Year 3 Class News

Class Trip Reminder – Science and Media Museum, Bradford

We are looking forward to our exciting class trip to the Science and Media Museum in Bradford this Thursday!

Important Information:

• We will be leaving school promptly at 9:00am, so please ensure your child arrives at school on time.
• We will return to school by 3:10pm.
• Children will need to bring a packed lunch and a drink.
• Children may wear their school PE kit along with suitable footwear and a weather-appropriate coat if needed.

During our visit, we will have the opportunity to explore all levels of the museum and take part in activities in the Wonderlab Studio, where we will be learning about sound and light through exciting hands-on experiments and demonstrations.

We are sure it will be a fantastic day of discovery and learning. We can’t wait to share our experiences with you afterwards!

Help at home:

For more information about the museum, please visit:
Science and Media Museum – https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/

Staying Safe Week

This week has been one of our Living and Learning themed weeks.  We have been learning all about how to stay safe.

• Being Safe

We’ve been learning about what is appropriate and what is not using Rachel Brian’s book ‘Respect: Consent, Boundaries and Being in Charge of YOU’.

We’ve also thought about boundaries when negotiating about space and objects.

We’ve discussed about it not always being right to keep a secret if it relates to being safe.

If something doesn’t feel right, in person or online, with someone we do or don’t know, we’ve talked about how we should Start Telling Other People (STOP.)

• Health protection and prevention

We’ve been learning about safe and unsafe exposure to the sun and how to reduce the risk of sun damage including skin cancer.

We’ve completed some basic First Aid training to empower us to act calmly and effectively in emergencies.

We’ve had a very engaging session with D:Side learning about drugs and medicine.

• Personal safety

The Canal and River Trust led an assembly all about water safety.

Louise Crossland (our PCSO) spoke to us about how to stay safe near roads and at the park.

We reflected on hazards that may cause harm, injury or risk:

– around water

– on the road

– with food

– in the home

and thought of ways to reduce these risks.

• Online safety

We learned that we need to be aware of our digital footprint.

• Citizenship: Living in the wider world

We thought about how the British values of the rule of law and individual liberty help to keep us safe.

• Christian values

We reflected on how the Christian values of courage and perseverance might be needed to help keep us safe.

Help at home: 

Please take some time to talk with your child about the learning we have covered this week. You could discuss:

• Who are the trusted adults they can talk to if something worries them?
• Why is it important to tell an adult if something does not feel safe or right?
• What should they do if they see something upsetting online?
• How can they stay safe near roads, water and at the park?
• Why is sun protection important?
• Which medicines are safe to take and who should give them medicine?
• What hazards can they spot around the home and how can risks be reduced?
• What information is safe to share online and what should stay private?
• How do rules and laws help to keep people safe?

Encourage your child to explain what they have learned about the STOP message:
Start Telling Other People if something feels unsafe, worrying or uncomfortable.

Water Safety: Canal and River Trust

As part of our Staying Safe week here at St James’, we had an online meeting with Claire from The Canal and River Trust. The focus of the meeting was to educate us all about how to spot dangers around canals and rivers. The children enjoyed spotting dangers and explaining their reasons.

Claire ensured all the children know what to do should they see anyone in trouble at a river or canal. We should always call 999 in these situations. The emergency services will then aim to be there within 8 minutes!

Help at home – Can they speak about anything new they have learnt today? Visit the canal and river trust website –  https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/.

PC Louise

Today, KS2 had a visit from PC Louise from West Yorkshire Police. She came in to talk to us about how to stay safe when we are out and about in our local community.

The first thing Louise spoke about was the importance of telling our parents or a trusted adult about where we are going and what time we will back home.  This is crucial as it helps us to stay safe.

The next thing Louise spoke about was the importance of observing signs when we are out and about. Signs linked to roadworks, railway tracks, water and building sites were spoken about. She also mentioned that we MUST NOT enter sites that are abandoned for many reasons.

PC Louise spoke to us about what to do if we see someone acting suspiciously at the park or if there is someone who makes us feel uneasy. We should take ourselves away from that situation and make sure we speak to a trusted adult. If something doesn’t feel right – take yourself out of that situation.

Finally, PC Louise spoke to use about the importance of ALWAYS wearing a seatbelt when travelling in a car. It doesn’t matter if the trip only takes 10 seconds or if we are travelling at 5mph, ALWAYS WEAR A SEATBELT.

