Fitness Week

Year 3 have really thrown themselves in to fitness week and shown some real enthusiasm and sportsmanship. They really enjoyed sports day and although we didn't have the same audience, they certainly made up for it with the loud and encouraging cheers!

Below are some photos of us taking part in a fitness challenge and us making our chapatis and cucumber raita. If you fancy making some at home, you can find the recipe below. Everybody who tried them said they were delicious!

We did it!!!

Amethyst Class are the new champions of Spelling Shed!

I can not describe the excitement that occurred when we were announced as this week's Spelling Shed winners with what Miss Carter thinks is the highest score to date!

The children have had the opportunity to do some games in class on the Chrome Books, but the majority of effort has been at home.

The class have put in an incredible effort and have really shown a mature, responsible approach to their own learning by doing extra at home this week.

I am so proud...and slightly hard of hearing now after the screams of excitement!

Please feast your eyes upon our magnificent trophy!

A huge well done Amethyst...now we just need to keep hold of it!

Miss Newns

Ashdown Alternative!

Although it was indeed disappointing to find out we were not going to The Ashdown Forest today (particularly for Miss Newns who was already at school dressed for the occasion!) we did have a lovely morning on a local walk. Miss Newns started off our walk by going in the wrong direction before she had even left the school building! So we let Mrs Adams lead the way through beautiful Dormansland.

We used our sense of sight and hearing to find natural things around us on an alphabet scavenger hunt. You can see some of the wonderful flora and fauna we saw from our pictures.

This afternoon we plan on doing some nature based art too! More pictures hopefully to follow.

Thank you to parents for being so flexible this morning and getting the children to school with the short notice.

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Newns

Innovation of Medicine

We reflected today on how medicine has developed, particularly over the last year with the incredible efforts of the scientists who developed the Covid vaccine.

We discussed where germs and bacteria grow and how to stay healthy and safe.

Finally, we split in to groups and used a swab to collect samples from around classroom. We then put them in to a solution called Agar and placed them in the cupboard to see what happens. We will observe them later today and also next week and report our findings.

The children have had a fantastic week exploring the theme of innovation and have really impressed me with the scientific knowledge. They have asked really inquisitive questions to further understand what they have learnt and have made connections/links to the real world.

A big thank you to Ms Cooke for organising an inspiring week!

The children will be bringing home a science booklet with the experiments we have completed but there are others in there too for you to explore at home!

Innovation of Transport

Today we looked at how hovercrafts worked and how air can power things.

We made detailed predictions about what would happen when a balloon was attached to a sports cap on a CD. We explained how we thought the CD might move and then carried out the experiment to test our theory. We had great fun blowing up (and popping!) our balloons and watching them scoot across the table.

Finally, we thought about friction and how this can impact the movement of an object.

Innovation of Communication

I have been blown away already by the creative, scientific thinking from Amethyst class! Whilst discussing the concept of 'sound' and how we hear, the class shared various pieces of scientific knowledge and began to ask extremely thoughtful questions to further their understanding. As a result, we had to rush outside to do an ad hoc experiment to test a theory!

We then used our new knowledge to make a prediction and carry out an experiment. Ask us about our cup phones!

STEM Week!

STEM Week has started off with a bang (or rather a crackle!) as we took part in a session with Professor Chris from Bubbleworks Science.

The theme of this year's STEM Week is 'innovation' so we have been thinking very creatively about how to solve problems and find scientific solutions. We have spoken about famous inventors through time and thought of our own inventions for the future.

During our session with Professor Chris, we looked at steam power, burning fuels and also static electricity. See the photo below and feel free to ask your children about what they learnt.

Tuesday 20th April 2021

Welcome back Year 3 for the Summer Term! It was so wonderful to see you all back today and as always I was blown away with your enthusiastic approach to returning to school and your learning challenges. 

We have an exciting term coming up, with a new topic and some slightly different maths learning too!

To give you a little preview of what's to come, please find below the topic web, which details each learning area and what we will cover.

