In Maths, we have learned all Roman Numerals from 1-12. Our Maths lessons are now focussing on the months of the year before we focus on telling the time to 5 minutes and 1 minute intervals. It would be really helpful if parents could encourage children to look at clocks and watches at home and to have a go at telling the time using both analogue and digital clocks.

Have a lovely weekend- I hope the sun will shine for us all!

Mrs Hayward

29th April 2022

We’ve had an amazing first week back and it is so lovely to welcome in the Summer Term! I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter break.

This week, we have started our new topics, including ‘Rocks and Soils’ in Science. Children loved being ‘Rock Detectives’ this week and used magnifying glasses to closely observe igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. After we had carefully sketched the rocks, children then selected interesting adjectives like, ‘crystalized, grainy and pitted’ when describing the rocks’ appearance and texture.

In our English lessons, we have been busy writing our own Haikus which are a special type of poem originating from Japan. The lines have needed to contain only 5 or 7 syllables so we have all been counting out the syllables on our fingers! Children have written some fantastic Haikus about the seasons of the year!

In RE this week, we have been thinking about our enquiry question: ‘What kind of world would Jesus want?’ We read the account of Jesus calling his first disciples and discussed what it means to be a ‘fisher of people.’

In Maths, we have been finding the fractions of a number and we have ended the week by adding fractions. Children are working so hard and are continuing to impress me when talking about numerators and denominators!

Homework and spellings have been given out again this week and it would be great if the folders could be back in by Tuesday.

Enjoy the Bank Holiday Weekend!

Mrs Hayward

8th April 2022

We’ve reached the end of the Spring Term and all children are embracing their lessons and enjoying new learning!

In Design and Technology this week, children have made their own ‘Healthy Wraps.’  We considered the importance of a balanced diet and this helped us to think carefully about our ingredients. Everyone enjoyed making the wraps and they carefully used a knife to chop vegetables. The best part was eating them and we enjoyed a ‘classroom picnic!’

In RE, we have been learning about Ramadan and how Muslims are currently taking part in their fasting. We all agreed that this must be extremely difficult as going without food would make us all incredibly hungry. Being able to understand why Muslims fast has been an important learning opportunity and all children have shown thoughtful responses to our class discussions.

In Geography, we have been finding out about Mount Snowdon and we created our own topic page to share our new learning. Children have enjoyed finding out about different mountains in the UK.

This week, children have also completed writing and Maths assessments and everyone has been trying so hard to use their learning powers. The Easter break will definitely help everyone recharge their batteries!

Have a lovely Easter holidays everyone.

Mrs Hayward

1st April 2022

Our week has been very busy and we loved welcoming all of our parents in to the classroom for the Maths Café.  Children loved being able to show off their times tables knowledge using a range of fun games on the iPads.

In Science this week, we have been finding out about the human skeleton. Children considered what they thought the skeleton looks like and completed an initial sketch without looking at any images or models. They then used a life size skeleton and websites to draw a new labelled diagram. The difference in these two drawings was phenomenal and I was so impressed with the amazing skeleton representations and how accurate they were!

In DT, we have started to plan our own healthy wraps. On Thursday, children enjoyed taste-testing a range of fillings including salami, spinach, cucumber, ham, lettuce, chicken and tomato. I was really impressed with the courage shown by everyone when trying new foods. Children will now produce their own plans and they will begin making their healthy wraps next week.

In Maths, we have moved onto learning how to add money and how to calculate change. We decided how important this was as we always need to check we have been given the correct change when out shopping! Using an empty number line method, children confidently subtracted amounts of money. Any extra practise at home will definitely help as money can sometimes be a little tricky to grasp.

Have a lovely weekend and hopefully we’ll all enjoy some warmer weather again next week!

Mrs Hayward

25th March 2022

We have loved the sunshine this week and it has made our playtimes even more enjoyable! It definitely feels like Spring has finally sprung!

In PE this week, Stef (our dance coach) came in to teach us all a really fun, energetic routine! All children were shaking their pretend maracas (and their hips) to the music. Year 3 were amazing and picked up the steps very quickly. They might even show you parts of the routine at home. If they do, you’re definitely in for a treat!

