Reading History Project – ‘The Lion Above the Door’

Our class is excited to be taking part in a Reading History project through Partneriaeth. We have received a class set of The Lion Above the Door by Onjali Q. Raúf, a powerful story that explores themes of courage, identity, and forgotten voices in history. The book follows a young boy who discovers the name of someone who looks like him in a World War II memorial—and sets out to find out more, shining a light on black and minority ethnic contributions often left out of history books.

This story ties beautifully into our whole-school theme: Be Kind, Work Together, Stay Peaceful. It encourages empathy, teamwork, and standing up for what is right—important values that support a peaceful and inclusive community.

We are using the Just Reading approach, where the teacher reads the story aloud while each child follows along in their own copy. This method helps all learners to hear fluent reading, develop their vocabulary, and stay engaged with the text. It also supports understanding of more complex ideas, while allowing everyone to enjoy the story together.

Everyone is enjoying a variety of exciting activities that make learning fun! They are reading books and newspapers, playing interactive reading games, and taking part in online spelling and times tables challenges. They are engaging with online reading and Welsh games to enhance their digital learning. Pupils are developing key skills through turn-taking and problem-solving with puzzles and LEGO. They are also getting creative and taking part in a range of Comic Relief activities, supporting a great cause while learning valuable lessons in teamwork and empathy.  A busy and fun Friday!

Outdoor Learning: Celebrating Holi – The Festival of Colours!

This week, our class embraced the vibrant spirit of Holi during outdoor learning! Holi, the Festival of Colours, is a joyful celebration that marks the arrival of spring and the triumph of good over evil. The children learned about its origins, including the inspiring story of Prahlad and Holika, which teaches us about faith, kindness, and resilience.

To bring the festival to life, we took part in exciting outdoor activities. The children explored nature on a Colourful Nature Walk, collecting leaves and flowers to reflect the bright colours of Holi. They made beautiful, colourful crowns of nature!  They also enjoyed traditional Indian music and dance, moving to lively rhythms and immersing themselves in the cultural joy of the festival.

Through these hands-on experiences, the children not only learned about a new tradition but also celebrated themes of unity, friendship, and the beauty of the changing seasons.

Happy Holi from Year 3! 🌸🎨🎶

We are excited to share what we’ll be exploring in class this term! Our theme is ‘Wild, Welsh, Weather’, where we will be investigating the weather and climate of Wales.

We will begin with the story The Earth Has Caught a Cold, which follows a young boy who becomes aware of the effects of pollution and global warming. He takes action to help the Earth recover and inspires others to do set the stage for our learning, encouraging children to think about their environment and how they can make a difference.

Throughout the term, we will:
🌦 Explore local weather patterns and compare them to other regions.
🌊 Study historical natural disasters in Wales, such as storms, floods, and extreme winters.
🏡 Examine how weather impacts daily life, traditions, and community resilience.

Our subject focuses for the term include:
📰 Literacy – Writing newspaper reports, using speech marks and alliteration.
➗ Maths – Learning about fractions, mass, and capacity.
🌍 Humanities & Science – Investigating the natural world, weather, and climate.

We look forward to an engaging and thought-provoking term and can’t wait to see the children develop their knowledge and curiosity about the world around them.

Why not have a go at writing your own Magnet Max adventure story! I’d love to read them 

Class Assembly - Little People, Big Dreams!

The story of Ernest Shackleton shows us how courage, determination, and teamwork can help us overcome even the toughest challenges. Shackleton dreamed of exploring the frozen wilderness of Antarctica, and though his journey was full of hardships, he never gave up. His bravery reminds us that with big dreams and a strong spirit, we can achieve amazing things. Let his story inspire us to dream big, work hard, and never lose hope, no matter how difficult things may seem.

This term, our class will be diving into an exciting theme called Power Up! The Magic of Electricity and Magnetism. This theme will guide our learning across several areas of the curriculum, helping us explore fascinating topics while building important skills.

Our Key Areas of Focus

1. Humanities – Humans and the Natural World: Sustainability
We will explore the relationship between humans and the natural world, with a focus on sustainability. Through our discussions and activities, we will look at how we can use resources responsibly, comparing renewable and non-renewable energy sources.

