Class 3

Welcome to Class 3!

Thank you so much for dropping by. Come and check out everything that we have been working on this term, see the fabulous and incredible work that Class 3 pupils have produced and gain access to resources and home learning to ensure your child reaches their full potential. What are you waiting for?

🌟 Reading Champions 🌟

Every week, the children are set a chapter of a story from Fiction Express as homework to enjoy and unwind. Once they have completed the chapter, they are asked to complete a mini quiz. Across the half term, these scores are added up and awards are given to those with the highest overall scores. This half term we have had quite a few reading champions in our class and we are so proud of them. Congratulations and...keep on reading... 

Art Gallery

This half term we have been busy creating some detailed and thoughtful pieces of artwork. We looked at the author and artist- Charlie Mackesy as we have been looking at where we can find guidance in our lives within RE. We thought that his messages were really special and so we designed and painted our own using our own wise pearls of wisdom. 

We have also worked in pencil this half term during our 'Ghosts and Glitter' to study and sketch the human form with a focus on the human skull. We looked at how different parts of the skull possess different amounts of shadow and we practiced different techniques for shading using lighter and darker tones. 

Orienteering Specialists  

We have been working outdoors for PE this half term and have been learning all about orienteering. We have learnt how to read and orientate a map to find certain markers around the school field. We demonstrated that we could work well together as a team and showed resilience when we couldn't find the marker immediately. We even had to direct our partners whilst they were blind-folded! We had lots of fun and really enjoyed learning this important skill that one day we might use whilst we are hiking or exploring the outdoors.

River Rapids 

This first half term of the year we have been learning all about the importance of water and rivers. We have looked at maps and studied where the nearest rivers are to us in the North West of England and then we have studied larger rivers within Europe and the world. We became a human river and learnt about erosion, deposition and how rivers are formed as well as their journeys from Source to Mouth. We even talked about dams and whether they can have a positive or negative influence on the environment and people living within the local communities. We really have become fountains of knowledge on the subject!

We decided in groups which river we would like to learn more about and then gathered information by studying atlases, browsing the internet and using books from the library. Here are some of our reports- we were really proud of them. 

'We will meet again...'

We have all been very saddened to hear of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II especially as we learnt so much about her life and her duties when celebrating her Platinum Jubilee in the Summer term. We have talked about during our PSHE lesson what an extraordinary life she has led and how she can be a continual role model for us in our lives- having shown us how to make sacrifices for others, show respect to each and everyone we meet and have a deep pride and love for our country.

The children visited church earlier this week in a vigil led by the Rev. Eileen and were encouraged to light a candle and say a prayer for her family- they talked about how we can turn to God and ask for help during these difficult times. We acknowledged that this was a sad time but it is also a time to celebrate her life and welcome in the future monarch- King Charles III. 

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee

In school, we have celebrated the life of the Queen and looked at her family tree and history as well as the events that have occurred in her lifetime. We worked together to design our own class banner using 'All things British' as our inspiration- each child designed a badge (which they created out of felt) to go onto our finished and then we presented these during a church assembly. We also wrote reports about her life and how the country and the wider commonwealth would be celebrating over the coming days. We really enjoyed learning more about her and what responsibilities and roles she has. 

As a school, we invited members of the local community to attend a celebration lunch with us and all sang 'God Save the Queen' together. They even stayed to judge our Stamp competition and watch our Crown Fashion Show. What a busy week but lots of fun and we learnt quite a bit. 

Exploring China

This half term we have been exploring China and using our geography skills to locate the continent that it belongs to as well as a number of physical geographical features such as the mountain ranges, rivers, major cities and which countries it borders. We have looked at and compared some of the different cities and how depending on where you are in China, depends on the quality of life that you might have. Studying the exports and imports of the country and comparing them to our own we found quite interesting and how health is severely affected due to higher pollution rates in China. 

​​​​​​​We then took a trip back through history and explored the Shang Dynasty- looking at when it existed, how it was different to British history and what life might have been like back in those days. We looked at traditions created by people in those days and sewed our own fortune cookies as well as wrote reports about Oracle Bones as well as creating our own. We also looked at traditional paintings produced during these times and had a go at recreating our own versions.

Ava's Destiny

We visited a local wetland centre- Martin Mere to investigate the wildlife that migrates there to nest and to explore the wide variety of species of wild fowl that inhabit the area. Using our map skills, we navigated around the centre and used our observation skills to identify the different species that we discovered. Eventually we discovered a gigantic nest and then learnt about Ava's story- an osprey who had transformed into part girl. We completed a series of tasks to find out what had happened to her and were awarded the title- Guardians of the Wild. We had a great day and couldn't wait to get back and complete her story ourselves! 