In Maths, we have worked hard to understand division and we have completed many challenges and calculations. Using bead strings has help us to understand what happens when we divide numbers. Keep practising your times tables and related division facts Year 3 as this all helps in our daily Maths lessons.

In Science, we are learning about keeping healthy and how we need to eat a balanced diet. We found out about different food groups. We now know that carbohydrates give us energy and that protein can help to repair our bodies. In the last 2 weeks of term, we will be linking this in with our DT lessons by designing and making our own healthy wraps.

Next Monday (28th March) will be our Maths café and parents are welcome into our classroom to find out about Maths in Year 3. If you can make it, we’d love to show you the amazing Maths we’ve been doing!

Have a lovely weekend and fingers crossed the sun will still be out for us all to enjoy!

Mrs Hayward

18th March 2022

In Year 3, we have enjoyed Science Week and the enthusiasm from all children has been wonderful to see! On Monday, we loved our visit from a STEM ambassador, Mr Allin, who worked with us to design and make paper boats which were water resistant. Using fans, we tested out the boats on water to see which boats were the fastest. On Wednesday, we enjoyed our Careers Fayre where we found out about a range of interesting STEM jobs from Midwives, Biomedical Scientists, Aerospace Engineers, Financial Advisors, Veterinary Nurses and Optometrists. Children all asked insightful questions and they loved absorbing a huge amount of fascinating information about the world of STEM. This Friday, we will enjoy a visit from an engineer from Dyson who will work with children to design and make bridges.

In addition to all of the Science activities going on, we have also shared some favourite books in our Year 3 reading café. We all chose our own cosy corners to share stories and it was so lovely to welcome parents in to our lovely library!

In English this week, children have loved exploring Narnia in our core text, ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.’  Children have continued to learn how to use speech marks accurately and they’ve written their own dialogues for the part of the story when Lucy and Mr Tumnus first meet.

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

Mrs Hayward

11th March 2022

We have had a very busy week in Year 3 and we’ve loved every minute!

On Thursday, we all participated in a ‘Multi-Sports Festival’ and we worked in teams to enjoy a range of events from bowling, relays, target throwing and hoop-shooting! Everyone had so much fun and all of the children continued to work hard throughout. In addition, the behaviour from everyone at Clearwater was exceptional and I felt very proud of my class and the values they embodied throughout the afternoon. Well done everyone!

In Science this week, we have enjoyed carrying out our ‘Balloon Rockets’ investigation. We tested 4 different types of track to find out which one would help the balloon to travel the furthest distance. We tested plastic, string, twine and a silk ribbon and children were excited to find out the results. We discovered that string was the best at helping the balloon travel the furthest distance. On the other hand, the balloon did not travel as far on the twine track. We discussed how there would have been more friction with the twine and this slowed down the speed of the balloon. Our photos this week show some of the excellent bar graphs children created to represent their results.

In English, we have started to look at our new core text, ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.’ Our next target is using speech marks when characters are talking. We enjoyed thinking about the characters in our core text: Lucy, Edmond, Peter and Susan. Using speech marks, we created our own dialogue when considering what the characters would say to each other when playing a game of Hide and Seek.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Mrs Hayward

4th March 2022

We have all enjoyed our first week back of term and our ‘World Book Day’ definitely inspired our love for reading! During the day, we participated in an author masterclass with Lauren Child where we found out what is involved in becoming an author. We loved exploring many poems written by Michael Rosen and ‘Chocolate Cake’ was definitely a favourite!

In the afternoon, we found out more about performing poetry and used this advice when performing our own poems written by Pie Corbett. We also found our own ‘cosy corners’ in the classroom where we could delve into a book and enjoy being taken to new and extraordinary realms! Well done children for all making the effort to dress in your pyjamas- you looked fantastic and luckily you managed to stay awake all day!

In RE this week, we have started to focus on Islam and how festivals and worship are important to Muslims.  We considered what it is like to be Muslim and how praying 5 times is part of a daily routine. Children learned the meaning of key words in this unit, e.g. Allah and mosque.

