Melyn

Sorry for the lack of posts on here - I have been utilising the Class Story of Dojo more than this page.

Please see below, the Spellings for the next 5 weeks after half term - until Christmas. (I can't believe I am typing the C word already!)

Holly group's spelling words will be sent home weekly as usual.

Thank you for the continued support with the Spellings each week 

SPELLINGS: Spelling groups will be sorted in class on Friday (13/09/19) and the children will be split into three spelling groups; Holly, Oak and Sycamore.

Your child will be told what group they are in - and Spelling word lists will be given out  - on Friday. The Word Lists will include the Spellings for the next 6 weeks (until October Half term.) A copy of this can also be found below if you click on the links once you know what group your child is in.

If your child is in the Holly spelling group they will bring individual spellings (personal to them) home each week in their Reading Records.

Please encourage your child to learn their spellings weekly for a test on a Friday morning.

A new spelling pattern will be taught in class each week and their spelling words for the next week’s test will come from the pattern.

Each week they will get a new spelling pattern to practice, plus a HFW (high frequency word).

*HFW = High frequency words, words that the children should be spelling in Year 3 and will be using regularly in their work.

**Important from the PTA for the Aviva grant**

Can we ask all parents, family, friends - everyone! To vote for us please:

We've entered the Aviva Community Fund to ask for £10,000 for IT equipment for the school - a class set of Chromebooks and an ActivPanel interactive board.

Voting opens today (Tuesday 23rd) at 9am - if you could spare a few minutes to vote for Cwmlai Primary School IT Improvement on the link below it would be massively appreciated! And if your family, friends, neighbours and anyone you've ever known could too, that would be amazing!
Only the projects with the highest votes go through into the final round of considerations and the school could really do with some new equipment.

Voting closes on 20th November, so don't delay!!

https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/4-1375?fbclid=IwAR0MZuSIsFPzUrcYUV-p0K6mkXvzOu7jFmJ0QtH0Wczp4zEtQkSSsu9NnuQ

You might have to copy and paste the above address, rather than just clicking on it.

Thank you!
Cwmlai PTA and all Cwmlai Primary Staff

19/03/2018:

School will be open as normal today. The school site has been assessed and the yard mostly cleared. Please take your

time and stay safe as some of the pavements on the way to school are icy. No late marks will be given - just please arrive safely.

WEATHER UPDATE - FOR THURSDAY 1ST MARCH

We had an e mail from the Local Authority at 2.10 this afternoon which goes as follows;-

We would also recommend that you use the following statement when sending a text to parents or posting this information on social media/school websites:

“Based on current Met Office forecasts of severe winter weather, which is expected to have a significant impact from tomorrow, Thursday 1 March and in to the weekend, the local authority has advised us to close the school tomorrow, Thursday 1 March and Friday 2 March. An update will be provided over the weekend in respect of Monday, 5 March.”

Therefore based on the above information Cwmlai Primary will be closed tomorrow

We will keep in touch via text.

Year 3 Homework                                                                                                    20/11/17

Spellings

This week, purple, red a blue group are revising words ‘le’ at the end.

(See spelling lists below)

Reading

Please keep reading both school and home books with your children as they will benefit greatly from this.

Maths

Please can you go over the following times tables with your child: two’s, three’s, five’s and ten’s. We will continue to work on these in class but will be starting to work on our four times table.

Topic to be returned by 27/11/17

The children have been learning about Roman Gods in school. Please can you help your child research choose one or more of the following to research and produce a fact sheet about:

Jupiter Juno Diana Mercury

Minerva Pluto Saturn Venus

Neptune Apollo Cupid Mars

Mrs Thomas

A huge thank you to parents and children for the timeline homework. This work was outstanding and the children showed such pride showcasing their work. I really couldn't believe how much work was put into each and every piece. So many special times were celebrated and lots of memories generated, something they will remember for many years.

Mrs Thomas

Year 3 Homework     13/11/17

Spellings

This week, purple, red a blue group are revising words where you drop the ‘e’ and add ‘ing’. Some of the children may have had some of the words before but they are not using the correct spellings in their everyday writing, which is why we are revising them.

(See documents below for spelling lists)

Reading

Please keep reading both school and home books with your children as they will benefit greatly from this.

Topic/Maths to be returned by 20/11/17

We have been discussing the passing of time in History.

Create a timeline of your life so far showing the main events. You can take up two pages of your book and if you like you can use drawings and photographs. Try to show the passing of time.

