2021-22

Summer 2, 2022

Design and Technology: Greenhouses

Children were challenged to put on engineering thinking caps to help tackle the problem farmers are facing with changes to the climate and more extreme weather as well as the problem of global population growth. 
 

Next, we discussed different types of greenhouses and the materials from which they are made. Children identified that transparent and translucent materials are best because they let light in; however, opaque materials 

Eel Pets and Visitor

This term, Year 3 we’re lucky enough to have a visitor come in to install a fish tank with eels and fresh water. The visitors name was Ersula and she taught us all how to care for the eels, about their life cycle, and their usual habitat. For this day we opened up the doors and had the whole of Year 3 all together which was exciting. 

Fathers Day

This year for our Father’s Day cards we decided to use geometric shapes and overlapping. Children then decided whether they wanted to add patterns or block areas with different colours and mediums to finish the artistic front covers. This reflected a previous art lesson we did so children were comfortable and confident with it.

Art - Sketching and Watercolour

This term we continued to hone our sketching and observational drawing skills, focusing on drawing what is in front of us and adding specific detail to our drawings. We have also been using watercolour pencils and have learnt just how little water is needed for them to be transformed into a texture like paint. 

Summer 1, 2022

Art: BFER Artist

The school was very lucky to have the artist, Jacque, come to teach the children how to use shape and mixed media to create artwork. They layered different media and played with different textures. The children were engaged and immersed in this activity and produced incredible work.

Art: Botanical Sketching and Artwork

This term, Year 3 have had lots of fun continuing to develop their sketching and observational drawing skills. Then we applied these skills to create botanical sketches, and sketches of bouquets in tribute to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Following on from this, children experimented with various art mediums and explored different mark making techniques with each element (pastels, chalk pastels, water colour pencils, and charcoal). Finally we combined everything together so children used observational drawing to sketch a bouquet and then completed their drawing with mediums of their choice. 

Science: Plant parts and their functions

Science in Summer 1 was all about plants! We planted some seeds and conducted an experiment to explore what plants need to survive. Students knew the names of most parts of plants, but did not yet know about their functions so we explored this through class discussions and matching actions to help them remember. Children dissected a tulip flower to examine each part, especially the stamen (anther and filament) and pistil (stigma, ovule, and style) as these are parts of the flower involved in plant reproduction which we have started learning about. Additionally, we introduced students to the term botanist and examined botanical drawings. 

Colchester Castle Roman Exhibit

This term we were lucky enough to travel in a coach to Colchester Castle to explore the Roman exhibit. During this trip children built replicas of early Briton roundhouses and villas and used dress up and role play to explore tribal tools from this period. Children also explored Roman mosaics, weaponry, armour, battle formations, and carriages through interactive displays.

A very special part of this trip was when we went into the Roman vaults for a story time session where we learnt about the Iceni tribes way of life, rituals, and warriors as well as that of the Roman legionaries. During the story time children were also introduced to Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni tribe, and learnt of her vengeful uprising against the Romans.

Girls Football 

On Tuesday 3rd May, 16 girls from KS2 represented Drake at the Breckland Girls football competition. Each team played 3 matches, with the Year 3/4 girls finishing the day unbeaten and Year 5/6 winning 2 out of 3 including a 6-1 win!

Well done girls! 
 

Mr Woolacott and Mr Adair 

Spring Term 2, 2022

I am sad to leave this wonderful school.  Thanks for all the lovely memories and gifts and good wishes as I start my new job.  You all are special to me.  Mrs G 

All the classes were invited to enter the Window competition.  Kamkwamba decided with would tell the story of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.'    We worked with each other on the design. 

Whole Class Reward Spring

Students worked together to achieve a whole class reward this term. They tried their best , persevered and learnt through marvellous mistakes, and put in a collective effort to uphold the school values of resilience, resourcefulness, responsibility, reflection, and rationality. Therefore on the last day of term students got to dress up in line with our key text, 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe', and had ice cream sundaes in the afternoon, followed by time outside on the bird boxes, pirate ship, and mugga.

Science Day

During STEM week this year we had a day dedicated to Science for which Year 3 focused on Mars. We began the day by looking at non-fiction texts about Mars and students created booklets with facts they had learnt about mars. 

Then we completed a Marscopter Scientific Investigation to determine what type of helicopter arms would allow the Marscopter to fall the slowest. As part of this we discussed surface area, air resistance, gravity, and centre of mass. We discussed elements of a fair test and children agreed the Marscopters needed to be dropped from the same height, in the same environment, timed in the same way, and tested three times. Children chose whether they wanted to change the length or shape of the helicopter arms. Children wrote a hypothesis explaining which one of their three designs would take the longest to fall and why and recorded their results in a table.

Our final activity for the day was sketching photos of mars blueberries and sedimentary rocks. In art this term we have been learning sketching techniques such as shading and doing fine lines to create shape before defining the image with darker lines. The students did very well at this activity and are improving their sketching skills every time we draw. 