I would also like to draw your attention to Bourbon's Blog! This can be found in the 'children' tab and is called 'Bourbon's Blog Spot'.

A massive congratulations to Amethyst class for such an incredible effort returning to school this term after another period of time at home. You have made me so proud and wowed me with your enthusiasm for learning.

Thank you also to the PTA (and the Easter Bunny!) for providing us with the chocolate for our Easter Egg Hunt! Here we are looking for them after Mrs Wood went and hid them...she was rather sneaky with her hiding places!

I hope you all have a well-deserved Easter break with lots of relaxation and chocolate!

Miss Newns

Friday 26th March 2021

Wow! As we finish our third and final full week back at school, I am left feeling extremely proud of Amethyst class. This year has caused us to face some challenges and the class have really stepped up to adapt to the change and transition between learning at school and at home. I have enjoyed catching up with each family over the last few days at parents evening and sharing our thoughts about the learning experiences we have had with the children. Now we can move forward knowing what the children are capable of and where they need support or challenge for the Summer term.

This week we have moved on to perimeter in maths; learning how to measure it as well as calculate it. This has meant applying some of our other maths skills such as measurement, addition, subtraction and problem solving.

Today, Mrs Stokes set us a challenge to go and discover the perimeter of a section of our school grounds for an exciting upcoming project. We needed to measure the perimeter of the space, calculate how much money would be needed to buy materials, and make adjustments according to the design. There was a lot to think about...but as ever...Amethyst class rose to the challenge! Please see the photos below of us approaching our challenge with enthusiasm and confidence!

We only have four more days next week and then we will be heading in to the Easter break. Please make sure you enjoy a well-deserved rest and we can hit the ground running in Summer!

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Newns

Tuesday 16th March 2021

What a pleasure it has been to have Amethyst back in the classroom showing such enthusiasm for their learning. I have truly missed them and it has been wonderful to see them all smiling, laughing and healthy back again in school.

We have had steady week easing back in to school routines (new and old) but have already done some imaginative learning around our new book by Oliver Jeffers called 'What We'll Build'. We have discussed the meaning behind the book and used our imaginations to create a destination for us to journey to. We have used descriptive writing techniques to give detail to the reader, thinking abut different ways to start our sentences.

In Maths, we have revisited measurement and are now feeling more confident in converting between mm, cm and m.

I have also been working through the class to see how everybody is getting on with their reading so we can assign more appropriate books. Please bear with me as I work through these.

During home learning, we set a World Book Day challenge to design a book token for the competition. If you have completed your entry and want to send it off to be in with a chance of winning the book tokens, you can find all the necessary details (including the competition address) on the document below.

I look forward to catching up during our parents evenings next week. Don't forget to book your appointment if you haven't done so already.

Many thanks.

Miss Newns

Friday 22nd January 2021

Another excellent week of learning, well done to everybody at home for your continued effort and creative learning.

Please find below some photos of the incredible creatures you developed this week! As always, I would love to share all your learning but I have just selected a sample at random.

Have a restful weekend.

Miss Newns

Thursday 21st January 2021

Following today's zoom registration, please find below the link to the Oak Academy Virtual Library.

Here you will find a new author each week who has provided videos, resources, activities and a free e-book for you to read.

https://library.thenational.academy/

Enjoy!

Miss Newns

Friday 15th January 2021

We've made it to Friday of our first full week! Well done everybody!

The learning has been incredible this week and I have throughly enjoyed watching your videos from PE and reading your interesting facts about our Science topic. Outstanding effort from all of you at home, you are doing an amazing job.

It is so lovely to hear all your happy voices on the zoom calls in the morning and to talk about your learning on LGFL.

Below are some of the Science mind maps I received this week.

Have a wonderful, well deserved weekend. Make sure you rest and go outside for some fresh air and splash in some puddles!

Miss Newns

Tuesday 12th January 2021

Here we are in week 2 and already I have received some incredible learning.

I wanted to provide you some additional resources incase any of you need some time fillers or extra challenges.