Mrs Thomas

For Harvest, on Friday 27th October, we will be collecting for the Food Bank Rhondda. Please see the info below of what items they need donated :) thank you for your support

Homework Year 3                         16/10/17

Spellings

Well done to everyone who had full marks in their spellings this week! Remember you need full marks to receive a raffle ticket. This week we are practising key words which we are using in our topic work over the next few weeks. Blue, red and purple spelling groups will all have the same spellings as you all need to practise these words and then use them in your topic work.

weapon       Roman

soldier       warrior

shield        armour

Boudicca    conquer

defence     Celtic

Reading

Please keep up the daily reading, both free choice books and your school book too.

Topic

This week we have been looking at the armour worn by the Roman army. For your homework this week please can you research what a Celt wore in battle as well as their battle techniques. Can you write 5 detailed facts to show your research?

Here are two very useful websites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/celts/factfile/warriors.shtml

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/celts/shields.html

Thank you

Mrs Hampshire

10/10/17 

Well done to everyone for your great maths homework this week, there was some fantastic doubling and halving work.  

Spellings

Well done to everyone who had full marks in their spellings this week! Remember you need full marks to receive a raffle ticket. This week we are focusing on adding ‘ing’ to words which:

• End with a single consonant
• Have a vowel before the single consonant

If a verb fits these criteria then the last consonant needs to be doubled.

Blue

hop               hopping

step             stepping

grip              gripping

shut             shutting

mop              mopping

Purple

begin               beginning

refer               referring

control             controlling

transfer           transferring

admit                admitting

Red

swim                 swimming

skip                  skipping

plan                  planning

grab                 grabbing

knit                  knitting

Reading

Please keep up the daily reading, both free choice books and your school book too.

Literacy

Over the past few weeks the children have been using a thesaurus to extend their vocabulary. So, for this week’s homework I would like you to write your own alien thesaurus.

A thesaurus gives us words which mean the same thing as a word we know but are more unusual or better ways to say it.

1. Choose five words from the list below to describe an alien. (tall, short, daring, clever, stupid, kind, evil, fast, slow, fat, thin) Or use your own words!
2. Draw a picture of that alien so that it matches the words you picked. It can just be a sketch - you don't have to spend long on it. You can also choose your own descriptive words if you prefer.
3. Write these words in alphabetical order.
4. For each word, think of one or even two other words that mean the same thing. For example if your alien is 'big' you might also write down 'large' and 'gigantic'.

Example 

Picture of an alien

Nervous - anxious, worried

Slow - relaxed, unhurried

Tall - giant, towering

4/10/17

Well done to everyone! There were lots of excellent pieces of research on different types of rocks.

Spellings

Well done to everyone who had full marks in their spellings this week! Remember you need full marks to receive a raffle ticket. This week we are focusing on the ee/ea and e_e sounds as well as high frequency words for the green group.

Red

between           thirteen

committee       agree

peach               spear

squeal              leave

breathe           reason

Blue

speech               weed

queen                 deep

squeeze             coffee

freeze               street

steer                 between

Purple

committee        fourteen

grease              wheat

severe              interfere

concrete          theme

delete              Chinese

Green 

the               only

here             there

were            your

Maths

This week in Maths the children have been focusing on doubling 2 and 3 digit numbers. So for this week’s homework please can you practise this using the method we have been using in class and complete 10 doubling sums. If you need help please use the example below or the maths support letter given out during the parent/teacher meetings this week. 

Give yourself a challenge! Can you double 4 digit numbers (3631 or 1635)? Can you halve 2 and 3 even digit numbers? (248 or 886)

Reading

Please keep up the daily reading, both free choice books and your school book too.

Thank you

27/9/17

Well done to all the children who achieved full marks in their spelling tests this week. Remember to use the correct spellings in your class work. Also thank you to all the parents who supported their child with their homework this week, the standard was so high, thank you!

Here are the spellings which need to be learnt by Monday 2nd October. 

Green 

the               only

here             there

were            your

Red

straight         campaign

contain           brain

waist              complaint

afraid            explain 

rainbow         terrain

Blue

brain              train

plain               chain

main               aid

claim              fail

paint              sail

Purple 

abstain             bargain

complaint         certain

details             entertain

fairy            maintenance

mosaic              straight

20/9/17

This week in our topic lessons the children have been learning about the Roman empire and how it expanded over Europe. So for this week's homework, can you support your child to find out some interesting facts about the Celts, who were living in Britain before the Roman invasion. Please present your work neatly. Your child could create a poster, write facts or draw an annotated picture.

Spellings 

There were some fantastic results this week, keep up the hard work!

