Visit to the see The Knitted Bible
We had a great time on our trip to St James’ Church to see the bible stories represented in knitted scenes.
We recognised the scenes from Holy Week as well as the story of Zaccheus which is one of the stories associated with our Christian Values.
We were also gifted a crochet decoration to take home to remind us of our wonderful morning.
The Knitted Bible display will continue to be open to the public until Sunday 6th April. Further details can be found here: https://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/event/the-knitted-bible-comes-to-wetherby/
David and Goliath
Year 3 have been learning about David and Goliath – a well known Bible story. Here’s a quick synopsis of the story:
Goliath is big, very big! He had a big voice, too.
“I dare any of you to battle me!” he bellowed. “Win, and we will be your slaves. Lose, and you must work for us.”
David was smaller than Goliath, and this made him a little angry. David went to see the king. “I want to battle Goliath”, he said. The king did not hold much faith in David as he was small, and Goliath was tremendously big. The king offered David his armour, but David refused as it wouldn’t fit and was too heavy. Instead, he gathered some small stones and a sling and set on his way.
David lured Goliath to a valley and struck him on the head with a stone from his sling. Goliath fell with a big thud to the ground.
David later became king – one of the greatest kings God’s people ever had.
We thought about this story and how it may link to our school vision:
St James is a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe.
Here’s what the children came up with:
We then discussed how the story may link to our Christian Values, and how we may use these messages in our daily lives to help us grow.
Help at home:
Our 6 Christian values are: honesty, perseverance, peace, compassion, forgiveness and courage. Talk with your child about how they may use these values in and out of school. Can they give an example of one used this week?
World Book Day
Last week, we celebrated World Book Day! The children in Years 3 and 4 really enjoyed the day, full of exciting reading lessons and activities. The highlight of the day was the reading café, organised by some of our Year 5/6 pupils. The children had an opportunity to explore books and reading activities with one other, drink delicious hot chocolate and enjoy the lovely sunshine!
Living and learning: I recognise that friends and family are important.
Year 3 have been learning about what makes a healthy relationship with friends and family. We began by looking at some attributes that may, and may not, contribute to a positive relationship. As a class, we organised these on a chart. The left side represented all the attributes we absolutely do want in our relationships, and the right side showed those features that we don’t really want to see.
The children then went on to create a personal poster, showing themselves and those close to them (friends and family). They then decided which positive attributes are involved in their positive relationships. There were loads of brilliant ones that were consistent across the whole class, such as kindness, fun, happy, patient and hardworking.
Help at home:
Discuss with your child their attributes and how they contribute to happy, healthy relationships with friends and family. Maybe set a personal goal by identifying one attribute to develop further.
Forest School
Year 3 are really enjoying their forest school time so far this half-term. After learning about the importance of nature time in reading lessons last half-term, the pupils know the benefits of learning outdoors and the positive effects it can have on our mental health. With the weather slowly getting better (we hope), we’ll try and get outdoors as much as possible to make sure we are keeping happy and healthy.
Help at home:
Please remember/remind your child to pack a spare pair of clothes and wellies every Friday!
New learning begins…
I have been really impressed with how Year 3 have returned to school after the half-term break. The children are engaged, focussed and excited to learn, making our classroom a very happy and healthy place to achieve and believe.
A quick look into some subjects this half-term…
Writing
This half-term, the children will be learning how to write persuasively. We are aiming to write to our school leaders to persuade them to include/add/buy something new for school. If these pieces are successful, then maybe one idea might even come true! We are also working on some grammar skills, such as adjectives, nouns and pronouns. The children are doing well with identifying these skills in sentences.
Topic – computing
This half-term, we are programmers! We will be writing code and instructions whilst de-bugging and problem solving along the way. So far, we have looked at identifying objects that are and are not computers. We have concluded that:
Computers are electronic devices that can input, process and output data.
Science – light
Our first science lesson started ‘brightly’ with an objective of finding out which sources of light are natural or artificial (man made). We also looked at some non-examples of light sources that people may often confuse, such as mirrors and the moon.
Help at home:
Have a look around your homes with your child. See if you can find some examples of computers and artificial light sources. Also, you could talk with your child about the things they would like to see more of at school. Hopefully, this will provide good stimulus for their writing!
Living and Learning: I know the importance of consent (online and offline)
Consent – permission for something to happen/to agree to do something
Boundary – taking ownership of your own body/mind and setting limits
This week, Year 3 are looking into the importance of consent and boundaries, both online and offline. In our circle time, we are looking into a fantastic book about boundaries, and how you are the ruler of your own body and mind. We want all children to feel comfortable setting their own limits, and to also be respectful of the boundaries for other people. The children understand that boundaries for some people might be different and that we must respect that, even if our boundaries are not the same.
Next week, we will be looking into how boundaries and consent are important when online, too.
Help at home:
Talk with your child about setting boundaries and asking others for consent. Make sure your child is comfortable talking about, responding to and reporting anything that doesn’t make them feel happy and healthy.
Cross Country!
Over 40 of our Key Stage Two pupils recently took part in the East Leeds Cross Country Competition. From Year 3 races of 900m, to Years 5 and 6 running a whopping 1500m, these tough tasks were met with enthusiasm and brilliant attitudes from the children at St James. Every single child managed to finish their race, showing resilience and determination throughout. I was really impressed with how well children conducted themselves – they were brilliant role models for our school. Finally, a huge congratulations to one of our runners, Lily, who has qualified for the next round of the competition by finishing 6th in her race!
Living and learning: I know how to seek help.
This week, our living and learning statement is:
I know how to seek help.
In our weekly circle times, we always refer to ways we can seek help. I am really impressed with how well the children remember and use these systems – this ensures we maintain a happy and healthy classroom environment.
Help at home: Talk through the slide above with your child. Make sure they feel confident enough to use at least one of these strategies if they are worried or in need of help.
Reading
This week, Year 3 have been focussing on retrieval. In reading, to retrieve means to find information. To improve this skill, it’s important we read a variety of text types/books that are engaging for the children. I’d like to share a (and authors) that we’ve used this week. The children have really enjoyed the extracts in this book, so it may be something to explore reading at home!
The Boy at the Back of the Class
This is our class novel this half-term, written by Onjali Rauf. This fiction narrative highlights some real world issues for the children, but it written in a fun, intriguing and engaging way for children. Ahmet, the new boy at the back of the class, is a refugee – he has fled his home, a dangerous area, to a new place of safety. So far, we are getting to know more about Ahmet, through the eyes of others in his class. The children are really enjoying this book as they can really relate to the school setting. There are lots of links to our Christian Values, too!
Help at home:
Discuss this narrative with your child. What advice would you give to Ahmet? If your child has really enjoyed reading this book, perhaps look into some other books by Onjali Rauf and really enhance that love of reading!