Every morning this week has been packed full with new learning in Maths and English. In our Maths lessons, we have practised multiplying any 2-digit number by 10. We considered our knowledge of place value and how each digit moves one place to the left when multiplying by 10. In English, we have used subordinating conjunctions when writing a letter based on the characters in our Edward Tulane class novel.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hayward

11th February 2022

This week, we have been programming experts thanks to the ‘Coding Masterclass’ sessions we have participated in. Children loved following their own Minecraft coding instructions and they then went onto creating their own arcade game. Many children chose to follow the instructions to create their own ‘Chase the Pizza’ game. Here is an example of one of the games we made and you just need to use the arrow keys on your keypad to have a go playing it yourself: https://makecode.com/_59iFa847vP30

We have also focused on ‘Internet Safety’ this week and we discussed what to do if you accidentally stumbled across something scary online. We made our own ‘Internet Traffic Lights’ posters and considered how some websites were safe (green), some you needed to be careful with (amber), although there were some which needed avoiding (red). All the children were very sensible and suggested brilliant ways to stay safe when playing online.

In RE, we have been learning about the story of Abraham and how he had faith in God. We explored what it means to have faith and thought about why this would be important for Abraham in the story.

During our Science lessons, we set up our own enquiry. We wanted to explore ways to test the strength of different magnets. When working in groups, we decided how to carry out our experiments and which materials were needed. We then considered how to ensure a fair test has been carried out before having fun with the testing part! What’s not to love when it comes to experimenting with magnets?

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Ms Hayward

4th February 2022

We’ve had a wonderful week and all children have been showing our school values throughout their lessons and during playtimes. In particular, we have focused on the value of ‘Community’ and how the special groups we belong to can shape our lives.

Our Science lessons this week have created a real buzz of energy and enthusiasm! We have been looking at different poles on magnets and finding out how they can attract or repel. We found out that opposites attract and tested this theory using horseshoe magnets, button magnets and bar magnets. In addition, we used magnets to investigate metals and identify that they are not always magnetic. Our vocabulary store is extending all the time and we LOVE our Science lessons!

In History this week, when focusing on the Shang Dynasty, we have found out about Fu Hao and how she led her own military. We were surprised to find out about the contents of her tomb which included many interesting items, such as jade, bronze, pottery and the bones of 16 slaves! We thought of our own Historical questions to find out more information and can’t wait to complete further research next week!

In our English lessons, we have worked hard to use subordinating conjunctions. We have been retelling the sequence of events in our core text, ‘The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.” Everyone is really enjoying this story and it has definitely inspired us when using the text as a stimulus for our writing.

Have a lovely, relaxing weekend.

Mrs Hayward

28th January 2022

We have enjoyed an exciting week in Year 3 which has included our annual, ‘Wheelie Day!’  Throughout the day, children have been learning about ways to keep safe on our bikes and we have been finding out about the ‘Green Cross Code!’ During the afternoon, children loved riding their bikes and scooters around the MUGA. We discussed how helmets keep us safe and how we need to watch out for others while focussing on our steering!

In Art this week, we have been learning about Cubism and how the artist Picasso would use this style when creating his own masterpieces. In Year 3, we have been creating our own abstract portraits by looking at many angles and by using bright, interesting colours!

In PE this week, we have enjoyed taking part in mini competitive games. We all worked well to improve our control and accuracy during these sessions.

In our RE sessions, we have been finding out about the promise Christians make to each other during a wedding. We made connections with this promise and the covenant between God and Noah. Children enjoyed finding out about the traditions that take place during a wedding and several children enjoyed talking about their own experience of attending a Christian wedding.

It has been so lovely to enjoy some sunshine this week – we hope it continues to shine for you all this weekend. To all children who are currently unwell and isolating, get well soon and we’re looking forward to having you back with us next week.

Mrs Hayward

 

21st January 2022

We have loved squeezing in a huge amount of new learning this week and the days have absolutely flown by!

In Maths, we have been working hard to find equivalent fractions and we have recently moved onto learning how to use written methods for addition. We have thought carefully about how an ‘exchange’ takes place and we always enjoy spotting Coco or Colin’s mistake and explaining what has been misunderstood. As always, mistakes in class are celebrated – especially when learning something new. Our purple polishing pens are being used regularly and our mathematical understanding is accelerating!

