Welcome to Term 1 and 2 2022 - 2023 Years 3 and 4

Dear Parents, Carers and Children,

Welcome to Term 1 at Borough Green Primary School.  

We are so excited to share our Term 1 plans for Year 3 and 4 with you.  We are looking forward to what is going to be another exciting year. 

The Curriculum in Term 1

Our first experience this year is ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. This experience will run throughout Term 1 and will focus on aspects of Art, ICT, Science, RE and Geography. 

This experience will enable the children to discover the world’s biomes: aquatic, desert, forest (temperate and rainforest), grassland and tundra.  The children will compare the biomes and investigate the physical features, animals, vegetation and climate.  Our science learning will focus on living things and their habitats (where children will learn how living things are classified) and will take a detailed look at the functions and life cycle of flowering plants.  The children will spend time creating sketches and prints of plants. They will design and present their own video about one of the biomes. 

You will shortly receive a copy of the Medium Term Plan and Knowledge Organiser for the experience by email.  Please do read these and discuss them with your child both before and during the experience.  The Knowledge Organiser contains the key knowledge and vocabulary we expect children to know by the end of the experience and in school we refer to this regularly during and after the experience to assess what children know and can retain.

Parental involvement: homework, reading and times tables

We will be sending home reading records each day, along with your child’s reading book.  These are to be brought into class each day.  We will continue to use the reading records from last year, so please send this in with your child if it is not already in school. 

Homework

At the start of each term we will send home some tasks relating to our experience to be completed at home.  Children should complete one task each week (in Term 1 we will start in Week 2).  The tasks are designed to be easily completed at home and nothing needs to be handed in.  However, the tasks will be used to support learning and discussion in class during the following week so it is important that they are completed during the correct week.

In the reading record, you will also find a list of the words all children are expected to spell correctly by the end of Year 4.  Regular practice of small groups of words at home will help children to retain their knowledge of the key spellings and will reinforce our spelling lessons at school.

Reading at home

It would be much appreciated if you could spend at least 15 minutes listening to your child read every day.Reading aloud is a vital skill and builds their confidence, fluency and extends their vocabulary.  We are continuing to use Accelerated Reader, which gives your child the opportunity to read books at an appropriate level. Children then complete a quiz on that book before they can choose a new one from our library. Please sign your child’s reading record each time your child has read at home, for which they will be awarded one house point.  Please also write in any new vocabulary.  We will then ask children to explain the vocabulary and award a house point each time they are successful.

Times tables 

We will be sending home a Times Tables Rock Stars username and password for each child. This is a fantastic website that the children can use to play games and earn points which in turn, reinforces and consolidates their knowledge of the times tables. Please encourage your child to use this regularly so that they continue to develop and feel secure with their times tables, to support the work we will do with them in school.  Year 4 children will be taking the statutory Multiplication Tables Check in Term 6 and it is expected that most children will know their times tables up to 12 times by this point.  We will be running a TT Rockstars workshop for parents in Years 3 and 4 and further information will be sent in due course. 

Arrival at school, equipment and Uniform

All children in Years 3 and 4 should enter by the door from the nursery playground.  An adult will be on duty to welcome them in between 8.40 and 8.50 each day, when the register will be taken and lessons begin.  In the afternoon, Sycamore and Poplar Class will leave from the nursery playground door.  Cherry Class leaves from the middle door opposite the car park (to the left of the main entrance).  

All equipment that your child needs in Year 3 and 4 is provided by the school, which means that pencil cases are not needed in school.  Children will be allocated their own locker, so any bags must fits into their locker. Large backpacks are not appropriate. 

Please note that children should not bring toys or fidgets to school unless prior agreement is obtained from Mrs Pilfold, our Inclusion Manager.  

Uniform

Uniform promotes a sense of belonging and equality. We expect our children to demonstrate pride in their appearance and respect for the school uniform. Please ensure your child is in correct uniform at all times.

Children should be well- presented and their white shirt/polo shirt must be tucked in at all times.  Children must wear sensible black shoes to school, NOT TRAINERS or BOOTS. 

Makeup and nail varnish are not permitted. Excessive hair accessories or extreme hair styles or colour are also not permitted.  No jewellery except for one, small, stud earring allowed in each ear.  Analogue watches are encouraged but SMART watches are not allowed.

Many items are available from the school office. To order uniform please click on the link https://www.brigade.uk.com/parents/  or visit the uniform section on our website. 

The Parent and Teachers’ Association also runs an excellent second-hand uniform shop on site.

PE kit

This term, we have indoor PE on a Thursday. Please ensure that your child comes into school wearing their PE kit on this day. If a child is unable to join in with the P.E lessons due to injury they should still come in their full P.E. kit as they will contribute to the learning and assessment of skills covered.  Pupils with long hair should have their hair tied back at all times and earrings must be taken out or protected with tape during P.E. lessons. Teachers are not allowed to take earrings out for children so please ensure it is done before they arrive at school that morning. 

Swimming

We are pleased to let you know that Year 3 and 4 will be swimming in Term 1. Swimming days will be Tuesday and Friday.  You will be notified on which day your child is swimming before sessions start in Week 2.  Your child will need their swimming kit, swimming hat, towel and goggles (if they use them) on their allocated day. 

Outdoor Learning

We hope to have lots of opportunities for outdoor learning so please make sure your children have suitable footwear and waterproof jackets in school every day. This really is essential as we move into the winter months.  Please send a named pair of wellington boots, old trainers or boots into school with your child. These can be left at and stored in school so that they are to hand should we need them on a wet day! Children in Year 3 will also be taking part in Forest School sessions during Term 1 or 2.

Other information and key dates
 

24^th September           Meadowfest, our very own festival is taking place on the school meadow and promises to be a fantastic event.  For tickets and further information, see a member of the PTA or the posters around the school.

26^th September           European Day of Languages

18^th October               Romans workshop at Kent Life to kick off our Term 2 experience, ‘Invaders!’  Further information will be sent over the next few weeks.

Information about healthy lunchboxes is included below.

Many thanks,

Mrs Bowers, Mrs Gordon, Miss Phillips and Mr Wheatley