Please learn your words by Monday 25th September

Green Group

the           when

with         they

come        said 

Blue Group

September     Monday

November      Tuesday

December    Wednesday

Thursday       Friday

Red Group

September     December

November      January

February        could

should            would

because 

Purple Group (please research the context for each of these homophones)

here               hear

heal                heel

main               mane

male               mail

not                 knot

The children have been learning about adding 'ing' to words which end in e in their spelling lessons this week. Please can you support your child at home by practising their spellings ready for the test on Monday 18th September, I am hoping that everyone will get full marks! Good luck!

Purple group

surprise         surprising

receive           receiving

achieve          achieving 

escape            escaping  

believe           believing

Red group

divide              dividing

stare              staring  

skate              skating  

decide            deciding

write             writing

Blue group

care               caring

hide               hiding  

smile              smiling 

hope               hoping

make              making

Green group

come             the

with              when

they             said

A very warm welcome back, I hope you have all had a fantastic summer and the children are all refreshed, ready for a busy year in Key Stage 2.

Our new topic is ‘Gods and Gladiators’ which has a History focus and teaches the children about the significance of the Romans, who they were, where they came from and their impact on the Celt population of Wales and Britain. At the heart of this interesting topic the children will learn how to write narrative stories with a historical setting and develop additional skills in persuasion and letter writing. We are busy organising some exciting school trips, more details will be coming home shortly.

Here is the weekly plan for the class:

Monday – return reading books and homework books to school. Spelling tests will take place today.

Tuesday – new spelling words and homework books will be sent home

Wednesday – bring P.E. kits into school

Friday – reading books will be sent home.

I am really pleased that so many of the children have been reading regularly over the summer break this will help them greatly. Also please keep up regular reading over the term both school reading books and free choice reading too!

If you need to discuss your child please pop in and see me either before or after school or call to the office to arrange an appointment.

We are all looking forward to a wonderful year in Year 3 and thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Hampshire, Mr Williams and Mrs Phillips

As part of our 'Travel Agents' topic we have been learning about the benefits of tourism as well as the negative effects too. This week we have a debate about whether a new hotel should be built in Kenya. 

What to do you think? 

Just a few notes for your diary, Sports Day will be on Wednesday 12th July with Foundation Phase in the morning and Key Stage 2 in the afternoon. Also the children's swimming lessons are continuing for the next two weeks so they will need to bring their swimming kits on Monday 10th and Monday 17th July. 

Thank you for your continued support.

Here are the spellings for Monday 10th July 

Purple

physician         optician

magician          complication

beautician        politician 

extension         electrician

Red

profession      session

mission          fiction

proportion     reduction

ocean             magician 

Blue 

question         revision

emotion          commotion

invention        direction

invasion

Green

These are the same as last week

Just in case you need them, here are the spellings for Monday 3rd July.  

Purple

erosion                profession

compassion          illusion

abrasion              comprehension

suspension           persuasion

Red

decision              occasion

discussion          division

explosion           collision

revision              television

Blue 

vision                 mission

television           invasion

confusion           permission

division              decision

Our trip yesterday was absolutely brilliant! We started by meeting our tour guide, Carol and looked at the Wales Millennium Centre. Did you know that all the materials came from different parts of Wales? We studied the Pierhead building and the Merchant's Navy World War 2 memorial, can you find the face? We then moved on to learn about Harry's tree, the Norwegian Church and the Scott memorial. 

Next, we enjoyed a trip on the Bay, watched a barrage road being lifted and the it was back to the WMC on a road train. Whilst we were eating our lunch a lady from the Senedd asked if we would like to go into the Senedd because they were having an open day for children! It was great! 

Well done to everyone for their excellent behaviour on our trip!! 

See you on Monday 

A big thank you to everyone who has brought in their trip consent letters and payment! If you need another letter please let me know.

As part of our Travel Agent topic we are going to Cardiff Bay to enjoy a guided tour, a ride on the road train and a trip out to the barrage on a boat! 

The children need:

to wear school uniform

to bring a packed lunch and a drink in a backpack

to have been applied with sun-cream (hopefully the weather will be dry and warm!)

Here are the spellings for Monday 26th June. A massive well done to Finley for having full marks this week!

Purple

accommodation   mention

situation          education

correction    description

repetition      exception

punctuation   examination

Red

imagination         fraction

calculation          potion

operation         attention

relation          decoration

alteration         direction

Blue  

station           ration

question         action

lotion           fraction

potion          nation 

fiction          mention

Thank you very much for bringing in your PE kits today, we had a get Joe Wicks' keep fit session with Mrs Putterill's class (photos coming soon!) 