In Music this week, we have loved trying out our new glockenspiels. We have been listening to music in class and have worked well with our partners to follow the notation given on the whiteboard. High levels of concentration were seen on children’s faces and the tinkling of bars flowed through the classroom!

During computing this week, we have used an app called ‘iMotion’ to make our own animations. Children worked brilliantly with their partners to take a series of photos of their sketches. These were then put together using the app in a way that resembled a flipbook. The results were amazing and everyone loved seeing their final animations on the big screen!

In Art, we are beginning to look at the artist Picasso and the style he is famous for creating- cubism. Children enjoyed creating their own self-portraits in true ‘Picasso’ form. The unique angles and bright colours do look fabulous in our sketch books and as always, children have loved being creative!

Next week is ‘Road Safety Week’ and our Wheelie Day is on Thursday. Please remember to bring in your helmet and a bike or scooter.

Have a lovely, relaxing weekend.

Mrs Hayward

14th January 2022

Children have come back into school this year with the most fantastic attitudes! Everyone’s behaviour has been excellent and the enthusiasm for learning has been wonderful to see – well done to everyone in Year 3!

In English, we have been writing our own kennings which are poems similar to riddles. We had lots of fun reading through the clues to guess who or what was being described. Children loved writing their own too! We have now moved onto this term’s core text, ‘The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.’ Children have loved reading about Edward (a 3-foot toy rabbit) who experiences the most extraordinary journey! This week, we have used our new target (using a range of nouns and pronouns) to write a character description for Edward Tulane. Children have been working exceptionally hard with their handwriting and this term, consistently neat, well presented handwriting will be rewarded with the use of a pen in all lessons!

In Science, we have moved onto our new unit: Forces and Magnets. Initially, we have collected our ideas on what we already know about magnets and how we think they work. We loved having a ‘play’ and exploring with the magnets children have brought in from home. Thank you, children for bringing these in! We can’t wait to find out how magnets are used in the Science involved. Some children just thought it was magic that made the magnets ‘stick’ together!

In PE this week, we have started to learn the skills involved in Hockey. We have worked well to hold the hockey stick correctly whilst improving our accuracy when passing the ball to our partner.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hayward

17th December 2021

We have had a lovely, festive week and we’re all so excited about Christmas! On Wednesday, we enjoyed a Christmas dinner and on Thursday, we all had fun at our Christmas party. Many thanks to the PTA for providing so many fun games for us to enjoy!

This week, we finished our DT project and made a box which our class elf ‘Elfie’ can use to transport biscuits to Father Christmas. We decided the box needed to be ‘strong, sturdy, safe and secure.’  On Friday morning, we all had such a lovely surprise as Elfie had placed candy canes, chocolate coins and chocolate lollies into all of our boxes! He thought they were all amazing and it was his way to say thank you for the boxes!

In Science, we dissected flowers and identified all the specific parts, e.g. anther, filament and stigma. Children really enjoyed this and it helped them to understand how a seed is formed and how fertilisation in a plant happens.

Children have worked very hard all term and I am extremely proud of everyone in Year 3! Have a VERY Merry Christmas and I am looking forward to seeing you all in the new year!

Mrs Hayward

10th December 2021

In Year 3, we are beginning to feel ‘Christmassy’ and thoroughly enjoyed singing our Christmas carols to all of our parents this week in our very first KS2 Carol Concert. I am so proud of how well all children performed and I’m sure you’ll agree the singing was fantastic!

We started our DT unit this week on ‘Shell Structures.’ To develop our understanding on different structures, we explored food packages and opened up several boxes to discover the nets. Thank you parents for bringing in the food packages from home to help us with this. We have also started to use a net to form a cube and have considered how scoring can help when constructing our own shell structure. Next week, we will begin to plan, design and evaluate our own shell structure which can be used by our class elf to send biscuits to Father Christmas!

In our writing lessons, we have continued to work on using a range of punctuation in our sentences. We applied this skill when writing our own character description of Edgar the Dragon. Towards the end of this week, we will start our ‘Big Write’ and children have all made such a lot of fantastic progress since the beginning of Year 3.

We still have lots to fit in during the last week of term and this will include a Christmas party. More details of this will be given to you by the end of this week.

