Week 1

Happy New Year to you all and hope you had a lovely break with your families.

This week we have been using dictionary skills in English and using time in Maths.  We have begun looking at the Shakespeare text of Romeo and Juliet and finding out what it was about.  In RE we began our Judaism unit and found out their key beliefs.  In Topic we located countries and cities in Europe, then all of a sudden and air raid siren sounded and we had to get under our desks.  We listened to the announcement from Neville Chamberlain that announced the start of WW2.  In French we learnt some vocabulary for different foods, and began our electricity unit in science.  

Week 2

This week we have continued to double and then halve numbers in maths, as well as measuring units of time.  In English we started our new texts - Carrie's War and did some predictions and setting descriptions.  We started our WW2 topic by looking at how and why the war started.  In Science we investigated electrical appliances and explored a Synagogue in RE.  We began looking at the works of the artist Lowry and sketched some Lowry style pictures.

Week 3

This week we have used multiples and telling the time in Maths.  We finished our Lowry pictures and learnt about the festivals of the New Year in Judaism - Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.  On Tuesday we went to the Three Hills to attend an inclusive sports festival.  We went around lots of different stations trying out a range of sports, such as sit down volley and sit down basketball.  We had great fun.  In Topic we learnt about Operation Dynamo and how thousands of soldiers were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940.  In Science we investigated electrical circuits.

Week 4

This week in maths we used factor pairs and began to multiply using partitioning.  In SPAG we learnt how to use fronted adverbials effectively.  In writing we described feelings and characters.  As it was the Holocaust memorial today, we learnt about the horrors endured by millions of people during this time.  We also learnt about the Blitz across the main cities of Britain, and used sources to debate whether Britain was losing or winning the war at this time (1940).  In Science we investigated conductors and insulators.  Year 3s learnt about personal space, and how it is ok to say what you like and dislike.  Year 4s enjoyed their afternoon of forest school.  

Week 5

This week we have used some different written methods to calculate multiplication problems.  We have continued to practise our time telling skills, including using the 24 hour clock.  We did some paired writing in English to write the ending of a chapter using suspense and tension.  We have edited our character descriptions of Juliet ready for our hall display.  In RE we learnt about the Passover festival in Judaism and investigated switches within a circuit in Science.  Year 3 discussed different types of families and who they can speak to if they have a problem in their SRE lesson.  In Topic we learnt how the Home Front helped in the war effort, and about the different ways people in this country were 'fighting' the war against Germany.  

Week 6

We have continued to use written methods to calculate numbers in maths, and have begun to use division as the inverse.  We had a debate using our text, Carrie's war.  We asked the question, 'Is Mr Evans a bully?'  and had a thoughtful debate explaining our opinions and arguments.  We thought about what is important to Jewish people, and learnt about Mitzvah day.  This is where Jews will volunteer for a day for a charity, or do an act of kindness to make a difference in someone's life.  

The children have worked really hard this term, making an effort with their learning and showing good learning attitudes!

We hope you have a restful week next week and see you back in Term 4.