Please note, these do not form part of our home learning LGFL provision and therefore you do not need to submit them and they will not be marked. These are just extra little bits that I found, which I thought might be of use.

Please find below some handwriting practice sheets for some Year 3 spelling words, as well as some Roald Dahl comprehension and some colouring sheets. We are a big fan of Roald Dahll in Year 3!

Miss Newns

Week 1 - w/c 4th Jan 2021

After a very strange week for all of us, I sat down to look through and mark your positive posters inspired by Roald Dahl.

Well...I think it is safe to say I could not feel more positive about the road ahead after reading your beautiful posters. In times like these we need to be kind to ourselves and others, and remember how brave and resilient we are all being.

I am going to print your posters and put them up in the classroom (along with the ones that were made by the children in school) to remind everybody of the positive mindsets we need to have.

You have yet again astounded me with your effort and determination this week. I am so proud of you all and happy to be your teacher receiving all this wonderful work.

Well done to all families for persevering with the technology and for managing all aspects of your home lives during this difficult time. You are all doing amazing!

Please find below the wonderful posters created this week, which hopefully will inspire you and share a positive vibe!

Miss Newns

Wednesday 6th January 2021

Apologies for the slight technical teething problems...it would seem I am not the computing wizard I initially thought!

Below is a newly saved version of the English PowerPoint. Hopefully this may rectify some issues. The other factor we think might be an issue is accessing the files on an iPad. We are constantly reviewing our provision and will be discussing how we can iron out the issues you are experiencing today.

Please don't panic! We will get through this together! It will just take a little time to iron out the kinks!

Miss Newns

Tuesday 5th January 2021

Good morning everybody on what is a very strange day!

I hope you all had a lovely, well deserved Christmas break and a relaxing New Year.

As you can imagine, this is not quite what we had expected today, and we are currently organising our remote learning arrangements for the duration of this new lockdown. Whilst we sort this out, for today we have provided a Maths and English task for you to complete. Details will be passed on in due course about the home learning for the rest of the half term.

Maths

Please use the link below to access a video.

Please also find below a Maths PowerPoint, worksheet and answer sheet for you to complete.

Maths Link:

https://vimeo.com/485432791

English

Please use the following link to access a website called Pobble 365.

Discuss the picture and any meaning behind it.

Scroll down and read the 'story starter'.

Scroll down further and answer the 'questions' verbally to explore the picture further.

The challenge for today is to consider what will happen next.

Draw a picture of what you think and then write a story caption (similar to the story starter example) and include details and descriptions for the reader.

English Link

https://www.pobble365.com/tree-of-life

Should you have any problems, please email me via the office at info@dormansland.surrey.sch.uk

Many thanks

Miss Newns

Friday 13th November 2020

The children have been working really hard this week and taking part in lots of different challenges to refine their skills and learn new ones.

One particular game we have been playing to work on our times table skills was called 'Hit The Button'. The children have requested that I pleeeeaaaaasssseeeee put the link on the webpage do they can have a go at home!

We also played another little game today that got us thinking about how to stay safe online. I have to say, I was extremely impressed by the children's ability to analyse a situation and decide on the safest course of action. 

Below are the two links that will allow them to play these games at home:

Band Runner - ESafety Game

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/8_10/

Hit The Button - Times Tables Game

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Parents Evening

Hello everybody and I hope you had an enjoyable half term!

It was lovely to see parents during our virtual parents evening. Thank you for your patience with our technology!

Following our conversations, please find below some useful documents and websites to support your children at home.

The following website is one I would recommend as a writing stimulus:

https://www.pobble365.com/

Have a look at the pictures and write some descriptions or a story!

Harvest Celebration 21st October 2020

For the last few weeks, Amethyst class have been working hard to learn a couple of songs for our Harvest. We also looked at a poem by Helen Moore called 'Autumn is Here'. We decided we wanted to add our own verses to the poem to personalise it. So we worked as a class and came up with the following! (The first three verses are the original poem and the rest is ours written from scratch!)

Autumn is here.
Another year
is coming to an end.
Summer's finished,
Summer's gone,
Winter's round the bend.

