MATHS - Ordering Numbers!

We've been rising to the challenge this week, ordering higher sets of numbers.




Take a look at this link and see if you can challenge yourself further; there's something for everyone, including ordering money, weights and measures!

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=order

'BRITISH SUMMER-TIME IS HERE' - a few reminders!

Whilst we may not be basking in tropical heat, British Summer-Time is upon us.  This means our weather is still unpredictable, so we would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a few pointers to ensure the comfort of your children throughout the school day!

• Please send your child with a bottle of water or squash (preferably refillable);
• Weather can be cooler in the mornings so please ensure your child comes to school with a jumper or cardigan;
• Raincoats are advisable, as we can be uncertain when rain will fall;
• Unless otherwise advised, Friday is PE day - children no longer need jogging bottoms, and navy blue shorts are preferred;
• Please feel free to apply sun-cream to your child before leaving for school, however we can not apply this throughout the day.

Whilst we endeavour to ensure every effort is made to see to the comfort of your children, within the classroom and in the playground, please take note of the advise above.

NEWS from HOLY SOULS - Athletics competition!

Well done to all children who took part in the Birmingham Catholic School's Sports Athletics Events today, including children from Year 3!

You were super representatives of our school, taking part with grace and good-sportsmanship!  32 schools participated and all participants did well in their heats - we even managed to secure 2nd place in the Girl's Long Jump and came 10th in the Girl's and Boy's 800m races!

Yet again, fine examples of what hard work and commitment to our school has produced!

Alternative Fairy Tale - MALEFICENT!

As part of our Traditional Tales and Fairy Stories unit of work in Literacy, we will be considering alternative ways of telling these traditional tales to enhance our writing.

We will be watching a modern version of the classic tale 'Sleeping Beauty', entitled 'MALEFICENT'!

Here is a taster of what to expect...!

Please be advise; although this trailer holds an official rating of PG, permission has been sought to view this within school.

Think about...

Do you know what the word 'maleficent' means?

Coming up in LITERACY - TRADITIONAL STORIES and FAIRY TALES!

Yes, even us old, decrepit teachers grew up with the Traditional Stories (sometimes known as Fairy Tales) that we all know and love today!  My personal favourite was The Three Little Pigs  - this may have had something to do with the fact that my mummy is obsessed with pigs!

What Traditional Stories do you know and love?  I bet you have sat reading some with your grown ups ... perhaps you have read one to a brother, sister or cousin?

Over the next few weeks we will be exploring what makes a good Traditional Story, and using that knowledge to rewrite and even create a 'Fairy Tale' of our own!  We will be using all of the writing techniques we have been learning throughout the year to create our own wonderful piece of writing!

This web-link will take you through to links for some tales that you may know...
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=fairy+tales

MATHS - fractions and decimal fractions!

WOW!  We're really making progress with our maths work!

A big focus for Year 3 has been using our times tables knowledge.  We can use this for all sorts of maths...
What is the inverse of multiplication?  Do you know your fact-families-of-4?

As well as problem solving, we are now using our times tables knowledge to help us with fractions and decimal fractions.  Hopefully by now you will have discovered that 'fractions' and 'decimals' are not such scary words!

Other vocabulary we have been using in maths include unit fractions, non-unit fractions and tenths.

Have fun with the web-links below to scrub up on your understanding of how to use them...

Design your own flags using fractions  Fraction Flags

Fractions using 2d shapes  Can you also name the shapes being used?

Can you identify these fractions of shapes?  http://resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk/VTC/ngfl/ngfl-flash/fractions/fractions.html

Can you be a Decimal Detective? http://www.mesc.gov.ws/ssn1/Decimal_Detective/Decimal_Detective.htm

How do you pray?

So far this week, we have explored the meaning of Jesus' special prayer that he gave us as a family - 'The Our Father'.

We will continue to look at how Jesus taught us to pray, according to the Gospel of Matthew 6.
We will use the video below to help us.

We will continue to look at ways in which we can pray individually and collectively, and how this makes us feel.
Some of us will be writing prayers to share in Class Collective worship.  Remember the three main themes for prayer:
* Thanksgiving
* Petition
* Sorry
Think about...
Can you remember where Jesus was when he taught his followers to pray?
Where do you like to pray?  What do you pray for?  What prayers do you use?  How do we pray as a school community?

Roald Dahl - an amazing author!

We will be studying the much celebrated author, Roald Dahl.  We will look at his life and, in particular, the inspiration for his books.
Can you name any titles of books he has written?  Have you read any Roald Dahl books?

Click on some links below to find out more about him and his writing.

https://www.roalddahl.com/

http://www.roalddahl.com/museum

Did you know that Roald Dahl also wrote poems?  Take a look at the video below of one of his 'Revolting Rhymes - The Three Little Pigs'.

We will also be studying one of his books, 'The Magic Finger', as a whole class in Guided Reading - we can't wait!

Find it out!

Do you know who originally illustrated most of Roald Dahl's stories?

What can you find out about Roald Dahl?

REMINDER! - We Return to School on Monday, 1st June!

This is just a quick reminder, to avoid any confusion, 

that we all return to school for the rest of our Summer Term on 

Monday, 1st June, 2015!

Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost! We pray for Year 6 during their preparation for Confirmation

This Sunday sees the end of 50 days of Easter, and welcomes the Feast of Pentecost - when the Holy Spirit entered the hearts of Jesus' disciples.

We look forward to seeing you at mass to celebrate this Holy Day.

When we return to school we will explore this most joyous moment.  For now, you may want to look at the video below to help you understand the event.

