Birstwith CE Primary School

Welcome to the Class 3 page.  It is a pleasure to be a part of the Birstwith team and have the privilege to guide the children through their last couple of years at primary school, supported by Mrs Paxton and Mrs Plant.  Together we prepare the children for their next step in their educational journey and hopefully give them a lifelong love of learning!

Please remember PE kit needs to be in school on a Monday and Thursday.  Spelling and multiplication tests are on a Monday - results will be recorded in the children's reading record which should be in school everyday.  Homework is set on a Monday and must be completed by the following Monday.  Children should read to an adult daily and their reading record updated.  Make sure long hair is tied up and you definitely need a coat for the Yorkshire weather!

We will put updates and photos on these pages regularly, so do check often.

After a lovely, sunny Summer break, it is exciting to be back at school for a new academic year.  This half term we are very excited to be participating in a three day residential course at Bewerley Park!

This term in literacy we will be studying Angel of Grasmere by Tom Palmer.  This novel is in line with our history topic of World War 2, focusing on the Blitz and Evacuees.

In Science we will look at the human body, in particular the circulatory system but also studying how to keep our bodies healthy.  In PSHE, we will be looking at Friendships and Relationships.  To help us with this we are taking part in a trial using 'Tik Tok' style videos produced to compliment schools' PSHE curriculums.  If parents wish to view the videos, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Class 3 have had a great first week back.  We have been thinking about water as inspiration for our writing but also linking this precious resource to the wider curriculum.  Have you ever thought how long a molecule of water has been present on this planet, in our universe?  What it has witnessed?  Class 3 used this idea as the inspiraion for this weeks writing.  From a WW2 soldiers sweat, to Ann Boleyn's tears, to the water in blood, part of the iceberg that broke the titanic; the ideas were both varied and amazing!  In Science we started this half terms topic of the Circulatory System - the children produced excellent labelled diagrams of the heart, still thinking about that molecule of water flowing through our arteries and veins!

It is lovely to be back in school after the disruption of the bad weather!  We closed last term with a fabulous nativity and amazing cake sale.  The children created some delicious treats and raised over £200, half of which will be donated to Harrogate Mind - a charity close to one of our pupils hearts and voted for by Class 3.

This term, we will be studying a new text - Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes and thinking about why Sci-Fi is such an interesting genre and why authors are drawn to it!  In line with this topic, we will be studying Earth and Space in Science and AI in Computing.  Geography will focus on deserts and what it would be like to live there, helped by the reading of extracts from Holes by Louis Sachar.

The children will be swimming on a Thursday afternoon, and will be occompanied by Miss Watkins, Mrs Plant and Mrs Paxtion.  On their return to school, Mrs Paxton will teach the class music.

Class 3 are thinking about how we use energy and how we can save energy.  We have been looking at our classroom and discussing how we can be more efficient.

We had the pleasure of welcomining Tim Pinto into school this week.  In line with Internet Safety Week next week, he delivered age appropriate workshops to each class.  Class 3 were eductaed in how to keep themselves safe on social media and the risks involved when making 'online friends'.  The class were very mature and sensible when discussing such a sensitive subject.

In P.E. this half term we are perfecting our gymnastic skills.  Today the children werte creating their own symmetrical and held partner balances.

In English writing we are developing our writing to persuade.  Today we used the  'conscience alley' technique to persuade 'Goldilocks' to do the right thing!

In DT we are following in the footsteps of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and designing and creating models for bridges.  This week we built 'truss' bridge models out of spagetti.

We were lucky enough to take part in a Christingle workshop at Ripon Cathedral, followed by a beautiful candle-lit service.  A vbery magical afternoon was had by all!