Here are the spellings for Monday 19th June

Purple

hyphen         physician

phobia          pharmacy

pheasant      emphasise

typhoon        symphony

pharaoh    physiotherapy

Red

microphone        elephant

telephone     photograph

pharmacy     apostrophe

pamphlet      catastrophe

nephew           alphabet

Blue

photograph      phone

elephant       triumph

phrase            nephew

dolphin         alphabet

Welcome back! Thank you all very much for some interesting homework, you found out lots of facts and even brought in some real money from your chosen countries.

Our school trip has been booked!!! All the details will be coming home shortly. 

Here are the spellings for Monday 12th June. 

Purple 

thorough        thoroughly

though         overthought

drought        thoroughbred  

doughnut         brought       

bought

Red

thorough            though

although             thought

nought           thoughtful

doughnut          trough

fought                bought

Blue 

cough             dough

though           rough

tough           although

enough         plough

through       Slough 

Green 

These will be given out individually 

This week we are focusing on the prefixes mis, anti, non, co, im and in. Here are the spellings for Monday 5th June. 

Purple

antibiotic           antidote

antiseptic         coincidence

co-operate        non-profit

miscalculate       exhausted

mispronounce      excursion

Red

interior                exterior

clockwise              anti-clockwise

mistake                 impossible

external                internal

misunderstanding   antibiotic

Blue

behave         misbehave

nonsense       non-fiction

export          import

interior         exterior

clockwise      anti-clockwise

Green

These will be given out individually.

Spellings for Monday 22nd May

This week we are practising adding speech marks and extending our vocabulary by working on synonyms for said.  

Purple

retorted           shrieked

grunted              pleaded

pestered          lectured

suggested      elaborated

blurted          demanded

Red

replied                moaned

answered         muttered

boasted          whispered

sighed                gasped

stammered     thundered

Blue

asked           shouted

whispered          cried

screamed      begged

yelled              replied

grumbled        moaned

Green - these will be given out individually 

Well done to everyone you all worked so hard on your tests last week! 

Here are the spellings for Monday 15th May.

Purple

waist     waste

tail        tale

bored    board

prey      pray

cereal   serial

Red

tasteless         flawless

powerless        regardless

pointless          limitless

breathless       hopeless

careless           colourless

Blue

hopeless        careless

speechless     harmless

painless          powerless

colourless       spotless

helpless          endless

Green - these have been given out individually 

We have started our new topic called 'Travel Agents'. This project has a geography focus and teaches children about tourism and the impact this can have on people and places. At the heart of this project children learn how to write adverts and develop additional skills in the use of persuasive and descriptive language. The children will apply their skills and understanding by budgeting and preparing an overseas trip for a family of four.

In this project the children will learn:

• To use geographical skills and vocabulary when finding information about destinations;

• About the climate, geographical features and location of a number of holiday destinations;

• How to use maths skills in other areas of their work;

• What life is like for people who live in the destinations studied, and how this might contrast with the experiences of a tourist;

• To locate places on maps, atlases and globes with accuracy, and to calculate distances between destinations and their homes;

• How to present information visually and in writing using a range of media;

• How to plan visits, work out costs and use enterprise skills in a business environment.

Dear parents, as you are aware the tests are fast approaching the children will be taking their reading test on Wednesday 3rd May. Please could you ensure that your child has had plenty of sleep and a good breakfast. Also on a lighter note could your child bring a torch in to class on Wednesday 3rd May for a Science experiment, please make sure that it has your child's name on. 

Thank you very much.

Here are the spellings for Monday 8th May. 

Purple

bountiful      resourceful

uneventful        regretful

remorseful    disgraceful

merciful     unsuccessful

plentiful       thoughtful

Red

wonderful         beautiful

grateful            peaceful

wasteful           shameful

awful                   fretful

thankful           doubtful

Blue

wonderful    forgetful

hopeful          useful

beautiful      helpful

spiteful          careful

painful         cheerful

Green - These will be given out individually 

Welcome back! I hope that you all had a lovely Easter break. Thank you to the all the children as you remembered your swimming kits and all got changed after swimming very quickly too! Our next swimming lesson will be on Monday 8th April due the bank holiday next week.  

Please remember that the school is closed on Thursday 4th May due to an Inset day for staff.

Here are the spellings for Tuesday 2nd May.

Purple

certainly        extremely

especially     particularly

completely     apparently

effectively   significantly

precisely   simultaneously  

Red

particularly      recently

properly           usually

certainly          generally

carefully          totally

extremely         currently

Blue

lovely             really

regularly        shortly

usually          properly

safely            likely

motherly      quickly

Green - these have been given out individually 

Also this week we have been investigating how our shadows change in size and position during the day. Over the weekend could you repeat this experiment and focus on how your shadow changes from 2pm until 6pm.

Thank you for your continued support. 