The Firework-Maker's Daughter

This half term we have been reading the Firework-Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman. We have really enjoyed the setting of the book and have appreciated the humour and the adventure that we went on. Throughout the term we have helped Rambashi advertise his new Jungle Grill, have helped to report on the arrest of Lalchand and produced some very entertaining chat shows to interview the Firework Makers for the festival. We would certainly recommend this book to others and learnt the importance of determination and believing in ourselves.

World Book Day 

This week we have enjoyed World Book Day and came dressed as book-themed characters. As it was the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Mr Men and Little Miss books, we decided to design and create our own books after designing our own characters first. We looked at how the stories aimed to teach a lesson or a moral whilst also providing an entertaining plot. Once we had produced our books, we decided to share them with Class 1, who throughly enjoyed them too!

Adapting and Surviving

This half term we have been learning about how humans and animals are adapted to survive within their environments and how our genetic DNA is inherited from both our parents and determines some of the physical characteristics that we display. We looked at different environments and what animals would need to survive within those places and then we randomly selected an environment and had to design a species of creature that could live there. 

Then we carried out an investigation whereby we studied how offspring could inherit different combinations of genes from their parents. In some cases, siblings had the same combinations and so we discussed how these might be Identical Twins. 

Finally we looked at how we are able to identify and learn from species of animals that lived thousands of years ago and may even be extinct today. We learnt about the importance of fossil discovery and recorded the process by which they are created. We then modelled this process ourselves using salt dough and even had a go at becoming paleontologists ourselves. 

The Peppered Moth 

Linked with our topic of adaptation and evolution, we read through the book: Moth an Evolutionary Story. We discovered how the peppered moth was initially an easy target for predators due to its distinctive black wings. However, due to the smoke and charcoal produced by the Industrial Revolution, was then perfectly able to camouflage with the surrounding environment and survive. We practiced our sketching skills, looking at shading, tone and different techniques to produce our own moth-inspired masterpieces. 

 🚲 Bikeability 🚲 

We had some visitors to our school for a few days who taught us about how to properly and safely ride a bike on the road. We learnt about how to ensure our bike is safe and well-maintained, how to look for dangers and how to indicate appropriately using arm signals. We then took to the roads to practice applying our skills and learning more about different junctions and dangers that we could encounter. We all had a great time and can't wait to keep practicing what we have learnt. 

💡 Investigating Light 💡 

This half term as part of our science unit, we have been trying to better understanding how light moves and travels as well as being able to demonstrate how we see the world around us. We first organised our own investigations to discover how light travels and found that by lining up small holes in several pieces of card, that light would only shine on the background if they were perfectly aligned. Therefore, we knew that light must only travel in straight lines. We wanted to know how we could change the directions of light so we looked at how mirrors can be used to reflect light and identified some real-life applications of this including in cars and during World War 2. Finally we created our own periscopes after learning how submarines used these during WW2 to detect their enemies. We discussed how the mirrors must be placed at a 45 degree angle for them to work and then we tried them out ourselves. 

Countdown to Christmas

This week at St Marks, we are celebrating Advent and the birth of Jesus Christ as we countdown to Christmas. To kick the week off, we brought in baubles to decorate the Christmas Tree at St Marks Church. We wrote our own thoughts, dedications and prayers for our loved ones, those in our community and the world too and attached these to our baubles. It reminded us to appreciate what we have: warm homes, plenty of food and parents who love us and that not everybody has such comforts. 

We also used watercolour paints and our sketching skills to produce some Nativity-inspired pieces of artwork to remind us the real reason that we celebrate Christmas.

We also had a great time at the Christmas Dinner, celebrating together and then had a go at creating our own Christmas Ornaments as a gift for our family. Using our sewing skills, we also created our own stockings to hang by the class tree and then added on our own initials to avoid missing out on some well-deserved treats.

Map Work Through History

We have been trying to understand why we call World War 2 a World War so decided to investigate which countries were actually involved during the war. We discovered that there were two groups of countries called the Axis Countries led by Germany and the Allied countries including Britain. Using our mapping skills, we were able to identify all the countries that were involved and discovered that over half of the worlds countries were involved and it was fought across multiple continents. We were even able to locate Pearl Harbour, which we realised was situated between America and Japan hence why they were involved during the war.

Some of our children then found a map in a book about Anne Frank and so we mapped where she travelled to and lived during her short and difficult life.

