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Spotlight on: Year 3

Spotlight on: Year 3

Mrs Fiona McWilliam and Mrs Carolyn Johnson share stories from Year 3

Year 3 pupils have had a very productive and happy first half of the Spring Term. We have seen a noticeable step up in maturity and independent working since the start of the academic year, and the girls continue to be a delight and are enthusiastic learners.

Our trip to the Fitzwilliam Museum towards the end of the half term concluded the girls’ topic on the Ancient Greeks and the level of interaction and intelligent questioning from the girls really impressed the group’s guide at the museum.

There has been a constant buzz of excitement as the girls have been constructing (and naming) their Trojan Horses. The girls have used a variety of skills, from measuring to sawing and lots of gluing, to name a few. Emphasis has been placed on accuracy, and everyone is delighted with the results. Each horse would have an equal chance at the races! The next STEM project will involve looking at the structures of bridges and the importance of triangles in building safe structures. This is in preparation for our planned trip to London next term.

In English lessons the girls have been enjoying Creative Writing. Having focused on effective story openings and endings last term, the girls have been looking in more detail at plots, characters and setting the scene. The group used Greek myths and legends and other imaginative scenarios to further develop their writing. Mrs McWilliam and Mrs Johnson also tapped into the Radio 2 500 words competition, sharing some of the helpful tips and tricks that were given by a range of children’s authors. With this in mind the girls are looking forward to welcoming local author Alice Hemming in to school for a workshop next week as part of our Book Week. It is encouraging to see that the girls’ individual reading is coming on so well too. Daily targets and a wide range of reading genres all whet the appetite of the girls’ imaginations.

Another focus of the last half term was on keeping our bodies healthy. The pupils learnt about their organs and looked at how the skeleton protects them. The girls enjoyed a visit from a dentist during Careers Week, who spoke to the group about the importance of oral hygiene and looking after our teeth. If they request water over a fizzy drink, the learning objective has been met! A fun circuit of press ups and tricep dips highlighted the different muscle groups, and the girls learnt that muscles work in pairs and have to contract and relax.

Moving along the time line and jumping several thousand years ahead from the Ancient Greeks, the Year 3 topic is now the Anglo Saxons, as the girls start to embrace all of the things that these invaders and settlers left in the British Isles as a legacy. The group’s visit to West Stow on Thursday 16 March will bring the girls’ classroom learning to life. Further to this, the girls are busy weaving and reflecting on the crafts of the era.

As we approach Fairtrade Fortnight, the Year 3 classrooms have embraced the values of the fortnight and Year 3 parents will no doubt have seen that the Fairtrade inflatable bananas are a permanent feature in the classrooms. The girls have been helping to chop up Fairtrade fruit this week and reflecting on the Mary Ward values of ‘Celebrating diversity’ and ‘Working to eliminate justice’.   

By now you may have your tickets to come on board our pirate ship adventure! The girls have put a colourful performance together that we know you are going to enjoy! Thank you to parents for providing such authentic costumes.

The year 3 girls are beginning to use their netball skills in a competitive way and are always enthusiastic and inspired by the older girls in the school as to the progression of the sport.