Congratulations to everyone who took part in St Alban’s Sports Day today. We all tried to do the best we could to help our team.
Thank you to the Parents and Carers who came as spectators.
This year, Jordan were the winners of the whole competition.
This is the warm up.
Thank you to all the helpers and to Mrs. Jepson who organised the event.
Every Friday, Year 3 have been going in small groups to our school garden to help with deweeding, planting and general garden maintenance. There hard work has helped to make our school garden look more beautiful and ready for Summer! We have also been linking our gardening trips to our plants topic in science. Children have been considering what plants need to grow healthily and recalling the parts of plant while in the garden.
Year three ended our geography volcanoes topic with a BANG! We concluded our learning about volcanoes in geography by creating our own chemical reactions to mimic the eruption process. The children acted like real scientists, taking accurate measurements using syringes and measuring cups and they even had safety goggles to protect themselves! The children had lots of fun during this activity but also we tried to link this to what happens in a real eruption.
We know that sudden movement at the tectonic plates causes pressure to build under ground until the magma erupts through a crack in the earth’s crust in an eruption. The lava then cools solidifies into molten rock in cone-shaped layers. After each eruption, there is a new layer of solidified rock, forming a volcano.
In science, we have been learning about the water transportation process in plants. When it rains/someone waters a plant, the roots absorb the water. This is then sucked up through the stem and transported to the leaves where it finally evaporates.
Y3 decided to test this process with an experiment! We added food colouring to some water before adding white roses. In theory, the coloured water should be transported to the flower, altering the colour of the petals.
This is my third time attempting this experiment with a class but it is the first time that it has actually worked!
For 4 out of the 6 roses (the ones that worked), we used food colouring gel while for two of the roses we used food colouring liquid. The gel food colouring is more concentrated (and more expensive!) and so it is more effective. We discussed how this was not a fair test, as different groups used different types of food colouring.
Year 3 have been learning about the Reggae genre of music and in particular, we have been focusing on the work of Bob Marley. As a class, we have learnt to sing Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” and it is definitely a Y3 favourite.
Now that we are confident singing the vocals to the song, we have started adding instruments into the mix, starting with the glockenspiel! Before learning how to play “Three Little Birds” on the glockenspiels, we looked at some different types of musical notes and what they mean. We have started to learn how to read notes on the treble clef using the acrostic “Every Good Boy Deserves Football” and remembering it’s “F-A-C-E in the space.”
The children had lots of fun playing the glockenspiel and especially enjoyed improvising to the song!
On arriving at school Monday morning, Year 3 children discovered that we had had an uninvited visitor over the holidays. It seems a mysterious, mythical creature had decided to make its nest in our school garden. Plant pots were overturned, the shed door was broken and their were even strange, foot-print like markings on the floor. Using our inference skills, we deduced that the gigantic, golden egg might belong to a dragon. Year 3 have been enjoying reading “The boy who grew dragons” this term so we know that some dragon’s like to eat vegetables so perhaps the mother was after what we have planted in the garden!
Newspaper reports to follow describing our cracking find – watch this space!
As part of our D.T textiles project, Year 3 have been very busy designing and creating their own purses/wallets.
First, we looked at existing products, discussing what makes an effective purse. We compared the different fastenings/materials used and also considered the ways in which the purses appealed to the target market.
Next, we experimented with a range of different materials to see which would be the most suitable to make a purse out of. We tested the materials strength and flexibility and also checked whether they were waterproof or not.
Children then designed their own products for their intended users. To do this, they needed to think carefully about what fastening/material they wanted to use. Furthermore, pupils tried to make their product designs appealing to their target market by planning to use applique, embroidery or fabric pens.
Afterwards, Year 3 had chance to practise using a range of different stitches including blanket stitch, running stitch and back stitch. This helped students to decide which stitches they would use when creating their products.
Then came the making! Children made paper templates for their purses before cutting their material. They used their own choice of stitches to join the material. To make their products appealing, pupils used a range of different techniques including applique, pens and even embroidery.
Finally, we evaluated our products as a class, considering whether they were appropriate for the intended user. Children discussed anything they would change if they had the opportunity to do the project again.
I have been absolutely blown away by the end results of our textiles project. Everyone has done absolutely amazing! Here are a few examples…
Children at St.Alban’s have ditched their cars this week, instead choosing to walk/cycle/jog to school! Not only is this better for the environment but also brilliant for both our physical and mental health. Well done to house Jericho for organising the week and thank you to all children who took part.
Here are some pictures taken from some students’ journeys to school….
Continuing our research into St.Alban’s in the past, Year 3 children had a look at the old student roll of children attending St.Alban’s in the 1980’s. Interestingly, we found some familiar names!
Olly was very happy to find his Dad in the book. We also spotted Mrs Gurner (before she became a Gurner!) and Mrs Canadine’s two children.
We also looked at the booklet made for the opening of the school in 1965. In it, some children who attended St.Alban’s had sketched the school building. We decided to have a go at completing our own sketches of the school now!