Have a lovely, festive weekend.

Mrs Hayward

3rd December 2021

Well, this week has certainly been colder for us all at Clearwater but there has been a real buzz of energy and enthusiasm in Year 3 as we are fine tuning our Christmas Carols ready for the KS2 carol concert. We can’t wait for you to see it! Thank you, parents for your support when helping children to learn their lines.

In English this week, we have started to work towards our new target: T6- using capital letters, full stops, exclamation marks and question marks. We have enjoyed writing our own sentences related to the film clip ‘The Long Journey,’ which tells the story of a snowman experiencing a difficult expedition so that he could find the perfect present to give to the snow-lady! We’re all beginning to feel Christmassy in Year 3!

In Science, we have followed up our learning of the ‘life-cycle of a plant’ by researching seed dispersal. Children thought carefully about different seeds, e.g. acorns and coconuts and decided whether they would be transported by the wind, animals, water or another method. We loved finding out about exploding plants which shoot seeds out into the wild! There were plenty of giggles to be heard when we discussed how birds digesting seeds and then going to the toilet can actually create a new plant! After children made their own predictions, they used internet to check and we discussed how the adaptation of the seed suited each method of dispersal.

In PE, we braved the chilly weather and enjoyed practising our netball skills. Running around in the MUGA definitely helped us to warm up and we worked well in our teams to improve our throwing and catching skills.

In RE, we have been learning about the Jewish festival of Passover. Children were intrigued to find out about the story of Exodus and the ten deadly plagues which God sent in a bid to free the Jews from slavery. Children thought carefully about what the Jews were celebrating during Passover and how they celebrated together with their families.

We still need food packaging please for next Monday’s DT project. Please bring in any empty food packages which resemble 3D shapes, e.g. cereal box (cuboid) and Pringles tube (cylinder).

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Hayward

26th November 2021

We’ve had a busy week in Year 3 and it has been lovely for all of us to start practising our Christmas carols.  Next week, we will begin putting together our KS2 carols along with the readings and we’re looking forward to assembling a fantastic performance ready for all of our parents.

In Science this week, we have been learning about the life cycle of a plant and children have worked well to use a range of new vocabulary, e.g. pollination, germination and fertilization. We have enjoyed finding out about seed dispersal and how an animal’s droppings can be the cause of a new plant growing!

In Art, we have used paint to finish our ‘pointillism’ designs and everyone is very pleased with their results! Painting in the style of George Seurat has required lots of patience and concentration but the results show that the hard work has definitely paid off!

In RE, we have found out about the Jewish festival of Passover and the story of Exodus. We used drama techniques to consider the viewpoints of Moses and the Pharaoh.

Children have spellings to learn this week and they have also been given their words for the KS2 carol concert to practise over the weekend. Please support children to learn these without looking at them and to focus on projecting their voice- ready for our performance.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Hayward

19th November 2021

This week we have been focussing on ‘anti-bullying week’ and how we can show kindness to others.  The theme this year involved children having the courage to say one kind word to another child or adult. We talked about the power of small changes and the big impact this can have on another child’s happiness. Kind words and compliments have been given out in abundance and I am so proud to observe many kind actions and behaviours. Well done Year 3!

In English this week, we have moved onto our new target which is to use expanded noun phrases to add detail to our descriptions. We have used the storm setting in the Mousehole Cat as inspiration for our writing. Children have been describing the sights and sounds of a storm at sea using excellent vocabulary within an expanded noun phrase.

In Art, we have been learning about the artist George Seurat and how he used the technique, ‘pointillism.’ This week, children used paint to carefully add colour to a picture when using this technique. Cotton wool buds dipped into paints helped children to apply this effect and they had great fun creating their own bird paintings in this style.

In Maths we have been using different mental methods to add using three –digit numbers. We considered using number lines, number facts and jottings to help us to develop these mental skills. Some children this week had the opportunity to become a ‘teacher’ and use the whiteboard to explain this method to the rest of the class. They did this brilliantly and worked well to articulate their learning!

