Welcome to Year 3!

Please use the weblinks below to improve your Reading, Writing and Maths skills!

Reading and Writing:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar

Maths:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/ordering-and-sequencing

https://ttrockstars.com/ (Teachers can provide logins if needed)

Year 3 Welcome Letter

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Year 3! We are so excited to welcome the children back to school after a very challenging time and we can’t wait to start getting to know each other! The children worked extremely hard in Year 2 and we know they will continue to work hard and exceed their targets this year. We have put lots of measures in place to keep the children safe and help them to settle into their Year 3 routine as quickly as possible.

As the children have moved into a new year group, there are new staff for them to become acquainted with. In class 3W there is Miss Whittaker (class teacher) and in class 3S there is Mr Sibbald (class teacher). There are also the teaching assistants who will be taking interventions and working within each classroom during the week: Mrs Taylor, Miss Clare and Mrs Marks in 3W and Mrs Bishop and Miss Dawson in 3S.

 Here is a quick reminder of the new current starting times in Year 3. Please enter school either by the front gate on Broom Street or the back gate nearest Badger Avenue and follow the one way system to bring your child to the classroom. The doors will open at 8:45am and close at 9:15am, this is to allow a flexible time and support social distancing. If your child arrives after this time they will need to sign in at the main entrance of the school. Please do not send your child to the classroom door after this time, especially alone, as children will be required to sign in at the office. The school day for Year 3 finishes at 3:10pm. We politely request that only one parent attends per child for drop offs and collections.

 At the end of the school day (3:10pm), children will exit through the same door that they entered at the beginning of the day. We will escort the children out to you and appreciate your patience as we become familiar with parents and see the children out safely. Please ensure that you continue to follow the one way system at the end of the day.

 Children will require their book bags and a full water bottle in school daily. Year 3 will be having PE on a Friday afternoon and will need a PE kit in school on this day as no spare kit will be available. PE will be conducted outside as much as is possible so please send your child with appropriate kit e.g. joggers and a jumper when it is cold. Information about the uniform can be found on the parent zone of the school website and any uniform can be purchased from: https://www.myschoolstyle.com/school/underwood/ Please ensure that anything brought to school by the children is clearly labelled.

To keep children and staff safe we have made changes to how we send reading books home. Children will have books sent home on a Thursday to read and enjoy over the weekend and they will be collected in again on a Monday. These books will then be quarantined before being used again. We will also collect home reading logs to monitor home reading on a Monday and rewarding children with any certificates they may have achieved.

 We are not currently selling snacks for children, so if you wish for them to have something to eat at playtime please provide them with a healthy snack. No cash payments are being taken at the moment so if you wish your child to have a hot dinner for lunches then please pay via ParentPay. If you have any queries with this please email office@underwoodwest.cheshire.sch.uk as we are currently not accepting visitors into the school building.

Here is some of the information you may find useful at the moment but there will also be regular updates on the homework sheets:

During the autumn term, Year 3 will be learning all about Africa. Throughout this topic, the class will read ‘The Enormous Crocodile’. We will be focusing on becoming geographers as well as developing our art and design technology skills. Please see the school’s website for more details on areas of the curriculum that will be taught.

Weekly Homework

Homework is a very important aspect of school as it allows children to use skills that they have learnt at school and apply them independently at home. It also shows children how important you, the parents and carers, see their education by continuing with their learning at home. We thank you in advance for taking the time to do homework with your child. Please remember that we expect the children to do the homework themselves and use methods as shown in school. If you require any help supporting your child, please speak to class teacher about this.

 Reading at home:

The children will be expected to read their home reading books to an adult at least 3 times a week and a note of this should be written in their reading record. There will be special rewards for children who show evidence of reading every night.

Spellings:

The children will have a list of Y3-4 non-negotiable spellings in the middle of their home reading record to learn at home with your support. We will be focusing on securing the children’s phonic knowledge and introducing spelling rules in class.

Literacy and Maths:

Year 3 will be given a piece of homework every Friday which should be completed and ready to hand in on the following Tuesday. Therefore, if there is anything they do not understand they can ask on Mondays and be given additional support. If your child is involved in other interventions they may be given a small piece of additional homework to help reinforce their learning. Homework will also be shared on the school website.

We hope that you will be understandable with some of the changes we have made for the safety of our children and staff in school. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns throughout the year. If you do have questions at all, please catch us at the end of the day or by telephoning the school office.

Yours Sincerely,

Miss Whittaker, Mr Sibbald and the Year 3 team!