Help at home – speak to your child about how they can keep themselves when out in our local community.

Let’s Talk About Money!

Did you know that Leeds launched the UK’s very first City of Maths in January 2026? This exciting two-year initiative (running through 2026 and 2027) aims to transform how people think and feel about maths. There will be lots to look forward to, including a permanent maths-themed playground, puzzle hunts, city-wide events and free resources for schools!

We are incredibly proud to share that our Year 3 class has been selected as the very first class, out of 800 schools, to take part in Asda’s Molly’s Money Adventure: Let’s Talk About Money!

The children had a fantastic time exploring the world of money, learning about spending, saving and making smart choices in a fun and engaging way. They showed great enthusiasm, asked thoughtful questions and represented our school brilliantly.

What a wonderful opportunity to be part of such an inspiring project. We can’t wait to see what comes next on our maths journey!

Help at home:

Discuss through their activity booklet that has been sent home.

York and Venice

This week in Geography, we have been learning about flood defence in the cities of York and Venice. We discovered where both cities are located and why flooding is such an important problem there.

We created fact files about each city and explored the similarities and differences between them.

Help at home:

Watch both videos of York and Venice. Discuss the similarities and differences between them. Can your child remember any facts about each city?

Plants Investigation

This half term, Year 3 have been busy becoming biologists in our Plants unit! We have planted sunflowers to investigate  Does the number of seeds planted affect the rate of growth?

As scientists, we are observing changes over time and carefully recording what we notice. We are measuring the height of each plant, the amount of water added and the mass of soil in each pot. To make our investigation fair, we are changing only one thing- the number of seeds in each pot. We are keeping everything else the same, including the type of seed and the light source.

We are really enjoying watching our sunflowers grow and spotting any differences between them!

How you can help at home:
Ask your child about their investigation. What have they observed so far? Have they noticed anything surprising or new?

We can’t wait to share our results with you soon!

Topic and Science Learning

Welcome back, Year 3! We hope you all had a lovely and restful Easter break.

We have jumped straight back into our learning and are excited to begin some fantastic new topics this term.

In Topic (Geography), we are learning about explorers. Our main case studies are York and Venice, where we will be exploring their climates and thinking about how tourism affects these places. We will also be developing our geography skills, particularly our map-reading skills, to help us understand where these places are and what they are like.

In Science, we have become biologists! We are learning all about plants, including their life cycles and the changes they go through as they grow.

Help at home:

You can support your child by reviewing our key vocabulary (see below).

• Can your child use the word in a sentence?
• Can they explain what the word means?
• Can they tell you anything they already know about it?

We are looking forward to a busy and exciting term ahead!

Dictionaires help us become better readers!

This week in Year 3, we have been exploring how to use dictionaries to help us become more independent readers and writers. We linked our learning to the non-fiction text about Ava Lovedale, which inspired lots of curiosity and new vocabulary!

Year 3 learned how dictionaries are organised in alphabetical order and practised finding words by using the first and second letters. We talked about why this skill is important and how it can help us understand unfamiliar words when reading.

Everyone worked really hard to look up new vocabulary from the text and enjoyed the challenge of finding words quickly and accurately. It was fantastic to see their confidence grow as they used dictionaries independently.

Philosophy Friday inspired by a squirrel!

Philosophy

Today in class, we explored Philosophy Friday. This is a time where we pause, think deeply and ask big questions about the world around us.

Our discussion was inspired by a surprising moment… Miss Gilliland discovered a squirrel in the class bird feeder (Click to watch the video! ) She stood up to scare it away, reminding us that the feeder is meant for birds. Was the squirrel being resourceful to find food or greedy and stealing from the birds?

This simple moment led us to a much bigger question:

We shared lots of thoughtful ideas:

”All animals are equally important because they are all part of nature.” – Izabella

”Humans sometimes prioritise certain animals, like pets or endangered species.” – Alexa.

There wasn’t one right answer and that’s what philosophy is all about! It helped us listen, reflect and respectfully challenge each other’s ideas.

Spring Equinox
Today also marks the Spring Equinox, the time of year when day and night are nearly equal and it officially signals the start of spring!

To celebrate, we went on a mini ‘spring spot’ around our school and noticed signs of the new season:

Help at home:

What do you think? Is it right to care for other animals and not others. Can you give any examples? And what signs of spring have you spotted?