Spring Term 2010 Year 3 Class Newsletter
Class Teacher: Mrs Alison Shears
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Tanya Dolman, Mrs Helen Harris
Dear Parents
I hope that you all had an enjoyable Christmas with your children and family and that you are looking forward to the coming terms with excitement and anticipation.
This letter is intended to provide guidance on how you can help your child make the most of the coming terms in Year 3, as well as to give you an idea of what is expected of them.
Our theme for this term is ‘Mummies and Pharaohs’ where we will be investigating ancient Egypt. The children will be developing historical skills through a range of activities to examine and understand this ancient civilisation. The reading and writing skills learnt in our literacy will help us in our investigating, understanding and recording.
Please find attached an overview of what we shall be covering this term. A copy of this will also be displayed outside the classroom in the corridor so feel free to have a look! This is a plan for the whole term but may change as sometimes situations and opportunities may arise which we take advantage of to benefit your child’s learning.
Please feel free to come in and talk to me about what we will be covering and when. Or catch me in the playground at the end of the day. Please note, that by the end of Year 3, we expect children to be working at a level 3C in reading writing and numeracy. I look forward to discussing your child’s progress during parents evenings in March, however if you would like to discuss anything relating to your child’s progress or how you can help them to achieve the expected levels, then please feel free to make an appointment to see me.
Below are some notes to help your child.
- This term PE will be on Monday and Friday. The session on Monday will be swimming at the White horse leisure centre in Calne. Please ensure that your child has a full PE kit in school on these days.
- Your child will need their reading books and reading records in school EVERY DAY. Please hear your child read at least 3 times a week for 10-15 minutes and record a short or more detailed comment in their record books. Your child will then receive a ‘Riddler Reader’ sticker once a week which is recorded on our class chart.
- Spellings will be set for your child to learn on a Monday morning and will be tested on Fridays. On Monday mornings your child’s early morning task will be to copy their spellings into their homework log and get them checked by either myself or Mrs Dolman. We will continue to follow the whole school scheme appropriate for your child’s level, with additional topic related words or useful tricky words set on occasions. Please help your child to practice their spellings a number of times during the week, in the homework book, using the look, cover, say, write, check strategy. This helps children to learn and use the spellings in the long term. Leaving the work until the night before a test can result in the homework becoming a chore and children are more likely to only retain the spellings in the short term.
- Times tables will be given on a Monday and tested on Fridays. Please check your child’s homework diary to find out what tables they are learning.
- Homework will be set on Fridays and will consist of literacy, maths and sometimes topic. Your child should hand their homework book to Mrs Dolman by Tuesday at the latest.
- If any parents would like to offer their help in class, please see me to arrange convenient times. You are most welcome.
Thank you in advance for you co operation and support over the coming terms.
Mrs Shears
Year 3 Newsletter Jan 2010.doc