National Literacy and Numeracy Tests

Tests begin on the week beginning Tuesday 2^nd May – (Monday 1^st May is a bank holiday.)

Official dates will be released by Mrs Rees – but the tests will be sat the week beginning 2^nd May 2017.

Every child in Year 2 to Year 6 is required to take tests every May in Reading, Procedural Maths and Mathematical reasoning. Here is a link to an information booklet about the tests:

http://learning.wales.gov.uk/docs/learningwales/publications/140721-information-for-parents-carers-2-9-en.pdf

We have been busy practising test papers in class and many parents have requested past papers to be sent home over Easter -  Another way to revise for the tests is to read and complete comprehension style activities and to play some maths games on all the different topic areas.

I have compiled a list of useful websites.

I have not played every game on these websites so please let me know if a site is particularly useful or not so useful. Also if you find other useful websites please let me know and I will add them to the list on the school webpage.

BBC Bitesize is free and has many activities to practice all aspects of the Literacy and Numeracy framework. Use the areas for all countries in the UK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education

IXl maths has free units you can trial for a month: http://uk.ixl.com/

Nessy reading and spelling has free access: http://www.nessy.com/

This website has past test papers from England which can be printed: http://primarytools.co.uk/pages/pastpapers.html

Websites with fun games and activities

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/

http://www.ictgames.com/resources.html

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/counting

http://www.maths-games.org/

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/

http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/literacy/index.htm

http://www.primarygames.com/reading.php

http://pbskids.org/games/reading/

http://www.funbrain.com/brain/ReadingBrain/ReadingBrain.html

http://www.knowledgeadventure.com/subject/reading-games/

http://www.smartygames.com/

***********************************************************************************************************************

Here are the next set of words which need to be learnt over the Easter break and will be tested on Monday 24th April.

Purple

outpatient      shoestring

forecast         briefcase

partnership    tailgate

masterpiece   leadership

thunderstorm  anywhere

Red 

toothbrush     downstairs

anybody         everything

globetrotter    elsewhere

chairwomen   earthquake

championship    doughnut

Blue 

playground   bedroom

anyone       sometime

anything     everybody

everywhere   anybody

motorway      everything

The children will also be starting their swimming lessons on Monday 24th April, they need to bring a towel, googles, a swimming costume (one piece costume for the girls, no bikinis please and swimming trunks for the boys, no Bermuda shorts please), if you child has long hair please ensure that their hair is tied back and that any jewellery, including earrings, are not worn and left at home as we don't have anywhere safe to leave such items. Over the Easter break please could make sure that you child is able to dress themselves independently and quickly as we only have a limited amount of time in the changing rooms after our lessons. The swimming lessons will continue all term, every Monday until further notice.  

Thank you for your continued support and have a fantastic Easter break! 

On Wednesday 29th March Year 3 are having a Victorian day, the children will experience a day in the life of a typical Victorian school. It would be fantastic if the children could all dress up too! Here are some photos to give you some inspiration. 

Boys - grey trousers, white shirt or t-shirt, scarf, flat cap & waistcoat if you have one. 

Girls - very similar to a traditional Welsh lady's costume, long dress, normal school shoes, blouse, apron & a mop cap if you have one. 

I can't wait to see your costumes and I hope no-one will be wearing the dunce's hat!

We are continuing to practise silent letters this week, make sure you practise as there are some tricky ones here! These words will be tested on Monday 3rd April. Good luck!! 

Purple

solemn            column       

autumn           condemn

hymn              catacomb

doubt             subtle

mortgage       foreign

Red

tomb                thumb

plumber           column

autumn             hymn

crumbling         salmon  

ghost               sign

Blue

thumb          climb

crumb          calm

calves          should

would           could

talk              palm

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Red Nose Day please can you wear something spotty! 

Here are the spellings which will be tested on Monday 27th March. Good luck!

Purple

rhyme          knowledge

environment   participate

threw           through

heel              heal

rhubarb       anchor

Red

honest          wrapping

gnome          knowledge

knuckle        wrestle

answer         rhyme

Blue 

kneel              know

knock             gnome

write              wrong

wrist              honest

Green

were        some

more        found

very         where

These spellings will be tested on Monday 13th March. We are practising adding y to words as well as adding y to words which have a short vowel and here we need to double the consonant. 

Purple (you are practising spelling homophones this week)

break      brake

accept    except

great     grate

groan     grown

allowed   aloud

Red

dreamy    cheeky

gloomy    greedy

witty     smoggy

chatty   fizzy

Blue

moody    sleepy

fussy     messy

funny    poppy

floppy   dotty

A big well done to the whole school for their fantastic St David's Day celebrations this week!

