Welcome to our Year 3 Kakapo Class

Meet the Teacher Evening

Monday 15th September, 20145:30pm

Curriculum letter

• Sent home last week• Most information is contained in

this• Spare copies are on tables

The school day, etc.• The school day is from 8:50am – 3:10pm• Doors open at 8:40am – children have a daily morning

task when they come into school• Break is at 9:55am – toast is available priced 20p;

children can bring their own healthy snacks• We would encourage water bottles to be brought in

daily• Assembly is 11:15am (Mon – Thurs) and 2:30pm Fridays (Celebration Assembly)• Lunch is 12:30 – 1:25pm, served in two sittings

Timetable - main points

• Generally, Maths and English take place in the morning

• These are in set groups, based on prior attainment (incl. Y2 SATs and teacher assessments)

• Lessons in both classes follow the same themes, but are carefully differentiated and aim to build on children’s strengths, and address their weaknesses

• May be some flexibility in groups as the year progresses – ie, children may move groups.

Timetable - main points

• PE is on Mondays for the first half-term – indoors, with a gymnastics coach working with the children.

• After half-term, PE switches to Tuesday afternoons, with Dance as the theme.

• Please could your child bring their PE kit in school on Mondays, taking it home on Fridays each week.

• Swimming – Thursdays – a separate letter has already been sent out to you.

• Jewellery – earrings/studs have to be removed in order to participate. Please send a note if your child is unable to take part for any reason.

Curriculum themes

• Please refer to the curriculum letter for more detail, but briefly covers:• English – “Superheroes” (Traction Man and Captain

Underpants texts), writing stories and instructions, creating new characters; followed by Roald Dahl’s The Twits

• Spelling, handwriting, comprehension, guided reading also form part of our weekly teaching

• Maths - mental strategies, place value, x tables, + and - , shape, space and measures, problem-solving

• History – ancient Greece• Science – Forces and magnets; animals and the human body• Geography – settlements, including our local area

• Computing – a focus on programming. The children will explore concepts such as sprites, loops and iteration. After half term our focus will shift to creating digital images, using the well known package, Photoshop.

• Manga High (to support maths and homework) and Bug Club (interactive books with comprehension questions)

• Art and Design – Painting skills, focusing on the comic work of John Romita Jr;

designing 3D photograph frames.• PSHE – new beginnings and setting goals

• Music – using the music of Bob Marley as a stimulus for composition; rhythm and metre; tuned and untuned percussion

• RE – stories from Christianity; looking at other faiths, including Islam

• French – greetings and replies; about ourselves

Staff in Year 3

• In addition to me, Mrs. Kline supports our class each morning.

• Miss Lucas will teach our class on Wednesday mornings until 11:30am – maths and English as usual. The focus for these lessons is problem-solving in maths, and reading comprehension in English.

Homework• Set each Friday, returned by the following Thursday.

Please support your child and encourage them to present work neatly in their homework book (writing in blue pen or a pencil) and signing their completed homework.

• Consists of: • 15 minutes maths task (may be online – Manga High)• 15 minutes English writing task (may be online – Bug

Club)• Spellings to learn (tested in class on Fridays)• X tables to learn (tested in class on Fridays)• Occasionally, some theme-based homework/ research

Reading at home:• We ask that you hear your child read for 10 -15 mins each

night• Children will have books appropriate to their age/ability

(PM Benchmark assessed)• Books can be changed any day of the week• Please sign and date your child’s reading record after

hearing them read• These are collected on Fridays by me to check their progress• Encourage your child to read widely – comics, magazines, books, etc.• Children can access Bug Club books online at home

Class blog

• Kakapo class page is updated at least weekly• Contains examples of the work we do in class

and around school• Opportunity for parents to comment,

providing feedback on what they see.

That’s it!

• We are always happy to talk to you about any aspect of your child’s education – please just catch us at the beginning or end of the day or, if a longer appointment is necessary, let us know.