Fordham Primary School Class 3 Newsletter

Welcome to the spring term and a new year. This is just a brief newsletter to provide you with some information about what we are studying and how you can help your child this term.

Maths

This term we are learning about the properties of numbers, multiplication and division, place value, money, shape and space, measures and time. The stress is on practising mental skills and on finding ways in which to make calculation quicker and more accurate. It would be a great help to your child to practise their tables at home; we shall be continuing tables tests on a Wednesday morning, with each child moving up through the times tables at their own pace.

English

In the first half of the term we will be learning about how to write clear instructions and following instructions, and practising note – taking. In the second half of the term, we will be reading and writing myths and creation stories and looking at play scripts. We will be revising last term’s work on using dictionaries and thesauruses. We will also be learning about suffixes, using the apostrophe in contractions, plurals and adjectives.

Your child has a reading book and diary, which they should bring home every day. When you hear your child read please write a comment in their diary – or simply the date and pages read - as this is a valuable line of communication between home and school.
Weekly spelling tests continue as usual. Spellings will be handed out early in the term and tested on Fridays. As last term, there will be a revision test on a selection of the spelling words before Easter. I was generally very pleased with the results of last term’s revision test – thank you for your hard work helping with learning spellings and writing sentences each week!

PE is on Mondays and Thursdays. In the first half term, we have a tag rugby coach taking the Monday lessons with me, and on Thursdays the children will be taught by Shane from Premier Soccer. Both sessions will be outdoors when the weather allows. Please make sure that your child has a change of footwear for all PE lessons, and warm clothing such as jogging bottoms and a fleece jacket. A change of socks is a good idea on Thursdays as the lesson is first thing in the morning and even on pleasant days the grass is wet.

If your child wears earrings, please ensure that these are removed before school or that they can be removed and put in again by your child before and after lessons. If for any reason they cannot be removed, please provide plasters or a roll of surgical tape to go around them.

History and Geography
We are studying water and rivers in Geography this term. We will be completing our Ancient Egyptians topic in History and beginning work on the Invaders and Settlers: Romans, Saxons and Vikings, to be continued in the summer term.

Homework

Homework tasks will be given out during lessons where appropriate, usually on Friday. These may be given orally or in written form. If you need to confirm the requirements for any piece of homework, please do come and ask me.

Finally, if you have any questions regarding your child’s work or any matter relating to their time at school, please don’t hesitate to contact me through the school office or directly at the end of the school day. Thank-you

Mrs. Christine Sheppard