Welcome to our class page where you can see and read about our work this year.

Today we returned to school after half term and started with a celebration! On 12th November it is Diwali, so we spent the day learning about the festival and exploring why it is important to some people. We wore bright clothes and learnt that it is a celebration of light over dark, good over evil. As a class, we looked at the stories shared during Diwali and the things that Hindus do during the celebrations such as henna and rangoli patterns. We created our own Diwali decorations and had a go at painting our very own diya lamps. Miss Cleghorn and Miss Hughes were impressed with the patience that we all showed when painting the ceramic pots and thought that so much creativity was shown! 

Well, for the first time EVER we had a rainy day for croquet. However, in true Maidensbridge spirit we didn't let that stop us enjoying our morning out! Before we went, Miss Cleghorn explained what croquet was and we talked about where we may have seen it- we realised it was the game from Alice in Wonderland...only the version we were playing wouldn't be using live flamingoes. We met at Himley Hall and started the day by going for a walk around the park with Miss Cleghorn, Mr Bott and Miss Woods. We talked about the Countryside Code and how we could use it when we go for walks with our family and friends. After filling our pockets with conkers, we headed back to the hall to pick up our mallets and head to the lawn for a game of croquet. We split into groups and practised using the unfamiliar equipment (it was tricky to get used to). Once practice was up, we headed into little games. Everyone helped each other and showed a lot of perseverance Despite the rain, we had a lot of fun and came away having learnt a new skill. Miss Cleghorn was proud of us for listening so well and for walking back to school very sensibly. Thank you to Himley Croquet Club for inviting us to try it out and being our instructors for the day.

In our D.T lessons this term, we have been focusing on Food Technology. This term's topic area was 'seasonality'. Miss Cleghorn gave us a design brief that we needed to work to and we followed the design development process. We had to make 6 muffins to be sold at Robert's Farm Shop, they needed a combination of two flavours and one flavour needed to be a seasonal product. To begin, we taste-tested lots of different foods. Our teacher went shopping at the local farm shop and came back with lots of different types of apples, pears, plums, corn, rocket, watercress and berries for us to try. The favourite product from the taste-tests seemed to be the Bramley apple! From there, we then decided whether we wanted to make a sweet or savory muffin, created initial ideas and then chose one idea to develop for our final design. When we were ready to make, we headed to the kid's kitchen with Mrs Gaiger and Mrs Sollars and bake, bake, baked! Between us all we made 180 muffins...that's a lot of washing up. The muffins looked great, smelt amazing and everyone was proud of their products. We took them home, collected in feedback from our families and we discussed what we would do differently next time. Miss Cleghorn thinks we should turn 'The Maidensbridge Muffin Company' into a real business and get it on The Apprentice! A big thank you to all the staff that helped with the project.

This week we spent the morning having fun in Forest School! To begin, we spent some time exploring the area and the new paths that had been put in. Over the summer, areas of Forest School have grown wild and this has created a haven for wildlife. Within 10 minutes, we had discovered a toad, millipede, worms and lots of slugs! Our new forest school leader then set us a challenge; we needed to create a den using only things we could find outdoors. Miss Cleghorn was super impressed with our creativity and was amazed when one group offered her apple juice freshly-squeezed from our orchard apples (she wasn't so keen on the mud-covered jug though haha). Afterwards, we had delicious hot chocolate and s'mores around the fire before heading back up to the warmth. Our teacher was so impressed by our teamwork, communication skills and respect shown towards the area, that we earned ourselves lots of house points- get in!

In Maths, we have been looking at a range of 2D and 3D shapes.

We have been learning to recognise and describe their properties. 

We then had a go at constructing our own 3D shapes out of spaghetti and marshmallows to be able to then answer some questions. 

During DT, Year 3 have been learning about a healthy varied diet.

They have looked at the food groups and learnt about what each food group can do for our bodies. 

We then looked at what a healthy lunch box looks like and discussed what they have in their lunch boxes.

The children then created and designed their own sandwich which they then made using a range of cutting and spreading skills. 

This half term, Year 3 have been looking at clay tiles. 

They have had to look at and complete their own observational drawings of a range of fruits and vegetables. 

They then had to make their own clay tile and then use tools to engrave their observational drawing onto it.

Once it had dried, they were able to add colour to their tiles by using paint. 

Today, we have been extremely lucky in having a visit from a GB athlete, Siobhan Fitzpatrick. 

We learnt lots about her life and how she got to where she is today, representing Great Britain in Wheelchair basketball. 

We were able to ask lots of questions and also experience sitting in a wheelchair to play sport. 

The children really enjoyed their experience and new opportunities. 

Today, we had a Commonwealth Games inspired workshop.

The session included using our Geography skills to locate some of the nations taking part in the Commonwealth games, fact finding about a particular nation and then also sharing those facts with our peers. 

All of this was done whilst having fun using a parachute. 

The workshop really helped to engage and inspire the children, highlighting the importance of the Commonwealth games being in Birmingham. 

Today, Year 3 have had the chance to take part in an Inspired Playground Workshop with our Sports Leaders.

They have been able to learn lots of new games and new ideas on how to use our playground markings to keep ourselves active. 

All children took part excellently and enjoyed the session. 

Year 3 enjoyed celebrating the Queens Platinum Jubilee. They enjoyed learning a song to perform in front of the school where they not only sang but also learnt the sign language to go along with it.

I think the smiles say it all :) 

During our Art sessions, Year 3 have been looking at how a map changes from a 2D map into a 3D map.

They also had to use previous Art skills when labelling their map, thinking about the style of font used.  

The children chose from a range of materials that they wished to used to create a 3D map of our school. 

Today, Year 3 have been completing their 3 course meal by making a pudding. 

They have been baking Flapjacks that required them to use lots of Maths skills like measuring, weighing and timing.

In Forest School, we had a lovely time creating Mud Castles in the rain!
The children had to think about the features and the structures of a castle and then had to think about the consistency of the mud by adding water.

Today we have been cooking our main course of 'spaghetti in a tomato sauce'.  Hope you all got to try it and enjoyed it!

During DT, we have looked at a range of structures. We have looked at what structures already exist and their purpose. 

We have thought about what structure we wanted to create, thought about the purpose and the user and then we designed and made our structures.

We had to think carefully about how we could strengthen our structure to make it more secure. 

During RE, we went to visit our local church 'Wall Heath Evangelical Free Church' so that we could learn about the importance of Easter to Christians. 

In Science, we were learning about Light and how it travels. We investigated Periscopes and what they were and how the light reflects off the mirrors and allows us to see around corners. 

World Book Day 2022 - so many wonderful costumes from the children.

Year 3 had to use their knowledge of circuits to create a light product. They had to think about the user and the purpose of their design and then create a circuit which included a switch to easily turn their light on and off. 

In Art, Year 3 were looking at moving drawings. We looked at sliding drawings by drawing a face and then using a slider to change the emotions. 

In Forest School, Year 3 enjoyed looking at animal habitats. We discussed what kind of animals they thought came to visit our forest school area and then they had a go at creating their own habitats suitable for them. 

Year 3 enjoyed making a Greek Salad as their starter. We used skills such as chopping, mixing and measuring. 

Year 3 enjoyed taking part in their Level 1 in Bikeability.

They were taught how to check that their bikes were safe before riding them and they also learnt how to set off, pedal, slow down and stop.