Welcome to Year 3!

Welcome to Year 3! We are delighted to have your children with us and hope they are settling happily into their new classes. There are lots of exciting new skills to learn, experiences to enjoy and challenges to undertake throughout the year, and we are looking forward to sharing these with you and your children.

In Year 3, we have two classes: Peacock (Miss Yetton) and Falcon (Miss Slade). Our teaching assistants are Mrs Bishop, Miss Renwick and Miss Stevens, who work across our classes. Throughout the year, the children will also have opportunities to learn music with Mrs Heap, and PE will be taught by Mrs Page and Mrs Nicholas.

Tapestry

We have had a few questions and queries regarding Tapestry, so we wanted to clarify that Tapestry is no longer used in Year 3, as it is not a platform that we utilise across Key Stage 2 at West Monkton.

We appreciate that Tapestry was a wonderful opportunity for you to share special moments of success and learning from home, and we would still love to hear about these. If your child has a particularly special achievement, occasion or experience that you would like to share with us, please feel free to send an email to the school office.

We will then do our best to share these moments with the class and encourage the children to use their incredible oracy skills to talk about their experiences and achievements with their peers. We love celebrating the children's successes and sharing these moments as a class!

PE

Our PE day will take place on Wednesday. If there are times when this needs to change, parents will be given advance notice.

Please remember to send your child to school dressed in their PE kit on this day. Information about our PE kit can be found on the school website.

Outdoor Learning/Play

Here at West Monkton, we like to make the most of outdoor play whatever the weather — whether it is dry or wet!

It is always a good idea for your child to have a waterproof coat and a pair of wellies in school. We also love playing in the mud, so please only send your child in clothing that you don't mind getting dirty!

Homework

In Year 3, we encourage children to access Times Table Rockstars at least twice a week for 20 minutes and to read 5 days a week for at least 15 minutes each time.

Your child will have a home-school learning journal to record their daily reading. Please support your child in their reading journey by completing this regularly. Please note that journals may not be sent home immediately as teachers will first ensure that reading books are appropriately matched to each child.

Children will also be sent home with an Oxford Reading book. Oxford Reading Buddy will be an integral part of our learning, providing access to online books and quizzes to support the development of comprehension skills. Adults will regularly monitor children's use and progress.

Each week, your child will be given a spelling/phonic focus based on their spelling group. A paper copy of spelling grids will be sent home to support learning and practise. At the end of each week, children will complete a short quiz in class to see how well they have learnt and remembered the spelling patterns and words.

Snacks

Children may bring a healthy snack to school each day for morning break, such as fruit, raw vegetables or similar.

Snacks should be placed in a labelled bag or pot and will be stored in the classroom ready for break time.

Please remember that we are a nut-free school, so check that snacks do not contain any nuts.

Water Bottles

To help children stay hydrated throughout the day, we encourage them to drink plenty of water.

Please ensure your child brings a named water bottle filled with water only to school each day. Although juice may be tempting, it can be harmful to children's teeth over time, so we discourage this.

Children will be encouraged to take their water bottle home each day so that it can be thoroughly cleaned.

Medical Information/Inhalers

If your child has any medical conditions, please collect a form from the school office to complete.

If your child requires an inhaler in school, please ensure that it is clearly labelled and kept in the classroom with the class teacher.

Pencil Cases and Toys/Fidgets

Children do not need to bring a pencil case into school, as everything they need will be provided.

We also understand how precious children's toys are, so we ask that these remain safely at home where they can be enjoyed and looked after. This includes fidget toys.

We are looking forward to a happy, exciting and successful year with all of our Year 3 children. Thank you for your continued support — we can't wait to see all the wonderful things they will achieve!

Kind regards,

Miss Yetton and Miss Slade
Year 3 Class Teachers