2. Science – Electricity and Magnetism
Our science lessons will focus on understanding the basics of electricity and magnetism. We’ll learn how circuits work, the importance of magnets in everyday life, and even conduct experiments to see these forces in action.

3. Health and Wellbeing – Me and My World (Financial Skills)
To complement our theme, we will also think about financial skills as part of "Me and My World." This will include practical activities like budgeting and understanding the cost of energy, helping children develop real-world skills.

Literacy

In literacy, we will focus on Discussion Writing—learning to present and explore different sides of an argument. For example, we’ll debate the pros and cons of renewable versus non-renewable energy. As a hook for our theme, we will be using the story The Tin Forest by Helen Ward and Wayne Anderson. This beautiful tale will inspire our discussions and creative activities around sustainability and renewal.

Maths

In maths, we will continue to develop key skills in:

• Multiplication and Division
• Length and Perimeter
• Money

These areas will also tie into our theme, with activities like calculating energy costs and understanding measurements in practical, real-life contexts.

Welsh Mathematicians

To celebrate our Welsh heritage, we will learn about notable Welsh figures in mathematics, such as Robert Recorde, who invented the equals sign.

We are thrilled about the exciting opportunities this term brings and look forward to seeing the children grow in their knowledge and skills.

We’ve been working on a database containing information on athletes from or based in Wales who represented Paralympic GB in Paris 2024. We have learnt how to add records. We can also use Table and Form to carry out searches for information. 

Give Pre-loved Goods

Following our visit from Wales Air Ambulance, we’ve been given a challenge to collect as many pre-loved items as possible! These will be donated to their charity shops in January. 
Example of items needed:

clothes; DVDs; CDs; toys; ornaments etc. 

Diolch 

Odd Socks Day is a special day where we celebrate being unique and show that it’s okay to be different. It’s also a chance to stand together against bullying and discrimination.

In class, we took turns to say one kind thing to the person sitting to our right, spreading positivity and kindness to everyone!

Our current theme - Data, Diversity, and Division, is centred around technology and empathy. In technology, we will be learning to use J2Data to input data into prepared databases and spreadsheets. We’ll also create graphs, tables, and charts to represent the data we collect. Alongside this, we will be exploring empathy, focusing on understanding and valuing people who are different. We are using the novel, We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio to guide discussions and activities about kindness and acceptance.

In Maths, we will work on multiplication and division, while in Literacy, we’ll focus on writing character descriptions, bringing characters to life with rich detail and imaginative language.

Recently, we introduced the story "On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein" by Jennifer Berne to the children in our class. Before reading the book, we spent some time looking at images connected to the story. These images included pictures of Albert Einstein, light waves, and curious objects he might have wondered about as a child. This helped the children connect with the story, stimulate their imaginations, and activate their prior knowledge. It also sparked questions and discussions that aroused their curiosity.

The story follows the life of Albert Einstein, showing how he began as a curious child, full of questions about the world around him, and grew up to become one of the most influential scientists in history. The book beautifully illustrates how Einstein's imagination and sense of wonder led him to groundbreaking discoveries about light, time, and the universe.

We are using Einstein's story as inspiration for our learning in class. As we explore our theme of waves, light, and sound, we aim to encourage the children to embrace their natural curiosity and wonder—just like Einstein did. This will be a foundation for our science lessons this term, helping the children understand concepts like light, sound waves, and how these elements shape the world around us.

We look forward to seeing the children grow in their curiosity and understanding throughout the term!

In our class, we are excited to explore the novel Omar, Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian. This funny and heartwarming story follows Omar, a young boy with a wild imagination who finds himself in all sorts of hilarious situations. Along the way, the book touches on themes of friendship, family, and cultural identity, while also giving us the opportunity to explore some interesting scientific ideas.

This term, as we focus on waves, light, and sound in Science, we’ll be linking these topics to the story by thinking about the different ways Omar experiences the world around him. The novel provides fun opportunities to connect our Science learning with everyday life!