Dear Parents,
I hope that you have all had a very enjoyable summer break and welcome back to a new term at Skyswood. I am very much looking forward to getting to know your children over the coming weeks and I am sure that they will settle quickly into the juniors.
We have made some changes to the spellings, tables cards and homework schemes this year and it would be useful if parents are able to attend our special parents evening on Tuesday 17th September at 7.30pm, as we will be introducing and informing parents about our new initiatives then.
During the Autumn Term, Year 3 will be studying a wide variety of topics according to the recently revised National Curriculum. In Science, the children will study two topics this term; ‘Rocks’ as well as ‘Forces and Magnets’. We will be learning about ‘Early Settlers’ in a combined History and Geography project which will look at the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. This links to our Design Technology topic on Iron Age Houses.
In Art and Design, the children will be looking at ‘Complementary Colours’ this term and they will be learning about Christianity and Islam throughout the year in their R.E lessons. Music lessons will be taught by Miss Yaxley and French will be with Mrs Cohen each week. Mrs Cohen will also be teaching Year 3 on a Wednesday morning.
Spellings will be given out each week on a Monday and tested on the Friday. The children will be given their learning logs each Friday, to be returned by the following Wednesday. Your child will be issued with a Reading and Homework diary which will be completed each time your child reads to an adult in school. Also, the new spellings will be written in the diary each week.
Year 3 are timetabled for PE on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but it would be helpful if they have their PE kits in school all week in case an extra PE lesson is arranged. Please can you ensure all kit is clearly named before it is brought into school to minimise lost property. The children will begin swimming lessons in the Summer Term as part of the P.E. curriculum. A contribution of around £16 is requested for 10 lessons and further information will be given during the Spring Term.
During the year, I will be taking Year 3 on class trips to support their learning and I will keep you informed of any costs when the details of each trip have been finalised. At present, we are planning to visit the Celtic Harmony Camp this term, Roman Verulamium in the Spring Term and the Roald Dahl Museum in the Summer Term.
It would be very helpful if any parents are able to assist in the classroom during the year. Parent helpers are always greatly appreciated for either a whole morning or afternoon or just part of a session.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that your child has a very happy time in Year 3. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.
Miss Caroline Stevens