Mathematics Puzzle Workshop

The mathematics puzzle workshop helped support students to further develop their reasoning and problem solving skills in as well as spacial awareness. Students also worked in teams so had more practice working collaboratively and cooperating with their peers on various challenges.

Spring Term 1, 2022

Our Trip to the Riverside 

On January 27th Year 3 took a trip to the Riverside in the Thetford town centre. This was part of our geography unit on Rivers. We looked at the features of the river such as the flow, current, meanders (bends), vegetation, conditions of the banks. We also observed the human features and and the wildlife in the area. As part of the trip we provided the children with the below maps of our route and encouraged them to use the map to determine where we were. We also discussed the differences between the types of maps used.

Prior to the trip, children had also been introduced to the names and locations of the major rivers in the UK so they were aware that the river Thet is a tributary of the River Little Ouse. They had also looked at a map of Thetford and been able to identify and locate the River Thet and Little Ouse and associated features such as a meander, channel, tributary, and oxbow lake. 

English - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

We are exploring a novel, 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.'

The character Edmund gets hooked on enchanted Turkish Delight.  Would we get hooked if we tried it?

Most of us gave it a thumbs up.  We then wrote descriptions on how it looked, felt, smelt and of course, tasted. 

Science - Forces and Magnets

This term in Science we are learning about forces.

First we learnt about contact forces such as push, pull, and friction. To learn about friction we did an experiment to test how far a toy car would travel on different surfaces. We discussed making this a fair test by using the same ramp, car, and release point. We also discussed completing three trials for each surface to get a true representation of how far the car could travel on that surface. Children worked in groups, with everyone having a part to play. They worked well together and it was lovely to see them supporting and helping their team members.

We have also explored magnetism, a non-contact force, and discussed magnetic items, north and south poles, and associated vocabulary such as repel, attract, like poles, opposite poles, and magnetic field. As part of these lessons we discussed the magnetism of the metals iron, nickel, and cobalt and that the Earth has its own magnetic field, creating the North and South Poles. Children discovered they could make magnetic materials be repelled or attracted to different poles of their magnets. They also discovered that they could make magnetic materials move even with something in between, such as a whiteboard or book.

Music - Recorders

We played 'Ode to Joy' on our recorders.  It is by the famous composer, Beethoven.  We also listened to a choir and orchestra playing the piece.. and to a gospel version from 'Sister Act'.

Maths - Data

In Maths we were learning about data handling.  These children took a survey of everyone's favourite colour and made a graph with the results. 

Autumn Term 2, 2022

Poppy Memorial

We all made poppies to remember those who fought for our freedom.  Each one was dedicated to a Thetford soldier who gave their lives.

Kamkwamba's Party.  We had games, a disco  and yummy treats.  A fun way to end the term.

Light Experiments

We did experiments with light and shadow.  We held objects at different distances and found out how the they changed.  Was the image clear or fuzzy?  Was there any distortion (change in shape)?  The next session, we held the torch at a set distance and measured changes in size depending on how close it was to the light source.  The children wrote the conclusions in their books.  Young scientists!

Autumn First Half Term

Autumn term has been extremely busy so far!

In History students have been learning about The Stone Age. This has also been used as inspiration for English in which we have written narratives and poetry. Students have begun to be exposed to performance poetry and various poetic devices which they have excelled at. As part of the History unit we were also lucky enough to go on a school trip to the Norwich Castle Museum where the students were further immersed in the topic.

In Science this half term we have been focusing on Rocks and Fossils with students having learnt how different types of rocks are formed, the properties of rocks, and the process of fossilisation. We have even conducted some experiments to observe the effect of weathering on rocks.

We combined some Computing and Geography to teach students about coordinates and maps in an atlas. Students were able to use the coordinates on a map to locate the continents and oceans.

In Mathematics we have used bead strings and number lines to explore addition and subtraction and more recently have used 3D shape models to learn about Geometry and the properties of 2D and 3D shapes.

The focus of PE this term has been fundamental movement skills so we have looked at jumping, hopping, and changing direction. By far the most engaging and challenging lessons in PE so far have been skipping with a rope. Over the last few weeks the students have been practicing skipping and should be proud of the progress they have made. Students demonstrated great resilience and perseverance during these lessons.

In our French lessons we have been learning some greetings and started learning how to count to 10. Students are getting good at this and often say good morning and afternoon in French when we do the register. 

In RE we have been learning about how and why Christians try to bring hope to the world.  We had a visit from the founder of a local charity, Chapter 15.  This organisation provides a shower, toiletries and clothes to local homeless people.  It's a much needed service and Year 3 were fascinated by the work of this charity.  The children want to become involved, perhaps with a toiletry collection for them.  Watch this space- we hope to organise something before Christmas.

In RSHE we have been learning about 'Our feelings,' and discussing how to manage them when they are very sad.  We all practised positive self talk as a tool in developing resilience.