This week we unpacked and tried out our new playground games. They are so much fun and some are quite tricky too - new skills to learn we think! Spinning a ball around your ankle is not as easy as it first appears. Thank you so much DPA for keeping us so busy at lunch and break times. We love it!

This week we got the electronic recording system out for orienteering. The children used their map reading skills to find where 10 flags were and used an electronic dibber to record where they had been. At the end, they could see how fast they had been and try to beat their time next time. 

Y3 had a great time learning about micro-organisms with some University Science students. They learned about transmission and how wearing a mask can help to reduce the spread of germs. They made different shapes of microbes using playdoh and they set up an experiment to compare their hands before and after using hand sanitiser. 

This week Year 3 welcomed five scientists from Sheffield University. They came to teach us all about micro organisms. We learnt that they are all around us and are microscopic in size. We were split into 'microbe' groups - fungi, bacteria and viruses and using swabs we hunted for the dirtiest places possible in our Wildlife Area - which was great fun as you can see. Then we scrapped our swabs onto agar plates. The scientists have taken them to the laboratory, we can't wait to see which microbes will grow on them in our next lesson!

This week we learned how to use a compass to find North, how to orientate the map and how this can help us to know which direction the markers are. We had great fun using a star course, where we came back to the start after each marker we found, and a loops course, where we went to 4 markers in a loop. 

In French Y3 have been learning the story of The Enormous Turnip. They listened to and joined in with the story, played noughts and crosses to practise the key vocabulary, looked at whether words were feminine or masculine and worked in groups to perform a drama of the story. 

Y3 have been enjoying their music lessons. Today they had to pass a clap around a circle as quickly as they could and they learned about pitch and rhythm. 

Y3 are learning how to orientate and read maps this term in Orienteering. We started with drawing a simple map using chalk and pointing on the map where we were standing. Then in groups we set up a map using cones and gave instructions to one another to follow a simple route. We learned that a triangle means start and 2 circles means finish.  

We've had a great day in Y3. It's been so nice to have full classrooms again. Welcome back to everyone who hasn't been in school for weeks!