Year 3 Weekly Newsletter 17.10.25

This week concludes our unit on place value.
The children practised ordering numbers on a number line using known facts to
help them, such as identifying the midpoint, quarter point, and three-quarter
point.

We explored the terms ascending and descending
— we know that:

Ascending order means starting with the smallest number
and getting larger each time.
Descending order means starting with the largest number
and getting smaller each time.

We also discussed how to order numbers when
they share the same digit in the hundreds column. The children now know to
check the tens column next to help them decide! For example:

Order these numbers in ascending order: 234, 245, 254, 202, 212.

We wrapped up our approaching threat narrative
this week and have now launched our next exciting writing unit! The children
received an important letter from the mayor, asking them to evaluate the
villagers’ trap design and consider how it could be improved to secure the Iron
Man once and for all. We can’t wait to see their inventive ideas unfold!

In this
week’s Steps to Read lessons, we explored the wonderful story The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.
The children made thoughtful comparisons
between Roz and the Iron Man, drawing on their understanding of
both characters.
We also learnt lots of new vocabulary, including ‘skittish’, ‘swatted’, and ‘footholds’. The children practised answering a range
of inference questions, using clues from the
text to form their ideas. We discussed how important it is to provide evidence from the story to justify
our opinions.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated junk
materials — they have been invaluable as we began building our castles! This
week, the children focused on creating the base and main structure of their
castles, ensuring they were built on strong, sturdy foundations to prevent
collapse. The teamwork and creativity on display have been wonderful to see!

In Science, we learnt about the world’s most
famous palaeontologist, Mary Anning. The children were fascinated to discover
that she uncovered the Ichthyosaur fossil along the coastline at Lyme Regis.
Some of our classmates have even visited Lyme Regis and were amazed to learn
about the incredible scientific discoveries made there!

Did you know that Mary Anning survived being
struck by lightning as a baby? Some people believed this event filled her with
greatness, inspiring her monumental scientific discoveries.

This week in Computing, we explored how
computers are connected. We learnt that a computer network is made up of
multiple devices that can share information with one another. The children can
now explain the important roles of a switch, server, and wireless access point
in helping these devices communicate.

In Music, we had a fantastic ukulele lesson!
The children all remembered how to strum and used this skill to play along to “My
Dog Has Fleas.” We played the open strings on each rhyming word — fleas,
sneeze, trees, wheeze, and cheese. Using the online visual prompts
helped us follow along confidently. We played together with Miss Holland first,
and then had a go on our own — what brilliant musicians in the making!

In RE, we designed beautiful Rangoli Kolam
artwork inspired by the Pongal festival. On the second day of this festival,
intricate Kolam patterns are drawn at home entrances using rice flour,
symbolising welcome, good fortune, and the nurturing of life. We recreated
these designs using metallic pens on black paper, and the results were
absolutely stunning!

As geographers, we explored the concept of day and night using a globe by asking the question: Why do we have day and night? We enjoyed learning more about our planet and discovering that it takes 24 hours to complete one full rotation, which gives us our days and nights.

In PSHE, we focused on the health aspect of this subject by exploring how smoking can affect people. Our starting point was to think about healthy and unhealthy activities. We learnt how smoking can affect the body, why some people choose not to smoke, and why others might choose to. We responded beautifully, showing maturity and empathy.

Maths.co.uk
homework has been set.

We can’t believe we
only have one more week of this half term — wow, how
quickly has it flown by! We are so proud of the children for their hard work,
creativity, and enthusiasm this week even when we are starting to feel tired
and ready for a rest. You are all superstars!

Thank
you, as always, for your continued support.

Have
a lovely weekend,

Mrs Roney.