Here are the children's spellings which focus on irregular plurals and will be tested on Monday 6th March.

Purple

Spell the plural of these words. For example 1 child, 2 children

child                species

loaf                  moose

knife               sheep                      

cactus             antenna

salmon             thesaurus

Red

Make sure you know the singular of these words too. For example one knife, two knives

knives              calves

children           geese

mice                 wolves

teeth               wives

Blue

woman             women

child                children

wolf                 wolves

knife                knives 

We had a fantastic trip to St. Fagan's on Monday. First, we started our day by exploring the church then we visited the Victorian school and asked lots of questions. Next, we went to the cottages and discussed how life has changed since the 1900's. After lunch we popped into the Victorian shop and then headed over to the gift shop.

A big well done to the children for their brilliant behaviour throughout the day! 

Here are the spellings which need to be learnt by Monday 27th February. Good luck!! 

Purple

lorries             berries

discoveries     countries

galaxies          memories

possibilities    injuries

abilities          difficulties

Red

ponies                flies

puppies              diaries

strawberries     countries

memories           families

Blue

puppies          parties

hobbies         bunnies

poppies          ponies

ladies            babies

Green

when       what

why         want

where      which

We are going to St Fagan's on Monday 13th February to learn about Victorian schools, I hope that no-one will be wearing the dunce's hat!! The children will need to wear their school jumper/cardigan, a warm coat and trousers and sensible shoes as we will be outside for most of the day. The children are allowed to bring a maximum of £2 to spend in the shop. See you all on Monday! 

In maths this week we have been learning about fractions, here are a few useful websites which we have used. 

We have had a busy week, have a look at our photos from our Beatball session.

Here are the this week's spellings, these need to be learnt by Monday 13th February. Good luck! 

Purple

chimneys     valleys

believe        decided

February     frightened

cousin          interesting

authority     technique

Red

trolleys        holidays

enjoys         kidneys

journeys     birthdays

chimneys     valleys

Blue

monkeys     days

keys          birthdays

holidays    boys

toys          trolleys

Green

about    came

now       no

saw      very

Well done to the whole class for receiving Jumping Jack this week, super attendance!!!!

Over the next few weeks the children are going to be focusing on making plurals and the spelling rules which accompany this. Here are the spellings which need to be learnt by Monday 6th February, good luck! 

Purple

businesses       princesses

potatoes          mosquitoes

avocados         torpedoes

buffaloes        churches

stomachs        matches

Red

beaches        waltzes

flashes        dominoes

sandwiches   echoes

princesses    businesses

matches       excited 

Blue

catch          catches

brushes      foxes

churches     glasses

porches       blushes

Green

about        where

were         because

said          what  

This week we have been busy creating our own board games, researching the life of Queen Victoria and practising our comprehension skills. A big round of applause to Emily-Rose and Skye for receiving certificates in golden assembly this week! Here are the spellings which will be tested on Monday 30th January

 Purple

haven’t       they’ll

weren’t      they’ve

should’ve    could’ve

would’ve     might’ve

Red

you’re       they’re

won’t         we’re

couldn’t     shouldn’t

wouldn’t    doesn’t

wasn’t       didn’t

Blue

couldn’t     shouldn’t

wouldn’t    can’t

she’s         he’s

doesn’t      I’m

Green

don’t        it’s

I’m          can’t

she’s        he’s 

Well done to Sonny and Cobie for receiving this week's golden book certificate, excellent work on those Victorian photos! Here are the next spellings, the children will be tested on these words on Monday 23rd January. Good luck!   

Purple

Add er and est to these words

grey       bright

polite     bony

calm       straight

mighty    big

Red

Add er and est to these words

brave         grim

friendly     large

lovely        quiet

smart        hot

Blue

bigger      biggest

hottest    hotter

thinner     thinnest

saddest    fitter

Green

about        other

mother     another

want         here

The focus on adding er and est continues in our spellings. These are the words which will tested on Monday 16th January. Good luck!

Purple

sweatiest                                snowiest

lousiest                                   unruliest

naughtiest                               healthier

earlier                                    queasier

Red

earliest                                   bumpiest

happier                                    juicier

happiest                                  dizziest

queasiest                                occupier

Blue

busiest                                    laziest

busier                                      luckier

luckiest                                   happiest

craziest                                   yummiest

Green

could                               should

would                               make

made                                came

Here are our spellings for this week, the test for these words will be on Monday 9th January. 

Good luck! 

Purple

enough    suddenly

piece       caught

threw      bought

brought   important

through   peace

Red

braver       bravest

brighter    brightest

straighter  straightest

closer        closest

Blue

faster     fastest

colder     coldest

safer      safest

later       latest

Green

said      because

out       our

which   like

Happy New Year and welcome back to a new term.