In Science this week, we have been finding out about the effects of photosynthesis. We found out that leaves are vital for photosynthesis to take place and we started a whole-class experiment using two plants. One of the plants had all of its leaves but we cut the leaves away from the other plant. Many children predicted that the plant which was stripped of its leaves would not grow as well due to the fact that it would no longer be able to make its own food.

Mrs Hayward

12th November 2021

This week, we have considered the role of a School Councillor in our PSHE lessons and children had the opportunity to apply for this exciting role. All children voted and we now have 2 new School Council members in Year 3! This week, our newest members of the school council participated in their first event which involved taking part in a Remembrance Service held in Tesco. Our previous school council representatives had the opportunity to visit St James Church for another Remembrance Service where they laid a poppy wreath to show their respect.

Year 3 have been working hard to learn multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 times tables this week. Some catchy songs may have helped along the way! We will continue to practise these times tables throughout the year. Please help children to practise these tables at home.

In Geography, we have been finding out about the United Kingdom and the capital cities of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.  Children have started to become familiar with an atlas and can use them to help with map work.

In our writing lessons, we have continued to focus on using apostrophes to show possession. We used this skill when writing a character description on Mowzer. Children worked well to write an interesting description of the intelligent cat and they have loved exploring our core text in more detail.

In RE, we have considered Judaism and have found out about some of the festivals: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In Science, we are looking at the process of photosynthesis in more detail. During our Art lessons, we have started to create our own representations of the technique pointillism.

Another week crammed to the brim with exciting learning opportunities!

Enjoy the weekend.

Mrs Hayward

5th November 2021

We have loved finding out lots of new interesting facts already this term and children in Year 3 are becoming more and more excited about their learning!

In Collective Worship this week, we have been finding out about COP 26 and how we can show responsibility for the beautiful planet we live on.  Children have also enjoyed learning about Greta Thunberg during our ‘Whole Class Reading’ sessions. There has been fantastic discussions and interesting ideas shared on what we can all do to make a small difference which can lead to a positive change!

In English lessons, we have started to enjoy our new core text ‘The Mousehole Cat.’  Children have been focussing on using apostrophes to show possession and they have practised this skill when writing their own ending for our new story.  There have been lots of creative ideas but luckily all children decided on their own ‘happily ever afters’ for Mowzer the cat and Old Fisherman Tom.

In Maths, we have started to build the 3 and 4 times tables.  Children have loved challenging themselves to learn the multiplication and related division facts. Remember, we still have ‘Times Tables Rockstars’ to help you to practise at home children. I’ll give out the usernames and passwords again in case anyone has lost theirs but they will be the same as last years.

We loved practising our dribbling skills in PE and children have enjoyed working in team games to refine their basketball skills. Some children aren’t so sure about the colour of our basketballs but they have realised that bright pink basketballs will be easy to spot on a dark winter afternoon!

In Geography, we are learning about our local area and the county of Gloucestershire. Children worked well in pairs to ask their own Geographical questions and this has sparked lots of interest! We loved looking at Google Earth and finding out that you can zoom in so closely!

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the fireworks.

Mrs Hayward

22nd October 2021

What a busy week we’ve had in Year 3!

In English lessons this week, we have been working very hard to produce our ‘Big Write.’  We are writing instructions on how to make a cave painting and our focus is on using all of the class targets we have been working since starting Year 3.

Before writing these instructions, we made our own cave paintings during Art lesson.  Children practised drawing their designs first and the sketched them onto tea-bag stained paper to make it look very old! There were some fantastic designs and children only used the same colours as they would during the Stone Age.

We have thoroughly enjoyed finding out about the Stone Age and in History this week, we researched Skara Brae which is one of Britain’s most fascinating prehistoric villages.  We used the internet and watched a video clip to find out more about this stone-built Neolithic settlement in Scotland. On Friday, we will use our English targets to write a non-fiction text about Skara Brae.

In Science, we have been investigating water transportation. Year 3 thought carefully about asking a Scientific question and decided to ask, ‘What do we think will happen to the carnations if we change the temperature they are in but keep the amount of water and food colouring the same?’ In our experiment, we placed some carnation into a jug of water with blue and red food colouring. We wanted to find out whether the xylem (tiny tubes inside the stem) could suck up the coloured water and transport it to the flowers and leaves.  We found out that in a warmer temperature, water transportation could happen quickly because it helped the xylem to become more active. Children loved observing the flowers and leaves turn bright blue!

