Dear Parents and Children,

Welcome to Term 3 and our new experience: I Want My Mummy!  For the next five weeks we are exploring the ancient civilisation of Egypt including a trip to the British History Museum. Throughout the experience the children will meet key icons from the period and experience the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. They will explore shape when making pyramids and simulate the mummification process, alongside designing their own sarcophagus. Over the course of the term the children will also complete The Great Egyptian Marathon running a mile a day!

As Mrs Martin embarks on a new role within the school, we would like to take this opportunity to welcome Mrs McGee to the year 3 and 4 team who will be teaching in Cherry class Tuesday and Wednesday mornings until the end of the academic year.

The Library and Reading

Our library is open and staffed by wonderful volunteer parents every afternoon after school.  Please make the most of the opportunity to browse our extensive range of books. On a Thursday after school ‘Story Time’ is run in the library by Mrs Couper, giving the children another opportunity to enjoy good quality texts.  In addition to this, you can come in and help your child complete their MyMaths homework tasks on a laptop.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the Library after school on Thursday 17^th January til Monday 22^nd January so save some of your Christmas money to buy a new book from an excellent range of up to date titles.  The school really benefits from this fair as we earn commission and are able to spend it on new Guided Reading books.  There are some prize book vouchers to be won; Mrs Martin will tell you about the competitions in the New Year.

Advance Warning: BOOK WEEK will happen early in term 4 so start planning your costume for dressing up as your favourite book character.  We are planning lots of exciting activities, competitions and opportunities for this week; if you have any ideas yourself please tell Mrs Martin.

Most of you are all doing really well on Accelerated Reader – reading lots of challenging books and scoring 80+% on the quizzes.  If you know you haven’t built up many points, why not make it your New Year’s Resolution to read for at least 15 minutes every evening? 

PE Kit

It is essential that children have a full P.E. kit in school at all times for our timetabled P.E. sessions and any impromptu sessions we are lucky enough to add in.  Please ensure that your child has trainers in their P.E. Kit and not plimsolls as these do not provide any grip when running on the hardcourt and get wet easily if the meadow is damp. Children need to be responsible, not just for having the kit in school, but also for putting it away after sessions and knowing where it is at all times.  If a child does not have a P.E. kit, they will still have to come outside to the lesson and contribute to the learning and assessment of others skills.  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 if they struggle please ensure it is done before they arrive to school that morning. Year 3 and 4 will have P.E. on a Wednesday and Thursday as well as running a mile a day for The Great Egyptian Marathon.  

Outdoor Learning

Despite January being cold, we hope to have lots of regular opportunities for outdoor learning on top of P.E. so please make sure your children have suitable footwear and waterproof jackets in school every day.  Many children are still coming to school without coats!

Homework

Please help your child to continue to be organised with things they need to bring in everyday: the yellow reading cards, blue spelling books and red times tables books should be taken home every night and returned to school every morning.  Times tables books go home so that you can support your child in their learning of the next times table and you can  see their progress in weekly tests.  Some children may be learning the times tables with their teacher instead of being tested; they will obviously have less tests in their books but you will still be able to see their progress.  Spellings are tested on Wednesdays, when new words are also stuck in to the front of the blue books; you can see progress in the spelling tests at the back of the books.

Year 3 and 4 Stars

Congratulations to all our stars from last term; at times it was very difficult to choose just one star when so many children are working so hard and shining every day.  We are excited to see who our new stars will be this term. A massive congratulations to Evie Knight and Jake Spencer on becoming year 3 and 4’s Star of the Terms.

Important Dates for Year 3/4 in Term 3

Please find below some very important dates for Year 3 and 4 during Term 3:

22^nd January 2018 – British History Museum Trip

26^th January 2018 – Own clothes day for RNLI

2^nd February 2018 – Year 3 cake sale

Many thanks,

Mrs Martin, Miss Wood and Mr Wellstead