Autumn is piles of crunchy leaves,
orange, gold, and red.
Autumn is sweaters with long sleeves
and blankets on the bed.
 

Autumn is football,
Autumn is pumpkins,
Autumn's where summer ends.
And
Autumn is coming back to school,
and seeing all my friends.

Harvest is here.

The time of year

To gather all the crop.

Crunching loudly,

Brown, red, orange,

 Leaves begin to drop

The tractors honk while collecting corns

Potatoes, pumpkin, peas,

Squirrels collect the acorns

Hiding them in trees

We’ve cut the crops

To share the food

And everyone will cheer,

It’s cold outside but we don’t care ‘cause Harvest time is here!

Friday 2nd October 2020

I have been blow away by Amethyst class this week with the incredible writing they produced as part of our learning surrounding the 'Once Upon An Ordinary School Day' book.

In the story, the ordinary boy meets Mr Gee (his substitute teacher)  who plays some music and asks the children to imagine things in their heads...so we did the same! We listened to a classical piece of music and let our imaginations run free!

The ideas were creative...the writing was descriptive...I was astounded! The children got extremely enthusiastic and were visibly proud of themselves during and after.

I am really impressed and thoroughly enjoyed reading every story...I was up till midnight!

The children have also really been thinking about their explanations in maths and noticing patterns, which has helped them in their problem solving.

As you can imagine, the move to online home learning has had its logistical challenges! I understand some families may have been/are experiencing difficulties logging on to various online learning platforms.

Should you be having trouble logging on to 'Spelling/Maths Shed' and you require your passwords, please let me know and I can consult my 'masters' copy!

Should you be experiencing trouble logging on to the 'London Grid For Learning' (LGFL) then I have attached the letter with the log on instructions below, and again, I have a 'masters' copy of usernames and passwords, so please let me know if you need them again.

If you are still experiencing issues, please let me know (with specific details if you can) and I can pass this on to Mr Cook to try and help. I have already passed on to him there are some issues and we are doing our best to find a solution.

An additional point to mention; initially I intended to set home learning on a Monday and mark it on a Friday. However, in reality it is more manageable for me to set the home learning on a Monday afternoon (during my PPA time) and mark it the following Monday (again during my PPA time out of class.) I am then able to reward children with coins, which takes some time as I have to do this individually. I hope this will allow the children more time as well, to complete their learning.

I apologise for any inconveniences you may be experiencing with the online assignments.

Thank you for your patience.

Have a great weekend...hopefully the weather improves!

Miss Newns

Monday 21st September 2020

Hello everybody,

I am so amazed at the continuing enthusiasm from the class and the effort they are putting in to their learning. There are lots of new things to learn and other things to re-familiarise with and all the children are doing incredibly well.

I am just popping a note on the class page with information about the expectations for home learning. This is all being done online apart from the daily reading. Each week, the children will be set a Spelling Shed and Maths Shed assignment by me. They also have to complete some learning on Times Tables Rockstars and 5x reads per week signed by an adult in the reading diary.

Thank you for you patience with Times Table Rockstars and Spelling/Maths Shed, we have had some technical difficulties to overcome, but I can confirm that I have now set a Maths and Spelling Shed assignment for this week.

Thanks

Miss Newns

WELCOME BACK!

It is so wonderful to see you all again after so long! Back together again to continue our journey!

The children have come back this week with such enthusiasm and energy, as well as lovely beaming faces!

I am very much looking forward to working with them all again and they have already made such an incredible start by remembering certain expectations and putting tons of effort and thought in to their learning.

Below is a welcome letter detailing some information about the upcoming year, as well as a topic web to show you what we are learning. During the sessions back in July (when the children returned to school to finish the year) we discussed as a class some of the things we were going to strive to do/be in Year 3. We thought of something for all the letters of the alphabet and turned them in to a class charter. The children thought up all the ideas independently and you can find the finished version below. Already in the last three days, I have seen children trying to show these qualities.

Well done Amethyst class on such an incredible return to school.

Miss Newns