Have a lovely half-term everyone and we will look forward to seeing you in November!

15th October 2021

In Year 3, we had an exciting start to our week when we delivered presentations to Mr Richard Graham who is the MP for Gloucester. Children worked in pairs or small groups to present information about our school values and they all did brilliantly! Our school governors and Mrs Moss came along to watch the presentations too and everyone was impressed with how well the children could articulate their understanding of the school values – well done everyone!

On Monday afternoon, we enjoyed a visit from Mrs Stennett, who we will now work alongside since becoming involved with the GSSN (Gloucester Schools Sport Network). She delivered an energetic and fast paced session on the fundamentals of PE which focuses on the core skills we need to utilise in all sports. Children showed enthusiasm in this session and they definitely enjoyed a thorough work out!

In Science, we worked together to classify vegetables into the parts of the plants we eat. Who knew that sweetcorn and peas are seeds of a plant? We enjoyed picking out a vegetable and deciding whether it comes from a seed, roots, leaf, stem, flower or fruit. Our plants investigation is still ongoing and children enjoy being selected to water our plants every day!

We are beginning to write instructions in English and children are currently writing out a set of instructions for ‘How To Wash A Woolly Mammoth.’ After listening to a story demonstrating the steps needed to wash a Woolly Mammoth, children then considered writing their own version into a set of clear, detailed instructions.

We have been so busy this week but children are really enthusiastic and motivated to learn! I am looking forward to speaking to all parents next week during our parents evening appointments.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hayward

8th October 2021

We hope you enjoyed our poem ‘It’s Harvest Time,’ which we performed at the Church for our Harvest Festival.  Well done all children for working hard to practise the words and remember all of the actions!

This week we have enjoyed working on our new writing target: using a range of co-ordinating conjunctions to link the ideas in our sentences.  We applied this target when writing a diary entry from Om, who is a character from our class text, ‘The Stone Age Boy.’

In Science, we have set up our new ‘plants’ experiment and will carefully monitor the results.  Watch this space!  Next week, we will look at different fruits and vegetables whilst considering the parts of a plant we eat. For next Monday, please bring in a fruit or vegetable for children to use for a sorting activity.

In RE, we have started to look at the story of Adam and Eve which is called, ‘The Fall.’ Children have thought carefully about retelling the story in the form of a story board.  We will begin to consider what this story means for Christians and how we understand how to say sorry to God and ask for forgiveness.

In History, we have been studying different Stone Age Homes.  We found out how wattle and daub was used to construct the walls and we couldn’t believe this consisted of animal manure!

This week, we have also started to prepare a presentation on the school values.  Our MP, Mr Richard Graham, will visit Clearwater on Monday and we will share our presentations with him. I’m so impressed with how well children know all of our school values: respect, responsibility, joy, community, courage and compassion.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Hayward

1st October 2021

Well, it’s definitely starting to look like Autumn now with rainy lunchtimes and colder playtimes.  Luckily, we haven’t let the miserable weather dampen our moods in Year 3 and we’re continuing to enjoy our lessons and all the new learning involved!

This week, children have enjoyed finding out more about the Stone Age. In English lessons, we have focussed on the text ‘Stone Age Boy,’ which has helped to give us an insight into what life was like in the Stone Age.  Children have used their senses to write a description of a ‘Stone Age’ setting while remembering to include our second writing target- using commas in a list.

In Art lessons, children have been refining their drawing skills when carefully sketching a woolly mammoth.  We completed 2 different drawings: one initial sketch looking at a picture and then a second drawing using a step-by-step video guide.  Children were very proud of their attempts and we discussed the differences in both approaches.

In Science this week, we focused on planning our plants investigation.  We are working in our own ‘teams’ to investigate the effects of water, air, light and soil on the growth of a plant.  Our Science vocabulary is being extended all the time and some children have successfully used the words ‘photosynthesis’ and ‘germination.’

In PSHE, we have been considering what risks are and the difference between positive risks and negative risks.  Children thought of their own real-life examples of risks they’ve had to take and the pressure they can feel when making a difficult decision!

