Beech Class (Year 3)

Welcome to Beech Class – Year 3 🙂

Beech Class is the first of our LKS2 classes and is made up of 36 awesome children and 3 staff. It
has been lovely to welcome such a great group of children into class, and we are looking forward
to the year ahead. We have a busy and exciting year ahead, please see below for a brief
description of what to expect. I look forward to working with you all as the Year 3 Team. In Beech
we aim high, be kind and try our best.
Mr McQuillan

Staff
Class Teacher ~ Mr McQuillan
Class TAs ~ Mrs Milburn and Mr Hartley
PPA ~ Mrs Stephenson (Tuesday AM)

A week in Beech
Structure
Each morning we do English, Maths and Guided Reading before other core subjects such as Science
and RE in the afternoons. Afternoons also consist of topic related, and foundation subjects, such as
PE, History, Art, Music and Computing.

Handwriting and spelling practice also take place multiple times throughout the week with our end
of week spelling test on a Friday.

PE
PE days are currently Monday and Thursday each week and children are expected to have their full
school kit in school on these days. Children will get changed for PE at school. All jewellery to be
removed for safety. Swimming will take place at Carnforth pool every Thursday starting in Spring
2, please ensure your chid comes to school with their swimming kit and towel on this day.

Homework
Set every Friday and due the following Thursday each week.
Homework usually consists of two pieces, made up of English and maths. This is normally relevant
to current class learning (or to reinforce prior learning) such as spellings and times tables.
Spellings are given each Friday to take home, to be tested the following Friday. Children will also
be sent home some creative topic homework tasks each term, some expected and others optional.

Expectations
‘Be Safe, Be Kind, Aim High’

In Beech, we pride ourselves on The St. Wilfrid’s way and being the best St. Wilfrid’s pupil we can
be. By being safe, following instructions, treating each other with kindness and respect and always
trying our best (as that’s always good enough!) we aim to develop and grow each day.
‘Love God, Love Each Other and Love Learning’

We encourage all children to Love God, Love each other and Love learning in all they do as they
strive to reach their full potential in all aspects of their personal and school life.
Learning

As Year 3 is the children’s first introduction to Key Stage 2, we begin to introduce a greater focus
on structured learning at desks and expect children to adapt to less carpet time. The children are
expected to develop their independence and encouraged to take a more active approach and
responsibility in their own learning.

Reading
It is expected that all children read at home and we encourage they read each night, where
possible (aim for at least 5 times/week) for 10-20 minutes. Children read regularly in school so we
ask that all children bring their reading books and dairies back into school each day. Any
completed books will be changed daily when handed in.

Times Tables Rockstars (TTRS)
To reinforce mathematical confidence and times tables fluency, we will be using TTRS this year.
This great, interactive game will be used in school and at home to help children develop and
consolidate times tables accuracy and recall. Children have login details in their reading diaries to
use at home. We encourage a ‘little and often’ approach, such as 10 minutes per day.

Curriculum

English

Autumn ~ A Bear Called Paddington; The Stig of the Dump
Spring ~ Aesop’s Fables; The Iron Man
Summer ~ Coming to England; The Spider and The Fly

Maths

Autumn ~ Place Value; Addition & Subtraction; Multiplication & Division
Spring ~ Length & Perimeter; Fractions; Mass & Capacity
Summer ~ Fractions; Money; Time; Shape; Statistics

Topic (History)

Autumn ~ Stone Age to Iron Age
Spring ~ Roman Empire
Summer ~ Learie Constantine (Black History)
Science

Autumn ~ Light and Rocks
Spring ~ Forces and Magnets
Summer ~ Plants and Animals including Humans

RE
Autumn ~ Harvest; Christmas
Spring ~ Jesus; Easter
Summer ~ Rules for Living; Called by God

Art
Autumn ~ Gestural Drawing with Charcoal (Cave paintings)
Spring ~ Using Natural Materials to Make Images (Dyes & clay work)
Summer ~ Working with Shape and colour (Henri Matisse)

Geography
This term, we will be studying Volcanoes & Earthquakes, learning about human and physical
geography. We will lean about the destructive powers of natures, with particular focus on what’s
‘beneath our feet’. Through discussion and practical tasks, children will learn about how and why
these phenomena occur, and the ways in which they effect people and the environment.

Computing
Autumn ~ Touch Typing; Email; Databases
Spring ~ Spreadsheets; Coding
Summer ~ Presentations; Route Planners

As a reminder to all, please remember that if you are completing any searches online to
use ‘child’ or ‘kids’ in your search to ensure any adult or unsuitable content is filtered out. We
would always urge parents to carefully monitor what their child is accessing online and to actively
discus being ‘SMART’ online with them as we do in school