The Holy Spirit fills us with the Fruits and Gifts we need to spread the Good News, as disciples of Jesus.  The video link below may help you to remember these - think about how you will use the Fruits of the Holy Spirit throughout your Journey.

We continue to pray for Year 6, as they prepare to receive the Holy Spirit, through the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Happy Half Term!

Well done for all of your hard work so far!
You will only have 7 weeks left in Year 3 upon your return and we have still have lots to do!

So enjoy a well-earned rest, but please remember to keep up with Reading, Spelling, Maths and work on your Egyptian Research Project!

LET'S HOPE WE HAVE PLENTY OF SUNNY DAYS!

WOW! Volcanoes and Earthquakes

We have been looking at the wanders of the centre of our planet.. We have learned that the planet Earth is made up of many layers, running thousands of miles below the Earth's crust.  Can you remember the names of the layers below us?
We watched the following link about Volcanoes today - it was amazing!

Click on the weblink below to find out more about Volcanoes!
http://homeworkhelp.stjohnssevenoaks.com/mountains/volcanoes.htm

The link below will explain why Earthquakes occur.  (NOTE: it is an American video)
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/videos/earth/whatisanearthquake.html

Our planet is an amazing place!  What are your thoughts?

Find it out...

One question that came up today was: 

'Why don't people in Australia fall off the bottom of our planet?  Do they walk upside down?'

Perhaps you could do some research to find out the answer...

Half Term Topic Research - Let's TIME TRAVEL through Egypt!

Year 3 Research Project ANCIENT EGYPT/EGYPT TODAY

As part of our Topic work next half term, we will be 'Time Travelling'.  We will be using a History Timeline to plot specific events in history.
Our journey will take us through Ancient Egypt and make comparisons with Egypt today.

We would like you to produce a project at home, either on the paper provided, or if you're really adventurous, produce a booklet or poster.  This needs to include information on Ancient Egypt as well as information on Egypt today (for example, as a holiday destination; why do people go there; etc).
BEWARE OF 'JUST PRINTING OFF' INFORMATION AND PICTURES FROM THE INTERNET - MAKE YOUR PROJECT INDIVIDUAL AND USE WHAT INTERESTS YOU!!!

Ask your grown ups to help you search for information on the internet or you could go to the library and borrow a book about Egypt; you even look in a travel agents brochure!  We look forward to talking about what you find out! 

Bring this in by Monday 15th June.

As a starting point, we have included some web links below to help you out - make sure what you are using is 'age appropriate' and 'child-friendly'!!

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt.html

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=egyptians

http://www.britishmuseum.org/learning/schools_and_teachers/resources/cultures/ancient_egypt.aspx

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/history/egyptians/

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/ancient-egypt

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/egypt/today.html

http://ngkids.co.uk/history/ten-facts-about-ancient-egypt

We will also be looking at Egyptian Masks and Hieroglyphics in art!

HAPPY RESEARCHING!  

Alliteration and Onomatopoeia!

As part of our Poetry work, we have been looking at alliteration and onomatopoeia to make our poetry more interesting.

Can you explain what these terms mean?  How would you use them?  What sense does onomatopoeia particularly describe?

We have watched the 2 YouTube links below...have some fun and get your family to learn the 'Wishy Washy Washer Woman' dance with you!

Congratulations - Year 3 First Holy Communions!

A huge congratulations to the children of Holy Souls School and the Children of the Parish who received the Sacrament of First holy Communion over the past two weeks!

You read well,conducted yourselves with reverence and holiness, and looked amazing - we are all so proud of you!

You have now been blessed with Body of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ - may you continue to receive Our Lord in this way, regularly and reverently, and continue on Your Journey of Faith with LOVE, HOPE & JOY.

God Bless you all x

Spellings - THE RETURN!!!

We welcome the return of our weekly spelling tests, in Year 3!

We will continue to encourage the growth of our vocabulary with word families (to include root words, suffixes and prefixes) and new topic based vocabulary.  We will also revisit those High Frequency words that we may be finding tricky.
Phonics (the sounds that groups of letters make within words) will continue to be a focus.

We have provided some links below to some websites that may help you on your way to become 'Spelling Stars'!

These links contains many other interactive links for you to click on (please be aware to only use UK links, as other links may take you to sites with Americanised versions of spelling)...

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy.html

http://www.ictgames.com/literacy.html

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/interactive.aspx?cat=42 Key Stage 1 skills you may want to practise

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/interactive.aspx?cat=47 Key Stage 2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/spelling_grammar/ there may some challenges in here for you too!

Remember!  Good knowledge of spellings helps reading and writing too - don't forget what you have learnt already and put it to good use!

Literacy - Poetry - The Magic Box

Poetry - The Magic Box by Kit Wright

This week, we return to our Poetry unit of work, using the poem The Magic Box.

What do you think this poem will be about?

Click on the link below to hear version...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zkpmhyc

Why do you think this poem is called 'The Magic Box'?

What would you put in your Magic Box? Why?

The Angelus - May, The Month of Mary

May is the Month of Mary

Next week in RE, Year 3 will be learning about and reciting The Angelus, in readiness for our May Procession/Mary Day on Friday (we will be wearing something blue and raising money for our charity Cafod, who are working to support those who have suffered in the recent earthquakes in Nepal.)


The Angelus reminds us of the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with great news!
When we pray The Angelus with humility and love, we are sharing Mary's faith in God's goodness. We are blessed that we can ask both God and Our Blessed Mother for their help on our journey towards Eternal Life!

We pray to Mary in a special way...what prayer do we say?  This prayer also forms part of The Angelus.