Our new topic is called 'Children of the Revolution' and in this topic we will be learning all about Victorian Britain. Including learning about the lives of the rich and poor and the other significant social and moral changes of the 19th century. At the heart of this project the children will learn how to write newspaper and other reports on an historical theme and earn additional skills of explanation writing.

We will be holding a Victorian Day in school and going on trip to enhance the children's understanding of this interesting time period. More details are on the way. 

Just as a reminder our PE day is still Thursday and homework and reading books need to be returned to school on a Monday. Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Hampshire

I hope that you have all had a fantastic Christmas break, just a reminder that there isn't an INSET at the beginning of this term. So I am looking forward to seeing you all, bright and breezy on Tuesday 3rd January, ready to find out about our new topic!! 

Mrs Hampshire 

Spellings for this week, to be tested on Monday 5th December, good luck! 

Green group

first         look

more        which

thank       about

Blue group

rebuild             revisit

recycle             replace

return              reapply

Red group 

rearrange         recharge

reassemble       review

reclaim             restore

refresh            recycle

Purple group 

reconsider          reiterate

repossess           reassure

reapplied            reflector

reverse              rebellion

rejuvenate         refrain  

Our spelling for this week focus on the 'dis' prefix. to be tested on Monday 28th November, good luck!

Green group - 

they       some        after      over      or           little 

Blue group - 

decode           dislike       disagree         disappear      dismiss           delay

Red group -  

decide              disappear         dishonest         disobey        dispute             distant         disturb          dishonour 

Purple group - 

disconnect         disappear       disjointed           disappoint      disapprove          disbelieve         discourage         distracted      disabled             disgrace  

Our Remembrance Day art work

Our Spellings for this week (to be learnt by Monday 31st October)

We had a lovely end to our first half term in Year 3 by cooking a variety of dishes from around the world. During the previous week the children researched a specific country and found out which meals their country was famous for. Next, in groups, the children decided which dish they would cook.

Mexico - Tacos

Italy - Pizza

India - Curry and rice

Wales - Welsh cakes

Our topic is called Global Gormet. Last week we have been learning about the body. We had a visitors from Heart research UK. It was so much fun! 

In Maths we have been revising our 3 times tables and problem solving.

In English we have been reading Roald Dahl's stories and we have been learning all about Road Dahl. We have been looking at diary writing and Anne Frank's diaries.

In Art we have been mixing paint colours to make skin colours. 

We are working hard. 

By Callum and Naomi 

This week we enjoyed a visit from the Healthy Hearts team and we learnt how we can keep our hearts healthy. Remember what were Captain Heartly's top tips? 

Eat heathly

Exercise reguarly

Don't smoke

Our trip to Tesco was a huge success! The children learnt a great deal. Who knew that we would have walked in the massive freezer, enjoyed cheese and fruit in the staff canteen or had several tasty treats from the bakery?

Thank you to Tesco for a super morning in your store and an even bigger thank you to the children for your excellent behaviour. See you in the morning!

We have a had super start to Year 3, thank you to all the parents for your support. Just a reminder our trip to Tesco is on Monday 26th September we are leaving school at 9.30 and will be returning by lunch. The children need to wear school uniform and can have their usual lunch (either sandwiches from home or hot lunches from school). Please can you return the permission slips by Monday, thank you. 

Our spelling tests will take place on Monday afternoon, good luck everyone! 

Welcome to dosbarth Melyn.

Our topic this term is Global Gourmet. This topic has a food design and technology focus and teaches the children about different food types from around the world, fair trade and the importance of eating a healthy diet for well being. At the heart of this project the children will learn how to write formal and informal letters and develop additional skills in writing to advertise and inform. 

Additional information

PE is every Thursday. Please can you ensure that your child brings their PE kit, including trainers, to school and that he/she does not wear any jewellery on Thursday. 

Homework and reading books need to returned on Monday. 

Thank you 

Mrs Hampshire

If your child is in Sirus' or Rhiannon's group for swimming they will need a a pair short pyjamas or a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for life saving in swimming tomorrow. 

See you in the morning!

Mrs Hampshire

Our new topic is called 'Blood, bones and gory bits' which has a science focus and teaches children about the human body including significant organs such as the heart, brain and lungs.

In this project the children will learn:

• About the heart, circulation, the pulse and blood;

• About major organs of the human body and their functions in keeping us alive and well;

• How exercise and a healthy diet keeps the body well and fit;

• About the digestive system;

• How to write explanation texts using scientific language;

• How scientific and medical research has changed over time;

• How to create 3D forms a variety of materials;

• How to work collaboratively.