Henry Moore

This half term, based on our learning focus of World War 2, we have been studying the works of Henry Moore, who painted and sketched scenes that occurred during the Blitz. We were really interested to find out that he often had to sketch from memory and that's the reason why his work was quite rough and lacked precision at times. However, we discussed what his pieces of artwork tell us about life during the war and the emotion that he was able to capture in his work. We had a go at recreating some of his works using pencil and charcoal and were really proud of how they turned out.

Becoming Yogis

This week we were visited by a Yoga instructor who came and provided us with some great techniques and strategies for relaxing and managing our worries and stresses. We learnt about how taking deep breaths can slow our heart beat and help us to deal with anxious situations more easily. Then we learnt some basic stretches and routines on our mats, including the 'Downward Dog', 'Cobra', 'Chaturanga' and 'Tree' movements. All of us agreed that we felt much more peaceful and relaxed after we had taken part in the yoga and would try it at home to help us with our mental health and well being. 

Exploring Ancient Greece

This half term, we have been learning all about the Ancient Greek civilisation. We have explored where within history they existed, how the geography of Greece affected the ways in which they lived, who they worshipped, the relationships between city states (known as Polis) and their inventions that have influenced the way that we live now. 

The children produced reports based on what they had learnt this half term and we were incredibly impressed by the quality of their writing; they made us want to dive right in. We also used Ancient Greek architecture such as the Parthenon as inspiration to design and produce our own Greek landscape pieces of art, which included a watercolour background, a sketched silhouette and a 3D structure made from modelling straws. 

After learning about Hermes- the messenger of the Gods- the children were challenged with designing and creating their own Greek sandals inspired by the God himself. They had to create a pattern that would fit their own feet, measure and cut the different sections of their sandal and then sew it together using a running stitch. We all picked up some great skills and thought they were all fit for a God. 

Mind Matters

This half term we have been focusing on developing our understanding of how we can take better care of ourselves and specifically focusing on our mental wellbeing and health. We learnt about how important it is to recognise when we are struggling with our mental health and how we can support ourselves or ask for help. We know the importance of speaking about our feelings, spending time with loved ones and those that help us stay positive, enjoying hobbies and keeping ourselves physically healthy. We know that we are each here to support one another in Class 3 and help each other smile and feel positive about ourselves. 

Our Kindness Jar picks on a Friday afternoon, definitely show how much time we spend helping and supporting each other inside and outside of the classroom- it is always full to the brim! I wonder who will get picked out this week. 

Celebrating our Year 6 Leavers 

This year we didn't let bubbles bursting get us down. Instead we organised a party of our Year 6 Leavers to show them how proud we are of how hard they have worked this past year. We arranged a sensory scavenger hunt where they had to find and locate natural sounds, texture and colours from the surrounding school field. We then got competitive and took part in a Mini Sports Day where they needed to show their accuracy and stamina with throwing, penalty shoot outs, limbo, egg and spoon races, sack races and miniature golf. After a lot of running around, we settled down and created our own Dream Catchers and wrote hopes and dreams that we had for the future on them. Finally we enjoyed lots of treats, pizza and a lovely final service with our parents. What a fantastic end to the school year.

Magic of Science

This half term we have been looking at Chemical changes and reactions within Science. We have learnt about both reversible and irreversible and now understand what the difference between both are. We carried out several experiments that showed us that during an irreversible reaction, substances are created or colour changes occur. We used cabbage juice to change the colour of soap and vinegar, which we definitely weren't expecting and then we inflated a glove without blowing into it or with a pump. We learnt that bicarbonate of Soda and vinegar react to create carbon dioxide which is what inflates the glove. Now that is what we call the magic of science! Finally, we wrote our findings as reports to help us remember what we had discovered. 

Easter at St Marks

This year we decided to travel back to the days in which Jesus lived and with the help of the Church, we were able to find out what it was like for Jesus leading up to his death on the cross. We all came dressed in clothes from the past and started our day by welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem by parading around the school and church grounds. We all waved our palms and shouted 'Hosannah to the King'. Following this, we attended the Last Supper and learnt about why Jesus washed the feet of his followers as a sign of respect. Even the teachers had a go at the feet washing. From there, we ate and drank with Jesus and learnt about the betrayal of Judas. Finally, we looked at what the symbols of the cross, the crown of thorns and the purple cloth mean to Christians. All of the children took part in an Easter egg hunt and the winners of the Easter egg Design Challenge were announced. We had a great day, lots of fun and learnt a lot about why this time of year is so important to us. 

⭐️ Hall of Fame ⭐️