We are working hard to rehearse and perform our Harvest poem ready for the Harvest Festival at Quedgeley Church next Friday.  It would be great if you could help children go back over these words so they know them all off by heart ready for the Harvest Festival.  Thank you for your support with this.

Enjoy the weekend!

Mrs Hayward

24th September 2021

We have enjoyed lots of new learning this week and it has been wonderful to see the class using the school values every day. In particular, we have focused on the value of ‘Respect’ and children considered ways to show respect at home and at school. I would love to hear whether children have been showing the value of respect with you at home – please let us know!

In English this week, we are practising our punctuation and our new target is to use commas in a list.  Children have been writing a character description of Abdul Kazam (the magician from ‘Leon and the Place Between’) and they are remembering to use commas when listing everything he was wearing and even everything he had tucked up his sleeve!

In Maths, we are counting up and down in steps of 10 and steps of 100.  Children have been working so hard to use the Mathematical vocabulary when describing what happens to the digits in each number. Many learning power trophies have been awarded, especially the ‘work as a team’ trophy for fantastic partner work.

In the afternoons, we have enjoyed participating in a range of interesting lessons.  In RE, we are finding out about God’s wonderful creations- particularly trees and how important they are.  In History, we have been putting dates into order when making our own timelines!  Our French lessons and always exciting and Year 3 can now count to 10 in French! Tres bien!

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Hayward

17th September 2021

Our second week in Year 3 and we’re just getting into the swing of life in the juniors!

We have loved exploring Leon and the Place Between in Literacy and we enjoyed retelling the story from one of the character’s perspectives. Everyone is working hard to meet out first writing target and we will soon move onto a new focus to keep everyone on their toes!

In our Maths lessons, we have been learning how to read and write three digit numbers. We discussed how 0 can be used as a place holder and enjoyed explaining ‘Colin the Caribous’ mistakes! He does need things explaining to him quite a lot!

This week in Science, we have thought carefully about the functions of each part of a plant and we used the iPads to research this information. In RE, we discussed the importance of God’s world and how we can look after the planet.

This Friday, we will look forward to a visit from the ‘Dogs Trust’ and we will find out about ways to be safe around dogs. This should be an interesting afternoon and it will definitely help any children who find dogs scary when they are out and about.

It was so lovely to welcome many of you into the school this week for our ‘Meet the Teacher’ session. I hope you enjoyed the tour and now you’ll be able to visualise everything the children have been trying to explain to you about our wonderful classrooms and school environment.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Hayward

10th September 2021

A very warm welcome to all pupils and parents to Year 3 and life in the juniors!

It has been so lovely to see all the children back to school and enjoying playing together in the beautiful sunshine! On Thursday, it was our day to enjoy our new ‘trim trail’ and everyone agreed that it definitely was worth the wait!

There has also been such a lot of learning this week already and I have been very impressed with the fantastic attitudes and learning behaviours of all children.  I can’t wait to see your achievements this year!

In our writing sessions, we have started to use ‘a’ or ‘an’ correctly; we have been using our core text which is called Leon and the Place Between.  Children have been writing their own descriptions of carousels and whether there was a monkey or an monkey! Hopefully, the children will be able to tell you!

In Maths, we have been focussing on Place Value and discovering how to partition 3-digit numbers. In Science, we are finding out more about plants and how they grow.  We have also started our new History topic on the Stone Age. This week, we worked in groups to find out information about the Stone Age and we asked relevant questions to support us with our learning. We created a group poster to display this information and children enjoyed working in their teams!

In Year 3, our PE days are Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Please make sure that PE kits are in school all week. Also, can all children please bring in a drinks bottle which is clearly labelled.  As we are a Healthy School, children are encouraged to bring in fruit for snack time if they would like to.

If you haven’t seen already, we have a ‘Meet the Teacher’ gathering next Thursday at 3.15 if you can make it.  It would be lovely to see you and I’m looking forward to giving you all a tour of the school too!

If you have any questions at all, please come and find me either before or after school.  Alternatively, you can send me a message of Class Dojo.

Looking forward to working with you all to support your child’s learning in Year 3.  Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hayward