This week we have been learning about the heart, we even felt an animal's heart. Here are some of our photos! 

On Wednesday 23rd March we are celebrating all our hard work on our Romans topic by holding a Roman banquet. 

The children need to bring into school a Roman costume and a board game with their name on, which they are allowed to play in school. They need to wear their normal school uniform to school as they will get changed after lunch. 

For the costumes please use items which you have at home already e.g. a toga can be made from a sheet, a tunic could be an adult sized t-shirt with a belt around the middle, if your child was a solider in our Christmas concert they could wear their outfit, or they could wear a long dress with flip flops. If you have any questions please come and see either myself or Mrs Phillips. 

We are looking forward to seeing all your outfits! 

St David's Day 

We have had a fantastic Eisteddfod this year and a very big llongyfarchiadau to all the children across both Key Stage 2 and Foundation Phase. 

As part of our current topic 'Gods and the Gladiators', we have been learning about the differences between the Romans and Celts. We made our own Celtic roundhouses, it was more difficult than we first thought!

We have started our new Literacy book this week, it is called 'Escape from Pompeii'. We were challenged to work in pairs to summarise a page then we told the story using our notes. 

Our 'Gods and Gladiators' topic is in full swing. During this topic the children will be learning about the significance of the Romans, who they were, where they came from and their impact on the Celt population of Wales and Britain. The children will be using a range of sources to gain information about the Celts and Romans, they will be learning how to present information and make a persuasive case. At the heart of this project the children learn how to write narrative stories with an historical setting and develop additional skills in persuasion and letter writing.

This week we have been focusing on the Roman army and soldiers. Here is a selection of our photos during our busy week.

Well done to all the children in our Foundation Phase classes, you were all amazing in your Christmas concerts! 

Dosbath Melyn, it is our turn next, I hope that you have been practising your lines and our songs over the weekend. Please can you bring your costumes into class by Tuesday 8th December ready for our dress rehearsal. 

Thank you 

Mrs Hampshire 

Welcome to Year 3! 

Our PE lessons are on Wednesday and Friday so your child will need to bring their kit (shorts, trainers, t-shirt and socks) for these days. Also please can you return your child's book bag with their homework, reading book and yellow comment book on Mondays. 

Thank you 

Mrs Hampshire 

Caerleon Trip Friday 22^nd May 2015

The trip to Caerleon is only a few days away. We will be leaving as soon as we can after registration. The morning activities will take place indoors. The afternoon activities will be a mixture of indoors and outdoors. A room is provided for lunch. The children should wear suitable footwear for walking between the venues and the outdoor grassy areas. The children should also bring a waterproof coat. The children should also remember to bring a packed lunch. The coach is scheduled to be back before the end of the school day. This letter will also be posted on the classroom pages of the school website www.cwmlaiprimary.co.uk

Regards, Mrs S.Scammell, Mr A.James

Croeso i Dosbarth Melyn

I will be using this Class Page as one way to update you on any important information - and also to keep you up to date with what we are up to in class.

Our topic this term is Gods and Gladiators.

It has a history focus and teaches the children about the Romans and the Celts.   

The children have really enjoyed the topic so far and are finding it extremely interesting.

Swimming – Our Year 3’s have started swimming lessons on a Monday and are really enjoying it. Unfortunately there is no swimming next week due to Monday being a Bank Holiday – but please remember your kits the following week as usual, Monday 11^th May.

Tests:

The National Numeracy, Numerical Reasoning and Reading Tests will be administered between the dates of Tuesday 5th May – Tuesday 12th May.

We are completing lots of past papers and practise papers in class to help prepare for the tests. I have also sent home copies of practise papers.

I would advise reading as much as possible in preparation for the Reading test – and doing ANY comprehension style activities – verbally and/or written so that the children get used to not only reading a text, but answering questions about it – and taking the answers from the text.

For Maths, good preparation would be to keep practising a mixture of numeracy based questions like we do daily before our maths lessons - times tables, telling the time, how many cm in a metre? Reading scales.

The Mathletics programme that the school has purchased is fantastic for generating these type of questions and the children should all have their log on username and password.

The website, www.topmarks.co.uk  is also fantastic. (Go to the Maths, year 3 or year 4 sections.)

I have also included a link to the website to where you can download the practise papers and print off at home - to those who would like to practise some more of them:

Numeracy and Numerical Reasoning Practise Papers can be viewed and downloaded here - http://learning.wales.gov.uk/resources/browse-all/numeracy-sample-materials/?lang=en

Reading Papers can be downloaded here:

http://learning.wales.gov.uk/resources/browse-all/reading-sample-materials/?lang=en

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